While Carl was fighting Redfield, a dog-headed warship had already docked at the shore of the island.
On the deck, Garp folded his arms, and the roar from the center of the island continued to reach his ears.
Dragon stood beside Garp, looking at a warship also docked not far away. He remarked,
"Father, that seems to be Carl's warship."
Garp nodded and said, "It is. Sengoku the Buddha already informed me. He called Carl over. Carl was still in Mary Geoise at the time, which is closer to here than we were, so naturally, he arrived first."
Garp paused, looking into Dragon's eyes earnestly.
"Dragon, I know you have some issues with Carl, but you're still just a new recruit without any rank. When you face him, remember to address him as Admiral Black Dragon."
Dragon's face froze, and he responded awkwardly, "Got it."
Without further words, Garp leaped off the warship, heading toward the center of the island. Dragon immediately turned into a gust of wind, following him.Bogard ,the right hand man of Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp, led the soldiers, but their speed was no match for Garp and Dragon.
Garp quickly followed the sounds of battle, arriving at the battlefield, only to be stunned by the scene. Navy soldiers lay scattered on the ground, while Kong stood with his arms crossed, seemingly unaffected. If one didn't know better, they'd think he was just sightseeing.
Kong waved casually when he saw Garp, saying,
"Garp, you finally made it. If you'd been any slower, you'd have missed the battle."
Garp frowned, but before he could speak, loud crashes caught his attention. Two ghostly figures moved back and forth in the distance, each collision leaving deep pits in the ground, with bursts of Haki crackling in the air.
After focusing on the figures, Garp finally recognized the man fighting Redfield—it was Carl.
A gust of wind swept by as Dragon materialized beside Garp. Sensing the terrifying aura from the battle, but unable to see clearly, he asked,
"Father, what's going on?"
Garp's expression grew strange. Instead of answering Dragon, he muttered to himself, "Looks like we came here for nothing."
Dragon, confused, opened his mouth to ask further, but a red figure suddenly plummeted from the sky, crashing heavily into the ground. Dragon looked over to see a bloodied man struggling to crawl out of a pit. Emerging from the smoke and dust was Carl, wings of darkness unfurling as he slowly descended.
Carl first glanced at Garp and Dragon before turning his gaze to Redfield, who now had a grim smile on his face. Redfield, aware that his body had reached its limit, knew his defeat was certain. Swaying on the spot, he opened his arms and shouted,
"Come on, Black Dragon! End my life!"
Carl stopped abruptly and tilted his head. "Why would I take your life? My mission is to capture you."
These words left not only Redfield, but Kong, Garp, and Dragon equally perplexed. Carl had a reputation for ruthlessly dealing with pirates—never leaving any alive. Yet here he was, intending to capture Redfield instead of killing him. The three onlookers began to wonder if the man before them was truly Carl.
Redfield frowned, asking, "Are you mocking me?"
In a flash, Carl appeared in front of him, delivering a punch to Redfield's abdomen. Redfield spat out blood and collapsed forward, his chin resting on Carl's shoulder. As his consciousness began to fade, he heard Carl whisper,
"Not enough fun this time, huh? Go to Impel Down for a while. I'll come find you later."
With his last bit of strength, Redfield managed to ask, "Why...?"
Carl's lips curled into a smile as he softly replied, "It would be a waste for a strong man like you to die here. Don't you want to see the sea again?"
Redfield's body trembled, but his vision blurred, and he fell unconscious. Carl retracted his wings, now shadows once more, and hoisted Redfield onto his shoulders. Walking over to Kong, who was still in a daze, Carl said,
"Fleet Admiral Kong, the mission is complete. Shall we return?"
Kong snapped back to reality and glanced at Redfield on Carl's shoulder. With a complex expression, he nodded.
"Let's head back. You've accomplished a great feat today. I won't forget it."
Carl smiled but remained indifferent to the praise. He had already risen to the top, and no matter how great his achievements, there were no more promotions awaiting him. What he sought now was fame, and Redfield on his shoulder was the key to that.
As they made their way to the ship, Bogard arrived with a group of soldiers to tend to the wounded. Draagon turned to Carl, now Admiral Black Dragon, and asked,
"Why didn't you kill Redfield? It doesn't seem like your usual style."
The unconscious Redfield was handed over to the soldiers as Carl, hands in his pockets, didn't even glance at Dragon.
"Because I didn't feel like it."
Dragon was taken aback by the blunt response and wanted to ask more questions. But before he could, Garp smacked the back of his head, silencing him.
"Wait until you can last a few moves against Redfield before asking such questions!" Garp scolded.
Holding his sore head, Dragon gritted his teeth. "I'm just curious about the justice of Admiral Black Dragon."
Carl walked on, half a step behind Kong, without looking back. "I told you three years ago—might makes right."
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+86 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg