Hearing Carl's words, the man in the suit was stunned. He thought he had heard it wrong for a moment.
"Damn it! Do you even know who's backing our underground auction house—"
Before he could finish, Carl cut him off with an indifferent tone.
"Doflamingo, right?"
"You—you…" The man in the suit's eyes widened in disbelief, and the gun in his hand trembled slightly.
"A Shichibukai running a human trafficking ring in Sabaody?" Carl took out a cigar, calmly lighting it. "Are you guys deliberately provoking the Marines?"
His tone remained even, but anyone could hear the underlying dissatisfaction.
"You think you can do this to us and get away with it?!" The man in the suit gritted his teeth. "Our boss is a member of the Donquixote Family!"
"If it were any other Shichibukai, I might pay them some respect," Carl exhaled a puff of smoke, his crimson gaze flickering. "But if you're talking about that JOKER guy…"
He shook his head, as if he had lost interest in the conversation.
The tension in the air thickened.
At that moment, the man in the suit felt an overwhelming pressure. His teeth chattered, cold sweat dripping down his face.
"What…what is this…?!"
Behind Carl, the man in the suit could almost see the illusion of a monstrous beast, baring its fangs at him.
Boom!
Overcome with fear, the man in the suit finally pulled the trigger.
Carl didn't even blink. The bullet struck his jaw—only to ricochet off as if hitting steel.
"Bullets stopped being a threat to me a long time ago," Carl muttered.
Then, without warning, pink sakura petals began falling from the sky.
Carl walked past him toward the Marine base gate.
"Hahaha…ha…ha…" The man in the suit stood frozen, his laughter turning hysterical. "This can't be real! You must be afraid—"
His voice was abruptly cut off.
The heads of the three men in suits rolled onto the ground, blood spraying into the air.
Carl scoffed. "Even JOKER thinks he can intimidate me? What a joke."
He acknowledged that Doflamingo was one of the strongest Shichibukai. Though he wasn't at Mihawk's level, he was certainly among the top three. With Conqueror's Haki and an Awakened Devil Fruit, he wasn't weak.
But none of that changed Carl's personal disdain for him.
Take the other Shichibukai, for example—
Crocodile had dared to challenge Whitebeard in his youth.
Hawkeye had crossed swords with Red-Haired Shanks just to test his own skill.
Jinbei had openly declared, "I will never bow to Big Mom!"
Even Moria, despite his losses, had once fought Kaido directly.
None of them were submissive to the Yonko.
Only Doflamingo, the self-proclaimed 'King of the Underworld,' was a lapdog to Kaido.
Carl never had respect for cowards.
At the Marine Base gate, Carl halted, glancing down at two malnourished children, a boy and a girl, huddled together. They looked around eleven or twelve years old.
"Where are you from?"
"I… I… we're from Sleeping Ancient Town," the boy answered nervously.
Carl frowned, taking a long drag from his cigar.
Sleeping Ancient Town… why does that sound familiar?
Ten years was a long time—he couldn't recall it clearly.
"Forget it," Carl exhaled. "What are your names?"
"My name is Kofi Ulysses," the boy hesitated before pointing to the girl behind him. "She's my little sister, Emily Ulysses."
"Kofi, Emily," Carl murmured. "Do you have any family in Sabaody?"
"No, we were captured and brought here…" Kofi's voice grew bitter. "They locked us in a cage."
"Luckily, a white-haired old man also in a cage caused a riot."
"We used the chance to escape."
At this, the boy looked up seriously.
"Thank you for saving us. But you should leave. The people behind them are terrifying criminals—no one dares to oppose them here."
Carl chuckled. "I don't care about those people, but…"
His eyes narrowed slightly.
A white-haired old man in a cage?
There was only one person that could be.
Silvers Rayleigh.
The Dark King, the former Right Hand of the Pirate King, Roger's first mate.
Carl scratched his head. "Well, whatever. Doesn't concern me."
He glanced at the two kids.
What should I do with them?
He couldn't send a warship to escort them back to Sleeping Ancient Town.
But leaving them in Sabaody meant they'd just get recaptured.
The boy seemed to sense Carl's hesitation. His expression darkened.
Then, the silent little girl suddenly spoke up.
"Please take us in!"
Her voice trembled, but she forced herself to be bold.
"Hey! Emily!" Kofi panicked, covering her mouth.
Carl smirked. "Oh? And why should I take you in?" He leaned forward, folding his arms. "We're Marines, not a shelter. If you've got something useful to offer, I'll listen."
Perhaps it was the weight of the word Marine, but Kofi hesitated before nodding.
"The reason we were captured… it's because we're both special."
Emily nodded rapidly, her voice regaining strength.
"We ate something… it was the most disgusting thing ever!"
"Ever since then, we gained strange powers."
Carl's brows furrowed slightly. "Devil Fruits?"
Kofi took a deep breath. "Yes. I can leave a mark on a place I've been to—then, I can teleport back there."
"That's how we escaped earlier."
Emily raised her chin. "And I can heal injuries!"
Kofi hesitated before adding, "The traffickers called them the Mark-Mark Fruit and the Heal-Heal Fruit."
Carl showed no emotion on his face, but inside, his interest was piqued.
"Alright, follow me inside first."
He turned, walking toward the base.
"You must be starving. Let's eat first."
Kofi and Emily exchanged glances before quickly following him.
Carl led them to the cafeteria, letting them settle in before stepping aside, leaning against the entrance as he lit another cigar.
He exhaled slowly.
"Interesting… Marking and Healing…"
He had found something valuable.
The Mark-Mark Fruit—
If used correctly, instant teleportation was a terrifying ability.
And the Heal-Heal Fruit—
It wasn't as powerful as the Ope-Ope Fruit, but if it didn't require a cost like lifespan, it was still extremely useful.
Two rare abilities, in the hands of two kids…
He flicked off some ashes from his cigar.
"They're mine now."
Meanwhile, back at the Underground Auction House, news of the incident had already spread.
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