Chapter 283: The Power to Shift the Battlefield

Karl couldn’t hide his excitement. This kind of power was far more useful than Kuma’s Paw-Paw Fruit or the Door-Door Fruit. He could instantly redirect large-scale attacks without even making contact.

If this Devil Fruit’s ability were to awaken, it’d cause unimaginable changes.

“I’m taking that power for myself—no one can stop me, not even Jesus,” Karl declared.

With an ability like this, traveling to any corner of the sea would be as simple as asking someone for a quick teleport.

As for stamina, there were Great Revitalizing Pills on hand—at the very least, someone with this power would have the endurance of a vice admiral. That made this Devil Fruit a strategic-level asset.

“I can’t believe the World Government gifted me something this valuable. It’d be rude not to accept.”

“Mine, all mine!”

As soon as he finished, a ten-meter-long halberd appeared in Karl’s right hand, Crimson Conqueror’s Haki flowing along its blade.

A crushing sense of power swept across the entire island. The weaker ones went pale, eyes rolling back as they collapsed.

“The fight’s leveled up!”

“So this is the true might of Conqueror’s Haki?”

“It’s just unbelievable.”

“Hahaha, now this is what I call big news!”

Morgans’ camera was a piece of Vegapunk Labs tech, armed with stunning resolution.

Even from thousands of meters away, it captured every detail—Karl, wreathed in scarlet energy, halberd in hand, truly looked sensational in that moment.

Since energy attacks could just be redirected, there was no choice but to go head-to-head.

Now the question was, after two and a half years of honing his halberd techniques, could his opponents withstand it?

“Thunder Crescent Slash!”

Bending his knees, Karl launched himself skyward. Swinging the halberd in a wide arc, he landed right where the two Holy Knights had just stood.

One dodged back, but the Holy Knight with the teleportation power quickly reached out to touch the halberd.

The moment he used his ability, Karl felt a strange force trying to drag him away.

If he hadn’t known about this unique power in advance, he might’ve been whisked off to who-knows-where.

“You underestimated me.”

But with time to prepare, there’s no way Karl would fall for the same trick.

He surged with strength, drawing on the power of his Titan blood, rooting himself to the land. Physically and even biologically, he became one with the whole island.

Now, if they wanted to move him, they’d have to move the entire Cake Island with him.

And Karl seriously doubted any Devil Fruit held power on that scale.

Sure enough, that strange force faded after only an instant.

“Ugh!”

The Holy Knight’s face twisted in pain. He suffered severe backlash, blood gushing from his mouth and nose. At this rate, he was basically out of the fight.

“Trying to take me away? Better check your own strength first.”

Karl held back, careful not to kill this unique Devil Fruit user—if they died, the power would be lost.

But that meant more trouble for the other Holy Knight. Karl’s right hand flicked open, raining a barrage of steel spikes out of thin air.

Each spike was wrapped in Armament Haki, pinning the other Holy Knight in on every side.

There was no way out, surrounded from every direction. Not even a crack to slip through.

In the next instant, right before the spikes landed, both of them vanished.

“Pretty quick on the getaway.”

“But you can’t run forever.”

Karl had already noticed there were some serious limits to their powers.

Just shifting his fireball away had drained the Holy Knight considerably.

In the One Piece World, the surest way to judge someone’s stamina is by observing their condition.

Karl took a different approach, though—he could sense the lifeforce of others and gauge their stamina level.

When the Fire Fist attack was moved out to sea, Karl could clearly feel the Holy Knight’s stamina just plummet.

And after that failed attempt to move Karl himself, the Holy Knight was nearly spent.

“Let’s see how far you can run!”

He unleashed his Observation Haki, immediately picking up two figures above the lab.

“Are you still good to go?”

Claire looked over at Colin. The original plan was for Colin to move Karl, so they both could quickly teleport into the lab.

The goal was to abduct Vegapunk; the rest were just targets meant to buy time.

Unfortunately, not only had Colin failed to move Karl, he’d ended up badly hurt himself.

“The fight’s yours from here on out,” Colin said.

“Don’t worry. But you watch your back too.”

Karl wasn’t like those main character types who give villains time to recover. His motto was: strike while the iron’s hot.

If he could take someone out with a single combo, he wouldn’t hesitate even a second.

Whoosh!

The hundred-meter-long halberd slashed through the air toward them, the shockwave splitting the air with a deafening sonic boom.

Colin vanished instantly, while Claire swung his spear from his waist, summoning a gold spear dozens of meters long.

Clang!

Boom!

Their weapons clashed midair with a thunderous crack, the force leaving weaker fighters below bleeding from the ears.

Seeing that Colin had disappeared, Karl didn’t hurry. After all, there was still Halil inside the lab, and with Colin as injured as he was, he might not get the upper hand.

Claire didn’t know why Karl was so calm, but right now his main job was to keep Karl from breaking into the lab.

“Spear Rain!”

Claire’s spear whirled so fast it was almost a blur, firing off a storm of energy spears at Karl.

Karl gripped his halberd in his right hand, left palm opening. “Turn solid into void!”

This move was inspired by the Aether Element.

Transform reality into nothingness, or make the intangible real—that was the true essence of Aether.

The golden spears of energy crumbled into glittering fragments mid-flight, raining gently from the sky.

“Not a bad show.”

“But I really can’t stand anyone from the World Government.”

Before Claire could react, Karl was suddenly at his right flank.

To Claire, Karl simply disappeared before his eyes—then a chill crept up his back, every hair standing on end.

There was no time to think. He managed to cover himself in Armament Haki just before the attack hit.

A split second later, a tremendous force slammed him straight into the ground.

Bang!

Even with Armament Haki covering his whole body, he couldn’t avoid internal injuries—not against Karl.

The power of Karl’s outward-flowing Haki was just too much. Internal wounds were inevitable.

“Cough… Is this the strength of the New World’s latest king?”

Blood stained Claire’s body as he lay in a crater.

He barely had time to struggle upright before the glint of Karl’s halberd filled his vision.

Squelch!