The next day — Crescent Bay.
A Marine warship slowly approached the pier.
A man wearing a flamingo-pink feather coat and sunglasses stepped down, walking with an utterly arrogant, "the world owes me nothing" swagger.
Though his eyes were hidden, the playful flicking of his tongue made it clear—he was in a very good mood.
"Fuffuffuffu… So this is Marine Headquarters? Doesn't look like much to me."
Vice Admiral Onigumo, who was responsible for escorting him, sneered back indifferently.
"Doflamingo, you should be grateful you're a Warlord. Otherwise, the place you belong in is Impel Down."
That wasn't an exaggeration.
Before becoming a Warlord, Donquixote Doflamingo had been relentlessly hunted by Advisor Tsuru herself—the woman who once cornered the Donquixote Family to the brink of destruction.
If Doflamingo hadn't used Heavenly Tribute to pressure the World Government into granting him the title of Warlord of the Sea, Tsuru might very well have personally thrown him into Impel Down.
The memory of that relentless old woman flashed through Doflamingo's mind.
He snorted coldly and strode straight toward Marine Headquarters.
Outside the VIP Guest Rooms, Karl, who had spent the night alone, was just about to go check on Hancock when he unexpectedly ran into Vice Admiral Onigumo walking toward him.
"Morning, Vice Admiral Onigumo."
Onigumo smiled.
"You're ridiculously efficient, kid. Even the hardest one to invite ended up in your hands."
Karl simply smiled without replying.
At this point, it was honestly hard to say who had "handled" whom.
"Fuffuffuffu~ So you're that so-called World's Most Handsome Man, Karl?"
"Seeing you in person… looks like you really do have a pretty boy's face."
Onigumo immediately turned and shot Doflamingo a dangerous glare.
"Doflamingo, don't get too cocky. This is Marine Headquarters."
Karl shrugged calmly.
"Come on, Vice Admiral, don't say that. Look at him—wearing sunglasses all the time, too scared to show his real face.
Being jealous of my looks is completely understandable."
"I've long since gotten used to it."
Onigumo burst out laughing and patted Karl on the shoulder.
"You little—"
Doflamingo's expression darkened instantly.
He walked right up to Karl, looking down at him.
"Fuffuffuffu~ Such a sharp tongue…"
Without another word, he turned and headed toward his own VIP room.
"Karl, don't mind him," Onigumo said.
"I need to go report to Fleet Admiral Sengoku. I'll be off."
"Safe travels, Vice Admiral."
Watching Doflamingo's retreating figure, Karl slowly fell into thought.
That guy seems to know an awful lot about me…
Don't tell me he's a regular newspaper reader too?
VIP Guest Room
"Hancock, I brought you breakfast. Come eat! I even brought something for Salome."
"Thank you, my dear—you're so kind!"
Karl pulled her into a hug and kissed her lightly.
"Silly. If I'm not good to you, who would I be good to?"
"By the way… I might not be able to stay in the room with you today."
Hancock immediately panicked.
"What? Why?"
Karl explained that all the Seven Warlords were about to arrive.
After some gentle reassurance, he finally managed to calm her down.
Then he left the VIP room and headed to Crescent Bay.
There were noticeably more onlookers today—apparently word had spread that multiple Warlords would be arriving.
Among them was a certain man who had tried to trick Karl into paying for a meal… and ended up paying himself.
No need to name names.
"Tsk tsk tsk~ Hawk-Eyes, huh?"
"I heard you injured him—is it true?"
Karl rolled his eyes.
"Of course it's true. It was in the newspapers."
"That said, Mihawk really is terrifying. His physique isn't top-tier, but his Haki and swordsmanship are on another level."
"If you ask me, the strongest Warlords are Mihawk and Bartholomew Kuma."
Smoker nodded, blowing out a smoke ring.
"That's fair. But I think Crocodile is no slouch either."
"They say he once fought Douglas Bullet—one of the Pirate King's old crewmates—and neither side won."
"And even after challenging Whitebeard, he walked away alive."
Karl stared at Smoker in disbelief.
When did you, of all people, start believing rumors?
"Walked away unharmed? More like Whitebeard wanted him as a son, Crocodile refused, and Whitebeard didn't bother chasing him."
Ancient rumors might have some credibility—but not much.
Just look at Karl himself.
"Evenly matched with Marco" and "narrowly losing to Mihawk" were already outrageous—and yet plenty of people believed them.
"Don't trust gossip like that. I'm telling you, those stories are the least rel—"
"…damn it, he saw me."
Smoker looked confused—until he saw Dracule Mihawk walking straight toward them.
Those sharp, emotionless eyes were fixed squarely on Karl.
"You've grown stronger again. I knew I wasn't wrong about you."
"Unfortunately…"
Mihawk shook his head slightly in disappointment, then turned and left.
Karl knew exactly what Mihawk found "unfortunate."
He wanted to fight again. Right now.
Smoker exhaled in relief.
"Man… that guy's stare is terrifying.
He seems to really value you."
Karl shook his head without hesitation.
"No. He doesn't value me—he's just painfully bored."
"I'm definitely keeping my distance from him in the future."
At least until his slacking cultivation reached perfection.
After all, fighting Mihawk was all downside.
If Karl lost—pain and trouble.
If Karl won—even worse.
Mihawk would probably shove the title World's Greatest Swordsman straight onto his head.
And then?
Endless challengers.
Zero slacking.
Absolutely unacceptable.
About half an hour later—
The not-at-all slim, very good man Gecko Moria finally arrived.
If Karl weren't worried Moria might ask for compensation, he would've personally gone to welcome him.
Such a good person!
Free sword, free quest cooperation—why couldn't the other Warlords learn from him?
Smoker glanced at Moria's bloated figure and scoffed.
"Hmph. That thing is a Warlord?
World Government really has poor taste."
Karl immediately frowned.
"Hey, watch it. Just because he's a Warlord means he's got his reasons."
"Don't let the body fool you—Moria's abilities are no joke."
Smoker's interest was instantly piqued.
"You've met him before?"
"Oh yeah. He controls the Florian Triangle."
"That guy can literally make the dead walk again."
Smoker's eyes went wide. He stared at Moria, then at Karl, disbelief written all over his face.
"Raise the dead?! That's impossible!"
Karl patted Smoker's shoulder meaningfully.
"Anyone who makes a name for themselves on the seas is never simple."
After all—
Gecko Moria was a man who once went head-to-head with Kaido.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read 60 chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested: patreon.com/SwipeSage