Jack's face contorted in shock.
With a sickening crack, the hull of his massive ship was cleanly severed in the middle.
The sudden, violent jolt threw everyone on board off their feet, only for them to realize that the two halves of their vessel were rapidly sinking beneath the waves.
"Master Jack! What do we do?! The ship is going down!"
"Master Jack, think of something!"
The crew members yelled frantically, but what could Jack possibly do at this point?
He possessed the Ancient Zoan-type Mammoth Devil Fruit, transforming him into a massive mammoth. Mammoths couldn't fly, and there were no crew members with any special abilities that could save their ship. It was doomed.
However, Jack himself wasn't worried about drowning. As a Fish-Man, the water held no fatal threat to him.
Despite this, a burning rage filled Jack's heart. He glared at Carl in the sky with pure murderous intent, wishing he could tear the swordsman limb from limb.
"Argh! Carl, you bastard! How dare you sneak attack my ship! You're dead! I will definitely kill you! I will kill all the Straw Hats!"
Jack roared, his body contorting and expanding as he transformed into his colossal mammoth form.
Then, with surprising agility for his size, he leaped into the air, actually reaching Carl's level, and swung his massive trunk towards the swordsman.
"Heh! Jack, Jack, you're truly arrogant. You wouldn't dare say that with Kaido around. What makes you so confident now?!"
Carl smirked coldly, manipulating the giant sword he stood upon to nimbly dodge the attack.
Jack's attack missed, and his enormous body began to plummet back towards the sea.
In truth, Carl found the situation rather odd himself.
Logically, the Rokushiki techniques of the Marines weren't particularly difficult for strong individuals to learn, yet many powerful figures simply didn't know them.
For instance, one of the top members of the Hundred Beasts Pirates possessed enough raw strength to potentially use Geppo (Moonwalk) to stay airborne despite their bulk, yet they were either too foolish to learn it or simply incapable.
Wasn't that ridiculous?
But if that weren't the case, Carl wouldn't have been able to execute his sneak attack so effectively.
Carl had no desire to truly engage with Jack. The guy was nearly as unkillable as Kaido, and Carl didn't want that kind of trouble. Besides, there were likely more powerful enemies on their way, so conserving his strength was crucial.
Therefore, Carl had directly initiated the ship destruction plan.
If he could successfully destroy the ship with a surprise attack, the problem could be resolved with minimal effort.
"Go down!"
The Third Generation Kitetsu descended with a swift motion, and a Flying Slash arced behind the falling mammoth. A large spray of blood erupted instantly. With a bellow of pain, Jack was propelled downwards by the force of the slash, plunging into the sea and immediately beginning to sink.
Carl cast another glance at the luxury ship, now half submerged.
"Jack's a Fish-Man, so falling into the sea will at most prevent him from using his Devil Fruit ability, but he won't drown. Damn it, that's like cheating. So, the sea isn't a complete weakness for all Devil Fruit users after all!"
Carl was quite displeased by this realization.
Ordinary Devil Fruit users would drown if they fell into the sea, and Carl figured he and Luffy wouldn't be exceptions.
But for members of the Four Emperors' crews to seemingly ignore this weakness felt incredibly unfair. He really didn't know how to make sense of it.
While grumbling to himself, Carl continued to manipulate the great sword, circling the coast of the Capital of Seven Waters, observing any approaching ships to discern any ill intentions.
Fortunately, for the moment, there were no further threats.
Carl returned to the port and found that his crewmates had all returned to the submarine.
Jango and Little 3 were enthusiastically recounting the tale of Chinjao, the leader of the Eight Treasures Navy who had sought trouble only to be swiftly defeated by Luffy's punch. Sanji was also sharing the details of CP9's plot against Robin.
Then, everyone gathered around Jabra and Blueno, who had finally regained consciousness, each wearing a menacing expression that thoroughly intimidated the two World Government agents.
Carl landed on the deck of the submarine and glanced at Kaku, who was still aboard the Humeli, his own expression unreadable.
Kaku was remarkably calm, still not revealing anything at this point, acting as if Jabra and Blueno were complete strangers to him.
But Carl knew that once Kaku reported the situation to Spandam, he would undoubtedly receive orders to take action eventually.
That trash Spandam would never allow his subordinates to become captives of others. If the World Government's secrets were leaked, Spandam would bear the main responsibility, and that was something he, who always craved promotion and fortune, would never allow.
So, Kaku, what are you planning?
Carl offered a small smile and looked back.
Kaku, who was diligently repairing the ship, suddenly felt a cold sweat break out on his back, almost certain that Carl had seen through him.
"Carl, you're back. Where have you been?" Robin quietly handed him a warm towel.
"Oh, I went to gather some information, and then I took a short trip out to sea."
Carl took the hot towel and wiped his face. "It just so happened that I ran into 'the Drought' Jack, one of the All-Stars of the Beasts Pirates. That guy is as hard to kill as Kaido, so I simply destroyed his ship and sent him to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish."
Sanji on the side stared at Carl with a long-held envy.
Only Carl could receive such a thoughtful gesture as Robin personally handing him a warm towel. He was the only one on the ship who enjoyed such an honor.
As for Chopper and Marie, they often received similar treatment, but Sanji disregarded it since Chopper was like a pet and Marie was like a little sister. Sanji would never feel envious or jealous of them.
"Jack the Drought?!"
Law's face turned grave. "I didn't expect the Beasts Pirates to arrive so quickly. I'm afraid they're already in the first half of the Grand Line.
What is the Marine doing, leaving such a dangerous individual unchecked! Once someone from the Hundred Beasts leaves the New World, they should be the priority target! But the Marine doesn't seem to care?!"
Zoro glanced at Tashigi and then stated, "Isn't it obvious? The Marine knows the Beasts are targeting us and wants us to fight to the death, so they can swoop in and take advantage of the situation in the end."
Tashigi's expression was somewhat troubled, as this was indeed a common tactic employed by the Marines.
She used to believe that dealing with pirates justified any means, but now, after working undercover on a pirate ship, she had discovered many aspects of the Marine that were far from praiseworthy.
Many of the Marine's actions were, to put it bluntly, disgraceful!
"Um, everyone looks so gloomy. Isn't everything alright?"
Usopp asked, puzzled. "Mr. Carl sank the other guy's ship, and Jack is a Devil Fruit user, so isn't that a guaranteed defeat?"
Chopper, Nami, and Bepo nodded in agreement.
Sanji lit a cigarette and said, "If it were that simple, the Marine would have wiped out the Four Emperors' crews a long time ago.
This Jack is likely the same as Kaido; even if he falls into the sea, he won't drown."
"And the place where the ship sank is very close to here. Don't be surprised if Jack simply floats ashore here, which would be another problem entirely."
"Why is this happening?! What kind of nemesis is the sea for those with Devil Fruit powers?!"
Not only Usopp, but cZoro, Sanji, and Law also looked utterly helpless, as there seemed to be too many exceptions to the supposed rule.
"Besides," Carl added with a smile, "there should be more powerful figures arriving soon!"
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