Witch Pirates

New World.

Carl was studying intelligence on the Butcher Pirates.

According to the Marine Intelligence Department, the Butcher Pirates had landed on Thunder God Island five days ago. They had not made a move, leaving quickly after replenishing their supplies, and there had been no news of them since.

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

There was nothing Carl could do under the current circumstances. He could only wait for news of them or rely on luck.

As for Kizaru, he had answered a call a day ago and immediately disappeared without saying anything, leaving the Butcher Pirates for Carl to handle alone.

Well, not entirely alone. There were also some utterly ordinary Marine soldiers on the Warship. They were fine for helping out, but expecting them to help Carl capture pirates was asking too much.

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

Carl shot to his feet. "Is it the Butcher Pirates?"

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

Carl's face immediately fell. His excitement had been for nothing. Of course his luck would not be that good. Still, as a qualified Marine, Carl quickly adjusted his mindset. "Who are they?"

"The captain of the Witch Pirates is Ice Witch Whitey Bay, with a bounty of 280 million Beli. They're one of the allied pirate crews under the Whitebeard Pirates!"

Carl sprang to his feet, walked out onto the Warship's deck, and raised his binoculars toward the distant pirate ship.

It was a pirate ship with a steel hull, snowflake patterns embedded at both its bow and stern as decoration. A skull was emblazoned on the mast and forward sail, and its design resembled an icebreaker more than anything else.

Carl's expression turned grave. That Ice Witch was not much trouble to him. The real problem was Whitebeard behind her.

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

The forty-three allied pirate crews under Whitebeard also ran rampant through the New World under his name. Even the Marines had to keep their distance.

Ice Witch Whitey Bay happened to be one of the most notorious among them.

"Major Carl, what should we do?"

Seeing the panic in the soldiers' eyes, Carl sighed inwardly. They were already so flustered by just one of Whitebeard's allied crews. If they encountered Whitebeard's Moby Dick, would they not wet themselves?

Of course, if Kizaru had been here, these Marine soldiers would not have been this terrified. In the end, they simply did not trust Carl's strength very much.

So what if the newspapers praised Carl to the skies? He did not have any real achievements to show for it.

Carl took a deep breath. This was also a chance to prove himself. Since he could not find the Butcher Pirates, he would use the Witch Pirates to test the waters.

Ice Witch Whitey Bay was a veteran member of the Whitebeard Pirates. During the Paramount War, she had nearly been driven into a desperate situation by a Pacifista. That showed just how unimpressive her strength was.

Although her bounty was as high as 280 million Beli, Carl felt there was quite a bit of inflation in it. Defeating her would not be a problem. The only concern was what to do after defeating her.

With that in mind, Carl began issuing orders methodically, steadying morale as he carefully observed the pirate ship's movements.

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

"Yes!!!"

Aboard the Witch.

"Boss, look! There's a Warship over there!"

Whitey Bay raised her binoculars. When she saw that the person commanding the Warship was merely a green young man, a confident smile appeared on her face.

Since the Warship bore no special markings and its commander was someone she did not recognize, she assumed it was just an ordinary Warship.

If it had been one of those Warships with a dog head, she would have turned around and fled without a word. But now...

"Move it, boys! I really want to see whether a Marine Warship can withstand the Witch's ramming attack!"

"Oohhh!!!" "Kill all the Marines!!"

The Witch immediately adjusted course and accelerated toward the Warship. The pirates aboard wore frenzied expressions, letting out excited shrieks from time to time.

On the Warship, Carl helplessly shook his head as he watched the pirate ship charge straight at them, casually taking the Den Den Mushi handed over by a Marine soldier.

"Moshiboshi~ Carl, if possible, just ignore them. Otherwise, it'll be quite troublesome, you know!"

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

"Ooh~ How scary! In that case, handle it yourself! I should be able to get there in about an hour, so make sure you hold on!"

"Hahaha, I'll do my best."

After hanging up, Carl's eyes gradually sharpened. He turned to the Marines beside him and said, "Remember this: under no circumstances can you let that pirate ship ram us. I'll be right back!"

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

"What a Marine should do."

The moment he finished speaking, Carl vanished from the deck. The Marine soldiers looked up to see that he had already used Geppo to soar into the sky and cross the sea.

"Boss, a Marine seems to be flying toward us!"

"What?!"

Whitey Bay hurriedly looked into the sky. A man in a white uniform and Justice coat was stepping through the air, and he was about to reach their ship.

"Hmph! He's courting death. Open fire! Shoot him dead!"

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

"Fire!"

Bang, bang, bang! The rifles fired in unison, sending dozens of black bullets toward Carl in the sky.

But Carl had already tilted his head aside, avoiding the bullets that would have hit him, before continuing his advance toward the pirate ship.

"This is bad, Boss! He dodged them all! He's coming!"

Carl landed gracefully on the bow, looking at Ice Witch Whitey Bay in her captain's hat. She was quite a beautiful woman with a good figure, but beneath that beautiful exterior lay a cold and merciless heart.

Countless Marines and civilians had died at her hands, and because of Whitebeard, the Marines rarely caused her trouble.

Carl slowly drew the repaired Karasu and pointed it at the motley group of pirates. "Are you ready to die?"

"You scum!"

The battle-ready pirates stared at one another after hearing Carl's words, then erupted into boisterous laughter.

"Hahaha! Pretty boy, who do you think you are? You dare act so arrogant all by yourself?"

"Hey! This kid's pretty fair and clean-looking. How about we capture him and send him to the boss's bed tonight?"

"Hahahaha, makes sense!"

Carl really wanted to say, Is being handsome a crime?

But that was only an inward complaint. He could not be bothered wasting words on people who were about to die. The sooner he finished this, the sooner he could slack off.

A flash of sword light streaked past.

The tall pirate before Carl clutched his throat in disbelief before crashing heavily to the ground with a loud thud.

"Jerr!!!"

"Get him! Kill him! Avenge Jerr!!!"

A group of pirates swarmed forward. Carl was completely fearless, even somewhat expectant.

Whitey Bay, the captain, wore a smile as she lounged comfortably in a fur-covered chair, quietly waiting for this Marine who did not know his place to fall into a pool of blood.

But things seemed to be unfolding differently from what she had imagined...