Miss Bakkin stared at Karl in sheer terror, her lips turning pale.
Because in his eyes, she saw it clearly—
undisguised killing intent.
She knew instinctively that if she screamed, she would really die.
"Y-you… do you know who I am?" she stammered.
"I'm Whitebeard's woman! If you kill me, Whitebeard will never forgive you!"
Karl burst out laughing.
He looked at the short, shriveled old woman—thick red lipstick, a face carved with wrinkles—and sneered openly.
This thing… Whitebeard would have to drink gallons of poison before touching her.
And besides—
Whitebeard was over six meters tall.
Bakkin wasn't even as tall as Chopper.
How the hell would that even work—?
…Then again, this was the world of One Piece.
Anything was possible.
"Heh. So what?" Karl said lazily.
"Even if you really were Whitebeard's woman, would he start a war with Marineford just for you?"
"At the end of the day, you're still just a pirate."
"Marines killing pirates is only natural."
Bakkin panicked.
"No—no! You can't kill me! I'm Weevil's mother! If I die, he'll completely lose control!!!"
Karl casually pushed Uwamari's tip a little closer into the folds of her neck, his tone mocking.
"Shhh. Calm down, old hag."
Bakkin swallowed hard and nodded desperately.
The next moment, her body went light—
Karl lifted her clean off the deck, the cold blade pressed firmly to her throat.
"Tell your good son to stop."
"WEIVIL, YOU IDIOT!" Bakkin screamed.
"STOP! Do you want your mother to die?!"
Weevil, still battling Zephyr, froze and looked over in shock.
"Mom?! Again?!"
"Ah—Mom! Are you okay?!"
"You little runt! If you hurt my mom, I'll kill you!"
Sniffling and drooling, Weevil tried to sound threatening—but Karl didn't even bother responding.
Arguing with an idiot was pointless.
He simply moved the blade a fraction closer.
"YOU MORON, SHUT UP!" Bakkin screamed, completely losing control.
"Do you really want your mother to die?!"
"…Throw your weapon away," Karl said calmly.
Bakkin clenched her teeth and screamed at Weevil,
"Throw it away, idiot! Drop the blade!"
"But Mom! Without my weapon, I can't beat that old man!"
"THROW IT!"
"Do you want to watch your mother die?!"
Weevil immediately wilted.
With extreme reluctance, he glanced at his huge blade one last time—
then let it fall to the deck with a crisp clang.
Zephyr, watching this unfold, genuinely questioned his life choices.
I fought this thing half a day… and it turns out I was wrestling with an idiot?
Bakkin hurriedly shouted,
"See? I did everything you asked! Let me go, and I swear I'll make Weevil leave you alone!"
Zephyr snorted coldly.
"Wishful thinking. Pirates like you belong in Impel Down."
Karl, however, fell briefly into thought.
Weevil was strong.
Terrifyingly strong.
A perfect weapon—
but stupid, unstable, and impossible to control.
No.
Better dead.
The Marines never lacked brute force anyway.
And in the future, he could always farm Luffy instead—no need to gamble on Weevil.
"Tell your son to stand still," Karl said.
Bakkin's face changed instantly.
"What? You're not planning—no! Impossible!"
She knew it the moment he said it.
Weevil was her only leverage.
If Weevil died, her fate would be far worse.
As long as Weevil lived, even if she died, his rage would wipe out her enemies.
So no matter what—
She could not let Weevil stop fighting.
"Hmph." Karl sneered.
"Fine. If you won't say it—then I will."
He picked up a piece of ragged cloth, intending to stuff it into her mouth and silence her completely.
But Bakkin was sharp.
The moment she realized his intent, she screamed at the top of her lungs—
"Son! Don't worry about me—KILL THEM—MMMPH!!"
Weevil's brain short-circuited.
Then instinct kicked in.
He lunged for the blade he had just thrown away.
But Zephyr was already there.
With a single kick, he sent the blade flying into the sea.
Splash.
"No—MY BLADE!!!"
That broke him.
Weevil's eyes turned bloodshot.
He roared like a cornered beast and charged Zephyr head-on.
Karl stared, stunned.
This temper… shouldn't someone at least die first?
Reality answered him.
For Weevil, no such trigger was required.
He could go berserk anytime.
"Good! Bone Crusher!"
Zephyr's arm turned pitch-black as he met the raging Weevil head-on.
Behind them—
"Looks like… you're useless now."
"No—NO—NO!"
With a single clean slash—
Blood sprayed.
Bakkin's frail body collapsed to the deck, eyes wide with disbelief and unwillingness.
"Whitebeard… won't let you go…"
Pointing shakily at Karl as she spoke her last words,
Miss Bakkin finally died.
"Lies from start to finish," Karl scoffed, wiping his blade.
Whitebeard went to war for Ace, his adopted son.
If Weevil were real blood, would this old witch still be hopping around like this?
Nice try—but wrong target.
I've watched the anime.
Karl turned his gaze to Weevil.
Your mom's gone.
Now it's your turn.
"Zephyr-sensei, can you hold on?" Karl called.
"Want me to call for backup?"
Zephyr's blood pressure spiked instantly.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You think I can't handle him?!"
Fine.
I'll show you what the old man is really capable of.
After knocking Weevil away with a punch, Zephyr shot Karl a glare.
"I'll deal with YOU later!"
Weevil climbed up from the deck and finally noticed the corpse at Karl's feet.
"NO—!!! MOM!!!"
He rushed toward Bakkin's body without a shred of defense.
Karl's pupils shrank.
He couldn't take Weevil head-on—
so he vanished instantly with Soru.
"Mom… Mom, wake up…"
"Waaah—!!!"
Huge tears streamed down Weevil's face as he cried like a broken child.
As if…
his mother had just died.
…
Which, admittedly, she had.
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