Aboard a pirate ship heading toward Punk Hazard.
Unlike Kaido, who stood at the prow itching for the coming raid,
Carlo stayed perfectly calm.
Cigar clamped between his teeth, he lounged in a wicker chair, the newspaper that splashed his exploits across the front page held in his hands as he read with relish.
The story—of a Marine Headquarters lieutenant-commander who stormed a base and stole a celestial tribute—
was fake news cooked up on Kong's personal orders.
The purpose was obvious:
to give his defection from the Marines a believable excuse.
When he and Kong had discussed it, Carlo had doubted Rocks would swallow last-minute fabrication.
Yet the moment he reached Hachinosu, met Rocks, and saw the Rocks Pirates for himself,
Carlo relaxed.
The truth of the story never mattered to Rocks;
he probably didn't care at all.
Even if it were true, it wouldn't make him value Carlo any higher.
In the Rocks Pirates, only strength decided everything.
Without the power to back it up, Carlo would never reach the crew's inner circle.
And if it were false—so what?
Let him, as a member of the Rocks Pirates, commit a few open acts against the World Government and the Marines.
If push came to shove, force him to kill a Celestial Dragon or two.
Then Carlo would be stuck: mud in the crotch of his pants—shit whether it was shit or not.
The mission he was carrying out right now carried exactly that implication,
only Rocks hadn't spelled it out.
Both he and Kaido, whatever their backgrounds, had to hand in this letter of allegiance.
Any smart man could read between the lines.
'Oro-ro-ro! celestial tribute! I've never robbed one before, Carlo! Think those chests might hold a Devil Fruit like the one you ate?'
Kaido's unrestrained cackle grated in his ears.
Great.
Clearly Kaido hadn't grasped a single layer of meaning.
The outburst ruined Carlo's interest in the paper.
He rose, walked to the bow, and looked across the endless sea.
It was his first time entering these waters of the New World.
He had long heard of their chaos, cruelty, and freak weather.
Today, though, the weather looked decent.
The sky overhead wasn't cloudless, but no storms were blowing—
a perfect day for piracy.
Carlo glanced astern.
Three twin-masted pirate ships followed.
Each carried about three hundred pirates.
Add the hundred-odd on his own vessel
and he had brought a thousand men in all,
all bottom-rung members of the Rocks Pirates.
None were especially strong, but they were seasoned looters.
A few were veteran navigators,
and in seas like the New World—where magnetic fields ran wild—an experienced navigator was worth his weight in gold.
At Carlo's side stood a grizzled, scar-faced old salt.
He raised a rust-flecked telescope, squinted at sea and sky, and muttered calculations half to himself.
The sight always made Carlo question the man's competence—
especially when he noticed the old tar wasn't even wearing a Log Pose to their destination.
Finally, on the fifth telescope raise, Carlo snapped.
'Buck, how far to Punk Hazard?'
He expected the old man to ponder a while before answering.
But the moment the question left his lips,
Buck rattled off, 'Two and a half days, Captain Carlo—two and a half days to Punk Hazard.'
Carlo blinked. 'I asked for distance, not time…'
Buck cut in:
'Two and a half days is the distance, Captain. Trust me—I've sailed this route over a hundred times. At full raiding speed, Hachinosu to Punk Hazard is five days, give or take with weather.
But our target isn't Punk Hazard; it's the celestial tribute ship that will pass there en route to Mary Geoise.
We adjust our heading: swing her fifteen degrees east of the sun.
That puts us ahead of them. We wait at ease and strike when they come.'
Listening to the old navigator's spittle-flecked explanation, Carlo said nothing.
He understood none of it,
yet the scruffy seadog suddenly sounded professional.
Then… three days later.
'You said two and a half days to catch them—said we'd reach the lane first! Where are they now, you old fraud? Throw you to the sharks, I swear!'
Kaido's huge hand hoisted the trembling, ashen navigator like a chick, roaring into his face.
'Mercy, Lord Kaido!'
'Their ship's got steam engines—third faster than I reckoned. My math was right; their speed just beat it…'
Old Buck's voice cracked with terror; Kaido had truly frightened him.
