"Tashigi!!" Smoker and Hina shouted in unison, their voices filled with concern.
"Please allow me to do this, Smoker-san, Hina-san!" Tashigi replied, determination resonating in her voice.
This time, Smoker and Hina were at a loss.
They had always treated Tashigi like a younger sister, and now Headquarters wanted to send her undercover into a potentially dangerous pirate crew—and worse, she was volunteering for it. What were they supposed to do?
"Excellent! Tashigi, the surveillance of the Straw Hat Pirates rests on your shoulders. We look forward to your reports!"
With that, Sengoku ended the call abruptly.
Silence enveloped the wheelhouse.
Meanwhile, at Marineford in the Fleet Admiral's office...
Sengoku, Garp, the three Admirals, and Vice Admiral Tsuru were all present.
After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Sengoku massaged his temples in distress. He clearly felt guilty about sending such a young officer undercover.
Garp picked his nose nonchalantly and looked at Sengoku. "Sengoku, you're being cruel, sending a young girl on an undercover mission."
Sengoku immediately slammed his fist on the desk. "Damn you, Garp! Your grandson is the one who became a pirate, and now we're cleaning up your mess! What nonsense are you spouting?!"
Garp appeared indifferent. "Sengoku, what threat could Luffy possibly pose? He just helped defeat Crocodile, didn't he?"
Sengoku had no counter to this argument.
Crocodile's plot to overthrow the Alabasta Kingdom was itself a direct provocation against the World Government. More importantly, the man had coveted the Ancient Weapon Pluton, violating one of the World Government's most sacred taboos.
Fortunately, Straw Hat Luffy had stopped him in time; otherwise, who knows what might have happened!
The Marine forces and CP agents stationed in Alabasta had completely failed to notice the scheme unfolding under their noses!
Thoughts of the Straw Hats inevitably led to Carl, and everyone's gaze shifted to Akainu. The Admiral was still nursing his injuries, with visible burn marks on his face. It seemed almost impossible—a Magu Magu no Mi (Magma-Magma Fruit) user actually suffering burns!
"Sakazuki, what's your assessment of this Carl?" Sengoku asked, rubbing his eyebrows.
"Extremely dangerous!"
Akainu replied gravely. "Although the Goro Goro no Mi (Rumble-Rumble Fruit) may be considered inferior to the Goro Goro no Mi (Thunder-Thunder Fruit), that doesn't diminish Carl's power."
"Moreover, Carl's Haki has reached a terrifying level, especially his Haoshoku Haki, which even managed to shock me."
"I believe we should prioritize monitoring this individual and never let him out of our sight!"
For someone to earn such an evaluation from Akainu spoke volumes about Carl's dangerous potential.
Even without Akainu's verbal assessment, his serious injuries were enough for the Marines to classify Carl as a top priority threat.
No less dangerous than the Yonko themselves!
Kizaru shrugged. He had suspected Carl wasn't ordinary, and felt fortunate he hadn't engaged him seriously during their encounter. Otherwise, he might have ended up in the same condition as Sakazuki.
Aokiji looked toward Garp. "Garp-san, what do you think of this Carl?"
Garp responded casually. "How should I put it? He's exceptionally talented."
"He seems knowledgeable about many things and appears to excel at training others."
"He's trained Luffy."
"Now he serves as a teacher for the Straw Hats."
"If nothing unexpected happens, the Straw Hat Pirates will likely become truly formidable in the future. Perhaps they could genuinely earn the title of the 'Fifth Emperor.'"
The "Fifth Emperor" label had been coined by Morgans some time ago.
With Garp making such an assessment, there was no room for doubt.
Especially considering how Akainu had been defeated so thoroughly...
Sengoku massaged his temples in distress. After lengthy contemplation, he announced, "Increase the bounties for the Straw Hat Pirates. Publicize the news that Carl defeated Shiki the Golden Lion."
"Simultaneously, use public opinion to antagonize the Yonko, making them feel threatened by the Straw Hats' rising power. Let the pirates fight amongst themselves, and we'll reap the benefits."
This tactic was frequently employed, so no one was surprised.
Whether it would be effective remained uncertain.
Setting aside Whitebeard and Red-Haired Shanks, the pride of Kaido and Big Mom would likely be ignited by such news. That would certainly make for an interesting development.
Of course, the Straw Hat Pirates remained oblivious to the Marines' scheming.
Currently, they were facing a different problem—they had too many crew members.
The Going Merry was only so large, and now with ten people and one lion, space had become quite cramped.
But there was no simple solution. They couldn't just discard the Merry for a larger vessel. The newer members might accept such a plan, but the original crew from East Blue would never agree to it.
Unless the Merry truly reached the end of her journey.
Carl didn't overthink the situation; he simply made do with what they had. Generally, he didn't particularly enjoy sleeping in the cabins anyway.
It wasn't difficult to imagine how loud Luffy's snoring must be, so Carl sometimes simply slept outside on the figurehead.
Gazing at the starry sky while at sea was its own kind of pleasure—weather permitting, of course.
Fortunately, Mr. 3 proved his worth by using his Devil Fruit abilities to construct a wax house on the sea at night.
The wax walls were sturdy and waterproof yet light enough to float on the ocean. They simply needed to remember to secure the wax house to the Merry to prevent it from drifting away during the night. When morning came, Mr. 3 would dissolve the wax room.
His ability was truly invaluable for life at sea!
But Carl knew this was merely a temporary solution. The Straw Hats would need to upgrade to a larger ship sooner or later!
Although the Merry was beloved, the wood used in her construction was too ordinary. She might manage in the first half of the Grand Line, but navigating the New World would be nearly impossible.
Carl's challenge was determining how to smoothly transition to a new ship without facing opposition from the crew.
Of course, this didn't mean abandoning the Merry entirely, but finding a way to preserve her. Perhaps like the Black Pearl in Pirates of the Caribbean, sealed within a glass bottle, allowing the Merry to travel with them.
He just wondered if a Devil Fruit with such bottle-sealing capabilities existed.
The sun broke through the dawn.
Even though nobody among the Straw Hats wanted to rise early, their established biological clocks forced them awake.
Robin was also awakened, initially thinking something had happened. But when she opened her eyes, she discovered everyone exercising on the shore in the morning, which surprised her momentarily.
Robin thought to herself: No wonder the Straw Hat Pirates are so strong!
Carl had transformed into a demon coach and established a morning exercise routine. Being on land, he had really unleashed his training methods.
For example, Luffy and Sanji, who knew Soru and Geppo, were instructed by Carl to practice these techniques continuously until exhaustion.
As for the others, they too had to run, followed by grueling sets of push-ups and squats.
In short, after completing such morning exercises, they could barely hold their chopsticks steady at breakfast.
Even Nami couldn't escape this fate, though she wore a resentful expression but offered no objections.
During his captivity, Mr. 3 had known the Straw Hats performed morning exercises, but he never imagined they would be this intense. Now that he was part of the crew, with everyone training, he didn't dare shirk his duties.
Chopper hadn't been aboard when Carl had established the training regimen, so this was his first formal training session with Carl. The little reindeer was clearly suffering.
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