One Piece: Signing In as a Pirate Begins with Roger's Execution

"You're not joking with me, are you?"

Upon hearing Belmer's words, Karl immediately grabbed the newspaper from her hands and read it through in one go.

A moment later, Karl's expression turned somewhat grim, and at the same time, his other Den Den Mushi rang.

It was Sengoku's personal Den Den Mushi! 

Seeing this, Karl's heart inexplicably ached, but he still answered the call.

"Old man Sengoku, don't tell me everything the news said is true!"

"Did that old bastard, Shiki the Golden Lion, really escape from prison?!"

"Hahahaha, Carl, you heard it, huh? I didn't expect the news to spread so fast in the East Blue. I only just finished the meeting and notified you right away, telling you to be careful.

But this is good too. Since you already know, try to stay at Loguetown, and definitely don't let him see you.

You know Shiki's personality. As one of the survivors back then, he's really interested in you!

If you feel unsafe, I can immediately apply with Admiral Kong to have you pulled back to Navy Headquarters!"

Sengoku spoke with a serious tone, clearly concerned for Karl's safety.

"Forget it. I still have things to do in the East Blue. If I leave now, what would the other Navy think of me?

And it's just Shiki the Golden Lion. How strong can he really be? A guy who cut off his own legs—he's nothing to worry about."

Karl was well aware that ever since Shiki severed his own legs, he had become much weaker, both physically and mentally.

If the Golden Lion in his prime had come to the East Blue, Karl wouldn't hesitate to run away.

But now, Shiki's strength was probably only half of what it used to be, so Karl wasn't worried.

"Since you've made up your mind, just be careful. If you spot Shiki, notify me or Garp immediately. Though we can't rush to assist you right away, Borsalino is patrolling around the Calm Belt. He can be there to help you at the first sign!"

"I got it, old man. Don't worry, I'll be fine!"

Karl said with full confidence, then chatted briefly with Sengoku before hanging up the phone snail.

However, Karl's expression was far from as relaxed as his tone.

"Belmer, postpone the plan concerning Admiral Crete for now, and have Buggy retreat to the waters around Loguetown!"

"Shiki knows Buggy, and with Buggy making such a fuss, if Shiki really comes to the East Blue, he'll definitely find Buggy immediately.

I can't let Buggy die at Shiki's hands!"

"Understood! I'll go notify them right away!"

Belmer gave Karl a respectful salute and left the room.

Watching her leave so decisively, Karl froze for a second, then slapped his forehead.

"The power of that 'Ladies' Man' title is really exaggerated. When I came back, Belmer was still so eager for me. But once I got rid of that title, she returned to normal. It seems I can't use that title, at least not in regular situations!"

With that in mind, Karl decided to leave the title buried, gathering dust, and only use it in critical moments.

The next morning.

Karl returned to the Navy branch in Loguetown.

The Navy personnel here were training and patrolling in an orderly manner, and Smoker was still undergoing special training.

Looking at Smoker's gradually developing physique and his eight-pack abs, Carl felt a sense of satisfaction.

Karl then tested Smoker a little, finding that he had already mastered the Six Powers.

However, due to his body still developing and his age, Smoker was currently unable to learn Haki.

Karl continued to teach him about the abilities of the Six Powers.

As for the development of his Devil Fruit power, Karl gave him some advice on using it in combination with the Six Powers for more powerful attacks.

This would be far more effective than relying solely on his Devil Fruit abilities.

More importantly, Smoker's smoke could condense into spikes or sticks, and with compression, it could become thicker and harder, then shot out as a weapon.

It could even be wielded in hand.

Though this development had some difficulty, once mastered, the Smoke-Smoke Fruit would definitely have offensive potential.

After giving Smoker some tips, Karl continued training the other Navy personnel.

Apart from those on patrol, Karl insisted that every single person learn at least two of the Six Powers!

He even increased their training load!

With the upcoming battle against Admiral Crete, Karl needed their strength to deal with his subordinates.

Although Karl could easily wipe out Crete's crew by himself once he found their location, the grunts would be good targets for training.

Karl naturally wouldn't pass up this opportunity to improve his subordinates' combat abilities.

While Karl was training the Navy, Belmer completed the tasks Karl had assigned to her and also came to join the training.

Though she had been at sea with Karl for some time, under his personal instruction, she had learned one of the Six Powers, the Finger Gun.

Her next goal was to master another, the Tempest Kick, and she had already formed the beginnings of it.

Karl had to admit, Belmer had some talent. Though she wasn't as gifted as the monsters in the Navy, she wasn't bad either.

If she trained at Navy Headquarters, she'd at least be able to graduate with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Time flew by.

A week had passed since Shiki's escape from Impel Down.

During this time, Karl hadn't seen any further news about Shiki.

Though Buggy was constantly on edge, calling Karl two or three times a day, begging to be pulled back to the Navy base, Karl ignored him. He even had Buggy use this time to provoke Admiral Crete's pirate crew!

Admiral Crete wanted to make a comeback, but he was a bit hesitant, so Kuro suggested sending his subordinates to gradually reclaim his territory.

Crete agreed, and then sent the unlucky Kreig to do the work.

Upon hearing this news, Karl didn't hesitate at all. He immediately ordered Buggy to attack Kreig and wipe him out.

Kreig had disappeared without a trace, and it was highly likely he was dead.

However, just as Buggy made his move, Gasparde's subordinates also ambushed Buggy's crew, causing some injuries.

This made Karl rather angry.

Major Gasparde, strictly following Admiral Crete's orders, had been blocking Buggy's Treasure Hunter crew.

During this time, he had already killed many of the peripheral members.

But Karl had ordered the core members to stay in the waters around Loguetown most of the time.

Gasparde couldn't send his men into Karl's territory to attack Buggy, so he was forced to roam outside.

But Gasparde still found an opportunity to strike at Buggy's crew.

Unfortunately, his forces were weaker.

Gasparde couldn't even defeat Buggy himself, and if it weren't for their superior numbers—five warships and about four to five hundred Navy soldiers—Buggy's crew wouldn't even have been hurt.

However, Gasparde himself was injured in the process and was now resting in his territory.

Karl suppressed his anger toward Gasparde and headed to his Navy branch to offer "consolation" and have a chat with him.

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