Chapter 165

After a brief silence, someone exclaimed,

"That's Admiral Black Dragon!"

As soon as Carl appeared, the two warring parties suddenly had a common enemy, and they all pointed their weapons at Carl.

Whitebeard looked gloomy, glancing at the big hole at Carl's feet, then clenched his fists and walked toward Carl without saying a word.

Roger frowned, he didn't expect the Navy to move so quickly.

According to the original story, Roger and Whitebeard would have encountered the Navy first before meeting each other.

Carl put one hand in his pocket, while his other hand held the sword that Oden had been wielding moments before. He looked at Whitebeard, who was walking towards him, with a calm expression.

Buzz!

A transparent wave appeared on Whitebeard's fist, and veins bulged on his strong arms. He stared at Carl and said word by word,

"Little brat, you dare to appear in front of me…"

The next second, Whitebeard appeared in front of Carl.

He punched at Carl and roared,

"Die!"

Carl's eyes narrowed, blood boiling in his veins as a pair of wide bat wings spread out from behind him. He countered with his fists.

The two fists, one large and one small, didn't even touch, but a terrifying shockwave erupted. The earth instantly cracked, and even the dark clouds in the sky split.

Shanks watched in amazement, murmuring,

"This is too much!"

Even Whitebeard himself was stunned. He remembered that three years ago, Carl struggled to take his punch, but now he could fight him without flinching.

Carl flapped his wings and flew high into the sky.

Whitebeard punched again, and the air was filled with dense green cracks, chasing after Carl.

Carl raised his hand and unleashed darkness to absorb all of Whitebeard's attacks.

He hovered in the air, looking down at the sea beyond the island, noticing several Navy warships approaching.

Seeing the warships, Carl smiled slightly and then dived downward again.

A red light flashed in Whitebeard's eyes, and he punched at Carl, who was descending, with his mighty fist.

Boom!

With a thunderous sound that echoed across the skies, Carl and Whitebeard collided again.

This time, Whitebeard's Devil Fruit ability couldn't be activated as it was entirely absorbed by the dark vortex in Carl's hand.

However, Whitebeard's sons weren't idle either. Once they recovered from the shock, they abandoned their original opponents and charged at Carl.

Marco flapped his blue-flame wings and aimed a kick at Carl's head.

Carl raised his hand to catch Marco's leg, but Whitebeard's punch knocked him back. As soon as Carl landed, Oden, who had been silent for a while, suddenly reappeared. Without his sword he could only fight with his fists.

Oden's right leg, once crippled by Carl, had been replaced with a prosthesis, which Carl's attack had just destroyed.

Carl sneered, summoning the demon sword Muramasa, unleashing a powerful wave of sword energy. Oden's eyes widened as he realized the danger—this sword energy was enough to cleave him in half.

Just as the attack was about to hit Oden, Roger moved, appearing in front of Oden and blocking the sword energy with his blade, Ace.

Oden was taken aback that Roger had saved him.

Whitebeard wiped the cold sweat from his brow and thanked Roger.

Carl, however, seemed unfazed. He knew Roger's true goal was to recruit Oden, so saving him was expected.

Roger pointed his sword at Carl and said,

"Black Dragon, this isn't the place for you!"

Carl, hands in his pockets, replied calmly,

"Interesting. I really don't know if there's anywhere in the world where I can't go."

Roger narrowed his eyes and said seriously,

"So you plan to take on both the Roger Pirates and Whitebeard Pirates by yourself? Aren't you a little too confident?"

Rayleigh and the other members of the Roger Pirates stood behind Roger, watching Carl warily.

Among them, only Shanks looked at Carl with concern. He couldn't help but shout,

"Hey! You should leave! You'll get yourself killed!"

Carl merely glanced at Shanks, then turned his attention back to Roger and said,

"Who said I came here alone?"

As soon as he spoke, a booming voice shouted,

"Volcano!!!"

In the next instant, countless magma fists rained down from the sky, bombarding Roger and the others.

Carl smirked and muttered,

"Sakazuki, you finally made it."

A towering column of magma erupted from the ground, and Akainu emerged, standing on Carl's right.

Magma still dripped from Akainu's body as he said in a deep voice,

"You're too fast."

Buzz!

A powerful aura burst from the sea of flames, dispersing them. Roger stood there, brushing ashes from his shoulders, saying,

"Another Devil Fruit user? This is becoming troublesome."

Carl smiled and replied,

"Is it just a little troublesome?"

Then came the sound of rushing footsteps. Roger and his crew turned to see a large group of Navy officers approaching.

Leading them was a familiar figure—Admiral Zephyr.

Most of the Navy's lineup consisted of students from Carl's class. After three years, they had grown into capable officers.

Among the notable absentees were Kizaru and Kuma, who were still with Vegapunk.

Lucia and Ginny appeared, positioning themselves behind Carl.

Gion, who hadn't seen Carl in three years, stood silently among the Navy officers, staring at Carl's back. Beside her stood a scruffy man, looking at her with adoration.

"Gion," he said softly, "after this battle, will you accept my confession?"

Gion rolled her eyes, not even turning to face him.

"Tokikake, don't be ridiculous, and I've told you a hundred times, it's never going to happen!"

Tokikake's face fell in disappointment—another failed confession.

Gion bit her lip, then slowly walked toward Carl. She hesitated for a moment and then whispered,

"Carl, long time no see."

Carl's focus remained on Roger and Whitebeard. He responded with a simple, "Yes."

After spotting Admiral Zephyr, Whitebeard gathered his sons and joined forces with Roger, temporarily forming an alliance against the Navy.

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