On the gigantic pirate ship by the coast of Green Bit, which had a golden bird-head figurehead, Carlo's figure suddenly appeared.
"Boss Carlo!" The pirates remaining on the ship shouted respectfully in unison, and the eyes of everyone looking at Carlo were filled with boundless fanaticism and reverence.
"Set sail for return." Carlo casually gave the order, then sat down on the leather sofa placed on the deck.
"Yes! Returning immediately!" Old Buck yelled, as if injected with adrenaline.
This unreliable old fellow was now the Navigator of the Sky Pirates, having finally made something of himself.
John walked out of the cabin holding two bottles of alcohol, handing one of them to Carlo.
"Problem solved?"
"Mhm."
"You didn't kill anyone?"
"Mhm."
"You are still too merciful. As a pirate, if you don't kill a few more people, those foolish Nobles won't know what true reverence is."
"It doesn't matter, as long as they follow my rules."
Carlo didn't say what would happen if they didn't follow his rules.
But John, standing nearby, seemed to understand his meaning.
Looking at the Captain, whose aura was becoming increasingly profound and terrifying, the hidden desire in his heart to find an opportunity to leave grew fainter and fainter.
It wasn't that he didn't want to leave.
It was that John was afraid that if he ran, he would truly die.
Only he, the first division captain of the Sky Pirates, knew just how terrifying Carlo's current strength was.
Carlo's current strength, even if measured in Hachinosu, could probably rank in the top three.
Facing such a powerful Captain, even the rebellious John had to put away his schemes and honestly serve under Carlo as his first division captain.
After silently taking a few sips of wine, John seemed to remember something and took out a den den mushi, handing it over.
"Oh, right, something seems to have happened in Hachinosu. Rocks wants you to rush back immediately."
Carlo raised an eyebrow: "Oh? What is it?"
"That woman, Shakky, has disappeared."
One day later.
Hachinosu.
Shakky's Rip-Off Bar.
Rocks was currently raging.
"Two days have passed! And there's still no news! Are you Intelligence Officers just useless? You can't even find one person! How could a living, breathing person like Shakky just vanish into thin air!"
"Stussy! Don't you have any clues about Shakky from the Pleasure Quarter you manage?"
Stussy, who was seated, was also somewhat trembling upon seeing the enraged Rocks.
She shook her head: "No, I've inquired at all the Pleasure Quarters throughout the New World, but found no news about Shakky."
"Damn it! How could this happen!"
With a loud bang, Rocks slammed his fist onto the table in front of him, shattering it completely.
Just then, the sound of a den den mushi rang out nearby.
Wang Zhi answered the den den mushi, listened, and then turned his head to look at Rocks.
"Boss Rocks, it's Roger. He's asking where exactly you hid Shakky, and if you don't hand her over, he's going to bring the Roger Pirates to Hachinosu and start a war with us."
Rocks was furious:
"Who hid Shakky?! I'm looking for Shakky too! Even though I don't love her anymore, she's been running a bar in Hachinosu for so many years, she counts as a member of my Rocks Pirates. We're worried about her disappearance too! That idiot Roger! If he wants war, let him come! Does he really think his Roger Pirates can cause trouble in Hachinosu? Believe it or not, I'll wipe out his entire crew!"
Just then, Carlo walked in from outside the bar.
Seeing Carlo, Rocks' voice grew heavy: "Carlo, you're back. Shakky, she's disappeared!"
Carlo approached and sat down on the sofa opposite Rocks without much reaction.
Instead of asking about Shakky, he inquired about something else.
"How is Maron? Is he dead?"
Kaido, who was standing nearby, replied gruffly: "Not yet, but he was badly injured. Someone stabbed him through the body from behind. If it weren't for his strange ability, that stab probably would have gone straight through his heart and killed him."
"It's good he's not dead." Carlo nodded, and under the surprised gazes of the surrounding people, he pulled a Cigar from his pocket and lit it.
Seeing Carlo's attitude, Rocks frowned, displeased: "Carlo! Don't you care about Shakky at all?"
Carlo exhaled a puff of smoke, "What is there to worry about? I know where she is now. You can gather your men immediately, and then we'll depart to rescue her."
"What?"
"You know where Shakky is now?"
Everyone was shocked upon hearing Carlo's words.
Gloriosa was the most agitated, running directly in front of Carlo, grabbing his arm, and urgently asking: "Carlo! Where is Shakky right now? Tell me quickly!"
Carlo, however, was not in a hurry to answer. Instead, he said slowly, "No need to rush; rushing won't help. That place is quite far. Before that, we must deal with another matter first."
