The forces of the Whitebeard Pirates, the Big Mom Pirates, and the Revolutionary Army had gathered together, numbering in the tens of thousands.
At this moment, Carl's situation bore an uncanny resemblance to Rocks' desperate battle in the Valley of Gods years ago.
However, for Carl, dealing with three Emperor-level combatants, a host of powerful commanders, and tens of thousands of elite soldiers didn't quite count as a desperate situation.
Among these forces, the hatred for Carl was deeply ingrained. His hands were stained with the blood of their comrades and brothers.
Sabo, in particular, harbored the most intense loathing. He had sworn to avenge Ace, who had been brutally killed.
Carl noticed Sabo amidst the crowd. With a casual wave, he called out mockingly:
"Hey, you're Sabo, right? I heard you were close to Ace. Do you miss him? I can send you to meet him."
The provocation struck a nerve. Sabo's rage boiled over, and he roared,
"Scum! You're not worthy to say Ace's name!"
With that, Sabo lunged at Carl, but Dragon grabbed him firmly, yelling,
"Sabo! Calm yourself!"
In his current state, rushing in would only mean certain death.
Although his bloodshot eyes betrayed his fury, Sabo was far more composed than Ace ever was. At Dragon's urging, he managed to restrain himself, though reluctantly.
Dragon breathed a sigh of relief. With the combined forces of their three factions arrayed against a single Carl, the advantage seemed decisively in their favor.
No matter how strong Carl was, there was no way he could wipe them all out while facing Dragon, Whitebeard, and Big Mom simultaneously—unless he didn't care for his own survival.
The reason none of them had made the first move was simple: each faction wanted the others to act first, knowing that the side that initiated the attack would suffer the heaviest losses.
This tenuous alliance, despite having a common enemy in Carl, was far from united.
Carl, however, was growing impatient. Tilting his head, he smirked and said,
"Nobody coming? Then I guess I'll come to you."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Carl's cursed sword, Muramasa, emitted a sinister black light. The blade hummed, vibrating with an almost eerie excitement.
In the blink of an eye, Carl vanished from his spot. When he reappeared, he was in the midst of the enemy forces.
He didn't unleash any large-scale Devil Fruit powers. Armed with nothing but his black blade, he cut down enemies one by one, blood splattering in arcs with each stroke.
He was savoring the thrill of slaughter.
Whitebeard, Big Mom, and Dragon had not expected Carl to launch an attack so brazenly. By the time they reacted, a mountain of corpses already surrounded him.
Carl's lips curled into a devilish grin, resembling the Grim Reaper walking among mortals.
The warriors he slaughtered were the kind who could each stand against a hundred foes in any of the seas. Many were proficient in Haki. Yet now, they were nothing more than Carl's playthings.
The scene was chillingly silent. Those who fell to Carl didn't even have time to scream before being cleaved in two.
Some who were bisected horizontally had their heads repurposed by Carl, thrown to impale others like a cruel game.
As the bloodbath reached its peak, a flock of black crows suddenly appeared overhead, diving toward Carl.
With a flick of his wrist, Carl tossed a severed head into the air. From behind him, a swarm of pitch-black bats erupted, scattering the crows into clouds of black dust.
The dust didn't dissipate. Instead, it coalesced into countless massive, obsidian swords, glinting with razor-sharp edges.
Above, the Revolutionary Army's Northern Commander, Karasu, floated mid-air, his arm sweeping in a powerful arc as he shouted,
The black swords descended from the sky, but Carl's body dispersed into countless bats, avoiding the attack entirely.
Karasu frowned, his instincts warning him too late. Sabo's urgent cry came from behind him:
"Karasu! Look out!"
Before Karasu could react, a black blade pierced through his chest.
Slash!
The blade swept upward, splitting Karasu's body in half. Blood sprayed into the air as his lifeless form plummeted. Sabo rushed to catch him.
Holding the cold, lifeless body of his comrade, Sabo let out an anguished roar.
Suddenly, a massive fireball descended from above.
"Flame!"
Boom!
The explosion consumed Sabo in a fiery inferno, flames surging and spreading across the battlefield.
Moments later, a whirlwind burst from the center of the firestorm, revealing charred earth beneath. Dragon emerged, dragging a coughing Sabo away from the devastation.
Carl was about to pursue when his Observation Haki issued a warning. His body turned intangible just as a massive green energy beam struck where he stood, detonating with a thunderous blast that sent a mushroom cloud into the sky.
When the light faded, Carl reappeared, unscathed. He looked down to see Big Mom wielding her blade, Napoleon, the tip still glowing with green energy.
A new flame homie, Hera, flickered beside her—a replacement for Prometheus.
The brief lull allowed the forces below to regroup. At last, a unified wave of attacks surged toward Carl in the sky.
Carl's intangible form weathered the assault as he descended. Upon landing, he was immediately swarmed by enemies, led by Whitebeard, Big Mom, and Dragon.
With the addition of top-tier combatants, Carl could no longer cut through the opposition unchallenged. He was quickly surrounded.
Laughing maniacally, Carl summoned shadows from the ground beneath him to fight alongside his main body.
Whitebeard, Big Mom, and Dragon all wore determined expressions. No matter what, Carl had to fall here today.
Yet as the battle raged, the trio finally understood the despair Kaido must have felt.
If their combined might struggled this much against Carl, Kaido's fate—besieged by Carl and six Admirals—must have been a massacre beyond imagination.
Then, to their horror, Carl suddenly pulled out a golden Den Den Mushi from his pocket.
And the snail's eyes were open.
-----------
+255 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg