After leaving Garp in Impel Down, Carl led his team back to Marineford.
As soon as he returned, Carl was called to his office by Kong.
Kong first asked about Garp's situation and then said,
"Carl, now that Garp has gone to work in the prison, there's no one left to handle his mission. You know, although Garp's rank is only a Vice Admiral, his previous missions were not something an ordinary Vice Admiral could handle. After considering it, you are the only one capable of taking over his mission now."
Carl thought for a moment and said,
"Fleet Admiral Kong, you mean to hunt down Roger, right?"
Kong nodded and said,
"The Roger Pirates have always been the most wanted target of the World Government. Their behavior in recent years has been extremely suspicious, so the work of catching them must not be relaxed."
"Got it. Just notify me when you need me to go out."
After briefly handing over the task, Carl returned to his office, then called Garling and told him that the current chief warden of the prison was incompetent.
Impel Down and the Navy are two independent institutions. Even Fleet Admiral Kong has no right to interfere with personnel transfers within the prison, let alone the chief warden.
After Garling learned about it, he told Carl not to worry about it, and that he would mention it to Saturn.
The uncle and nephew had a brief conversation and immediately changed the chief warden of Impel Down.
After discussing the prison, Garling's tone suddenly became serious,
"Carl, you'd better take some time to come back during this period, Darian may not have much time left."
Carl frowned and asked,
"Uncle Garling, what do you mean when you say he doesn't have much time left? Is he going to die?"
"Almost. His Blood-Blood Fruit is about to go out of control. Although he won't die if he loses control, he will become a monster without emotions. I will kill him immediately, so if you still want revenge, come back as soon as possible."
After hearing this news, Carl said without thinking,
"I'll go back now!"
Without waiting for Garling's response, Carl hung up the Den Den Mushi. He briefly explained a few things to the others, and then used Geppo to leave Marineford.
He had been to Mary Geoise more than once, so it was still convenient for him to go there by himself.
Not long after Garling hung up the Den Den Mushi, Carl had already arrived at his uncle's chambers. As soon as he arrived, he smelled a strong scent of blood, his eyes turned scarlet, and his tongue slowly licked his lips.
As a user of the Vampire Fruit, the stronger the smell of blood, the more excited he became.
Carl took a deep breath, suppressed the impulse in his heart, and looked at Garling saying,
"Uncle Garling, I'm back. Where is Darian?"
Garling pulled Carl out without a word. When they arrived at the palace doors, he pointed towards Darian's palace.
Carl looked over and saw a thick mist of blood covering the palace, seemingly alive. Within the mist, he could make out countless bloody faces entangled, creating a terrifying scene.
Garling slowly said,
"This is the sign that the Blood-Blood Fruit is going out of control, just like what happened to your grandfather. But I didn't expect it to happen this soon."
Carl retracted his gaze, looked at Garling, and asked,
"Uncle Garling, why did the Blood-Blood Fruit go out of control?"
Garling sighed and explained,
"It's not the fruit itself that's out of control, but the greed of its user. Darian is digging his own grave."
The Blood-Blood Fruit grants its user the ability to grow stronger by absorbing the blood of others, much like the Shadow-Shadow Fruit absorbs shadows.
However, while the power gain from the Blood-Blood Fruit is permanent, the target whose blood is drained dies instantly.
But with every drop of blood absorbed, negative emotions are also absorbed. These emotions pile up, causing the user to eventually break down and turn into a bloodthirsty monster.
Even if the user knows this in advance, once the process starts, it's almost impossible to stop.
Over the years, Darian has been purchasing slaves to drain their blood. He had no intention of controlling his power.
Upon learning this, Carl's eyes flashed with blood as he said,
"Uncle Garling, I need to find Darian now. If he completely loses control, my revenge will mean nothing."
Garling sighed, a complex look on his face.
When the day came to kill Darian, he felt conflicted. After all, Darian was his brother. But as the head of the Figarland family, he had no choice. If Carl failed, he would end Darian himself.
This wasn't just for Carl—if Darian lost control and destroyed Mary Geoise, the shame it would bring upon the Figarland family would be immeasurable.
Gripping the hilt of his sword, Garling spoke in a deep voice,
"I'll go with you. If things go wrong, I'll step in."
Carl did not object. Having Garling as backup was a good idea, as it was impossible to predict the strength Darian had gained after absorbing so much blood.
The uncle and nephew looked at each other, then disappeared together.
In the past, Darian's palace was guarded by golden-armored soldiers. Now, not even a servant could be seen.
The palace door was drenched in blood, with more blood flowing through the cracks.
Upon arriving, Carl raised his fist, sending a shockwave that shattered the door to pieces. He and Garling entered.
The palace was enormous, with piles of bones and dried skins everywhere. Many of them belonged to the Mink Tribe.
But Carl's focus wasn't on them. He scanned the room and said coldly,
"Come out, Darian. It's time we settle this."
For a moment, there was no movement. Carl snorted, and the demon sword Muramasa flew from his hand towards a pool of blood in the corner.
The pool split open, and from within the blood emerged Darian, smiling wickedly.
"Welcome home, my child."
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+115 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg