CHAPTER 24

c24 – The Legend of the Masked Man

"Thanks, thank you for saving me, Masked Man..."

An unmanned seaside.

The rescued mermaid, timidly thanked Carl for his rescue.

But her name surprised Carl a little.

"Mask? What the hell is this?"

Carl looked dumbfounded and didn't know when he had such a name.

The mermaid squeezed this body and explained with a reddish face.

"Master Masked Man, the news that you saved the Neptune Army squad from that Celestial Dragon ship near Coral Hill a few days ago has already spread throughout Fish-Man Island.

I just wanted to come here to see you, but I was accidentally caught by a slave trader from the surface world near Sabaody Archipelago..."

Speaking of this, the mermaid's face turned redder obviously it was her own reckless decision, otherwise she wouldn't have been captured.

Carl didn't say anything, just rubbed her head gently, then smiled.

"It doesn't matter, you are safe now but I advise you not to come here. If I wasn't around today, you really would have ended up as a slave, branded with the hoof of the Celestial Dragon."

"Hmm, I know Master Masked Man, I will stay at home honestly and never come out again.

But may I ask are you a human or a fish-man? Why risk yourself to save us?"

"What you asked..."

Carl laughed blankly, then touched the mermaid's hair again.

"Of course I am a human being but rest assured, I will never discriminate against you, nor any other race of the sea.

In my eyes, humans, fish-men, giants, minkfolk—all should be able to live together in peace, except for the Celestial Dragons!"

When speaking of the Tenryuubito, Carl's tone obviously deepened.

The mermaid shrank slightly when she heard Carl's words, then nodded solemnly.

"I see. Although I still want to have a few more words with Master Masked Man I should go back, or my family will worry. Thank you, truly, for saving me."

The mermaid thanked again, then dove into the sea.

The mermaid moved very fast in the water, and in the blink of an eye, she disappeared from the range of Carl's Observation Haki.

Carl shook his head, then glanced not far away there were quite a few Marines scouring the coast.

They were clearly searching for the masked man who destroyed a Celestial Dragon's trafficking convoy.

Carl didn't intend to linger, and left the seaside directly.

After a while, he returned to his room at the disguised safehouse under the ruined tavern, and used his power to destroy all evidence of his actions.

Both the bloodied cloak and the iron sword were turned into a fine powder under the crushing force of his awakened Devil Fruit power most likely the Dust-Dust Fruit (Sunasuna no Mi), which he wielded with frightening precision.

In this way, even if someone suspected him there would be no proof.

"Carl, come out!"

Carl, who had just gotten dressed, replied subconsciously when he heard Pizza calling him.

"Immediately I'm getting dressed and coming out!"

After a while, Carl walked out of the room, and then saw the serious face of Pizza.

"What happened, Major General Pizza? With your expression so serious did something go wrong?"

"It is true that a major event happened the Tenryuubito was killed right in front of the Human Auctioning House!"

"By the way, you stayed in the room all afternoon did you not go out?"

"What's this—if I don't stay in the room, where can I go?

This Celestial Dragon has no grievance with me I can't just run out to stir up trouble with him, right?"

Carl shrugged, put on a 'you're kidding' expression, and pretended to be innocent.

Hearing Carl's denial, Pizza breathed a sigh of relief then patted him on the shoulder.

"That's enough. Because this incident happened under my jurisdiction, it's being treated as a failure in command.

The higher-ups didn't even give me a chance to investigate they just demoted me on the spot and ordered me back to Marine Headquarters for punishment.

Your transfer orders haven't arrived yet so before the new commanding officer gets here, I hope you'll take it easy and not go running around."

"I don't know what kind of person will replace me but I'm not sure they'll be as understanding as I am."

Pizza said this seriously, and it made Carl pause.

He hadn't expected that simply killing one Tenryuubito just one—would result in Pizza, a Vice Admiral temporarily stationed at Sabaody, being stripped of his duties.

That was unexpected.

And more importantly, even while being forced out, Pizza was still looking out for him.

Carl was quietly touched—so he nodded solemnly and replied, "Don't worry, I'll definitely not run around these days!"

Only these days.

Carl silently added that line in his heart.

Pizza seemed to read Carl's thoughts and shook his head helplessly.

"Forget it, I can't control you anyway but I just hope whoever takes over can find the one who killed that Celestial Dragon.

If not, then all the Berries I've saved up for the last ten years might be drained just to pay off reparations to the World Nobles..."

"My money!!!"

Pizza looked like he wanted to cry but the tears weren't coming. His whole demeanor had grown haggard.

Seeing Pizza like this—the corners of Carl's mouth twitched slightly.

"So all this time you were just worried about your Berries? Isn't it easy to make money for someone like you?"

"Yes—making money is easy, but making legal money is very difficult.

Outside of the Sabaody Archipelago, where else can I find fat pigs like the Tenryuubito to milk from taxes and 'fees'?"

Pizza's tone became excited his eyes sharp and glittering the moment he spoke of wealth.

Carl couldn't help shivering under that gaze, then smiled dryly and agreed.

"The Tenryuubito are definitely mobile treasuries—it's no wonder they're guarded like sacred artifacts."

"Exactly! And now my treasury's been shattered! Making money again? It won't be so easy..."

"You better not make the same mistake as me—if you ever cross the Celestial Dragons, you must find a scapegoat.

Whatever you do, don't let their wrath land on your own name!

I got burned this time by some masked freak—I still don't even know who the hell he is!"

"If I ever find out who that masked bastard was—I swear I'll peel his skin and tear his tendons!

How dare he get me demoted—cut off my income—I'll make sure he dies miserably!"

Pizza was radiating real killing intent now.

Carl suddenly felt his heart tighten.

He had never seen Pizza like this before.

To be fair—a man who worships money having his cash flow destroyed is basically the same as killing him.

So Carl decided right then and there to bury the secret of the Masked Man deep within his heart, never letting anyone discover it!

But what Carl hadn't expected was that in just five days of occasional "hero work" while in disguise, his alter ego had become famous throughout the archipelago.

This puzzled him deeply—who was spreading his name?

"Major General Pizza—I wanted to ask. What's going on with this 'Masked Man' you mentioned?

I don't think I've heard of such a person is he a pirate?"

"No the Masked Man isn't a pirate. He's a good man but also a total devil!

That guy has saved dozens of slaves over the last few days—he even crushed one of the World Nobles' armored convoys!

So yes, he's a hero to the oppressed, a legend already but also a devil who destroyed my career!"

At that point, Pizza stared at Carl intensely then grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Carl I gave the barkeep your final mission!"

"Find that Masked Man and beat the crap out of him! But don't catch him just beat him to death!"

"Did you hear me?"

"Yes! Sir!"

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