"The Knight" of the "Knight and Phantom Thief" seized the Devil Fruit the black market had prepared for auction, and the news quickly spread through the East Blue underworld.
Even the Navy caught wind of it.
Enraged, the black market posted a 300 million Beli bounty for the Knight's head on its platform; if the Devil Fruit is returned, they're willing to pay 500 million Beli.
That bounty quickly entered the sights of countless desperadoes.
Some fools blinded by greed set sail in excitement, scouring the East Blue for traces of the "Knight and Phantom Thief" as if the 500 million Beli were already in their hands.
Little did they know: the lucky ones are those who don't run into Karl.
If they do meet Karl, they'll be the truly unlucky ones.
Boom—!
A cannon roared, sounding especially harsh over the surging sea.
A massive shell sped in from afar. Just as it was about to strike the small single-cabin sloop and explode—
A transparent barrier appeared out of thin air, blocking the shell's path and containing the blast.
"We just left and we're already under attack. These idiots aren't strong, but when it comes to gathering intel, each one's better than the last."
Watching the pirate ship in the distance, Carina looked a touch helpless, then glanced at Karl, who now held a bandage-wrapped lance from who-knew-where, and warned, "Don't use that move to sink them. Its power is too great, packed with heat—it'll burn everything on board."
"I've got the means to protect myself now. I'll swim over and take them out, then come back to collect the loot."
"Okay." Karl nodded, and the lance in his hand dissolved into light and vanished.
A second later, Karl dove into the sea and shot toward the ship like a swordfish.
He moved as fast as an arrow.
"Did someone just jump overboard?"
"Don't tell me he's abandoning ship."
"Catch up and grab that 300 million Beli!"
Karl's dive was seen by the pirates on deck, and the captain urged, anxious, "Hurry up and close in! All we need is the Knight's head and I get 300 million Beli. Maybe that Devil Fruit is on his boat, too. If I become a user and pocket 300 million, I can head for the Grand Line to seek the great treasure!"
"Cannon fire? Did that gang run into a merchantman again?"
Meanwhile, in the cabin of another pirate ship, a lithe figure staking out a corridor brightened at the sound. "Perfect chance. The treasure's mine!"
At that moment, Karl slipped aboard the pirate ship.
A drenched blond youth stood before a pirate adjusting the cannon's angle. The pirate's eyes bulged as if they might pop out.
"Are you the one firing?"
Karl grabbed the pirate by the collar and said, almost approvingly, "Not bad—you hit from that far out. As a reward, I'll let you experience what a cannonball feels like."
He hoisted the pirate high and hurled him with both hands.
Like Luffy blasting Alvida away in his debut—
Karl's inhuman strength turned the man into a streak of light that vanished at the horizon.
"Next round. Jump overboard on your own, or should I throw you?" Karl dusted his hands and looked at the stunned pirates.
"D-damn it, don't get cocky!"
The pirate captain snapped out of it, drew the cutlass at his waist, and hacked at Karl's head. "That 300 million is mine!"
—Clang!
Karl let the blade fall on his head. The edge couldn't even cut a single hair.
"M-m-monster!"
Watching the captain blanch at that steel-hard defense, Karl sighed, slightly helpless. "Seriously, this whole sea is full of idiots. I'm getting less and less interested in this weak ocean."
Crack!
He seized the captain's wrist and twisted, wrenching the man's arm into a braid, then casually flung him into the sea.
His figure blurred into a dozen afterimages, and every pirate on deck went flying overboard.
Karl neither shunned nor favored killing. If he used that one move, everyone on the ship would die.
But if he was handling it personally, he preferred not to dirty his clothes; he rarely used blade or spear to finish enemies.
He hadn't even killed the two black market enforcers who were actually decent.
Though after that one strike, it was death or ruin for them either way.
Karl hadn't meant to, but the pirates he tossed all flew hundreds of meters.
After tasting Karl's strength, not even a hundred lives' worth of courage could make them try to swim back.
Whether they lived or died next depended on luck.
With the deck-rabble handled, Karl waved to the small sloop gliding in from the side.
When it drew alongside, he threw down a rope and a gangplank.
He tied the rope to the rail; Carina stepped onto the gangplank and climbed aboard.
Taking Karl's outstretched hand, she came up onto the deck, then used the ribbon on her wrist to tie her cascading violet hair into a single ponytail. "Anyone in the ship?"
Sensing the auras in the cabin, Karl nodded. "Three."
"Take them out first, then we loot."
Carina tilted her head back at the Jolly Roger, disappointed. "Not a top-ten emblem on the East Blue's live rankings. Looks like another no-name pirate crew. Here's hoping this trip isn't a waste."
"As long as there's enough money, it's fine. Don't I still have a few million Beli?" Karl said offhandedly.
"Easy for you to say—you're not the one minding the money!"
Carina shot him a glare and scolded, "Do you know how much a single meal at an inn costs? A few million Beli doesn't even cover half a month's food. Because of you, I can't even bring myself to buy a new dress."
"Heh… my bad, don't be mad." Karl slipped an arm around her shoulders with a fawning grin.
"Hmph…"
"Even a mosquito's meat counts. Next time we run into idiots like these, no matter how poor they look, handle it personally—don't be lazy and wipe them out with one strike."
"Yes, Princess Carina!"
"Pfft… you're insufferable."