In the wardroom of the warship.
— Ding~ [Don't Fight with Your Men 2/7] Mission accomplished.
— Reward: Active skill [Shadow Vision], Observation Haki Enhancement Card*5.
Karl nodded with satisfaction. Moria, you're such a good person!
Mihawk, watch and learn! See how I became the strongest between us!
— Use all the Observation Haki Enhancement Cards!
As a result, Karl's Observation Haki upgraded from LV2 to LV4.
— Well, it's become a bit stronger.
The Observation Haki immediately rose by two levels. Karl distinctly felt the perception radius of the Observation Haki had significantly expanded. 250 meters or 300?
Karl didn't know, but he probably could now clearly sense every movement within this radius.
— And this!
Karl turned on the light, looked at the shadow on the floor, and whispered: — Separate!
As if some mysterious force shrunk Karl's shadow, a black gaseous mass about the size of an apple appeared in his hand. This must be the shadow he had just separated.
— Success or failure depends on this!
Shadow Vision describes the object, and the raven—both a weapon and a creature. I don't know if it'll work, but I'll try.
Karl placed the gaseous mass onto the handle of the raven knife. Soon, the shadow mass quickly merged with the raven's blade, but no changes occurred.
To ensure that everything went successfully, Karl closed his eyes.
Something magical happened. Karl discovered he was standing in the room, but from a different perspective. This viewpoint was... the raven's!
"Raven, transform into a bird!"
"Caw!"
The bird-like raven turned its head, following the feathers, as if feeling nothing unusual.
"Raven, fly outside!"
"Caw-a-a!"
The raven instantly flapped its wings and flew out. Karl remained sitting in the room, then closed his eyes to start changing his perspective.
Outside, Nelson was conversing with the navigator, while the other soldiers were cleaning and patrolling, each doing their job.
The sea was still shrouded in mist, but it was much lighter than on the dreadful three-masted ship.
Karl opened his eyes in the room and felt as if he had just been playing VR. It was a completely different experience.
Considering the raven's unique nature, Karl could even sense hearing and physical sensations, so the raven was like his own clone, a clone he could control from any distance.
"Interesting."
Karl nodded with satisfaction. The raven's functionality was simply off the charts.
However, the biggest discovery today was the black knife "Shusui," which Karl had been thinking about for so long.
"Well, it's a bit heavy, but that's not too important."
"Shusui" is slightly heavier than the raven but around 5 cm shorter in length. The blade has a large inverted T-shape, black with a purple tint and red serrations.
After a few simple swings, Karl realized that this sword is very convenient to use and visually appealing.
Most importantly, it is a fully developed blade, unlike the raven that must evolve into a black sword through continuous battles.
Even though it is already quite black, it will likely remain invisible even after transforming into a black knife.
Click~
Karl sheathed "Shisui" and hung it on his belt as one of his regular weapons. This way, Karl could be considered a dual-wielding swordsman...
...
"Colonel, we've left the Devil's Triangle. Where to next?"
Karl touched his chin and said, "Where's the nearest naval base?"
Nelson pointed to the sea map and said, "Colonel, the nearest to us is Naval Base 048."
"Well, let's head to Base 048, restock supplies, and send a message to Push City for them to detain White Wolf."
"Yes, sir."
Upon arriving at Base 048, a business conversation took place between Karl and the commander of Base 048, Major General Nasr, after which White Wolf was temporarily imprisoned at Base 048.
During the resupply, one of the naval officers slipped away secretly and spoke with a local reporter. He sold the reporter a video recording of the fight between Karl and Mihawk, and then quietly returned to the team.
Karl was unaware of this because he was either idling or on his way to idling and thus didn't have time to pay attention to such trifles.
...
After a short one-day rest at Base 048, the warship set off again. This time the target was the Pofeng Pirates, whose total bounty was only 100 million Beli, making them minor figures.
"Colonel, here's today's newspaper; there's news about you!"
Karl was taken aback. News about him? Seeing the headline, Karl took a deep breath.
"Marine Swordsman Karl vs. the World's Strongest Swordsman Mihawk"
At the time, he and Hawk Eye were fighting among the island's wreckage, and aside from his subordinates, there were no other witnesses. How could it have leaked?
There is a traitor in the team!
Seeing that the report concluded their fight as a draw, Karl sighed in relief. Fortunately, the reporter's professional ethics were strong, and the news was mostly truthfully covered without exaggeration for sales.
"Hm~" Karl caught sight of another news story out of the corner of his eye, but after reading it, he shook his head.
Kaido and Jack had sunk an escort ship and escaped, disappearing. Karl had thought they would show up a few days earlier, but did not expect them to flee right now.
"Brr-brr-brr~"
Karl picked up the Den Den Mushi and saw on its screen a sinister face simulated by the Den Den Mushi, and his lips curved into a smile.
He knew that the only person who could have seen the newspaper at this time was Kizaru
— Moshi-moshi~
— It's really scary, Karl. You actually hurt Hawk Eye. You're developing so quickly!
— You know, even I find that guy a bit tricky!
With a wry smile, Karl said: — Oh, don't flatter me. Mihawk didn't even take it seriously. Otherwise, how could I have hurt him!
— Right. By the way, the World Conference will be happening soon. The World Government is demanding the Navy to intensify the fight against pirates to ensure the conference proceeds smoothly.
— So the next tasks will be more difficult. Remember, buddy, keep yourself in check. I won't say any more. You should understand!
— Ha-ha-ha, of course. Thanks you Admiral Kizaru for the reminder. Goodbye!
Karl immediately hung up the phone and calculated the time. In two months, it will be the year 1514 according to the Haiyuan calendar. Another new year!
— Bulu-bulu~ — Another call.
This was a De-De-Mushi face Karl had never seen before. It looked like a woman, somewhat resembling Vice Admiral Gion, as well as Hina.
— Hello, this is Karl! You are...
— He-he-he~ Brother Karl, how did you recognize me so quickly?
Hearing the voice, Karl realized who it was and quickly replied: — Ha-ha-ha, it's Sister Gion! What's the matter, do you want to talk about something?
— You little rascal, you hide so well! How did I not realize you're also a swordsman?
— I didn't have the opportunity to showcase my skills last time!
— He-he, true. By the way, Karl, I'll be at Navy Headquarters next month. How about we spar? I'm very interested in your swordsmanship right now!
— Sorry, Sister Gion, I have to hunt pirates right now, how about...
— Another time?