Chapter 262: Useful Pirates

"What? How could this be... Shanks is very strong, how could he not even protect his own crew..."

"Who did this?"

Garp said speechlessly: "You really are hopeless! That person is standing right in front of you. Hey! Karl, tell me, is what I said true?"

Karl, who was whispering to Robin, shrugged. He turned his head to look at Luffy, and upon seeing the shock and anger in his eyes, he smiled faintly.

"Luffy, a few years ago I accompanied Vice Admiral Garp to Mount Colubo. You were just a little kid back then. When you shouted in front of your grandfather and us that you wanted to be a pirate, I said something to you. Do you remember?"

Luffy blinked and said earnestly: "I don't remember."

"It doesn't matter if you don't remember; I can say it again. There are only two types of pirates: dead pirates and pirates in Impel Down."

The Straw Hat crew present immediately changed color. If someone else had said this, it might not have had much impact, but since the person saying it was the Marine Hero Karl, it was worth weighing carefully.

For a moment, everyone held their breath, their hearts pounding.

Seeing the tense atmosphere, Karl smiled and said: "But now, this statement has to change a little."

"There are still only two types of pirates: useful pirates and useless pirates."

"The reason Shanks is still alive to this day is that he can keep Kaido of the Beasts and Big Mom in check, preventing the New World from falling into chaos. That is why he is allowed to live."

"And the reason I keep hunting them down is because their momentum has been too strong these past few years; it's only natural to suppress them a bit."

"When he is no longer useful, heh..."

After finishing, Karl wore a meaningful smile that made everyone present shudder.

"Does that sound cruel? But it is the truth. Only those with great strength can obtain true freedom. Shanks is very strong, but he is not as strong as me, so in my eyes, his freedom is just a joke."

"Because as long as I wish, I can deprive him of his freedom at any time."

"Of course, the same goes for you all."

Garp sighed and patted Karl on the shoulder: "Hey, kid Karl, there's no need to tell them all that!"

"If I don't say it, someone else will say it for me sooner or later. It's not a bad thing to know in advance."

Garp was silent for a long while, then nodded and said earnestly: "Luffy, Karl isn't scaring you, and Grandpa certainly isn't scaring you. Being a pirate really isn't that simple."

"Listen to Grandpa, go be a Marine! It's not too late to turn back now."

Luffy slowly lowered his head at first, as if seriously considering Garp's words, but soon, he raised his head again, looking at Karl with burning eyes.

"Since Shanks couldn't defeat you, then I will defeat you! I will never give up on my dream!"

Luffy, with a head full of bumps, looked somewhat comical saying this. If it were anyone else, Karl would have slapped them, but not Luffy.

Because he actually might be able to do it; after all, he is the one truly using a cheat.

What kind of trash cheat is his system? It’s been seven years and it’s only just showing signs of being invincible, while Luffy caught up in less than two and a half years. There’s no need to say whose cheat is the real one, right?

By comparison, Karl is only slightly stronger than Shanks.

Let’s not even talk about Kaido and Big Mom; it’s obvious their cheats were bought from a discount site and the after-sales service didn't keep up.

"Perhaps there will be such a day! Good luck!"

Just as Karl finished speaking, Garp aggressively raised his fist and grabbed Luffy: "You blockhead, I said so much to you just now and you didn't take in a single word! You're going to be the death of me!"

*Whack, thud, whack!* Luffy got another beating.

Meanwhile, Zoro finally rushed back. He didn't walk back on his own; if it weren't for two kids leading the way, Zoro could have walked straight to Laugh Tale.

"Huff, huff, am I late after all? So many Marine soldiers, damn it! I have no choice but to fight."

Zoro drew his sword, took a stance, and charged at the Marines without hesitation.

"Where did this guy come from? Why is he attacking without rhyme or reason!"

"Vice Admiral Karl! Vice Admiral Karl! Someone is attacking us!"

Karl turned to look and saw it was Zoro. He had been wondering where this guy had run off to!

"Stop, Zoro."

"Huh? Karl!"

Zoro also noticed that the situation seemed a bit off. No wonder the Marines hadn't launched an attack; it turned out Karl was here. That was fine then.

"If you came to deliver a message to Luffy, there, he's inside. Go find him yourself!"

Then, as soon as Zoro walked in, he saw Garp beating Luffy. After some inquiries, he learned that the person beating Luffy was his own grandfather.

No wonder he was beating Luffy Move Move Like a grandson! That was fine then.

"So this is Luffy's grandfather!"

Back at Branch 153, he had heard Karl say that Luffy's grandfather was the Marine Hero Garp, but today was the first time he saw him in person.

He was just a bit violent. No wonder Luffy had such tenacious vitality; if he weren't so tenacious, he probably would have been beaten to death by his own grandfather long ago, right?

"Luffy, Grandpa just came to see you this time. Since you're fine, Grandpa can leave with peace of mind."

Luffy nodded: "Yeah, goodbye, Grandpa!"

The next second, Garp raised his massive fist and hit Luffy on the head: "Is that all?"

"Don't you feel any regret? Idiot! I'm your grandfather who you haven't seen in a long time!"

Luffy held his head and shouted in pain: "Then what do you want me to do! I've just been getting beaten the whole time!"

"Even so, I still want to be loved by my grandson, you idiot!"