“I can’t feel pain!” Luffy declared proudly.
Karl’s expression soured.
.
“In a fight, charging in like that without knowing your enemy’s abilities is extremely dangerous!
What if they have some way to counter you?
You could get taken out in a single move!”
“Huh?
There’s something that can do that?” Luffy asked in surprise.
“If I say there is, then there is!”
“Oh, okay.
Got it.”
Luffy nodded obediently, but one look at his expression told Karl that he hadn’t really taken the warning to heart.
With no other choice, Karl changed tactics.
“And another thing—your Straw Hat is precious, isn’t it?
Why would you let someone hit it so casually?”
“My Straw Hat!”
The moment the hat was mentioned, Luffy suddenly remembered it and hurriedly took it off to inspect it.
Fortunately, it hadn’t been damaged.
Otherwise, he would have been heartbroken.
After all, it was the only treasured possession he had brought with him when he set sail.
“That’s exactly my point.
Next time you fight, don’t just rush in like an idiot, Luffy.”
Karl spoke with unusual seriousness.
“Because you’re carrying more than just your own dream on your shoulders.”
“I understand, Karl.”
Luffy’s expression became solemn.
“Before I become Pirate King…
before I bring this era to an end…
I won’t die!”
Just then—
Grrrrrrumble~
An extremely untimely sound interrupted the moment.
“Uh…
I think I’m kinda hungry.”
The young man who had just been proclaiming his grand ambitions for the future awkwardly patted his stomach, instantly reverting to his usual carefree self.
“Koby!
Where’s the food stored on this ship?”
“P-Please follow me!”
“You don’t have to be so formal with me!”
“O-Okay, Mr.
Luffy.”
“Just call me Luffy!”
“Okay, Mr.
Luffy.”
“…Sigh.”
Watching the ridiculous exchange, Karl chuckled and shook his head.
Just as he was about to follow them, he suddenly heard the sound of splashing water.
Curious, he leaned over the railing and looked toward the sea.
Then his eyes widened.
And aboard that boat was a huge burlap sack.
Judging by the gleam peeking through the opening, it was obviously treasure.
Karl’s heart skipped a beat.
Then he exploded.
“Damn it!
Stop right there, thief!
That’s my money!”
His furious roar echoed across the sea.
Karl had already considered this ship—and everything on it—his personal property.
Now someone was stealing from him?
Absolutely unacceptable!
“Get back here!”
With a furious shout, Karl gripped his Metallic Whip tightly, his eyes locked onto the fleeing boat.
With a violent flick of his wrist, the silver whip shot through the air like a bolt of lightning.
The small pirate aboard the boat—a girl wearing a blue-and-white striped shirt—noticed the attack immediately.
Her hands moved at incredible speed.
The oars blurred as she rowed with astonishing skill, somehow making a tiny rowboat feel like a steam-powered vessel.
The whip stretched farther and farther.
But eventually it reached its limit.
The boat was still just out of range.
Karl narrowed his eyes.
Without hesitation, he turned around and slammed his free hand onto one of the iron cannons resting on the deck.
The black metal instantly melted into liquid under his control.
The molten iron flowed into the Metallic Whip, extending its length.
Whoosh!
The whip lashed out again.
This time it struck directly toward the fleeing boat.
Yet the little pirate simply ducked.
The attack sailed harmlessly overhead.
The distance was simply too great.
Even Karl couldn’t control his Devil Fruit ability with perfect precision from that far away.
His attacks remained crude and easy to evade.
“Damn little thief!”
Karl cursed angrily.
His gaze remained fixed on the sack of treasure.
At this moment, he only had one thought:
Get the money back.
Finally, his whip managed to wrap around the burlap sack.
But the thief reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
She lunged forward immediately and began fighting him for control of the treasure.
Karl had no choice but to abandon the sack and attack her directly.
The girl dodged every strike with ease.
The situation fell into a stalemate.
Meanwhile, the boat drifted farther and farther away.
At that moment, Karl desperately wished he could control two Metallic Whips at once.
Unfortunately, he had only recently eaten the Machine-Machine Fruit.
His mastery of its abilities was still shallow.
Although he could manipulate metal and create machinery, he still needed direct contact—or indirect contact through connected metal—to control it.
And his control was nowhere near the level of moving it as naturally as his own limbs.
Watching his treasure slowly slip away, Karl’s eyes turned red.
Having known poverty all too well in his previous life, he simply couldn’t let it happen.
Then suddenly—
An idea flashed through his mind.
Crack!
The silver Metallic Whip abandoned both the treasure and the thief.
Instead, it targeted the boat itself.
The sharpened tip shot downward.
Thrust!
A massive hole was punched through the bottom of the vessel.
Then—
SMASH!
The whip came crashing down again, splitting the tiny boat cleanly in half.
“Hmph.
Let’s see how you run without a boat.”
“Which one of you knows how to sail?
Move it!”
Although he had stopped the thief from escaping, a new problem immediately arose.
A very serious problem.
Karl didn’t know how to sail.
In the end, he could only head below deck and find the pirates that Koby had tied up earlier.
After selecting one who knew how to handle a ship, Karl finally managed—with considerable difficulty—to turn the vessel around and steer it back toward the wrecked boat.
“You really don’t know when to give up, do you?”
Karl stared speechlessly at the young pirate girl who had just been hauled out of the water.
More specifically, he stared at the huge burlap sack still strapped to her back.
He had honestly thought that if she abandoned the treasure, grabbed a floating plank, and drifted for a few days, she might actually make it back to shore.
But instead, she refused to let go of the treasure no matter what.
As a result, both the thief and the loot had been fished out together.
It truly was a perfect example of the saying:
People will risk anything for money.
“Alright, talk.
Who are you?”
Karl eyed the captured thief suspiciously.
Now that he got a closer look, she seemed to be a girl.
“And how dare you steal my treasure?”
To his surprise, the thief shook her head.
“I stole a pirate’s treasure.
You’re not a pirate.”
That answer made Karl laugh.
“Oh?
And how do you know I’m not a pirate?”
“Because you beat up all those pirates.”
“Pirates fight each other all the time.”
The girl paused.
Then she shot back:
“The treasure I stole belonged to that freckle-faced old hag anyway.
What does it have to do with you?”