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

"I'll keep an eye on you!"

Chapter 367 Luffy Fighting Alone

One day later... the Thousand Sunny.

huh~

The ape lifted the exhausted and unconscious Zoro and tossed him onto the deck, pouting as she said, "Hmm~ Looks like only your captain is left! What a terrifying guy! He managed to hold out against Karl for so long. But it's a pity, you guys seem to be holding us back!"

The only response to the ape was silence. Seeing this, the ape lost interest in banter, shrugged, and left.

"Zoro, are you alright?"

Chopper shook his head: "They're still breathing, they're just too tired and have fallen asleep. They... they must have gone through a very tough battle, right?"

Dieterre Island.

Compared to a day ago, Dieterre Island now looks like it's been gnawed by a dog. There are missing pieces here and dents there, and the houses and vegetation on the ground have long been reduced to ruins. Apart from the onlookers, the only ones still fighting are Luffy and Karl.

"Aren't you going to give up yet? Luffy, all your crewmates have been defeated, you know? Now you're all alone."

Karl looked at Luffy with amusement. Luffy seemed to have lost his smile. So, it turned out that being an optimist in Nika's form wasn't mandatory?

"Huff~ Huff~" Luffy's chest heaved, and large beads of sweat streamed down his forehead. He was indeed very tired.

He had lost count of how many times he had fallen and gotten up, but no matter how many times he got up, he could never effectively harm the man in front of him.

Karl was definitely the slipperiest and most difficult enemy he had ever encountered in his life. Moreover, he had lost his physical advantage in front of him. This was the first time he had felt so disgusted since he had awakened.

Unable to hit or outlast the opponent, they could only passively take hits, wasting their already meager stamina.

If this continues, he will undoubtedly lose!

"I...I will defeat you, Uncle Karl! I will never give up! Come on!!! Rubber..."

A melon feast.

Sakazuki couldn't help but grin as he watched Luffy rally again to fight. This guy's strength was somewhat beyond his expectations. If he were an enemy of the Navy, he would definitely be a very troublesome opponent. Even if he was confident that he could defeat Luffy once, he would definitely not be able to defeat Luffy, who got up again and again.

But then he thought, according to Kuzan's plan, if they could recruit this "Pirate King," he would have a capable lieutenant comparable to Karl, no, he would have an SSS-level top adventurer under his command.

The thought of having such powerful combat strength at my disposal is exciting. Is this the joy of Kuzan?

"Garp, talk to your grandson! Look how many times he's fallen down, don't you feel any pity?" Sengoku asked, feeling a pang of sympathy.

Garp shook his head: "I can't persuade this stubborn mule. Just you wait and see! This fool will never admit defeat until he's completely defeated."

Sengoku sighed, "If only your grandson could join the navy!"

It would have been better if he hadn't said anything, because once he did, Garp got even angrier: "It's all that bastard Shanks' fault! He should be glad he's locked up in Impel Down, otherwise I would have ripped all his hair out!"

Sengoku chuckled, patted Garp on the shoulder, and comforted him, "Forget it, forget it. Hey old man, did you ever imagine that the pirates who once roamed the seas would end up like this? Perhaps it's all fate! Justice will eventually prevail over evil. For us old folks, that's the best consolation."

"Look, what is that?"

Garp and Sengoku turned to look, and there stood a giant under the sky—it was Luffy.

"The Rubber Giant?"

Karl smirked. "So what if you transform into a giant? Anyone can do that."

Golden light enveloped Karl, and a giant of light the same size as Luffy appeared on Dieterrell Island. The appearance of the two giants made the entire island look much smaller.

"Uncle Karl, let's have a match!"

A rumble of thunder echoed in the sky, and the sky suddenly darkened; a storm was brewing.

Luffy raised his right hand, grabbed the lightning bolt, and hurled it at Karl, shouting: "Gum-Gum Lightning!!!"

The giant of light raised his right hand, condensing a golden ball of light, which he then launched, colliding violently with the lightning and unleashing a powerful shockwave.

"Boom~"

Before the collision was over, Karl launched the first attack, punching Luffy on the head. Luffy's head snapped back, and the Gum-Gum Giant, still possessing the properties of rubber, used Karl's strength to fling his head back, then unleashed a rocket headbutt.

Bang!

Karl raised his arms to block Luffy's headbutt, forcefully pushed Luffy away, and then conjured a giant sword of judgment. It drew a golden trajectory in the air and launched a huge arc-shaped flying slash at Luffy.

"Rubber Monkey Gun!"

*Poof!* Luffy's right hand grew rapidly, unleashing his strongest attack. After shattering Karl's flying slash, the momentum only weakened slightly as he continued to bombard Karl in front of him.

