Chapter 48 : Teacher Carl, I Did It

Only then did Ghost Spider finally pay attention to Carl.

He hadn't cared about Carl's arrival before because he trusted in Hina's strength.

But now, looking at the situation, Carl's clothes weren't even dusty, while Hina was in rough shape. It was obvious who was stronger.

In other words, this guy was much stronger than Hina?!

Ghost Spider glanced at Hina, and she quickly nodded. "Vice Admiral Ghost Spider, don't underestimate this man. He has at least Vice Admiral-level strength!"

Hina's words shocked Ghost Spider.

He knew her personality well—she wouldn't lie about something like this. Seeing her battered state, it was clear that Carl was truly powerful.

It was unbelievable that such a fighter was with the Straw Hat Pirates!

Taking advantage of the conversation between the two Vice Admirals, Carl controlled the massive sword lodged in the door and sent it toward Zoro and Sanji.

"Sit on the sword. I'll send you back to the Merry. You've done enough—leave the rest to me!"

Zoro and Sanji didn't try to act tough. They simply collapsed onto the giant sword.

With a thought, Carl swiftly guided them to the ship, landing them safely. Seeing this, Nami quickly stepped in to take care of them.

At the same time, the Going Merry was in serious trouble. The Marine fleet's bombardment was relentless, making it difficult for Nami, Jango, Usopp, and Luffy to hold them off.

To make things worse, a Marine Rear Admiral with a Bird-type Devil Fruit flew out, engaging Usopp in midair. Usopp was struggling, juggling both the fight and protecting the Merry.

But after a while, he started adapting to the situation, moving more fluidly.

Thanks to the power of his Mythical Zoan fruit, he managed to fight evenly with the enemy!

Usopp had truly become a brave warrior of the sea!

Meanwhile, Sanji and Zoro weren't just dead weight on the ship. They recovered quickly and were soon back on their feet. Compared to fighting Ghost Spider, dealing with cannon fire was much easier.

Back on land, Carl now faced two Vice Admirals alone.

Hina and Ghost Spider didn't attack recklessly. Instead, they stood their ground, recovering their strength while keeping Carl in check.

Perhaps they were worried. If Carl went to help Luffy, it would only make things harder for Kizaru to capture him.

Carl didn't take any action but kept a close watch on Luffy's situation.

By now, Luffy had already burned through a lot of stamina. Gear Fourth was powerful, but it didn't last long. After fighting Kizaru for a while, his transformation wore off, leaving him completely vulnerable. Kizaru took full advantage, beating Luffy one-sidedly.

But Luffy had a clear goal—he was using Kizaru's relentless attacks to sharpen his Observation Haki.

However, mastering it so quickly was impossible, and as a result, he took a brutal beating. If not for his endurance, he would have already been finished.

"No! This isn't right! It shouldn't be like this!"

Panting heavily, Luffy realized his approach was wrong. He needed to refine his method and continued focusing on predicting Kizaru's movements.

He noticed that every time Kizaru launched a powerful attack, he could sense it just before it landed. He understood—this was his survival instinct kicking in, just like when Carl had trained Zoro before.

It was a way to awaken the body's natural reflexes!

Ignoring his injuries, Luffy focused purely on defense, dodging based on his instincts. He looked terrible, but he stubbornly stuck to his plan. He chose to trust himself!

After an unknown amount of time, Luffy's mind started to blur.

At that moment, he felt a laser about to pierce his chest—a powerful sense of danger surged through him.

Without thinking, Luffy twisted his body to the side. Looking up, he saw that Kizaru's fingertip had just begun to glow.

For a brief moment, everything clicked.

Prediction! He had done it!

Kizaru raised an eyebrow—his laser had missed.

Something had changed about the Straw Hat boy.

Now that he had experienced it once, everything started to flow more naturally. Against Kizaru's relentless attacks, Luffy managed to dodge seven out of ten moves. He had truly grasped the ability Carl had mentioned—seeing a second into the future!

But he wasn't satisfied. Instead of just dodging, Luffy began to fight back.

Activating Gear Second, he weaved through Kizaru's attacks and launched counterattacks based on his predictions.

For the first time, Kizaru felt a hint of unease.

Luffy wasn't just dodging—he was keeping up with Kizaru's speed, reading his moves in advance, and even predicting his own predictions. Not only had his defense become flawless, but his counterattacks were growing fiercer!

"Is this guy a monster? As expected of Garp-san's grandson… what a troublesome family!"

Kizaru was impressed, but he still had a job to do.

Without hesitation, he increased his speed even further, unleashing a barrage of Light-Speed Kicks, Yasakani no Magatama, and even using his Ama no Murakumo sword

(Ama no Murakumo is a sword made of light that Admiral Borsalino creates).

But at this point, Luffy seemed like he was on another level. His Observation Haki was growing sharper by the second, allowing him to go toe-to-toe with Kizaru.

Ghost Spider and Hina were completely stunned.

"This... how is this possible?!" Hina's cigars slipped from her fingers.

"He's growing stronger mid-battle?! The Straw Hat Pirates are all monsters! We cannot let them enter the Grand Line, or the Marines will be humiliated!" Ghost Spider was both furious and shocked.

Carl chuckled. "You should be more worried about yourselves."

With that, he made his move.

Using his mind control, he sent his massive black sword crashing toward Hina. Startled, she blocked with her blade, but the sheer force sent her flying.

Carl then dodged in front of Ghost Spider, pressing the attack with Obsidian.

Ghost Spider lost six of his swords, leaving him with only two. But even then, he wasn't strong enough—Carl overpowered him with a single strike, slamming him into the ground with only his head and two swords sticking out.

"Damn it! Attacking from behind is cowardly!" Ghost Spider roared in frustration.

Carl just smiled. "Hey, Vice Admirals aren't easy to deal with. I don't want to waste time, so why fight fair?"

Hina and Ghost Spider were so furious they wanted to cut him down on the spot.

Suddenly, Carl shouted, "Luffy! Are you done yet? We need to go!"

Luffy forced Kizaru back with a powerful move and grinned. "Mr. Carl! I did it!"

"Hahaha! That's the Luffy I know! You actually fought an Admiral this time!"

"Hee hee! Thanks to Uncle Kizaru! Before entering the Grand Line, I wanted to see how strong a Marine Admiral is. Now that I've done that, it's time to run! There are way too many warships, hahaha!"

Ignoring Kizaru's bewildered expression, Luffy turned and sprinted toward the Merry.

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