At that moment, two small swords flew out of nowhere, slashing directly at Golden Lion's legs.
In an instant, his two famous blades—Sakura Ten and Deadwood—were dislodged from his feet.
Carl took advantage of the moment, using electromagnetism to attract the swords from a distance.
The process was slow, but Golden Lion didn't dare to turn back to retrieve them.
He could only watch helplessly, his face twisted in pain as he reluctantly abandoned his lifelong weapons.
With one last murderous glare at Carl, Golden Lion turned and fled at full speed.
By the time Luffy snapped out of his shock, Golden Lion had already flown too far away. Even at full speed in Fourth Gear, catching up was impossible.
"Damn it! He got away!"
Luffy clenched his fists in frustration. "Attacking innocent people—this guy doesn't deserve to be a pirate at all!"
Carl raised an eyebrow. "Luffy... pirates usually attack ordinary people."
Luffy blinked, then suddenly realized something.
"Oh! That's right! Pirates are the bad guys! Attacking ordinary people is totally normal! Haha! Hahaha!"
Carl fell silent.
Was this really his apprentice?
For a moment, he wanted to deny it out of sheer embarrassment.
Meanwhile, Sakura Ten and Deadwood slowly floated into Carl's hands.
These two blades had been by Golden Lion's side for a lifetime, becoming as legendary as the man himself.
However, after being tied to his feet for so long, the handles had corroded, their glory tarnished.
Carl looked at them and muttered, "Don't worry, I've found you a new master—the future World's Greatest Swordsman. Your legacy won't end here."
With that, he strapped the two swords to his waist.
Then, his eight small swords merged once again into a giant slab-like blade, lifting him and Luffy toward the merchant ships.
The merchant captain rushed out to thank them—but at the same time, he looked uneasy.
After all, Luffy was a pirate. Even though they had just saved him, wasn't it possible he'd rob them next?
But before the thought could take root, Luffy flashed a wide grin, his teeth shining bright.
For some reason, despite their initial fear, the people on the ship felt at ease.
"Hee hee hee! Since you guys are okay, we'll get going! Teacher Carl, let's go back and find our friends!"
"Yeah, Captain."
Carl controlled the giant sword, flying back in the direction of the Merry.
Even though the battle had scattered them, Carl had a good memory for direction—finding their way back wouldn't be a problem.
It was only after they had disappeared into the sky that the merchant crew snapped out of their daze, waving and shouting their thanks to Luffy.
Perhaps it was the first time they had ever seen a pirate like that.
Meanwhile, aboard the Merry...
The lion-headed galleon suddenly lost control and plummeted from the sky.
Zoro and the others panicked.
Usopp immediately took off, but just as he gained altitude, he felt his body grow heavier.
When he looked down, he saw the rest of the crew clinging to him.
After all, he was the only one who could fly.
Although it was extremely heavy, his Devil Fruit ability allowed him to struggle through it.
With great effort, he managed to bring everyone back to the Merry.
As for the lion-headed galleon, it crashed into the sea below and slowly began to sink.
Usopp, still catching his breath, grumbled:
"You guys really need to learn Moonwalk when you have time! If I didn't know how to fly, we'd all be dead!"
"It's fine, Usopp! We've got you!"
The crew looked at him with grins full of trust, as if saying, "We'll just count on you from now on!"
Usopp felt both helpless and a little proud.
It felt good to be relied on by his friends—but they were way too lazy about self-improvement!
Zoro, meanwhile, watched the sinking galleon and suddenly remarked:
"The Golden Lion's ships are all gone... which means Luffy won?"
Everyone paused, then burst into laughter.
"Of course! He's Luffy!"
Sure enough, before long, a black dot appeared on the horizon.
"Hey! Everyone! We're back!"
Luffy's excited voice echoed across the sea.
His mouth was stretched wide in a grin, his joy unmistakable.
Defeating a legendary pirate and seeing all his friends safe and sound—how could he not be thrilled?
Even Carl had a small smile on his lips.
Soon, the crew was reunited aboard the Merry.
"Luffy! Did you beat the Golden Lion?" Usopp asked eagerly.
"Yep! That old rooster got wrecked by me! But... he managed to run away!" Luffy laughed carefreely.
Hearing that, the crew let out a collective sigh of relief before breaking into smiles.
Golden Lion escaping didn't matter.
The important thing was that he had been defeated.
If he dared to come back, he'd just get beaten up again—and next time, escaping wouldn't be so easy.
At that moment, Carl pulled out Sakura Ten and Deadwood and tossed them toward Zoro.
"Here, Golden Lion's two legendary blades—Sakura Ten and Deadwood."
Zoro took the swords excitedly, stroking them with admiration.
But after a moment, he frowned slightly and asked, "Mr. Carl, these are Great Grade Swords… don't you want them?"
Carl shook his head.
"I may not be a pure swordsman, but I have my own beliefs about swordsmanship."
"A swordsman's true strength comes from within—not from the sword itself."
"So to me, whether a sword is 'Great Grade' or not makes no difference."
Carl patted the hilt of his own sword.
"Besides, I've nurtured Obsidian with my Armament Haki for years. He's my partner."
"In time, he'll be no weaker than a Great Grade sword—perhaps even on par with a Supreme Grade one."
Zoro's eyes widened slightly.
"Nurtured with Armament Haki?"
Carl grinned.
"Exactly! Do you know why Mihawk's Yoru is so powerful? It's because he constantly refines it with his Haki."
"For a true master swordsman, even the slightest nick on the blade is an embarrassment."
"Any sword can become a Black Blade—it all depends on how strong your Armament Haki is."
Zoro tightened his grip on Sakura Ten and Deadwood, his eyes burning with determination.
"Armament Haki..."
He couldn't wait to awaken it himself!
Later, Carl helped Zoro replace the handles of the two swords and put together a temporary scabbard.
But the Great Grade blades were too sharp, and Carl knew the scabbard wouldn't last long.
"Be careful when using these," he warned. "If you perform even one Iai slash, this scabbard might break immediately."
Of course, if they had the chance later, they could always craft proper scabbards.
Carl then thought about Golden Lion again.
Stepping aside, he secretly called Garp.
"Moshi Moshi!"
Garp's carefree voice rang through the transponder snail.
"Oi! What do you want, you little b*d?!"
Carl chuckled.
"Oh, nothing much. Luffy and I just fought that old rooster."
Garp immediately laughed.
"Golden Lion? Marine already knows. Sengoku sent Kizaru after him. You better get ready to be caught!"
Carl blinked.
"Uh, old man, you just leaked Marine's strategy…"
Garp quickly cleared his throat.
"Did I say something? No, no! I didn't say anything!"
Carl sighed helplessly.
Garp really was something else.
Still, it was clear he would protect his grandson no matter what—leaking Marine intelligence without hesitation.
Carl smiled.
"Master, I've got some of Golden Lion's crew alive here. I suspect he's planning something."
"You should bring some people to capture them."
"Also, Golden Lion escaped, but he shouldn't be too far away. If you act fast, you might still catch him."
Garp sounded suspicious.
"Since when are you so helpful to the Marines?"
Carl grinned.
"Hee hee… I just want Golden Lion's scabbard."
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