Carl's words were light and casual, but Enel's pupils contracted sharply. His body instinctively sensed a wave of chilling cold, and just as that feeling rose, a wet, tearing sound echoed.
"Puh!!"
Enel stared in shock at the still-beating heart in Carl's hand, then lowered his gaze to the bloody hole in his chest. His pupils gradually lost their focus.
Carl gave a slight squeeze, and the heart in his palm burst into a mist of blood. In his other hand, however, a bluish-green, pineapple-shaped Devil Fruit had appeared.
That was the last sight Enel ever saw. A hoarse gurgle escaped his throat, and with a heavy thud, his body collapsed to the ground.
Looking down at Enel's corpse lying in the pool of blood, Carl gave a calm remark.
"Not bad physique."
Indeed — even with his heart ripped out completely, Enel had managed to last that long. His vitality was truly remarkable.
"God-sama!!!"
The mechanical automata nearby, seeing that all life had completely faded from Enel, let out a chorus of wails.
Carl frowned. This kind of shrieking was what he hated the most.
After the initial cries, the automata's faces twisted into expressions of rage, and they charged at Carl like mad.
Holding the Rumble-Rumble Fruit in his hand, Carl glanced at the oncoming horde, and a tide of darkness suddenly spread out beneath his feet.
The automata that touched the wave of darkness were like ice cubes meeting magma — they vanished in an instant.
In just a heartbeat, the once-raucous lunar surface fell silent again.
Enel's corpse vanished together with the automata, leaving only the various mechanical devices the Moon People had left behind.
When Carl saw those devices, he immediately understood why there was oxygen on the moon — some of those machines were constantly generating it.
These machines had been left without maintenance for hundreds of years, yet they still operated steadily. That alone proved how advanced the Moon People's technology had been.
Carl planned to bring Vegapunk here to study them when he had the time. There was no need for the old man to pour too much energy into weapons now — the world situation had stabilized, and it was time to focus on developing productivity.
With the memories from Earth, Carl understood well the importance of production power. Especially in the world of One Piece, where an individual's combat strength could rival that of a nuclear weapon — and such power was now entirely in Carl's hands. Not to mention, he himself was the strongest weapon of all.
Still, developing productivity wasn't Carl's only goal. His real aim was to have Vegapunk remodel this place into something that would surpass even Mary Geoise.
Floating slowly into the air, Carl looked down over the lunar landscape. Before long, this place would take on an entirely new form.
With Kamui activated, space twisted under the pull of powerful dark gravity. In the blink of an eye, Carl returned from the moon to the Figarland family's territory.
...
He stood in an open space, seemingly in thought, then in the next moment flickered away, reappearing by the massive swimming pool behind the palace.
There weren't many people in the water today — only Ginny and Shirahoshi.
Perhaps because they both had soft pink hair, the two often got along very well and tended to stick together.
When the two saw Carl suddenly appear, they froze for a second, then smiled brightly and waved, inviting him to join them.
Carl smiled faintly. A flash of black light swept over him, and in an instant, all he wore was a pair of black shorts. He leapt into the pool, landing between Ginny and Shirahoshi, hardly making a splash at all.
If this were back on Earth, that dive alone would have earned him more gold medals than he could carry.
The two girls swam up to him naturally, each pressing close to his sides, wrapping him in warmth and softness.
Ginny, still holding onto him, asked sweetly,
"Carl, where did you go today? I heard from Makino you went to the moon."
Shirahoshi giggled softly beside her.
"That's right — I never thought gentle Makino-san would make such jokes."
Carl reached out and pinched Shirahoshi's soft cheek with a smile.
"She wasn't joking. I really did go to the moon."
"Eh~?"
Both Ginny and Shirahoshi's mouths formed perfect little O-shapes, looking utterly adorable. Carl lowered his head and gave Ginny's pouting pink lips a light kiss.
Ginny's bright eyes curved into crescent moons as she smiled, while Shirahoshi's pretty face flushed pink. A faint, hidden look of expectation flashed in her eyes — but Carl stopped at that one brief kiss with Ginny, not going any further as Shirahoshi had hoped.
Shirahoshi pursed her lips in mild disappointment, shifting her body a little. The movement caught Carl's attention.
Glancing down at her pink fish tail in the water, Carl asked,
"Shirahoshi, you still can't change into legs?"
Shirahoshi blinked.
"No. Mama says I'm not yet twenty years old. To be like her, I'll have to wait until after I'm thirty."
"I see. I thought with your bloodline, you'd be able to complete that step sooner."
Carl's words were casual, but Shirahoshi seemed to take them in another direction. She asked shyly,
"… do you want me to have legs like a human sooner?"
Carl replied,
"Not exactly. I just think it must be inconvenient for you to walk around with a tail every day. Doesn't it… chafe?"
"...No. It's very smooth… see for yourself."
Shirahoshi suddenly lifted her tail out of the water, presenting it to Carl.
Ginny, watching Shirahoshi's flushed face, smiled knowingly.
Shirahoshi's movement was almost like laying a pair of long legs before Carl. The pink scales glimmered under the sunlight, looking like a work of art.
Carl reached out to touch it — the feel was even smoother than skin, though not as soft.
By now Shirahoshi's face was red as a ripe apple, her tail swaying unconsciously, the pale-pink fins brushing gently against Carl's cheek.
Carl raised an eyebrow. Was this… some kind of mating gesture?
"Ahem…"
Ginny coughed lightly and teased,
"Shirahoshi, your tail seems a little restless~"
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+110 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg