After Gion left, Karl looked down at the VIP card in his hand.
On it was the logo of the Golden City, along with a pointer that kept moving.
That made sense—after all, the Golden City itself was a massive ship, constantly in motion.
"Golden City…"
Karl vaguely remembered that it had opened a few years ago.
But he had never gone.
When he had time, it wasn't open.
When it finally opened, he had been stationed at G-10 and couldn't leave.
"Should I take Hancock with me?"
He thought about Boa Hancock—but quickly shook his head.
She was busy rebuilding her homeland these days.
Better not disturb her.
I'll go have some fun first… then visit Sky Island later.
Marine Headquarters
Half an hour later, Karl walked into the Fleet Admiral's office.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, nothing urgent recently, right? If not, I'm heading off on vacation!"
Sengoku shook his head.
"Relax. Even if something comes up, it won't affect your leave. Taking advantage of yesterday's momentum, the Marines are sweeping the seas while morale is high."
"No wonder Ain and Sister Gion are so busy… Alright then, I'm off!"
"Wait."
Sengoku pulled out a report and said in a low voice:
"Do you remember that Fire Fist Ace from before?"
Karl nodded.
"Of course. What happened?"
Sengoku sighed.
"Yesterday, he officially joined the Whitebeard Pirates… and became the commander of the Second Division."
Karl raised an eyebrow.
"Whitebeard values him that much? He just joined and already got a commander position?"
Sengoku looked at him.
"The Second Division commander position has been vacant for over twenty years. Do you know who held it before?"
Karl almost blurted out Kozuki Oden, but instead shook his head with a confused expression.
"Kozuki Oden," Sengoku said.
"He was once the Second Division commander of Whitebeard's crew. Highly valued. Unlike the others, he was Whitebeard's 'brother,' not his 'son.'"
"Later, for unknown reasons, he left and joined Gol D. Roger's crew."
"Since then, that position remained empty."
Sengoku took a sip of tea before continuing:
"What puzzles me is this—why Ace? Why the grandson of Monkey D. Garp?"
Karl nodded slowly.
"So… you suspect his identity isn't simple?"
"Exactly. I've already sent people to investigate. We should have answers soon."
Karl scratched his head.
"So what do you want me to do?"
Sengoku glared at him.
"At Water 7… you let that kid go on purpose, didn't you?"
Karl froze, then immediately protested:
"Fleet Admiral! You can't blame me! I've always been sworn against evil!"
"If anything—blame Vice Admiral Garp! Yes, blame him!!!"
Sengoku waved his hand helplessly.
"Sigh… If I had known he'd join Whitebeard, I would've had you drag him straight to Impel Down."
"Now it's too late. With his rising fame, it won't take long before someone connects him to Garp."
Karl shrugged.
"No use talking about it now. How about this—after my vacation, I'll go stir up some trouble for Whitebeard, loosen his bones a bit?"
Sengoku gave him a flat look.
"That won't be necessary."
Though inwardly, he had a strange feeling—
This Ace… might be Whitebeard's chosen successor.
Changing Topic
Sengoku asked:
"So, what are your plans for these seven days?"
Karl took out the VIP card.
"I heard the Golden City is great. I'm going to check it out."
Sengoku's eyes widened slightly.
That can't be…
"The Golden City? You're going there? Are you sure?"
Karl nodded.
"Yeah. Why?"
Sengoku suddenly smiled.
"In that case… I'll need you to escort a World Noble there."
Karl frowned.
"Can't someone else do it?"
Sengoku shook his head.
"No. This World Noble specifically requested you."
"Besides… you've saved her before."
Karl: ???
"Since you're going anyway, just take her along."
Karl took a deep breath.
Sengoku had already put it that way—
He had no choice but to agree.
Mary Geoise – Port
The Holy Light ship docked at the passage leading into the New World.
Karl stepped off and waited quietly.
Before long, a woman wearing a bubble helmet arrived, escorted by guards.
"Vice Admiral Karl, greetings. I am Ordesia. Thank you for saving me previously. I offer my sincere gratitude."
Karl glanced at her.
Blonde hair. Beautiful face.
By any standard, she was stunning.
…Except for that ridiculous "spacesuit."
Not even close to Hancock's taste.
"No need to thank me. It was nothing. You're going to the Golden City, right? Get on board."
He turned and walked away.
Ordesia watched his back, biting her lower lip slightly.
Her eyes shimmered with something unspoken.
She raised her hand—wanting to say something—
But in the end, said nothing.
At Sea
As Ordesia and her guards boarded, the ship set sail toward the Golden City.
According to the VIP card, the Golden City wasn't far from the Red Line.
They would arrive soon.
With Karl's current status, no one would dare cause trouble.
So he relaxed in the lounge, sipping tea and reading newspapers.
He even flipped through older papers—
Trying to pinpoint when Ace challenged Whitebeard.
According to the original timeline, Ace should have visited Wano first before losing to Whitebeard.
But now—
Everything had sped up.
"…So it's because of me."
Karl sighed softly.
Even though he tried to keep the storyline intact—
This was a real world.
Every action he took created ripples.
And as his strength and influence grew—
So did his impact on the world.
For example—
After he orchestrated the attack on Mary Geoise—
The slave trade had nearly collapsed overnight.
As for why?
Because—
without demand, there is no supply.
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