Whether it was large chunks of meat on the bone or Sea King steaks charred on the outside and tender on the inside, as long as it was placed before Carlo, it would be devoured like a whirlwind, vanishing into his mouth.
The others at the table could only hear the dense sound of chewing, like rain hitting banana leaves.
Platters of meat and fruit were grabbed by Carlo with both hands, stuffed into his mouth and swallowed whole.
His open mouth was like a bottomless pit that could never be filled.
He had already finished off nearly half the food on the table, yet his movements showed no sign of stopping.
Furthermore, as Carlo ate, an even more jaw-dropping and exaggerated sight appeared.
His three-meter-tall frame began to rapidly swell and enlarge.
The clothes he had just put on ripped into tattered strips with several sharp tearing sounds.
In the blink of an eye, a strange man six meters tall, with a body of muscle that looked as if it were cast in gold, a pair of broad feathered wings slowly unfurling on his back, and the head of a bird on a human body, appeared beside Kaido.
Under Kaido's dumbfounded gaze, the bird-headed man stood up and reached out to grab the giant roasted suckling elephant at the center of the round table—five meters long, three meters wide, and three meters high, sizzling with oil—and stuffed it toward his open beak.
Just as Kaido was about to ask if Carlo had gone mad...
The bird head on the neck of the bird-man Carlo transformed into, suddenly swelled rapidly, turning the size of a house in an instant. Opening a gluttonous maw, he swallowed the roasted elephant he was holding in one gulp.
The strange man tilted his neck back, his throat bulging like a ball from the entire roasted suckling elephant.
With a loud gulp, the bird head, which had been larger than the entire round table, shrank back down, returning to Carlo's head.
Meanwhile, his stomach was instantly bloated into a round sphere.
But before the stunned people at the table could regain their senses, Carlo took a deep breath and contracted his muscles inward.
His bloated stomach shrank instantly, even revealing a vacuum stomach.
At the same time, a massive amount of steam sprayed out from every pore of his body.
The temperature was so high it was like boiling water.
The roasted suckling elephant he had swallowed in one gulp was actually digested in an instant, turning into pure heat.
Carlo cracked his neck, and a series of popping sounds erupted from his joints.
His six-meter-tall frame gradually returned to three meters.
Glancing at his clothes, which had been reduced to tattered rags, he didn't mind. He reached out.
Rip!
Kaido, who was still staring in a daze, felt a sudden chill on his body.
He looked down to see that a large piece of the Alabasta robe he was wearing had been torn off by Carlo, who casually tied it around his waist to cover his vitals.
"Carlo! You motherfucker!" Kaido instantly flared up in shame and rage.
"Don't be so stingy, Kaidou-san."
Having eaten and drunk his fill, and with his injuries mostly recovered thanks to the massive intake of food, Carlo was in a fairly good mood and didn't pay any mind to Kaido's angry cursing.
Clap, clap, clap—
Sitting at the head of the table, Rocks put down his food, reached out to applaud, and looked at Carlo.
"A fine performance. Your use of Life Return is quite excellent; you truly live up to your Marine background."
As soon as the word 'Marine' left Rocks' mouth...
The atmosphere at the table instantly became eerie.
The sound of everyone eating grew faint, and they all looked toward Carlo in unison.
Being stared at by the core members of the Rocks Pirates, including Rocks, Whitebeard, Golden Lion, and Linlin...
In an instant, the pressure on Carlo surged.
Even Kaido, sitting next to him, was affected. He involuntarily stopped eating, his muscles and mind tightening under the stimulation.
In the deathly silence, Rocks' low voice spoke again.
"Don't you plan on explaining?"
Carlo sat in the chair opposite Rocks with his legs crossed, his gaze calm as he looked directly at Rocks as if he weren't affected at all.
"Explain? What do you want me to explain?"
Rocks didn't speak. Wang Zhi, sitting in the second seat to his left, suddenly spoke with a strange laugh:
"Hee hee hee, we want to know, why did you betray the Marines?"
"Don't tell me it's because you were suppressed by your superiors or something. A talent like you, even within the Marines, is enough to rival those bastards Garp and Sengoku."
As he spoke, he wiped his greasy hands on his white robe, picked up a stack of documents in front of him, and read the contents.
"Sorus Karlo, born in the East Blue, 18 years old, current Marine Headquarters Lieutenant Commander."
"Two years ago, graduated from the Recruit Training Camp as the top student and entered the Officer Training Camp."
