"My sensing and speed are my advantages. Any creature with a life aura can't escape my perception."
In an inn in town, Carina was laying out the plan. "To avoid a cornered-dog situation where someone panics and eats the Devil Fruit, we can't just charge in and grab it."
"That gang boss said the black market would auction the Devil Fruit sometime within the next month. It hasn't been a full month yet, so I'm not sure if the fruit has been delivered here."
"So… my plan is to scout that castle first. I'll keep watch outside, and you'll use your speed to slip in and memorize the layout."
Carina pointed at Karl and added, "If we confirm the Devil Fruit is there—and you're confident no one will get the chance to eat it—I authorize you to solve this with force."
"No problem. I'll follow your lead."
"Alright, we move tonight."
When night fell, Karl and Carina quietly avoided all life auras and reached the mountaintop.
A luxurious castle stood ahead.
Few knew the castle's owner wasn't a noble; it was the black market's auction site.
"Go on. I'll wait here."
Hiding behind a boulder and blending into the dark, Carina spoke to Karl.
"Don't worry. I'll be watching the whole time."
Karl nodded, then blurred into an afterimage and burst toward the castle.
He was so fast that when Carina blinked, he was already a tiny black speck.
Unlike the massive Charlotte Linlin, Karl's build let him bring his speed to the extreme.
His ghostly speed—like Cavendish's second persona—was nearly beyond the naked eye.
A few flickers later, Karl had slipped into the castle.
With Observation Haki, he had no fear of being discovered.
Following his senses, Karl went to where the strongest life auras gathered and stood outside a door. Using the superhuman hearing he'd gained after his first evolution, he eavesdropped on the conversation inside.
Within were the two strongest auras in the castle—figures Karl deemed worthy of respect.
"…How long until that Devil Fruit is shipped in? They're not waiting for auction day, are they?"
"I asked. They'll bring it three days before the auction. It's a sea treasure worth a hundred million Beli—a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit. It should sell for around five hundred million at least. We have to be careful. Didn't you notice? After they announced the venue, they specifically asked me to sit here in advance."
"Paramecia? Do you know which fruit it is?"
"Yeah, I heard it's the Paramecia Barrier-Barrier Fruit. Seems like a powerful Devil Fruit. It's so valuable they're desperate to move it fast, afraid it'll draw certain big players' attention."
"The Barrier Fruit, huh? I'm jealous. Too bad I can't become a user, or I'd take the chance to gulp it down."
"If you end up on the black market's wanted list, don't drag me with you."
"Just kidding."
"…"
The casual chatter reached Karl's ears, making his pupils narrow slightly.
He slipped from the castle without a sound.
"Well? Any gains?"
Seeing him return, Carina asked expectantly.
"Yeah… a huge gain."
Karl's lips curled into an excited grin. "It's an extremely powerful Devil Fruit—one that will let me never worry again. I'm going to secure it for you, Carina."
"You know which fruit it is?"
"Mm."
Karl nodded. "The Paramecia Barrier-Barrier Fruit. It can create barriers with extreme defense—harder than diamond. Even I can't break that defense, at least for now."
"With a power like that, I wouldn't mind becoming a user."
Picturing herself with that ability and Karl fighting at full strength, Carina's expression softened. She no longer balked at becoming a landlubber.
She had watched Karl grow into a monster and knew his current weakness well.
If that weakness no longer existed, Karl would become the strongest in this sea.
Compared to that, losing the ability to swim was nothing.
"They'll ship the Devil Fruit three days before the auction. I'll lie in wait at the docks these next few days," Karl said.
"Mm."
Carina nodded slightly, her smile bright. "You were inside only minutes and learned so much. Maybe luck's with us—perhaps I'm fated for that Devil Fruit."
"…It's probably because my luck's good," Karl said.
It sounded narcissistic, but it was the truth.
After all, Karl remembered the Barrier Fruit's future user in the original: Luffy's diehard fan Bartolomeo, captain of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet's Second Division.
For the fruit to surface now, for Karl to learn the auction site and delivery timing—he could only chalk it up to absurdly good luck.
With Karl as a butterfly flapping in history, all sorts of deviations from the plot were only natural.
He had steeled himself for that years ago.
"Show-off."
Unaware it was true, Carina rolled her eyes at the narcissist.
Karl didn't mind. Smiling, he hugged Carina, and they retraced their steps.
In the days that followed, Karl and Carina enjoyed themselves around the town.
To avoid being recognized, Karl took off the knight's armor worth millions of Beli and put on a pure-white suit custom-made by Carina, with a blue tie. Give him a white horse and he'd be a real prince on a white steed.
Day by day, time passed.
More and more ships berthed at the island's docks—pirates, suited businessmen of unknown trades, gangsters, and the wealthy—until the town, neither bustling nor backward, grew lively.