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

After hanging up the phone, Carl looked at Shanks: "Is everything taken care of?"

"I have no worries anymore."

Carl nodded: "That's good..."

Then nothing more was said. Karl just quietly looked at Shanks, and Shanks quietly looked at Karl.

As for who the other members of the Red-Haired Pirates were looking at? Karl didn't know, and he didn't care to know.

All he knew was that he had only one goal for today: to send Shanks to Impel Down and become his cellmate with Bucky.

Shanks was also somewhat moved at this moment. A naval hero, two admirals, and dozens of vice admirals—only the Navy could muster such combat power.

This is the true master of the seas, the navy!

Captain Roger, is the Great Pirate Era you started coming to an end?

"Bru bru bru~" "Bru bru bru~"

The ringing of a Den Den Mushi broke the eerie silence of the place, and Carl picked it up.

"Reporting to General Karl, all the civilians have boarded the ships and are being evacuated from Aregia Island."

Carl didn't answer, hung up the phone, and met Shanks' gaze.

"All naval forces, listen to my command! Attack!"

"Red-Haired Pirates! Attack!"

Chapter 349 Prelude to the War

bang~

Beckman launched the first attack; a black bullet grazed Shanks' earlobe and struck Carl in the face.

As if he had anticipated this, Carl swiftly reached out his right hand and caught the deadly bullet.

Ding dong~

Smoking bullets were carelessly discarded on the ground. Karl was surrounded by a burst of light, and twelve wings of light appeared behind him.

"Holy Light Revelation!"

The sacred wings of light flapped, golden light shone, and all the navy was enhanced.

"Eight-foot beautiful magatama!!!"

"Gravity Blade: Hell's Journey!!!"

Sarutobi and Fujitora launched the first attack, tacitly bypassing Shanks. Their target was Beckman and the others, while Shanks was naturally Karl's opponent.

The other vice admirals also used their unique skills to launch a siege against the Red-Haired Pirates.

Gah!

The raven transformed into a silver-white longsword, which landed in Karl's hand. Karl gently brushed it over, but his gaze remained fixed on Shanks.

"Speaking of which, the last time we clashed was two years ago, Shanks. I wonder how much stronger you've become in the past two years?"

Shanks grinned, revealing a hearty smile: "You'll find out how much stronger you've gotten in a bit!"

shuh~

Shanks pulled out the "Griffin," or more accurately, a replica of the Griffin. Long ago, Karl used a raven to cut Shanks' Griffin in half. This replica is certainly not as good as the original Griffin, but in Shanks' hands, the difference wouldn't be too great.

"Elbaf's Spear·Hegemony!"

Karl raised his hand and unleashed a powerful sword aura that tore through the earth, roaring as he charged toward Shanks.

Hey~

A flash of red light crossed Shanks' eyes, and he fearlessly gripped Griffin: "God Avoidance!"

giggle~

The two flying slashes collided instantly, and the platform beneath their feet was unable to withstand the shock, turning into dust in an instant.

Karl leaped into the air, extending his left hand and releasing countless small glowing orbs, which he called the "Sixteen-Foot Magatama." They were definitely stronger than Kizaru's Eight-Foot Magatama!

bang bang bang~

Amidst countless explosions, smoke and dust billowed everywhere.

At that moment, a bright flash of light tore through the smoke and haze, and Shanks charged toward Karl with his sword in hand.

Karl's lips curled into a slight smile: "You've come at the perfect time!"

Karl then gripped the hilt of his sword with both hands and responded to Shanks's attack with a powerful sweeping motion.

It was obvious that they were using the strength of their two arms to bully Shanks, who was disabled.

Dang~

The moment their weapons clashed, a crisp sound rang out, and the next second, Shanks flew towards the center of Aregia Island.

Clearly, Shanks was at a disadvantage in the contest of strength; even though he blocked Karl's attack, he was sent flying.

Whoosh! Karl flashed and turned into a streak of light as he chased after Shanks, giving Shanks no chance to catch his breath.

"One-Sword Style: Severing Jade!"

A massive golden flying slash chased after Shanks.

Shanks, who was dissipating his energy in mid-air, narrowed his eyes and quickly raised Griffin. After imbuing it with Conqueror's Haki, he launched a powerful counterattack just as the golden sword energy was about to arrive.

Boom! The two sword energies collided, generating a powerful shockwave that shook the entire Isle of Aregia.

That's how terrifying the destructive power of a top-tier expert is.

Only the sky is their limit.

This is why pirates choose to fight on islands or land. On the high seas, a slight mistake could destroy the other's ship, making the fight pointless.

Of course, lone wolves like Hawkeye are an exception; he can fight however he wants, without fear or restraint.

Rumble~

Propelled by the powerful shockwave, Shanks plunged headfirst into the ruins of Aregia, kicking up a cloud of dust.

He's definitely fine; Karl didn't think he could take Shanks down in just a few moves.

In the past, he was able to chase Shanks down and fight him only after Shanks had exhausted most of his stamina before he could take control of the situation.

Karl extended a finger, and golden light gathered within it, accumulating to the size of a basketball before being released all at once.

biu!

Yeah, it has that Frieza vibe.

Another explosion rang out, shaking the earth. Karl casually created a crater ten meters deep with a single strike, but Shanks was nowhere to be seen.

"God, avoid!"

The surrounding air seemed to thicken as a flash of silver light slashed straight at Karl's kidneys.

Karl was stunned. "You, Shanks with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, ambushing a 33-year-old kid like me? Is that a good idea?"

This is not good...

"Holy Light protects you!"

The translucent golden shield had just been generated when Shanks shattered it with a crisp crack, turning it into fragments. However, this also deflected Shanks' weapon, rendering his attack ineffective.

Karl instantly transformed into a streak of light and soared into the sky. Shanks quickly landed on the ground, cautiously looking around. Given Karl's speed, he could appear from anywhere.

It's kind of frustrating, actually. Karl's ability is clearly a Paramecia type, so how come he has the same ability characteristics as Kizaru? It's really infuriating.

Kizaru is already very difficult to deal with because of this ability. If it weren't for his poor physical skills and Haki, even he wouldn't be able to handle Kizaru.

Karl is different. He has top-tier abilities in everything: Sight & Sound, Conqueror's Haki, shameless regenerative power, and a powerful physique. Add to that his insane speed, and Shanks really can't think of anyone who could defeat Karl.

Captain Roger? Probably not. Although Captain Roger was very strong, he was ill and would definitely be worn down by Karl.

It's estimated that only a young Whitebeard could rival Karl.

But there's no point in saying all that now. He's the one facing Karl now, and no matter what, he has to fight with all his might.

......

"Zoro, quickly unlock my seastone handcuffs, I need to help Shanks!" Luffy's expression was spot-on, but his body was limp, like a dog that had been hollowed out.

Zoro sighed and shook his head: "I'm sorry, Luffy, I can only unravel this for you after the results from Areggia Island are in. These are Shanks' exact words."

"Yes, we can't untie him. We worked so hard to escape from the world of Songs and leave the vortex of war. Why should we go back?" Nami said through gritted teeth.

“Luffy, I know about the bond between you and Shanks, but this is a feud between the Red-Haired Pirates and the Navy. It’s best if we don’t get involved. I think Shanks doesn’t want you to come back, and you don’t want to disappoint Shanks, do you, Luffy?” Robin analyzed calmly.

Everyone else was trying to persuade them, fearing that their captain might act rashly and rush in to confront the Navy head-on, except for Usopp.

It's not that they're afraid of fighting the navy, but that there's simply no need for it.

Chapter 350 Desperate Situation

To be fair, they all received a lot of help from Karl, more or less.