Buru-buru-buru~
"Moshi moshi~"
"Old man, it's your turn to enter the stage. Get over here—now!"
On the other end, Borsalino pursed his lips.
"Oh? That fast? Shanks is a very troublesome fellow, you know~"
"Hehe… well, I may have secretly raised the difficulty a bit. So right now, they're probably close to their limit."
"Woh~ kowa~i ne~ I get it. I'm on my way. You keep your eyes open too—if something unexpected happens, you must step in. Don't let Shanks really join BIG MOM, got it?"
"Relax, I know! Just hurry up—there's no way I can hold this alone!"
Karl hung up, changed back into his Marine uniform, mounted Raven, and flew straight back toward the center of the battlefield.
The situation on the ground was grim.
The Red-Haired Pirates commanders were almost all wounded, fighting while retreating, completely pushed into a disadvantage.
During the time Karl was gone, the Charlotte Family had also started taking heavier casualties—but overall, they still held the upper hand, relentlessly pressing the Red-Haired Pirates.
As for Shanks and Charlotte Linlin, neither side had decided a winner yet. Shanks was clearly falling behind, but Big Mom was also covered in fresh wounds.
"Chase them—don't let them escape!"
Charlotte Katakuri narrowed his eyes and hurled his trident at Lucky Roux, who was retreating.
Just as it was about to hit—
A golden sword aura fell from the sky, sweeping the trident aside with a crisp clang.
"Who is it?!"
Karl descended from the air, wearing a calm smile.
"I am Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Karl. How about giving me some face and ending this war right here—what do you say?"
"Karl?"
Katakuri raised a brow. The name sounded familiar…
Wait—wasn't that the so-called World's Most Handsome Man?
But this was no time to care about that.
They were pirates. Pirates and Marines were natural enemies—why would they stop just because someone asked?
"A mere Marine Vice Admiral—why should we give you face?" Katakuri said coldly.
"Today, none of the Red-Haired Pirates are leaving. That's final."
"And you—why would a Marine protect pirates at all?"
That made the Red-Haired Pirates look at Karl suspiciously as well.
Yeah—why was the Marine helping them?
At that moment, Benn Beckman snorted.
"Protect us? They just don't want to see us join BIG MOM."
Karl turned and gave Beckman a thumbs-up.
"Correct. Congratulations—you got it right. As expected of the Red-Haired Pirates' external brain."
"By the way," Karl added casually, "Admiral Kizaru will be here any minute now. Are you sure you still want to fight?"
Katakuri frowned.
"So what? Kizaru alone can't defeat Mama. Don't tell me you Marines would actually team up with pirates?"
"Hey, did you forget?" Karl replied lightly.
"Roger once joined forces with Garp to defeat the Rocks Pirates. Your mom should know that better than anyone."
"So Marines teaming up with pirates isn't exactly rare. Don't you agree?"
Katakuri extended his arm, drawing his trident back to his hand.
"Enough talk. Die!"
Mochi Thrust!
Using the Mochi-Mochi Fruit, Katakuri turned his arm into mochi, wrapped it around his trident, spun it violently, and thrust forward with terrifying force—reaching Karl in the blink of an eye.
Karl inhaled deeply and got serious.
Armament Haki instantly coated Raven, while Observation Haki activated at full power, locking onto Katakuri's weak point.
There—his right foot. The only support point during the thrust.
Karl slashed upward, knocking Katakuri's trident aside with sheer strength, then used Soru to flash to Katakuri's left side.
Reverse grip.
Horizontal slash.
"Not good!"
Katakuri barely managed to disperse his body into mochi, minimizing the damage—but pain still erupted from his right leg. The mochi turned red with blood.
Luckily, it was only a superficial wound.
"As expected of the Marine swordsman who fought Mihawk," Katakuri said grimly.
"But don't forget—this is Totto Land. BIG MOM's territory!"
Named Mochi!
He transformed his hand into elongated strips of mochi, hardened them with Armament Haki, and unleashed a storm of omnidirectional strikes at extreme speed.
Karl didn't dodge.
With Observation Haki fully open, he stood his ground, swinging Raven to block each and every attack.
Beckman narrowed his eyes, carefully watching Karl's movements.
So it really was him… the guy who disguised himself as one of us.
Combining that with the rumors about Karl—
Everything clicked.
So that's why the Charlotte Family suddenly got stronger earlier… this Marine was secretly helping them.
Driving wolves to devour tigers.
What a devious bastard.
But there was nothing he could do except swallow his frustration.
Beckman turned to the others.
"Now's our chance—move!"
"What about Shanks? He's still fighting Big Mom!"
"The Marines are here. Shanks will be fine. I trust him."
The others hesitated briefly, then nodded and followed Beckman, retreating toward the ship.
"Brother Katakuri! They're escaping—everyone, stop them!"
Seeing this, Karl kicked Katakuri away and unleashed several flying slashes at the pursuers.
"I already said it—this war can end now. Are you that bad at listening?"
Katakuri stared at Karl seriously, then spoke to his siblings.
"Forget those fleeing dogs. Kill this damned Marine first!"
"Using a numbers tactic?" Karl laughed.
"Fine—as long as you're not afraid of them dying. After all, I already killed several earlier."
Katakuri's body stiffened.
That build.
That voice.
That sword—
No wonder it felt familiar.
"It was you! Earlier—you—!"
Katakuri clenched his teeth.
"You Marines are truly despicable!"
Karl grinned.
"Thanks for the compliment. One more thing—if you don't go all out soon, Admiral Kizaru will arrive. Then you won't even have the chance to avenge your siblings."
"DON'T YOU DARE REMIND ME!!! Everyone—GET BACK!!!"
A red glint flashed in Katakuri's eyes.
He plunged his left hand into the shattered ground. In an instant, the terrain turned white—like a non-Newtonian fluid. One careless step and you'd sink right in.
"Awakening?" Karl raised a brow.
"You've reached this level already?"
Katakuri's voice was ice-cold.
"You will pay for everything you've done today."
Mochi Rainfall.
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