One Piece: Starting as a Marine Lieutenant, I Slack Off and Get Stronger

He originally wanted to play with Crocodile, but now he's not in the mood anymore.

The white-haired old man next to him whispered to the blond middle-aged man beside him, "We expected this outcome. In that case, we have no choice but to have the CP department talk to the rebels in Alabasta."

"No rush. Anyway, Karl happens to be in Alabasta. Let him investigate first and see if Crocodile is the mastermind. If it is, we can go directly to Crocodile."

“That makes sense, let’s do it that way.”

Just as Carl was about to go back, he received another call. After hanging up, Carl turned around, cursing.

BANG! Another window broke.

"I'm sorry, you don't mind, do you?"

Crocodile smiled to the outside, but inside he was cursing, "Can't you just walk properly?"

"Where were we? Oh right, I remember now. All the events happening in the Kingdom of Alabasta are the result of your behind-the-scenes machinations, aren't they?"

"I didn't see anything... Huh? What did you say?"

Karl stood up, looked directly into Crocodile's eyes, and said, word by word, "I'm saying, weren't all the events that happened in the Kingdom of Alabasta orchestrated by you behind the scenes?"

Crocodile's expression changed, and he sneered, "What do you mean? I'm just the owner here. What does Alabasta have to do with me? Don't make false accusations!"

"Stop pretending. Do you think what you're doing is very discreet? You should know that dancing powder is a prohibited item explicitly banned by the World Government."

"How could Kobra have the ability to import so many dance powders in such large quantities and still get discovered by others?"

Crocodile, don't try to fool everyone. You think we don't know? We just can't be bothered.

Crocodile's expression changed repeatedly, and his gaze toward Carl gradually filled with murderous intent.

"Ding~ Crocodile's hostility towards the host has been detected, triggering the quest series [Don't fight your own people 5/7]"

The Seven Warlords of the Sea's exclusive mission: As allies, we should love each other, live in peace, and avoid fighting and killing, which would damage our harmony and waste precious time relaxing.

"Mission objective: Avoid engaging in combat with Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."

Reward: [Desert Affinity]

[Desert Affinity]: When in the desert, all attributes are increased by 5%.

Chapter 199 Return to Sabaody

Hmm, it's kind of a mixed bag; it's not very useful, but it's a shame to throw it away.

This skill would be invincible in a forest or city, but in the desert, there are very few desert climates in the entire ocean, so it can only be of some use in Alabasta.

But since it's a skill you get for free, you might as well take it.

Karl waved his hand: "Don't get so agitated. You should feel fortunate, because I'm not here to confront you today. Otherwise, you wouldn't even have the right to stand here and talk to me."

Crocodile grinned cruelly: "Oh? What arrogance! A mere Marine hero? You think I'm afraid of you?"

After saying that, Crocodile's palm swirled with sand as he looked at Karl with ill intent.

Carl glanced indifferently at the swirling sand in Crocodile's palm and said in a low voice, "The person looking for you isn't me, it's the World Government. I'm just here to remind you. Someone will contact you later."

After saying that, Carl drew his Raven and stabbed at Crocodile with lightning speed. Just as Crocodile reacted and tried to retaliate, Carl had already recalled the Raven.

Carl walked towards Crocodile's back, where a human-shaped outline of the wall had collapsed. Carl stood in the gap and turned to look at Crocodile: "Not bad, but too bad, tsk tsk tsk..."

"you!"

Before Crocodile could finish speaking, Carl had already left.

Crocodile swallowed hard, only then realizing that his back was already soaked with cold sweat, and large beads of sweat were dripping down his cheeks onto the ground.

"Damn the navy... one day..." *Blur blur blur...*

Crocodile turned his head to look at the desk not far away, at that Den Den Mushi, it seemed to be...

"I am Crocodile. What do you want with me?"

"Lieutenant General Karl just spoke with you. He told us that you orchestrated the series of events in Alabasta, is that right?"

"Heh, you believe him just because he has words? What, are you trying to find an excuse to strip me of my position as a Shichibukai?"

"No, no, no, you've misunderstood. We just have a small favor we'd like to ask you for..."

As the Den Den Mushi spoke, Crocodile's gaze grew increasingly solemn.

The Alabasta royal family are descendants of the twenty kings who founded the World Government! He'd never heard of that before.

No wonder the Navy came knocking on his door as soon as he started implementing the plan.

"What's the point of telling me all this? So what if they're descendants of the Twenty Kings? What does it have to do with me?"

"Heh, alright then. Regardless of who instigated the rebellion in Alabasta, our only requirement is to make it more exciting and put some pressure on King Cobra. Do you understand?"

What if I don't understand?

"Crocodile, you need to understand that if you don't take the position of Shichibukai, plenty of others will. You should think it over carefully!"

Then, the call ended, and Crocodile stared intently at the Den Den Mushi, falling into a deep silence.

So after all that, you just wanted to use him as a pawn?

"Guhahaha, hehehahaha..."

......

"Ding! The series of quests [Don't Fight Your Own People 5/7] has been completed, and you have obtained [Desert Affinity]."

To be honest, after acquiring this skill, Carlton immediately felt much more comfortable, and the hot weather seemed to have no effect on him anymore.

As for the attribute bonus provided by [Desert Affinity], Karl felt it was very significant. After all, at his level, every 1% increase was a huge leap forward, let alone 5%.

"It's a pity, it would be great if we could stay here permanently."

If Aokiji were also a Shichibukai, maybe he could even create a "polar affinity"?

Once back in Tamalisk, the rest was simple: board the ship, set sail, and head back to naval headquarters.

On his way back home, Carl received an unexpected phone call. It turned out that Dragon was preparing to put the Holy Light Shell and Holy Healing Shell on the market and invited him to attend the auction in the Sabaody Archipelago the next night.

Carl calculated the time; it would take exactly one day to get back to Naval Headquarters from Alabasta, and then he could just go directly to Sabaody Archipelago.

One day later, Sabaody Archipelago.

"You guys go back to Naval Headquarters to rest first. I have some business to attend to in the Sabaody Archipelago."

"Alright, sir, we'll head back now. Please take care... uh, have fun."

Carl nodded, turned and left, heading straight for the lawless zone of the Sabaody Archipelago.

Compared to my last visit, this place is much more dilapidated. It seems that the disappearance of many wealthy patrons has had a significant impact on business in the Sabaody Archipelago. I didn't see many people along the way.

"Sir, would you like to buy slaves? Buy one get one free! Don't miss this opportunity!"

Karl touched his face again. Oh, he was wearing a mask. That's alright then.

"Oh? Why can't slaves be sold now? And they're offering a buy-one-get-one-free deal?"

The vendor sighed and said, "It's all because of that god Enel. If he hadn't attacked Mary Geoise, our slaves wouldn't be unsaleable."

"unsalable?"

"Yes! The demand for slaves in Mary Geoise has decreased significantly now. In the past, there weren't enough slaves to go around!"

"These slaves are kept in the jail, yet they still need to be fed and watered. Every extra day they're out is a loss for us. We're really having a hard time! Sir, please buy some slaves! Help us!"

Carlton was both amused and exasperated. Could losing a few dozen Celestial Dragons really have such a big impact?

Indeed, the impact of the Mary Geoise attack was far more profound than Carl had imagined.

Take this year's Celestial Gold as an example. In the past, a large portion of the Celestial Gold was given to the world's nobles for their enjoyment. After the Mary Geoise attack, many Celestial Dragons died, so the amount of money that needed to be distributed to the Celestial Dragons was reduced.

More funds were allocated to the navy for military expenses, which explains why Sengoku had a much bigger smile on his face after receiving the Heavenly Gold last time.

Then there are all the downstream black industries related to the Celestial Dragons, such as rare treasures, human trafficking, and contraband. Their business has been almost halved, and even the auction house on Island 1 is not doing well. You can imagine how much the lack of financial backers has affected these black industries.

This perfectly illustrates a statement Karl made earlier: without buying and selling, there is no harm; with less buying and selling, harm will naturally decrease.

Completely abolishing it is not realistic at the moment, but Karl is already very satisfied with the current level of achievement.

Karl drew his Thunderstorm sword from his waist and held it to the vendor's neck, casually removing his mask: "I am Vice Admiral Karl of the Navy Headquarters. You are under arrest for human trafficking."

"But you still have a chance to salvage the situation..."

Chapter 200 Holy Light Shell Special

The vendor was so frightened he almost peed himself.

He must have had the worst luck of his life today, managing to sell a business to a naval hero.

Left with no other choice, and to save his own life, he had to obediently lead Karl to their slave camp.

Swish swish swish~

A dozen scarlet blades flashed, and the human traffickers around them fell to the ground. Karl's Thunderstorm sword greedily absorbed the scarlet blood, and the blade itself became even more crimson.

Perhaps because I used thunderstorms to fight pirates a lot recently, thunderstorms seem to have undergone some kind of transformation.

Previously, its blade was a normal black and silver color, and it would only turn red after being exposed to blood. Now, even without blood, the blade is deep red, and it will emit an eerie red glow after being exposed to blood.