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

"interesting."

Mihawk leaned back slightly, effortlessly dodging the deadly blade, then swung his sword in a backhand strike at Karl's shoulder.

"when!!!"

Unable to twist it open in time, Karl could only rest the sword on his right shoulder, with the back of the blade facing backward and the edge facing forward, to avoid accidentally injuring himself.

This move successfully blocked Mihawk's attack, but the powerful force still made Karl's shoulder slump, almost causing him to kneel on the ground.

Mihawk nodded slightly: "A smart move."

Karl's face flushed red. Damn it, how can this guy be so good at showing off?! So what if he's the world's greatest swordsman?!

Hawkeye: Sorry, the world's greatest swordsman is just amazing!

"Bang~"

Karl clenched his left fist, which turned pitch black, and slammed the back of his fist hard against the blade of the Black Blade Night, deflecting it. He then seized the opportunity to exert force with his right hand, which was holding the blade, and swept it towards Mihawk's neck in an instant.

If he hadn't dodged, even Mihawk would have met his end on the spot.

But how is it possible?

Using the recoil from Karl's punch, Mihawk executed a sleight of hand with his knife, which collided with the blade aimed at his neck, producing a crisp clang.

"Such refined Armament Haki. How could a man like you be just a naval colonel?"

In response to Mihawk's question, Karl smiled slightly: "Just a few days ago, I was only a naval lieutenant commander!"

Oh! Now Mihawk understands! I knew it! This man is more than capable of being a general; he just hadn't had a chance to be promoted yet!

So Mihawk decided to increase Karl's strength.

This decision led to Karl's injury within just a dozen seconds.

"Looks like you're still a little short..."

Mihawk stood holding the knife, blood slowly dripping down the blade to the ground—Karl's blood.

"Oh, really? In that case, I'll have to get serious."

Karl plunged the knife into the ground, conjuring a ball of holy light. The knife wound on his chest healed rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye, returning to its original state in just a few breaths.

"Ability user?"

Mihawk frowned slightly as he looked at Karl, who was radiating a golden aura. Karl's strength had clearly increased significantly. Could this be his ability?

Zheng~

"Lord Mihawk, please enlighten me!"

"One-Sword Style: Fleeting Brilliance!"

Karl held the knife in his right hand and gently ran his left hand over the blade, turning the black blade into a dazzling gold, as if it had been forged from light.

Mihawk's eyes remained calm as he gripped the Black Blade Night with both hands and slashed it upwards.

The next moment, Karl gripped the knife with both hands, his body radiating a dazzling light that blinded everyone. Karl's figure flashed, and the blade drew a golden arc.

Hey~

Their voices began to intertwine, with Karl behind and Mihawk in front, both maintaining their sword-wielding stances.

With another crisp sound, Mihawk blocked Karl's attack, but as the light faded, a splatter of blood appeared on Mihawk's waist.

Karl had a gruesome knife wound running from his abdomen to his chest, from which blood gushed out.

Despite being injured, Mihawk was not angry at all; on the contrary, he was pleasantly surprised: "Fleeting Radiance, what a good name. A moment of radiance is enough to dispel all darkness."

The onlookers were stunned!

What's going on? The world's greatest swordsman is injured!

Although Colonel Karl was also injured, the two were clearly not on the same level as swordsmen; Karl was just a rising naval colonel!

Could it be that Colonel Karl has already earned the right to challenge for the title of the world's greatest swordsman?

Karl turned around and said with a wry smile, "If you hadn't held back, I probably would be dead by now!"

That's right. In the previous move, Karl clearly felt that Mihawk had held back his strength, otherwise he would have been injured in much more than just a minor injury.

"Young navy man! You cannot die now!"

"Although you are not qualified for me to give my all right now, no matter how many years it takes in the future, I will wait for you in this strongest position."

Mihawk's voice was tinged with excitement. After Shanks lost his arm, he had finally found another swordsman with unlimited potential.

Although Karl is still young and his swordsmanship is still immature, this is precisely his advantage. As long as he can become stronger, then one day, they will surely meet again on the high seas.

Each of them used their swords to fight to the death!

Upon hearing this, Carl felt a strange sense of familiarity, but still managed a smile: "I believe that day won't be too far off."

Click~

Mihawk sheathed his black sword, Night, and walked towards Karl, whispering as he passed him, "I hope you won't keep me waiting too long..."

After saying that, Mihawk brushed past Karl, jumped onto the coffin lid on the shore, and gradually disappeared from Karl's sight as the coffin lid "pulled" along.

"Hiss~ whoosh..."

Under the influence of the holy light, the gruesome knife wounds began to heal at a visible speed, and Nelson and the others gradually gathered around.

"What do you want to do?"

Chapter 49 The Devil's Triangle

"Colonel, you're amazing! You actually managed to injure the world's greatest swordsman with your swordsmanship!"

"Yes! Colonel Carl, how did you do that! I admire you so much!"

Looking at the excited expressions of the marines, Karl felt helpless. Where was he stronger? If Mihawk hadn't gone easy on him, he would have been wiped out long ago, okay?

However, it's undeniable that from an ordinary person's perspective, he did fight Mihawk to a standstill, and both were injured, so it could be considered a stalemate! Add to that the previous rumors of him going toe-to-toe with Marco...

Oh no, Old Sha is actually myself!

To be fair, there's a huge gap between him and both Marco and Mihawk right now, especially with Mihawk.

Although he had only recently become a swordsman, he could clearly feel Mihawk's power as soon as he became one.

He is like the undefeated swordsman in the world of One Piece, standing at the top of the swordsman and looking down on all living beings. He values ​​Karl only because of his great potential, hoping that he can be like Zoro in the future and fight against him.

But Mihawk, you son of a bitch, what about my questline?! What about my Black Blade forging method?! What about my Overpowering Enhancement Card?!

"Colonel, how exactly did you become so strong? Was it through persistent and arduous training?"

"That's right, consistent training and cultivating my strength with sweat—that's the secret to my power!"

Carl suppressed his grief and spoke with righteous indignation. Several handymen nodded vigorously, agreeing that Colonel Carl was absolutely right!

You have to work hard to become stronger!

"Alright, everyone stop crowding around. Quickly clean up the scene, or the Blazing Pirates will find out something!"

"Yes, sir!!!"

After finally getting some peace and quiet, Karl sighed. Failure is failure, there's no point in saying anything more. It's just that Mihawk doesn't play by the rules!

"The world's greatest swordsman! Tsk tsk tsk~"

The navy men, who were "whitewashing" the situation, secretly pointed at Karl and whispered to their comrades, "Hey, do you think Colonel Karl has a chance to challenge for the title of the world's greatest swordsman?"

“I think it’s possible. Colonel Carl is the strongest young man I’ve ever seen. He can already injure Hawkeye now. In a few years, Colonel Carl will definitely be able to defeat Hawkeye!”

"That's true. By the way, don't you have a video Den Den Mushi? Did you record the duel just now?"

When asked, the navy officer smiled and patted his pocket: "Of course, I'll send it to the news agency when I have time, and I can earn some extra money!"

"Ah! I'm so envious! I wish I had a video Den Den Mushi too!"

The next day, early in the morning.

bang bang bang~

"Colonel, something terrible has happened! The Blazing Pirates have escaped!"

Carl, who was sleeping, jumped out of bed and opened the door.

"What did you say?"

Nelson said breathlessly, "After the Blazing Pirates arrived at Water Seven, they didn't land on Shipwreck Island, but went directly into Water Seven through the main gate."

"result..."

Carl frowned: "What happened?"

"Because we've been active in Water 7 lately, the civilians have exposed our whereabouts. The Blazing Pirates didn't hesitate to turn around and leave Water 7, fleeing towards the Sabaody Archipelago!"

"Ah~"

After sighing, Karl rubbed his temples and said calmly, "Lieutenant Nelson, mobilize the men immediately. I need everyone on board the warship within 10 minutes!"

The Blazing Pirates are notorious for their evil deeds, and they are the kind of pirates that Karl despises the most. Otherwise, Karl wouldn't have singled them out from among so many targets.

Carl would never allow a cooked duck to fly away from him!