"Two years later, among the officers in training, he stood out from hundreds of officers and took the top spot with combat capabilities far exceeding his peers, even rivaling a Headquarters Vice Admiral."
"Proficient in the Marine Six Powers and advanced Life Return, proficient in Two types of Haki, and possesses Haoshoku Haki!"
"Due to his outstanding performance, he was exceptionally promoted to Headquarters Lieutenant Commander before even going out to sea to earn merits."
"During training, he worked hard and had a firm will. He was evaluated by the recruit instructor as—a monster not inferior to Garp and Sengoku!"
"The Marine Headquarters high-level meeting decided to cultivate this person as a key seed."
Wang Zhi looked at his companions, who showed various expressions. "The meaning of 'key seed' might not be clear to everyone. Simply put, this Lieutenant Commander Sorus Karlo was recognized by the Marine high-level as having the talent to become an Admiral."
"Admiral?" Kaido looked at Carlo with a strange gaze.
He suddenly remembered that when he was betrayed by the Vodka Kingdom and about to be sold to the Marines, he was also said to have Admiral-level talent.
The others were quite calm.
Whitebeard and Golden Lion were especially composed, showing no reaction at all.
An Admiral?
Average.
It's not like they haven't fought one before.
Rocks had even killed one.
Wang Zhi looked at the expressionless Carlo with a smile: "So, why would you, with such a bright future, choose to betray the Marines?"
The table fell silent once more.
Everyone, including Kaido, looked at Carlo, waiting for his answer.
The atmosphere was somewhat stagnant.
Maron spun his new revolver, the muzzle occasionally aiming over, as if he planned to strike at any moment.
"The reason for betrayal?"
Carlo curled his lips, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, and a red light glowed in his eyes.
The next instant!
Boom!
A burst of black and red light suddenly erupted from his body, sweeping through the entire hall like a storm appearing out of nowhere.
A physical shockwave bloomed, blowing away the empty plates and food on the large round table in front of him, splashing them toward the surrounding people.
Caught off guard, Wang Zhi, who was still staring at Carlo with a smile, was immediately splashed with food scraps, his fat face instantly turning livid.
"Kid! You...!"
He stood up abruptly, pointing at Carlo, about to roar in anger.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Waves of terrifying auras, as if triggered by Carlo's sudden release of Haoshoku, caused a chain reaction, erupting one after another!
Kaido, Gloriosa, Charlotte Linlin, Golden Lion, Whitebeard, and even Rocks himself—black and red light and lightning vented and released from their bodies!
In an instant, the massive hall was violently buffeted by spheres of black and red light crushing against each other, causing the walls and floor to crack from the vibration.
The large round table in the center was directly disintegrated and blown apart!
Dust and rubble fell from the ceiling above.
The entire hall was shaking, as if it were about to collapse.
Under these waves of Haoshoku impact, even those as strong as Maron and Wang Zhi were dizzied by the shock.
Kaido's head was also swimming.
But after glancing at Carlo beside him and seeing that he was sitting with his arms crossed, still maintaining his cross-legged posture, he bit his tongue hard, forcing himself to stay conscious and remain seated firmly in place.
He would rather die than lose to Carlo!
The Haoshoku impact lasted for a full ten seconds before gradually subsiding under Rocks' active restraint.
When the scene quieted down, the entire hall was already a mess.
The large round table had become debris scattered across the floor.
The chairs Wang Zhi, Maron, Gloriosa, and the others had been sitting on had shattered, and they stood to the side with unsightly expressions.
The only ones still sitting were Rocks, Whitebeard, Golden Lion, Charlotte Linlin, Carlo, and Kaido—who was actually holding a horse stance because his chair legs were gone, refusing to stand up.
Only then did Carlo's cold voice ring out in the hall once more.
"Is this reason... enough?"
Rocks was taken aback for a moment, then... he stood up abruptly and laughed toward the ceiling!
"Wahahaha, wahahahaha, wahahahahaha!!"
"Enough! This reason, I am very satisfied!"
He walked over to Carlo, looking at him as Carlo met his gaze without a hint of fear.
"Then from today on, you are a formal member of the Rocks Pirates. Welcome, Sorus Karlo."
"Of course..."
Rocks turned his head to look at Kaido, whose face was somewhat pale.
"You too, Barbarossa Kaido."
"Welcome to the Rocks Pirates!"