He actually feared that this old frame of his might be bitten clean through by the enraged demon standing before him.
Compared with Lord Carlo at his side, this Lord Kaido—well over seven meters tall—was simply terrifying to look at.
Still making excuses? Fine! If we fall too far behind and the mission fails, I'll smash you with another swing of my club!
Kaido flung Old Buck onto the deck and roared at the pirates manning the helm and sails:
'Haven't you eaten? Speed up and catch them! This is my first mission—if we fail, I'll throw the lot of you to the sharks!'
The pirates trembled, not daring to answer back, and drove the ship for all they were worth toward the tiny black dots on the horizon.
Several thousand meters ahead, a handful of large steam-powered transports ploughed across the sea.
Their whistles shrieked, steam billowed, and they steadily pulled away from the four pirate sailing ships.
Those very ships were the prey this voyage was meant to find: the Prodence Kingdom's celestial tribute convoy.
In truth, two and a half days earlier Carlo's four vessels had reached this shipping lane and, following Old Buck's plan, lain ready to ambush.
Yet half a day passed without a single ship appearing.
Carlo guessed then that Old Buck's calculations had somehow gone awry and they had missed the convoy.
Carlo, however, did not mind.
Even if they did seize the celestial tribute ships, he would feel no guilt—naval officer or not.
After all, he was a transmigrator who knew exactly what the World Government really was; his loyalty to it was nothing like Kong's.
Missing the convoy simply meant returning without finishing Rocks's assignment and perhaps enduring Rocks's displeasure.
Kaido, though, was frantic.
Losing patience, he ordered the crew to contact Hachinosu.
Moments later Wang Zhi's den den mushi rang through: the Prodence convoy had already passed and was heading for the route that led to Marine Base G-1.
So Carlo and company had to chase with everything they had.
But no matter how hard they rowed—even adding manpowered oars—their sailing ships could not match the steam-driven Prodence vessels.
All this left Kaido's hot blood with nowhere to go; before an enemy felt his spiked club, several hapless pirates had already been smashed into the sea.
Just as Kaido gave up on their speed and was about to ask Carlo to turn into a great bird and fly him ahead, Old Buck—who had been watching the convoy—suddenly shouted in delight, 'Their speed is dropping!'
'What?' Startled, Kaido seized Old Buck again.
Tears of joy on his face, Old Buck pointed at the distant specks: 'Lord Kaido! Lord Carlo! Look—their ships are clearly slowing; the gap is closing! Maybe their engines failed, but this is our chance—we can still catch them!'
'Really?' Kaido beamed. 'Hurry, while they're decelerating—close the distance! I'll be first to strike!'
The four pirate ships surged forward as if shot full of adrenaline.
'Slowing down?' Carlo narrowed his eyes; the pupils shifted into thin vertical slits of gold.
In those eyes the distant silhouettes leapt closer, and a playful smile tugged at his lips. 'So confident, are we?'
Meanwhile, aboard a steamship flying the flag of a crowned fist, a lookout reported, 'Your Majesty, confirmed—ships of the Rocks Pirates!'
'Hmph! So Rocks's vermin dare eye my convoy—reckless!'
On the deck King Elizabeth I of Prodence, muscles glowing red from constant exercise, threw punch after punch as he issued a contemptuous order: 'Signal the fleet—reduce speed. I'll teach them a small lesson.'
The three steamers slowed, letting the four pirate craft draw near until barely a few hundred meters separated them; armed pirates and soldiers were clearly visible to one another.
Kaido's eyes locked on crates of treasure stacked on the steamer's deck and blazed with greed.
Brandishing his spiked club, he leapt to the bow and roared, 'Close in—ram alongside!'
The pirate ship never slowed, smashing straight toward the target.
When only a few dozen meters remained, Kaido crouched and sprang; with terrific force he rocketed through the air like a shell and landed on the steamship's deck.
'Oro-ro-ro-ro! The celestial tribute is mine!'
Even as he exulted, a titanic fist shot out to meet him—'Kings Fist!'