Chapter 148: Gathering at Scrap Island

Lucci followed Ace and the others with a straight face, but his mind was full of thoughts.

The Vice Admiral White Crow, who had just become an Admiral Candidate, came to Water 7 just to invite Ace to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea?

The more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong!

As for that Vice Admiral White Crow, he had also heard of him. He was three years older than him, the leader of the new generation of Marines, the light of the Marines...

It was somewhat similar to him. He seemed to be called the "strongest in 800 years of CP9." As peers, it was inevitable to have thoughts of comparing with each other.

The first time he heard his name was in the newspaper, seeing the news about the Marine swordsman Karl. At that time, Karl was only a Marine Colonel, and now he was already an Admiral Candidate.

And he, the strongest in 800 years, was still just a small CP9, having to listen to the orders of that bucket Spandam...

But now was not the time to think about this. As long as he could see Karl in person, he would naturally have his own judgment.

Scrap Island coast.

Karl hugged Hancock and enjoyed the morning sea, very happy. Mihal, who was guarding the ship, had already been petrified, standing there in a daze, his face still retaining a lewd expression.

Around the ship, there was a group of petrified "slaughter-mats" (punks), who should have been petrified incidentally because they wanted to sneak onto the ship just now, but were discovered by Hancock.

You could tell they were Franky's subordinates just by their decorations. Karl had a deep impression of them because Franky was not far away and had also been petrified.

"My dear, do you need my help?"

Karl shook his head gently: "No, I'm not here to find trouble with Ace, so why fight? And even if we fight, I can't go for the kill. After all, this guy's grandfather is Garp, so I have to give him some face."

"Oh, what a pity. I was thinking of fighting side by side with you!" Hancock pouted and hugged Karl's arm, wrapping around him Move Move Like a snake, smelling the faint fragrance on Karl. That refreshing feeling made her unable to help but narrow her eyes and rub against Karl's cheek.

"There will be a chance in the future. Maybe it will be because of Ace?"

Hancock: "Ah?"

"Let go, someone's coming."

Hancock let go of Karl's arm somewhat aggrievedly, restored her cold expression, and stood indifferently beside Karl, Move Move Like a queen high above, completely different from the bird-Move Move Like appearance just now.

"Bang!"

Ace, his body wreathed in flames, descended from the sky onto the deck. He stared unblinkingly at Karl with a grave expression. Just as he was about to speak, his peripheral vision caught sight of Mihal petrified in the corner, and his face changed instantly.

"Karl, what have you done to my partner?"

A silence was the only response to Ace. Hancock, standing beside him, let out a cold snort. She lifted her proud head, covered her face with one hand, and pointed at Ace with the other.

"It was I who petrified him. Who told him to defile me with that lecherous gaze? This is the fate he deserves!"

Ace suppressed his anger and growled word by word: "My lady, my partner didn't mean it. Please, let him go, will you?"

"Hmph! Are you ordering me?"

Karl waved his hand: "Release the petrification on him!"

"Alright!"

Ace:???

After the petrification was lifted, Mihal looked at Hancock with a face full of terror. He retreated repeatedly, only stopping when he hid behind Ace. The Franky Family gang, who had been petrified on the Ship Graveyard Island, were a bit confused, but at Franky's reminder, they quickly fled.

The situation is tricky, retreat!

"Mihal, are you alright?"

After gasping for breath a few times, Mihal said: "I'm, I'm fine, Ace."

Ace nodded and refocused his gaze on Karl, saying indifferently: "Uncle Karl, if you've come to invite me to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, I'm sorry, I have no interest."

"Oh, are you sure? You're making things very difficult for me! If you're unwilling to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, then I'll have no choice but to send you to Impel Down."

"You should still remember what I said to you a few days ago, right?"

Ace revealed a smile: "I remember, but I promised Luffy that we would meet on the sea in the future, so I won't surrender without a fight!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the flames on Ace's body became increasingly violent, and the surrounding temperature rose rapidly. Well, the atmosphere became scorching.

"Hmph, did your wings get stiff after eating a Logia Devil Fruit?"

Ace took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and launched an attack suddenly: "Divine Fire: Firefly!"

His hands turned into flames, the flames transformed into spears, and then he lunged at Karl. But in Karl's eyes, Ace was just delivering himself to his doorstep.

Karl reached out to stop Hancock, who wanted to make a move. Watching Ace approach, he backhanded a kick.

Bang~ Then came Ace's cry of pain.

Ace, kicked away, did several somersaults before barely stopping. There was a size 47 footprint on his abdomen. After being helped up by his partners, Ace began to retch.

No reason, Karl's kick just made Ace nauseous.

"How can this be? Isn't Captain Ace a Logia user? How could he be hit?"

"I know, this is the power from the New World, Haki!"

"Is this the strength of an Admiral candidate? Too terrifying!"

The members of the Spade Pirates looked at Karl with panic. With just one kick, he had beaten the supposedly invincible Ace Move Move Like this. If they, these weaklings, went up, it would be for nothing. Could their pirate journey end here?

Among the crowd, Lucci, who was silently watching the show, clenched his fists until they creaked. He had seen that kick very clearly just now.

Tempest Kick + Armament Haki, and he had even held back his strength. This showed that Karl's Tempest Kick had already reached the realm of mastery, not to mention the Haki that he himself had yet to master.

Even though his starting point was higher, he had been left far behind by Karl. This feeling...

"Ace, for the sake of your grandfather, I'll let you off today, but you won't be so lucky next time..."

"This is the invitation letter for the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Think it over carefully. If you make up your mind, call the number on it."

Karl threw the invitation letter onto the ground casually, took Hancock, and sat on the Raven, leaving the Ship Graveyard Island. It was a display of pure whim, leaving Ace's partners stunned.

"Captain Ace, what, what does this mean?"

"I don't know..." Ace took a deep breath, his expression uncertain. At this moment, his mood was extremely complex...

He had become a "free" pirate, yet he had to rely on his grandfather's face to escape a disaster. What was this?

Bang~

The invitation letter on the ground spontaneously ignited, quickly turning into ashes and dissipating in the sea breeze.

Ace adjusted his emotions and looked at Lucci and Kaku not far away with a smile: "My two masters, please excuse us. This is our ship. Please guide us so we can sail to the shipyard for repairs."

"Coo! No problem, please sail in this direction!"

The pirate ship gradually sailed away from the Ship Graveyard Island, heading toward Shipyard No. 1. Ace stood silently by the railing, looking at the endless sea.

At this moment, he had only one thought in his heart: immediately, right now, head to the New World, master the power of Haki! Become stronger!