Raven

Everyone thought Queen Otohime had been killed by a human pirate, but Carl knew that Hody Jones was the one who had done it.

In other words, this mission was actually no trouble for Carl. No, no, forget it—the risk was too great, and it wasn't worth it.

Although Fish-Man Island and Princess Shirahoshi were both quite appealing to Carl, the risks far outweighed the rewards. Carl had no intention of wading into those troubled waters.

"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, you're right. Hmm, leave these pirate crews to me!"

Carl casually took several of the pirate crew dossiers, then said goodbye to Sengoku and prepared to set out.

Crescent Bay.

Carl gazed at the three Marine warships before him and felt a little emotional. It felt as though everything had returned to the days of Branch 108.

"Reporting to Colonel Carl, everything is ready. We can depart at any time!"

"Very good. What's your name?"

The burly man in front puffed out his chest and shouted with vigor, "Reporting to you, sir! I'm Nelson, a sergeant, and I'll be serving as your adjutant."

"Very good. Let's go!"

"Don't be in such a hurry to leave! Little Carl, you've forgotten something!"

Carl turned around and saw Kizaru standing behind him with a lecherous look on his face, holding a rectangular box in his hand.

Nelson immediately saluted when he saw Kizaru and said excitedly, "Admiral Kizaru!"

"This is...?" Carl seemed to have guessed what it was and looked at Kizaru in pleasant surprise.

"That's right! It's exactly what you think it is!"

Carl hurriedly took the box from Kizaru's hands. After opening it and confirming that there was a sword inside, she immediately closed it again.

"Sorry for the trouble, Admiral Kizaru."

Kizaru pursed his lips and waved his hand. "It was nothing. You're carrying out a mission alone today, right? Time sure flies!"

"In that case, I won't disturb you any longer. Remember to call me if anything comes up."

With that, Kizaru dispersed into photons.

Carl sighed inwardly. Thanks, Kizaru. Let's slack off together sometime...

After boarding the warship, Nelson asked, "Colonel Carl, where are we going?"

Without even thinking, Carl replied, "Water 7. A pirate crew is about to land there."

"Yes, sir!"

After returning to her room, Carl rubbed her hands and slowly opened the box. Inside was an entirely black sword, basically similar to Shodai Kitetsu, but its hilt had undergone a major transformation.

The guard had changed from the original round shape into something resembling a raven's wings. Feather patterns covered the hilt, and a red eye sat at its tip.

The moment Carl picked up the sword, it changed. The entire blade writhed, eventually transforming into a black raven with blood-red eyes fixed straight on Carl.

Its gaze was highly wary, and it kept flapping its wings as if warning Carl not to come any closer.

"Hmph, you're pretty fierce, huh?"

Carl's gaze sharpened. She grabbed the raven by the body and said in a low voice, "Submit or die?"

"Ah! Caw! Gah!!"

The raven frantically flapped its wings and let out a chilling cry. Its movements grew weaker and weaker until it finally gave up struggling and lowered its head in submission.

"From now on, your name is Raven. Turn back into a sword!"

Raven nodded, transformed back into a sword, and automatically fell into Carl's palm.

"Not bad!"

Carl nodded silently. The sword's appearance and quality both perfectly met her requirements.

Karasu?

Don't contact me again. I'm worried Raven might misunderstand.

Three minutes later, Carl walked out of the cabin. Seeing the Marine soldiers working in orderly fashion under Nelson's command, she nodded in satisfaction.

Now she only needed to be a hands-off commander—slack off when there was nothing to do and handle things when something came up.

"Huh? Colonel Carl, the bird on your shoulder is..."

Carl smiled slightly and couldn't resist showing off. "This? It's my weapon. Its name is Raven."

As soon as she finished speaking, Raven transformed from its bird form into its weapon form. A handsome black longsword appeared in Carl's hand, drawing gasps of amazement from the surrounding Marine soldiers.

"Th-this, how did it...?"

"Hahahaha! Have you heard of ability-transfer technology? This Raven is an ability weapon."

Nelson didn't understand a word, but he was deeply shaken. Still, he remembered the important matter and quickly asked, "Right, Colonel Carl, who is our target this time?"

"Here, this one!" Carl pulled out a wanted poster.

"The Flame Pirates' Roach Thompson! Bounty: 87 million Beli!"

Carl nodded. "That's right. Our goal is to wait for him at Water 7 and then send him to Impel Down. Do you have confidence?"

Nelson and the soldiers thought, Do you even need to ask? Who doesn't know that Colonel Carl can easily handle pirates with bounties approaching 300 million? Roach Thompson? He's nothing.

"Yes!!!"

"Very good! Then let's speed up and take them down in one fell swoop!"

"Whoa-oh-oh-oh!!!"

After three days of sailing, Carl's warship finally reached Water 7. Seeing the familiar-looking buildings, Carl couldn't help smiling. At last, she had arrived at an island she recognized.

To avoid letting the pirates discover the ambush, Carl deliberately sailed the warship into Water 7 itself and arranged for several Marine soldiers to keep watch over Scrap Island. After that, she could switch into vacation mode.

As she walked along the streets of Water 7, Carl noticed that quite a lot of people were turning to look at her.

How could a dashing young Marine officer with stunning looks fail to attract attention? Carl had long since grown used to it.

"Boss, how much does it cost to rent one of these Bulus?"

The Bulu rental shop owner hurriedly put on a smile. "A Marine officer! A thousand—no, 500 Beli. Five hundred will do!"

"Perfect. I'll take that blue Bulu over there!"

Sitting atop the blue Bulu, which looked like a sea donkey, Carl couldn't help lighting a cigarette. It would have been nice to have a woman by her side.

"Bulu, please take me around and show me the sights!"

The Bulu gave a cry, seemingly accustomed to this, and slowly made its way along the waterways.

Carl hadn't been idle during this time, either. She took advantage of the opportunity to use the daily rewards she had accumulated over the past four days.

After using 20 Enhancement Cards, her perception was still D+, with no change whatsoever. However, the 12 random rewards gave her a pleasant surprise.

"Congratulations! You obtained three Swordsmanship Skill Cards, one Observation Haki Enhancement Card, six rewards of 20 days of lifespan, one case of Otaku Happy Water, and 5 million Beli."

What could Carl say? Whenever she felt sleepy, someone sent her a pillow. As expected of a mature system—it understood its host's needs perfectly.

After using everything, Carl's Observation Haki was still only level 2, but she had gained Swordsmanship Level 2, with a maximum level of 5.

Although it was only level 2, she seemed to have trained as a master swordsman for many years. She had not only comprehended the Breath of All Things, but could also casually unleash Flying Slashes.

She could harden herself with Armament Haki and use Flying Slashes. Was it not perfectly reasonable for her to call herself a master swordsman?

You have brought me Great Pirate: Marine Lieutenant at the Start, I Slack Off and Become Stronger