"Karl, are you okay!?"
When that legendary pirate vanished, Carina dropped the barrier and ran to Karl, anxiously scanning his body.
Her pale hands kept brushing over his chest. The shirt beneath his armor was shredded into rags, revealing a solid torso stained crimson.
At the sight of Karl coughing blood just now, Carina's eyes had gone faintly red, but she forced herself to stay calm. "You just spat blood—you must have internal injuries. To avoid leaving hidden damage, let's go to a hospital first!"
"No need to worry, I'm fine."
Karl, rare for him, patted Carina's head to reassure her. "You know my constitution. A little damage like this—I'll recover after I eat."
"Compared to what I gained from that fight, this injury is nothing."
Karl tore off the ruined shirt from his upper body, showing a perfect physique that made Perona blush. He spoke frankly to the three girls: "I figured out my second trait. I'm calling it Absolute Comprehension."
"Absolute Comprehension?"
"?"
The three reacted differently.
Carina and Nami grew thoughtful; Perona looked completely lost.
The first two already knew Karl's physique was unlike a normal human's, with traits similar to a Devil Fruit, and that he had just completed a second evolution on the Boin Archipelago.
Karl's first trait is called Steel Body.
As the name suggests—hard as steel, blades and bullets can't pierce him.
As for the second trait, thanks to Karl's deliberate grooming, Carina's understanding of Haki still wasn't deep, so she didn't grasp how strong this ability was.
But she ventured a guess from the four characters: "A trait that enhances learning?"
"Yeah…"
Karl nodded and, without hiding anything, told them what Absolute Comprehension does. "From now on, any swordplay, body arts, or Haki application—if an enemy performs it once in front of me, I can learn it on the spot."
"…What a busted ability!"
Hearing that, the three girls all blurted complaints.
At the same time, recalling how Karl's punching power had changed, Carina arched a brow. "So, that great pirate ran because you learned his techniques?"
"Right. I stole all his advanced Armament Haki applications." Karl grinned, then sighed with regret. "Too bad he didn't use a flying slash as a swordsman, or other Haki—I'd be even stronger."
"No wonder he bolted."
Carina gave him a look. "But why reveal your ability? Wouldn't it be better to keep quiet, learn all the skills you can, and only then expose what you can do?"
"I couldn't help it. I got too excited and forgot." Karl rubbed his nose, helpless.
"Fine… as long as I know you're stronger now."
Carina sorted her thoughts and dropped the matter. "Let's head back to the hotel district first. We'll talk 'hunting' after Karl recovers."
Karl and Nami had no objections.
That hit earlier had indeed been rough on Karl.
It was his first time with internal injuries; his organs were still roiling.
But once this healed, Karl's Haki would grow stronger.
Haki turns invisible things like will and spirit into weapons.
The strength of one's will and presence determines the strength of one's Haki.
Karl, who had never been injured, suddenly taking real internal damage was also a kind of tempering of his will.
The false aura of "invincibility" he'd cultivated in East Blue would now shed its skin in this "there's always someone stronger" battle.
Add in his terrifying physique, and both the capacity and quality of Karl's Haki were about to surge.
The "monster" advantage.
Back at the hotel, Carina called the manager in charge of the luxury suite and had five chefs assigned to cook for Karl at full tilt, insisting the menu include medicinal dishes.
She capped it off with a threat.
Price wasn't an issue—but if there was any adulteration, the hotel could face the consequences.
Faced with a VIP's demands, the hotel naturally gave its all.
Over the next few hours—
Servers kept bringing in dishes of every kind, and Karl dug in without restraint.
"Slow down, don't rush…"
Carina stood by with a handkerchief, wiping the corners of his mouth. The pampering look on her face filled Nami and Perona beside her with longing.
No matter how many times they saw it, the bond between Karl and Carina made the latter two envious.
Carina loves money like Nami does; she'd long planned their savings—what to spend here, what to spend there—everything arranged.
But once Karl was hurt, those plans were thrown out.
Nothing is more important than her man's body.
Karl's body took the blow, but it was Carina's heart that hurt.
That seamless "no separation" feeling—no different from Little White—didn't just define Karl and Carina's relationship; it showed how deep Carina's love truly ran.
It's more than just affection.
In the future, no matter how many "wings" Karl grows, no one will shake Carina's place.
"Hah… I'm fully recovered."
Night fell. After the hotel's five chefs collapsed from exhaustion, Karl finally exhaled, letting Carina wipe away the sauce at his lips, and murmured to himself, "At this digestion speed, I really can't tell what's innate devouring talent and what's something I subconsciously learned."
"Eh… is there actually an ability in this world that helps humans digest food?"
Hearing Karl, Nami asked curiously.
"…There is. When I was being trained as a knight, I heard a body-tech master mention something called Life Return—it lets you pour your mind into your body and control every part freely."
Catching himself, Karl patched the story with a harmless lie.
But he himself leaned toward it being an innate devouring talent—because this digestion speed was far stronger than Life Return.
He ate so much, yet his belly didn't bulge in the slightest.
Maybe this devouring talent is also a kind of trait—one of the monster physique's hidden properties.
Carina had no doubts. "Whether it's inborn talent or skills learned later—so long as it adds to your strength, there's no need to overthink it."
"Exactly."
Karl flashed a grin. "Same as Absolute Comprehension—I'm going to visit the 'strong ones' on the islands here, and steal their craft one by one."
"Heehee… those poor guys."
The three girls offered a moment of silence in advance.
Running into a monster like Karl—truly unlucky.
But, to put it another way—
Please become the nourishment for Karl's growth!
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