Boom!
A building was directly smashed through.
All the fish-men on Fish-Man Street turned their attention toward the commotion.
In a dimly lit room, Carl slowly stood up from a reclining chair and straightened his Marine coat.
The mermaid attendant beside him trembled uncontrollably, his teeth clattering.
"Mon…monster…"
Carl ignored him and strolled toward the wreckage.
"Hey, still alive in there?"
"I barely put any strength into that."
Cough… cough… A faint, ragged cough escaped from the debris.
Carl exhaled a smoke ring and stepped into the ruins.
At the bottom of a deep crater, Hody Jones lay in tatters, his muscular frame twitching. Blood dribbled from his mouth, his limbs bent at unnatural angles—completely shattered.
Step. Step.
Carl stopped beside him, raising an eyebrow.
"You're way too weak."
For someone with such grand ambitions, Hody was utterly pathetic. This man had proclaimed his intent to lead Fish-Man Island in an uprising, storm the Reverie at Mary Geoise, assassinate the Celestial Dragons, topple the World Government, and claim dominion over the world.
To put it bluntly, he wanted to grab an Admiral with one hand, a Yonko with the other, and casually stomp the CP agencies and Shichibukai on the side.
With ambitions like these, at the very least, he should've had Donquixote Doflamingo-level combat ability, if not Dragon's.
But this?
"Damn… human… lowly species…" Hody Jones glared at Carl, his voice hoarse and hateful.
If one looked closely, there was uncertainty behind his fury.
From birth, he had believed that humans were inherently weaker than fish-men. That superiority was in their blood.
"Okay, okay. Stop talking. Wouldn't want you to drop dead just yet." Carl waved a hand dismissively.
This so-called leader of the New Fish-Man Pirates didn't even have Haki.
He was honestly worried he'd accidentally kick him to death.
Outside the ruins, a group of fish-men pirates gathered, their eyes filled with hostility.
A hammer-wielding hammerhead shark fish-man stepped forward, barking,
"Marine! What did you do to Boss Hody?!"
Another red-skinned king squid fish-man sneered.
"Muhehe… No way the boss was beaten by a mere human."
The New Fish-Man Pirates' officers stood on edge, waiting for orders.
"Idiots… cough…" Hody wheezed. His eyes darkened.
"Give me the pills."
"Then… kill the Marine."
His voice, though weak, sent a ripple through his crew.
The fish-men pirates hesitated before reaching into their coats.
"This… Boss, are we really doing this?"
Several familiar round pills appeared in their hands.
Energy Steroid (E.S.) Pills.
Before they could move, a voice laced with amusement sounded in front of them.
"Oh? So this is the 'murderous medicine' E.S.?"
They froze.
An overwhelming killing intent washed over them, making their bodies seize in fear.
Eyes wide with horror, they turned to Carl, who touched his chin thoughtfully.
Imitating Kizaru's lazy drawl, he remarked,
"As expected of fish-men."
"Even a pill that burns away your lifespan doesn't scare you~"
Energy Steroids granted tremendous physical power at the cost of drastically accelerating the body's aging. One would turn gray-haired and frail overnight.
A drug that traded life for fleeting strength.
Carl casually reached out, plucking the pills from their hands and slipping them into his pocket.
"This will be useful for the old man back at HQ."
Kizaru was the Supreme Commander of the Marine Science Corps.
With Vegapunk at his disposal, studying these steroids would be no problem.
"Alright. Now, lie down."
Carl flicked his fingers.
Pink cherry blossom petals drifted through the air.
Chi! Chi! Chi!
The fish-men's limbs were impaled, blood gushing onto the pavement.
Carl walked back to the rubble and sat atop a broken pillar, awaiting the inevitable.
Minutes passed.
Then—thunderous footsteps.
The Marine forces arrived, accompanied by Neptune, the royal guards, and the Neptune brothers.
At the forefront, Princess Shirahoshi, perched atop her shark, stared at the destruction in wide-eyed shock.
"Lock the door, Colonel Carl!" Neptune bellowed, stepping forward.
Carl massaged his temples.
What kind of greeting was that?
The old king at least sounded polite.
"As the saying goes, don't hit a man with a friendly smile…" Carl sighed.
"Colonel Carl!" The Marine officers, including Bright, saluted.
"Yeah, yeah." Carl waved them off.
With an annoyed sigh, he turned toward the ruins.
"Follow me if you don't want him dead."
Neptune and the others exchanged glances before trailing behind.
Inside the ruins, Hody Jones lay gasping for breath, his battered frame twitching.
"This is…" Neptune's eyes widened in shock.
Carl exhaled a cloud of smoke and gestured to Emily, the medic in his unit.
"Emily, heal him."
Though he barely used a fraction of his strength, this fish-man was already at death's door.
Pitiful.
Emily nodded and placed her glowing palm on Hody's chest.
A warm white light pulsed.
"All done!" she chirped.
Carl ruffled her hair.
"Good job."
Then, his gaze turned cold.
"Now—talk. Ten years ago, what did you do?"
Hody's gaze was blank, his breath ragged. He ignored Carl entirely.
Carl's eye flickered red.
"Speak."
He kicked Hody's shoulder.
Hody let out a dry chuckle.
"Lowly… human…" His eyes flickered toward Neptune and Shirahoshi.
It was clear he had no intention of cooperating.
"Really now?" Carl's expression didn't change.
His right eye shifted.
The number 'six' silently transformed into 'one.'
[Hell Road]—Activated.
An unseen mental shockwave crashed into Hody's mind.
Carl kept the power carefully restrained.
He didn't want to completely shatter Hody's sanity—yet.
In an instant—
Hody's pupils shrank to pinpricks.
Sweat poured down his face as his deepest fears manifested before him.
The nightmare was inescapable.
Had Carl not controlled the force, Hody would have been reduced to a mindless husk.
Three seconds passed.
Carl released the ability.
Hody's mouth hung open in silent terror.
Tears, snot, and saliva streamed down his face.
"Now… talk." Carl exhaled a smoke ring.
Hody gasped.
"T-The devil… you're the devil!"
Despite his broken limbs, he tried to scramble backward.
Carl tilted his head.
"You get three seconds before I put you through that again."
Hody frantically shook his head.
"No! I'll talk! I'll talk!"
Carl scoffed.
"So much for that 'unshakable' will."
Hody looked at Neptune and Shirahoshi with a complicated expression.
"Ten years ago…" He swallowed hard.
"The one who assassinated **Queen Otohime… was me."
Silence.
Neptune's pupils dilated.
"What…?"
"That human… was a scapegoat."
Boom.
Neptune collapsed to his knees.
The truth had been exposed.
Carl took one last drag of his cigarette.
"This is your kingdom's problem now."
He turned away.
"Bright, let's go."
Three days later.
In the Mermaid Café, Carl leisurely sipped coffee as mermaid waitresses fluttered about.
Then, a mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
Ding!
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