“Fallen down again, has he?
That guy…
he really is stubborn.
Even if he’s an enemy, you can’t help but admire his tenacity.”
Whitebeard chuckled.
He knew Zephyr, of course.
They had even clashed a few times in the New World.
He knew a thing or two about the temperament of that purple-haired Marine who was thirty years old, the exact same age as himself.
Because of his almost ridiculously stubborn doctrine of “Non-Lethal Justice,” that man had shown mercy to pirates countless times during arrests.
He would rather cover himself in injuries than break his resolve to only capture, never kill.
He firmly believed that slaughter could never bring true justice, and that a criminal’s sins should be sentenced by judicial trial rather than snuffed out on the spot.
Among the Marines, he was an absolute oddity.
Zephyr’s almost obsessive style of doing things was precisely why he frequently offended his superiors, his peers, and even the World Government.
As a result, his promotions over the years had been a wild roller coaster ride.
One year, you might read in the newspaper that he had been promoted to Marine HQ Captain for successfully capturing a crew of pirates.
The very next year, you might read that he had been demoted all the way down to Warrant Officer for talking back to or even punching a superior.
Yes, Warrant Officer.
Just last year, at twenty-nine, his rank had been HQ Warrant Officer.
This year, thanks to extraordinary achievements, he had been promoted several ranks at once, leapfrogging directly to HQ Rear Admiral, his rank closing in on Garp and Sengoku.
Yet not long ago, because he publicly defied the World Government, he had been demoted five ranks down to HQ Lieutenant—one rank lower than Carlo had been when he left Headquarters.
This roller-coaster trajectory of rank adjustments made him a legendary first in Marine history.
If not for his strength and potential, and if not for Garp, Sengoku, Kong, and others pleading on his behalf, Carlo estimated that the irritated World Government would have kicked Zephyr out of the Marines long ago.
“So, you’re really a Marine?” Whitebeard asked, looking at Carlo sitting on the ship’s gunwale.
Carlo spread his hands.
“The real deal.”
Whitebeard looked surprised.
“Then why aren’t you running?
Staying so close to me…
aren’t you worried I’ll make a move?”
“If you want to fight, nothing would make me happier!” Carlo looked up, the combat intent in his eyes completely unhidden.
However, he quickly shook his head.
“Though right now, I’m probably no match for you.
I couldn’t even block a single punch from Garp.
If I went up against you, the result would likely be the same.”
He seemed quite reluctant to reminisce about Garp, actively changing the subject.
“Then why are you staying?”
The corners of Carlo’s mouth curled up, revealing a flash of white teeth.
“I’m going to Hachinosu!”
“You’re going to Hachinosu?” Whitebeard was stunned.
“That’s right!
I’m going to Hachinosu to challenge Rocks!
If I get the chance, I’m going to take him down, replace him, and become the new Pirate Overlord!”
Carlo clenched his fist, excitement, anticipation, and madness shining in his eyes.
As he spoke those words, Whitebeard distinctly felt a fierce, overbearing aura radiate from the white-haired youth before him.
He was intimately familiar with this aura.
Because he possessed it.
Rocks possessed it.
Even the rookie named Kaido lying at his feet possessed it.
This was…
the aura of a ruler!
*Does this kid have Conqueror’s Haki too?* Whitebeard marveled inward.
*It’s rare to see a Marine awaken Conqueror’s Haki.
So why did the Marines let a talent like this go?
From the sound of it, he wants to become a pirate?
How interesting.*
He glanced at Carlo, then looked down at Kaido lying at his feet, a smile spreading across his face.
Whitebeard hadn’t expected that his trip would yield not only Kaido, the rookie Rocks wanted to recruit, but also an even stronger rookie who had just defeated Kaido!
He could already imagine what kind of intrigued smile Rocks would wear once he learned what had happened here.
What Whitebeard didn’t notice was that when Carlo casually declared he was going to Hachinosu to challenge Rocks, kill him, and become the Pirate Overlord, the face of the man lying at his feet twitched almost imperceptibly.
Inwardly, Kaido was roaring.
*That’s what I was gonna do, damn it!*
That bastard Carlo was definitely saying it on purpose.
What Kaido had said earlier at Rocky Port must have been overheard by this Marine bastard!
The bastard was deliberately spouting it back to humiliate him!
Just as he thought this, Carlo’s annoying, mocking voice rang in his ears.
“Is the deck cold?
Should I go find a blanket for you, *Kai-do*?”
“Bastard!”
“I’ll kill you!”
Kaido, who had been pretending to be unconscious while secretly recovering his strength, couldn’t keep up the act any longer.
A furious roar squeezed out of his throat. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
He grabbed his kanabo embedded in the deck beside him and, eyes bloodshot, swung it fiercely toward Carlo sitting on the gunwale.
The heavy club whined through the air, hurtling toward Carlo’s face with undiminished force.
Yet Carlo didn’t dodge at all.
Nor did he counterattack.
He remained composed, sitting on the ship’s edge with arms crossed, calmly watching the enraged Kaido.
That high-and-mighty posture of a victor made Kaido’s blood boil even harder.
Just as the iron club was about to slam into Carlo’s face, a broad hand suddenly reached out and intercepted it right in front of the club.
*Boom!*
A deafening explosion erupted across the vessel.
The pirate ship beneath their feet shuddered violently.
“What?” Kaido froze.
He focused his gaze, his pupils shrinking instantly.
His enraged strike had been caught by that sudden, massive palm, stopped dead in midair right in front of Carlo!
The hand wasn’t even coated in Armament Haki!
With effortlessness, five fingers clamped firmly onto the weapon, perfectly dodging the sharp protrusions on the club and holding it immovably!
No matter how hard Kaido strained his arms, he couldn’t force it down an inch!
Though his current condition was indeed poor…
the sheer physical strength of this blond man, Whitebeard…
Was way too terrifying!
“Gurararara!
Since little brother Carlo stopped his attack, let’s not continue this fight.
I don’t want the ship under our feet destroyed—this happens to be the only intact ship left in Rocky Port.”
Whitebeard casually held Kaido’s club, narrowing his eyes into a smile as he looked at the shocked rookie.
“Kaido…
was it?”
“You must want to go to Hachinosu to find Rocks too, right?”
Kaido stared intensely at Whitebeard for a long moment before letting out a cold snort.
He yanked back his club and glared hatefully at Carlo opposite him.
“Brat!
Consider yourself lucky!”
“Then I guess I really am lucky, kahahaha!” Carlo burst into a head-tilted laugh.
“You damn bastard!
Don’t stop me!
I’m definitely going to kill him!”