"What matter?" Rocks frowned deeply, feeling that Carlo's current calmness was somewhat terrifying.
"The matter of the traitor." Carlo bit down on his Cigar, his gaze piercing through the hazy smoke toward Wang Zhi, who was sitting beside Rocks opposite him.
Wang Zhi felt a chill run down his spine.
"traitor? Carlo, what do you mean by that?" Rocks frowned.
He noticed Carlo's line of sight and turned his head to glance at Wang Zhi next to him.
Wang Zhi gave two stiff laughs: "Hehe, yes, Captain Carlo, what do you mean by that? traitor? Where do we have a traitor here?"
"Of course, the traitor who ambushed Maron and kidnapped Shakky."
Carlo looked at Wang Zhi, a sneer curling his lips.
"I'm talking about you, Wang Zhi."
As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Zhi screamed and jumped up like a rat whose tail had been stepped on, his emotions highly agitated.
"Don't you slander me! Who ambushed Maron and kidnapped Shakky? I am an Elder of the Rocks Pirates! How could I do such a thing! Besides, Maron is my brother who I've shared hardships with for years. Even if I were a traitor, I wouldn't harm my own brother! Carlo! Don't you dare frame me! If you call me a traitor, have the guts to show the evidence!"
"Evidence?"
Looking at Wang Zhi, who was pointing at him and jumping up and down excitedly, Carlo gave a disdainful smile, suddenly erupted, and slapped his palm toward Wang Zhi opposite him.
"My words are the evidence!!"
There was a deafening boom.
His palm did not actually touch Wang Zhi's body.
Yet, Wang Zhi was struck by a terrifying force, and the sound of cracking bones erupted from his chest.
The next instant.
Blood gushed wildly from his mouth, and his body flew backward like a cannonball, smashing through a dozen tables and chairs before he lay on the ground, half-dead and groaning.
"Carlo! What are you doing?!"
Carlo's sudden violent attack startled everyone else in the bar.
By the time they reacted.
Wang Zhi was already severely injured and lying on the floor.
Furthermore, his injuries looked extremely severe.
Countless bones in his body were broken.
Blood was flowing out of all Seven Orifices.
He was actually nearly killed outright by Carlo's single slap.
Seeing Wang Zhi's tragic state, Rocks stared at Carlo with a dark expression: "I need an explanation."
"An explanation? Hmph, it seems you still don't believe in my Mind Reading." Carlo pointed to a man sitting in the corner: "In that case, Bastard, you make him tell the truth. You should be able to do that, right?"
Kilpstad heard this, stood up with a smile, flipped his palm, and a few transparent ghosts emerged from his hand.
"If Wang Zhi hadn't been injured, it definitely wouldn't work. My Negative Ghosts still can't penetrate his Haki defense. But now..."
"Negative Ghosts, go! Make him fall into a Negative State and spill all the secrets in his heart!"
With a wave of his hand, several Negative Ghosts immediately wobbled towards Wang Zhi.
Wang Zhi gasped, his eyes wide, watching the flying ghosts. A hint of panic appeared in the depths of his eyes.
He fiercely gritted his teeth, slapped his right hand beneath him, and a force acted upon his body, causing the whole person to instantly vanish... halfway!
His figure, having only halfway disappeared, was grabbed by a large hand descending from the sky and forcibly dragged back.
The immense force even dislocated his arm.
The large hand held him and threw him back onto the ground.
With a loud crash!
Wang Zhi screamed, his body embedding directly into the floor.
The person who had suddenly attacked was none other than Rocks!
At this moment, his eyes were glowing red.
Clearly, he had used Future Sight Observation Haki to predict Wang Zhi's movements in advance.
His expression was extremely grim as he looked down at the pale-faced Wang Zhi.
"Damn you! Wang Zhi! How dare you betray me?!"
"Boss Rocks, I... I... I didn't..."
"Boom!"
"Bang!"
Rocks' large foot stomped down heavily, and Wang Zhi's head instantly burst apart, scattering red and white matter everywhere.
The Great Pirate Wang Zhi thus met a tragic end right there in the bar.
The pirates who witnessed this scene were all trembling, intimidated by the ruthlessness displayed by Rocks.
Having personally killed Wang Zhi, Rocks looked at Carlo.
"Carlo! Where is Shakky?"
Carlo stood up, looking at Rocks with a half-smile.
"West Blue, God Valley."
Rocks' expression instantly changed drastically.
"What?"