Carl lowered his head and glanced at Wanda with a mischievous smile.
"No need to argue. Why don't you both come together?"
As he spoke, Carl raised his hand, and a dark vortex emerged in his palm. Carrot suddenly felt an overwhelming force gripping her, pulling her toward Carl. In an instant, she was yanked forward, landing in Carl's embrace alongside Wanda, one on each side.
Carrot was stunned for a moment. Staring at Wanda, who was now right in front of her, she murmured,
"What just happened?"
Wanda made a shushing gesture toward Carrot before tilting her head up to look at Carl and asking,
"Fleet Admiral, when do you plan to depart for Zou?"
Carl smiled faintly, raising a hand to gently stroke Wanda's fluffy golden fur.
"Right now."
"Eh? Right now?!"
"That's right. But Zou's coordinates aren't marked on any map. You two will have to guide me."
Wanda nodded blankly, while Carrot suddenly interjected,
"Wait a minute! Wanda, we've been away for almost half a year. Zunesha doesn't stay in one place!"
Wanda furrowed her brows slightly and replied,
"Zunesha moves slowly, and it's enormous. As long as we have a general direction, we should be able to spot it."
Hearing this, Carl simply stood up from his chair, still holding both Carrot and Wanda, causing the two women to exclaim in surprise.
Carrying them effortlessly, he walked to the window and turned to Lucia, saying,
"Lucia, I'll be heading out for a while. If anything comes up, handle it in my stead."
Lucia bowed slightly.
"Understood, Young Master. Please stay safe."
Carl chuckled. "Don't worry."
With that, he placed one foot on the windowsill and leaped out.
For his own amusement, Carl deliberately refrained from using his flight abilities. As he plummeted from the high-rise, Wanda remained composed, but Carrot panicked, screaming in terror,
"Ahhh! It's too high! We're going to die!"
Overcome with fear, Carrot shut her eyes tightly, clinging to Carl's waist as though she wanted to merge into his body.
Just before they hit the ground, even Wanda instinctively closed her eyes. Then—
Whoosh!
A powerful gust of wind roared past them. Both Wanda and Carrot simultaneously opened their eyes, only to see Carl's massive jet-black wings unfurling behind him.
With a strong flap of his wings, Carl soared higher into the sky, carrying the two women effortlessly.
As they hovered over Marineford, Carrot swallowed nervously, glancing up at Carl with a trembling voice,
"You… You have wings?! Are there bird-type Mink tribes out there?!"
Wanda snapped out of her shock and replied,
"No… This might be a Devil Fruit ability. There are rumors that the Fleet Admiral possesses more than one Devil Fruit..."
Carl didn't bother explaining and merely smiled.
"Alright, which direction did you come from?"
After calming herself, Wanda pointed in a certain direction. Carl nodded.
"Hold on tight. Make sure you don't fall."
He glanced at Carrot and smirked.
"Especially you. If you fall, I won't be catching you."
Carrot shivered at his words and immediately tightened her grip around Carl's waist, pressing herself closer to him.
Carl's lips curled upward. With a slight shift of his posture, his wings flapped forcefully, and with a sonic boom, he transformed into a streak of black light, vanishing into the sky.
By the time twilight arrived, Carl finally came to a halt over an open sea.
Looking down at the vast ocean below, he furrowed his brows slightly.
In his arms, Carrot and Wanda had already fallen into a deep sleep.
Shaking them lightly, Carl said,
"Wake up. Time to get moving."
Under Carl's call, the two slowly stirred awake.
Wanda groggily shook her head and looked down, scanning the area before sighing weakly,
"Fleet Admiral, how much longer do we need to keep flying like this...?"
Carrot rubbed her face against Carl's waist, her voice groggy as she muttered,
"Where are we now…?"
Carl replied,
"Near Dressrosa. You passed by this area on your way here, didn't you?"
Wanda nodded. "Yes, this country is very close to Zou! We spent our first night there after leaving!"
Carrot's eyes widened in surprise. "Does that mean we're almost there?! Wait, hold on! How many days have we been asleep?!"
Carl pinched the soft flesh at Carrot's waist. She let out a yelp, squirming in his arms.
"Silly rabbit. The day isn't even over yet."
Carrot's ears twitched, and she looked at him in disbelief.
"No way! It's so far away!"
However, when she met Carl's calm gaze, her face gradually shifted into one of shock.
"We made it in less than a day?!"
Beside her, Wanda was equally stunned. It had taken her and Carrot nearly half a year to get here, yet Carl had covered the same distance in less than half a day—while carrying both of them!
His speed was absolutely terrifying.
As Carrot and Wanda stared at him like he was some kind of monster, Carl rolled his neck slightly.
"Since Zou is nearby, I'll do a quick sweep of the area."
Hearing that, Carrot was on the verge of tears.
"Can you go a bit slower this time? I don't want to pass out again…"
Carl responded indifferently,
"Don't worry. I'll slow down a little."
Before Carrot could prepare herself, Carl had already taken off.
As he flew, Carl utilized his True Ancestor Fruit's sonar abilities combined with Observation Haki, continuously scanning the surrounding waters.
However, even after hours of searching, Zunesha was nowhere to be found.
The dark night was silent, with only the sound of waves breaking the stillness.
Carrot, feeling uneasy, curled up slightly in Carl's embrace and whispered,
"We still haven't found it… Maybe we should rest somewhere first."
Wanda licked her dry lips, frowning. "Strange. Zunesha should be nearby..."
Carl narrowed his golden eyes, which gleamed in the darkness.
With his speed and perception, he had already searched the entire area. There was no way he could miss something as massive as Zunesha.
That left only one possibility—Zunesha had long since left its original position.
And if that were the case, there was no doubt that Joy Boy had already returned to Zunesha's back.
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+190 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg