Chapter 204

**Chapter 204: Carl vs. Linlin**

Carl locked onto Cracker, accelerating forward with terrifying force. The sheer momentum of his advance sent Cracker into a panic. His hands blurred as he desperately conjured towering biscuit walls, each rising several meters high in a last-ditch effort to halt Carl's charge.

But it was futile.

The so-called indestructible biscuits crumbled like sand beneath Carl's power. The shockwave from his strike sent Cracker hurtling backward, crashing toward Linlin. Fortunately, the biscuit shields absorbed some of the impact, preventing instant death.

Linlin extended her massive hand, catching Cracker with a loud slap. His unconscious arms still clutched something charred and blackened—barely recognizable as a human head.

Before Linlin could react, Carl was already moving.

Lifting Oven's headless body with one hand, he hurled it toward the garden and leaped after it. As Carl landed gracefully atop the corpse, he rode it downward like a surfer, descending into the battlefield before the stunned onlookers.

Roger's brow twitched in irritation.

"Again, it's you!" he growled, his glare locking onto Carl. "You just won't leave us alone, huh?"

Carl shrugged, unconcerned.

"Well, once you're dead, you won't have to see me anymore, will you?"

As Linlin's children took in the scene, their gazes fell upon the motionless corpse beneath Carl's feet. Recognizing it by the clothing and build, realization dawned—Oven. The once-mighty wielder of the Heat-Heat Fruit now lay stone cold.

Meanwhile, Buggy struggled to reassemble his scattered body, gritting his teeth as he edged toward Shanks, finding some solace in his friend's presence.

Linlin, however, carelessly tossed aside the unconscious Cracker and focused on Carl, her eyes narrowing in recognition.

"So, it really was you—the brat from the **Valley of the Gods**."

Carl's face had been making rounds in the news, but when Linlin first saw his photo, it stirred a long-buried memory. **That** day. **That** moment.

The Valley of the Gods.

She remembered how Carl's interference had cost her the **Paw-Paw Fruit**, which should have been hers.

The irony wasn't lost on her. The scrawny brat who once stood before her like an ant was now a **Navy Admiral**.

Carl smirked, spreading his palm.

A dark vortex swirled to life, dragging Cracker's limp body toward him. Before Linlin could react—

**Snap.**

Carl twisted Cracker's head off effortlessly and tossed it aside. The severed head rolled across the battlefield, stopping at Shanks' feet.

Shanks blinked, momentarily frozen.

Buggy, however, flinched before remembering the torment Cracker had put him through earlier. Fueled by pent-up rage, he stomped on Cracker's severed head, grinding it furiously beneath his foot.

Shanks barely noticed, his gaze fixed on Carl's back. He opened his mouth to speak, but Linlin's **furious scream** drowned out any words.

"Bastard! How **dare** you kill Cracker right in front of me?!"

Linlin's entire body trembled with unbridled rage. She hadn't expected Carl to act so **ruthlessly**, attacking without warning—let alone executing an already unconscious Cracker.

This was not the behavior of a **Navy Admiral**.

Carl, unfazed, simply raised an eyebrow.

"Why are you shouting so loudly?"

His dismissive tone was like gasoline on a wildfire.

Linlin's rage **exploded**.

Summoning **Prometheus**, the living sun merged with her hair, igniting it in a blazing inferno. **Zeus** transformed into a pitch-black thundercloud, crackling ominously above Carl.

With a battle cry, Linlin swung **Napoleon**—her massive, flaming sword—directly at Carl's head.

**Whoosh!**

A sea of **fire** erupted, swallowing Carl whole. The scorching heat twisted the air, melting the ground beneath it.

Linlin's children sneered.

"Fool. That damn Navy's already ashes!"

But the Roger Pirates watched calmly, unfazed.

They knew better.

Sure enough—

A shadow stirred within the inferno.

Carl **walked out of the flames**, hands still in his pockets, completely **unscathed**.

Without a word, he plucked a cigarette from his coat, held it up to the lingering flames, and lit it with a casual flick.

Taking a deep drag, he exhaled a slow stream of smoke, his expression relaxed.

The battlefield **fell silent**.

It was the ultimate insult—Carl treated Linlin's flames as nothing more than a **convenience**.

The sneers on the Big Mom Pirates' faces **froze**.

Linlin, refusing to accept this humiliation, hurled another barrage of fireballs. The battlefield erupted in flames once more—

**Yet Carl remained untouched.**

His Lunarian genes made him immune to fire. To him, this "inferno" was **nothing more than a warm bath**.

Linlin's breath came out ragged, her grip on Napoleon tightening until her knuckles turned white.

She exhaled sharply, finally extinguishing the flames on her sword.

Then, with a ferocious swing—

A **massive wave of purple sword energy** surged toward Carl.

This time, Carl's expression **turned serious**.

In an instant, he **drew Muramasa**, his **cursed blade**, and **countered**.

A **black arc of sword energy** tore through the air, colliding with Linlin's attack.

The two waves clashed midair—

Then, **Linlin's attack shattered first**.

The remnants of Carl's energy blast **shrunk**, but still carried enough force to race toward Linlin.

Eyes narrowing, she raised Napoleon in defense.

**CLANG!**

The impact forced Linlin to slide backward, her feet **digging trenches** into the ground.

For the first time in a long while, she felt it—

**Doubt.**

Linlin **stared at Carl**, realization dawning.

His mastery of **both swordsmanship and Haki** was undeniable. He was **already at her level**—perhaps even **beyond**.

Looking at his **young face**, an unfamiliar sensation settled in her gut.

**Futility.**

She had given birth to dozens of children—cultivated **Katakuri**, her greatest creation, into a near-invincible warrior.

Yet even **he** couldn't compare to Carl.

For the first time, **Big Mom felt old**.