Witch Pirates

New World.

Carl was studying the intelligence on the Butcher Pirates.

The information provided by the Marine Intelligence Department indicated that five days ago, the Butcher Pirates had landed on Raigun Island, but had not taken any action. After resupplying, they left quickly, and then there was no further news.

The Intelligence Department speculated that their next stop would be Aviles Island or Tlön Island along the route, but Carl had already been to both islands and found no trace of them.

Under the current circumstances, there was nothing Carl could do; she could only wait for news about them or try her luck.

As for Admiral Kizaru, he had received a phone call a day ago and vanished right away without saying a thing, leaving the Butcher Pirates entirely for her to handle alone.

Well, not entirely alone either; there were still some mediocre Marine soldiers on the Warship. They were all right for doing odd jobs, but expecting them to help Carl capture pirates was pushing it a bit.

"R-Report, sir! A pirate ship has appeared ahead!"

Carl jumped to her feet. "Is it the Butcher Pirates?"

"N-No, sir, it's the Witch Pirates!"

Carl's expression immediately fell. She had gotten excited over nothing, knowing her luck wouldn't be that good. Still, as a qualified Marine, Carl quickly adjusted her mindset and said, "What's their background?!"

"The captain of the Witch Pirates is the Ice Witch Whitey Bay, with a bounty of 280 million Beli. S-She's one of the affiliated pirate crews under the Whitebeard Pirates!"

Carl sprang to her feet, walked out of the Warship, picked up her binoculars, and looked toward the pirate ship in the distance.

It was a pirate ship with a steel-cast hull, with snowflake patterns embedded at the bow and stern for decoration. The masts and fore-sails bore skull emblems, and its design looked more like an icebreaker.

Carl's gaze was serious. That so-called Ice Witch wasn't much trouble for her; the real trouble was Whitebeard behind her.

Everyone knew how fiercely protective Whitebeard was of his subordinates. Anyone who dared lay a hand on his people needed to be prepared to face Whitebeard's wrath.

The forty-three allied pirate crews under Whitebeard's command also used his reputation to run amok in the New World, and even the Marines gave them a wide berth.

The Ice Witch Whitey Bay happened to be precisely the notorious type.

"Major Carl, what should we do?"

Looking at the terrified soldiers, Carl sighed inwardly. They were already losing their minds over a mere subordinate pirate crew; if they ran into Whitebeard's Moby Dick, wouldn't they wet themselves?

Of course, if Admiral Kizaru were here, these Marine soldiers wouldn't be scared to this extent. Put simply, they still didn't quite trust Carl's strength.

So what if the newspapers blew Carl out of proportion? The achievements she could actually pull out were completely blank.

Carl took a deep breath, feeling that this also presented a chance to prove herself. Since the Butcher Pirates couldn't be found, she would use this Witch Pirates crew to test the waters.

The Ice Witch Whitey Bay was a veteran crew member of the Whitebeard Pirates, and during the Paramount War, she had nearly been driven to a desperate corner by the Pacifistas, showing just how lackluster her strength actually was.

Although her bounty reached a staggering 280 million Beli, Carl felt the water content in it was a bit high. Defeating her wouldn't be a problem; the only worry was what to do after beating her.

Thinking of this, Carl began to give orders in an orderly fashion to stabilize military morale while carefully observing the movements of the pirate ship.

"You, go notify Admiral Kizaru immediately! Everyone else, prepare for battle! The moment the Witch Pirates get close, open fire with the cannons!"

"Yes, sir!!!"

The Ice Witch.

"Big Sis, look over there! There's a Warship!"

Whitey Bay picked up her binoculars, and after seeing that the person commanding the Warship turned out to be a greenhorn kid, she wore a confident smile.

Because the Warship lacked any special insignia, and the commander was someone she didn't recognize, she assumed it was just an ordinary Warship.

If it had been a dog-headed Warship, she would have turned tail and bolted without a second word, but now...

"Lads, full speed ahead! I'd love to see whether a Marine Warship can withstand the impact of the Witch!"

"Oh oh oh!!!" "Kill the Marines!"

The Ice Witch immediately began adjusting her course, accelerating toward the Warship. The pirates aboard burned with fanaticism, letting out excited, eerie howls from time to time.

On the Warship, Carl watched the oncoming pirate ship and shook her head helplessly, casually taking the Den Den Mushi handed to her by a marine.

"Moshi moshi~ Carl, if you can, just ignore them, otherwise it's going to be a huge headache, you know!"

"Sorry, Admiral Kizaru, it's already too late to retreat now. They're coming straight at us!"

"Ooh~ How terrifying! In that case, handle it yourself then! Old man here can make it over in about an hour, so you'd better hang in there!"

"Hahaha, I'll do my best."

Hanging up the phone, Carl's gaze gradually sharpened, and she turned her head to say to the Marines beside her, "Listen up, make sure you don't let the pirate ship ram us. I'll be right back!"

"Major Carl, w-what are you planning to do?"

"Doing what Marines are supposed to do."

As soon as she finished speaking, Carl's figure vanished from the deck. The marine looked up, and Carl was already stepping on Geppo, flying into the sky and crossing the open sea.

"Big Sis, a Marine looks like he's flying right toward us!"

"What!"

Whitey Bay hurriedly looked toward the sky. It was a man wearing a white uniform and draped in a cape of justice. His feet stepped on empty air as if he were climbing stairs, and he looked as though he was about to land right on their ship.

"Humph! Seeking death. Open fire! Blow him to pieces for me!"

Whitey Bay flicked her arm slightly, and the pirates on the deck immediately raised their rifles, taking aim at Carl in the air.

"Fire!"

Bang, bang, bang—the rifles fired in a volley, dozens of black projectiles shooting toward Carl in the sky.

Yet Carl had long since tilted her head in advance, dodging the bullets that would have hit her, and continued her charge toward the pirate ship.

"Oh no, Big Sis, he dodged all of them! He's coming over!"

Carl descended gracefully onto the bow, looking at the Ice Witch Whitey Bay who wore a captain's hat. She was a rather pretty woman with a fine figure, but beneath her beautiful exterior lay a cold and ruthless heart.

Countless Marines and civilians had died by her hands, and because of Whitebeard, the Marines rarely bothered her either.

Carl slowly drew the repaired Karasu, pointed it at this mixed bag of pirates, and spoke, "Are you ready to die?"

"Scum!"

The battle-ready pirates stared blankly at each other upon hearing Carl's remark, and then burst into violent laughter.

"Hahahaha, pretty boy, who do you think you are! You think you can be this arrogant all by yourself?"

"Heh! This punk looks pretty fair-skinned. Why don't we capture him and send him to Big Sis's bed tonight?"

"Hahaha, makes sense!"

To this, Carl very much wanted to ask: is looking handsome a crime punishable by death?

Still, she only grumbled it inwardly; she was too lazy to waste breath on these people who were as good as dead. Wrapping things up early to slack off was the right path.

Swish~ A flash of sword light swept past.

The tall pirate standing in front of Carl grabbed his neck in disbelief, crashing heavily to the ground with a loud bang.

"Jell!!!"

"Charge! Kill him! Avenge Jell!!!"

A mob of pirates swarmed forward. Carl showed no fear whatsoever, and even felt a hint of anticipation.

Whitey Bay, acting as captain, smiled faintly, lying back comfortably in a fur chair as she quietly watched this clueless Marine fall in a pool of blood.

Only, the development of events seemed different from what she had imagined...