The Badass-Looking One Was Actually a Pathetic Loser

Carl wielded Karasu in his right hand and used Finger Pistol with his left, cutting his way through the pirates and charging back out again and again.

Every swing of his blade and every flick of his finger sent a pirate crashing down, while all the pirates' attacks missed one after another.

They were clearly within arm's reach, yet no matter what they did, they couldn't even touch the hem of Carl's clothes.

"Damn it, this Marine is as slippery as an eel! Surround him! Let's see how he runs!"

Seeing dozens of pirates blocking his path, Carl remained completely calm. He leaped into the air and shouted, "Tempest Kick: Infinite Kick!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~

Dozens of slashing shock waves shot out in succession. The pirates surrounding him screamed as they clutched their chests and were sent flying backward. The deck was cleared in an instant, leaving corpses strewn everywhere.

The surrounding pirates stared at Carl, who looked like a god of death, their hands trembling around their weapons. They shouted for everyone to attack, but their bodies dared not move even half a step.

When Whitey Bay saw that more than thirty of her subordinates had died in just a few minutes, she could no longer sit still.

"Enough! Everyone, get out of the way! I'll deal with this Marine myself!"

The lackeys immediately breathed a sigh of relief. The big sister was finally making her move. If she hadn't, their lives would have been in danger!

Standing amid the corpses covering the ground, Carl looked at the enraged Whitey Bay and smiled faintly. The main course is finally here?

"You're not an ordinary Marine. State your name if you have the guts!"

"I am Carl, a Marine HQ Lieutenant Commander. Prepare to die!"

The moment he finished speaking, Carl vanished from where he stood and suddenly appeared in front of Whitey Bay, slashing down with his blade.

"Clang~"

Whitey Bay hurriedly raised her sword to block, but her body was forced back several steps, her eyes filled with shock.

This Marine lieutenant commander didn't look very old, yet he possessed such tremendous strength. What kind of monster was he? Why had she never heard of him?

At that moment, Carl had a rough idea of Whitey Bay's strength. Her physique was inferior to his, probably only around Class C, but she had plenty of combat experience. Whether she had mastered Haki remained to be seen.

So she only looks impressive. In reality, she's a pathetic pushover.

"Damn it! Ice Assault!"

Whitey Bay grabbed the hilt with both hands and pulled hard. The blade actually split into two, leaving her holding a weapon resembling an ice pick in each hand. With astonishing speed, she stabbed them toward Carl.

His chest, lower body... Observation Haki had already predicted her attacks, and Carl quickly thought of a countermeasure.

"Crack!"

Karasu slashed into the two ice picks from the side, knocking them away. Carl raised his left fist and punched toward Whitey Bay's face.

"Not good!"

Whitey Bay reacted quickly and immediately raised an ice pick to shield her face, but she never expected Carl's fist to have already turned pitch-black.

"Ahhh! Armament Haki! Damn it, how can you possibly be just a lieutenant commander?!"

Whitey Bay had seen plenty of the world. How could she fail to recognize Armament Haki? What she couldn't believe was that a mere Marine lieutenant commander had mastered it.

In her experience, there were very few people below the rank of Marine Captain who had mastered Haki. In all these years, she had barely encountered any.

This was the very Haki she had been unable to awaken despite working toward it for half her life!

If she could awaken Armament Haki, how could her bounty be only 280 million? It would have at least doubled.

"Hm? Are you getting ready to surrender? That won't do! I haven't even warmed up yet!"

A faint golden radiance emerged around Carl, constantly providing him with enhancement and healing. Whitey Bay's expression immediately grew even uglier.

He was a Devil Fruit user too! This was troublesome!

"Keep dreaming! The Whitebeard Pirates never surrender!"

Carl sneered disdainfully. "Is that all? Without Whitebeard, you're nothing. You're just a piece of trash. Forget it. I can't be bothered to waste words on you!"

"Finger Pistol!"

Speaking of which, this was Carl's first proper fight against pirates since arriving at Marine Headquarters. Before this, either he hadn't needed to use his abilities or hadn't been able to. Now, it was a rather novel experience.

"Boom!"

The two immediately began fighting fiercely, but Whitey Bay had clearly fallen into a disadvantageous position. Her defeat was only a matter of time.

Carl had originally planned to use this opportunity to thoroughly integrate all the results of his slacking, but he soon discovered that Whitey Bay was far too weak. Her strength was completely out of line with her nearly three-hundred-million bounty.

If he had to be precise, she was probably worth only a little over one hundred million, about the same as the supernovas who were kicked down one by one by Kizaru in the original story. She might even be slightly weaker.

After all, she didn't even have a Devil Fruit ability. No wonder she had struggled so much against a Pacifista. What trash!

This showed just how hollow the Whitebeard Pirates' influence across the seas really was. They had plenty of people, but they also had plenty of cannon fodder. Only a handful were truly capable.

The Marines had feared only Whitebeard from beginning to end, not the Whitebeard Pirates under him.

After being sent flying and vomiting blood once again, Whitey Bay looked at Carl unwillingly. With a twisted expression, she shouted at a pirate hiding nearby.

"Damn Marine! Hurry! Notify Pops and have him save me!"

"Y-yes!"

Carl's gaze sharpened. Whitebeard might not arrive that quickly, but Marco was fast. After all, he was a bird-man. If he came, things would become troublesome.

Thinking of this, Carl raised his left hand toward the pirate preparing to call for help. "Finger Pistol!"

"Hmph! Keep dreaming!"

Whitey Bay gritted her teeth and lunged at Carl, using an ice pick to block the shock wave he fired.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk~ What a caring captain you are to your subordinates!"

Carl kicked Whitey Bay away, then slowly walked toward her. She was nearly finished. Carl had always upheld the spirit of humanitarianism, so he prepared to give her a quick death.

"Come on! If you have the guts, kill me! Pops will avenge me!"

Carl frowned. Her words had reminded him of something. He really couldn't kill this woman recklessly, considering that Whitebeard had her back.

Whitey Bay was a veteran member of Whitebeard's crew, after all. It was impossible for Whitebeard to have no feelings for her. If he really killed her, he would only bring trouble upon the Marines.

Whitebeard was the sort who treated piracy like a game of house. Once he got worked up, who would care about gains, losses, or consequences?

Argh, what a headache.

As the saying went, the greater the responsibility of one's position, the more one had to act, while those with less responsibility should avoid making mistakes whenever possible. Carl was only a lieutenant commander, after all.

So he would rather do nothing than make a mistake. If he were an Admiral, the situation would be different.

Then, he might rather make a mistake than do nothing at all.

Seeing the hesitation in Carl's eyes, Whitey Bay felt a burst of delight and couldn't help laughing mockingly.

"Hahahaha, so this is the Marines? A bunch of bullies who only prey on the weak! Come on! If you have the guts, kill me! You don't dare, do you?!"

"Why aren't you saying anything, pretty boy? Are you afraid of Pops? Hahahaha! Then get lost already! Once Pops arrives, you won't be able to leave even if you want to!"

Carl's expression remained calm. He didn't take Whitey Bay's taunts to heart. They were nothing more than the barking of a defeated dog.

"Ahhh!"

Karasu pierced through Whitey Bay's shoulder blade and pinned her firmly to the deck, leaving her unable to move. The pain made her let out a miserable scream.

Carl clapped his hands, then picked up two curved blades from the ground and pinned Whitey Bay down completely.

Then he pulled out Karasu and turned his gaze toward the terrified pirates surrounding him.