At this point, Karl would naturally not sit idly by and wait for death. Even if he transformed into a giant, he could still use the Hollowfication technique.

The giant Monkey God Spear struck thin air, causing Luffy to lose his balance.

"Elbaf's Spear·Hegemony!"

Using the Elbaf Spear on such a large body is incredibly powerful; the heavens and earth change color, and the sea boils.

Finally, the powerful shockwave, capable of destroying a country, was released and struck Luffy's chest with unparalleled force.

Phew~

Giant Luffy spat out a mouthful of blood. Even with his enormous size, he couldn't withstand the powerful impact. He was pushed back by the shockwave of the Overlord until he completely lost his balance, was lifted into the air, and then crashed to the edge of the island.

Seeing the bloody hole in Luffy's chest, Karl's gaze sharpened. It was time to end all of this!

dong dong dong~

Karl rushed to Luffy's side, grabbed Luffy by the throat with one hand and lifted him up, while putting his other arm around Luffy's waist.

A strong man locks up a man.

The light emanating from Karl grew increasingly dazzling, then began to flicker, like an extremely unstable mass of matter.

"Oh no! It's going to explode!"

The navy personnel present immediately sensed something was wrong. If such a massive body were to explode... they would likely be affected as well.

"Peng En!"

With a wave of his hand, Peng Enzhong tore up the ground and hurriedly led the onlookers, the navy, to flee.

However, before Peng En and the others could escape, the ape had already run away.

If things go wrong, retreat immediately. No one understands this better than the ape.

When Peng En and his companions had flown nearly 3 kilometers, the natural disaster struck...

Chapter 368 The outcome is decided

A blazing inferno erupted, illuminating Dieterre Island as if it were daytime. The raging flames, carrying destructive power, distorted the island's terrain, turning the already fragmented ground into a scorched, uneven wasteland.

Then, a deafening roar, like thunder, exploded, and shockwaves spread out like a tidal wave. It was an indescribable terror, like the angry roar of God, destroying everything in its path. The once tranquil sea was whipped into towering waves tens of meters high, as if the ocean itself was weeping for this disaster.

Trees were uprooted, coastlines were destroyed, and seawater was evaporated. Innocent marine life struggled in the flames and shockwaves, but they were powerless to resist the natural disaster brought by Karl.

At the epicenter of the explosion, a massive fireball and mushroom cloud formed, spreading in all directions like a monstrous beast from hell. Flames licked the sky, turning it blood red, as if a harbinger of the apocalypse.

When everything returned to calm, Dieterre Island lost its former charm and vitality, becoming like a desolate place.

Karl, in his ethereal state, looked down at the land, breathing heavily. This move could be described as killing a thousand enemies while stopping eight hundred of them. Although Karl was not injured, the cost was a large amount of physical exertion.

It will take at least half an hour to recover.

Luffy, who had endured all of Karl's injuries, was now lying quietly on the scorched earth.

"Young people are so healthy! They fall asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow..."

Karl exited his intangible state and landed next to Luffy. He kicked Luffy twice, and after confirming that Luffy had entered a baby-like sleep, he breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that Luffy shouldn't get up again.

Above the sky, the Thousand Sunny.

"Oh my god! What was that sound just now?"

"Explosion! It's definitely an explosion! What happened down there?"

Usopp looked around and, finding no one guarding them, his face lit up with joy: "The Marines guarding us are gone! Let's take this opportunity to escape! We can't let Luffy face the Marines alone!"

"How do we escape? The Thousand Sunny is under control and can't move. Are we supposed to jump off the ship?"

Just as the Straw Hat crew was discussing this, Karl appeared on the Thousand Sunny with Luffy, and said with a smile, "I think I just heard you guys planning to run away?"

"Luffy!!" "What did you do to Luffy?"

Bang!

Karl tossed Luffy to Chopper's side and said calmly, "The bad news is that he was defeated, and you are all prisoners of the Navy now. The good news is that he is not dead, and the Navy does not intend to execute you."

"But you'd better behave yourselves now. What if anyone dares to run away? Hmph~"

After saying that, Carl took out a Den Den Mushi from his system space and contacted Penn: "This is Carl. Straw Hat Luffy has been captured. I'm on the Thousand Sunny now. You guys better come over quickly! We need to get ready to return to Marine Headquarters!"

"Yes, General Karl! We'll be right back!"

A few minutes later.

"Luffy! Where's Luffy? Is he still alive?"

Carl shrugged and said to Karp, "I thought he was going to die, but I didn't expect him to be so tough."

Kap breathed a sigh of relief and rushed straight into the medical room on the Thousand Sunny.