Chapter 100: Turning Tides at Sea

Day two of their voyage at sea.

“Buru buru!”

Karl sat up in bed and rubbed his sleepy eyes.

Morning sunlight filtered through the tiny ship’s porthole, washing his face in gentle warmth as he glanced around.

The room was quiet, the only sound the soft rocking and creaking of the boat.

He blinked his eyes wide open, closed them, then looked again.

“Buru buru!”

“Hmm?”

He turned his head and saw Linlin about to be woken by the noise. Quickly, he picked up the transponder snail.

“Hello!”

“Is this Lord Karl?”

Hearing Krell’s voice on the other end, Karl hoped it was good news. Getting his sleep interrupted for something trivial would really annoy him.

“Krell, what’s up?”

A thread of anticipation wove through Karl’s voice.

Krell replied to the Den Den Mushi in a calm tone.

“Lord Karl, we’ve located the whereabouts of MADS.”

Karl muffled his laugh with his hand, careful not to wake Linlin beside him.

He composed himself and spoke softly to the transponder snail.

“Hahaha, that’s really great news.”

His mood lifted. After all, it was Vegapunk—if he could get his support, their ultimate plan might be finished way ahead of schedule.

“It’s on Clockwork Island, in the first half of the New World!” Krell continued.

Karl frowned. He hadn’t expected Vegapunk to be in the first half of the New World. Right now, heading there would be a problem.

He and the Navy were basically bitter enemies.

If the Navy found him in the first half of the New World, he could be facing a massive manhunt.

He could probably escape on his own, but getting Vegapunk out safely was another story.

“Alright, I got it!” he replied.

“Speed up the search on those other islands too.”

“Understood, Lord Karl,” Krell’s voice responded at once.

Click.

After hanging up, Karl quickly got dressed and slipped out of the room as quietly as he could.

Outside, he called for Davis and the others—their first mission was about to start.

He couldn’t go himself, but Davis and the rest had no such limitations. This was the perfect chance to test their ability to handle things on their own.

Soon, in Davis’ cabin, Fields and Halil had arrived as well, answering the summons.

Standing together, all eyes rested on Karl, waiting for instructions.

“Just got word from Krell. MADS is on an island in the first half of the Grand Line.”

Karl’s calm tone cut through the slight tension in the air.

“That island is called Clockwork Island.”

“I need you all to capture Vegapunk and bring him to me.”

Davis hadn’t expected their first mission to come so fast—but having a task was still better than endless drifting at sea.

He was getting a little sick of rolling on the waves every day.

He asked, a bit cautiously,

“Lord Karl, does Vegapunk have any distinguishing features?”

That question stumped Karl. Honestly, he couldn’t quite recall which version was Vegapunk’s true self in this era.

He scratched his chin, then gave a vague answer.

“If you have to go by features, his head’s a bit bigger than average.”

“Because he ate the Brain-Brain Fruit. The more knowledge he stores, the larger his head gets.”

At least that was a clue. Davis stood up at once and bid Karl farewell.

“Alright, Lord Karl, we’ll set out now.”

He took Fields and Halil, plus a few fishman crew members, took a sloop, and set off from the main fleet heading toward Clockwork Island in the New World.

Karl took a deep breath to steady himself.

He stood at the ship’s bow, watching Davis and the others sail away.

He silently watched their figures grow smaller in the distance, a thousand thoughts crowding his mind.

Given his current notoriety, showing up in the first half of the Grand Line would bring him nothing but attention and danger.

All he could do was entrust this mission to Davis and the others, who weren’t famous yet.

Still, he trusted Davis and the team’s strength and smarts—they’d pull this off.

Plus, the Navy probably hadn’t figured out Vegapunk’s secret about the Lineage Factor yet, so their defenses shouldn’t be too tight.

This was a real chance to shift the balance.

As their ship disappeared on the horizon, hope and excitement stirred inside him.

He turned and headed back into the cabin.

Navy Headquarters.

Now that Sengoku had been promoted to Admiral, he had a new office.

At the moment, he was inside, wading through a pile of paperwork.

“Knock, knock, knock!”

Sengoku laid down his documents when he heard the knock.

“Come in!”

Garp didn’t hesitate a second after hearing Sengoku’s voice; he pushed the door open and walked in.

“Sengoku, I need to take some time off.”

“You again?”

Sengoku pinched the bridge of his nose. Garp might be his best friend since their days in the Academy but his personality was still tough to put up with.

“I’ve actually got some urgent business this time.”

Unbothered, Garp plopped himself on the couch, munching on donuts and grinning at Sengoku.

Sengoku adjusted his glasses.

“What’s up, then? Out with it.”

“My son, Monkey D. Dragon—he’s gotten pretty strong lately. I want him to join the Navy.”

“Oh, your nephew’s already grown up?” Sengoku looked surprised.

Learning it was Garp’s nephew who wanted to join, Sengoku was all for it.

“Alright then. Go on, you’re on leave.”

“Hahaha, thanks! I’m off, then.”

Garp left the office, practically skipping out after getting the okay from Sengoku.

He grabbed his aide, Bogart, and quickly boarded a warship bound for Windmill Village.

And just like that, at only eleven years old, Dragon was brought into the Navy for the first time by Garp, becoming a Marine soldier.

But back in Windmill Village, Dragon had no idea what kind of nightmare awaited him.

Yet it was this early recruitment that let him witness the ugly side of the Celestial Dragons at God Valley.

That eventually became part of what drove him to found the Revolutionary Army.

Meanwhile, on Fishman Island…

Roger’s crew.

“Hahaha, Rayleigh!”

“Garp and his people are gone from outside—time for us to head to the New World!”

Roger slapped his leg and laughed uproariously as soon as he heard. Without delay, he tossed the newspaper to Rayleigh.

“Yeah, who’d have thought even Rocks did something decent for once.”

Rayleigh took the newspaper, pushed up his glasses, and read closely, a faint smile curving his lips as he spotted the headline.

“Shocking! The Rocks Pirates have destroyed two Navy outposts in the New World! Now the entire second half is a pirate paradise!”

Roger downed his beer in one gulp and locked his blazing eyes onto Jabba.

“Well then, it’s our turn to move.”

“Jabba, let’s set sail!”

“Heh, it’s about time.”

Jabba drained his drink and led the way to the ship—he was the navigator, after all.

The rest of the crew stood and made for the pirate ship too.

None of them expected that after just a quick stint in the Four Seas, they’d get blocked at the New World’s doorstep by Garp and Sengoku.

But at least the way was clear now.

Roger and his crew wasted no time heading out again, not wanting to give the Navy a chance to circle back.

“The one chosen by fate?”

“No, not yet—his time hasn’t come.”

“Rayleigh, did you hear anything just now?”

Roger shot up on the deck; at that moment, while the ship shot upward from the depths, he heard two deep voices echoing from the deep sea.

“Did you hear that?”

“Huh? What sound? I didn’t hear anything.”

Roger saw Rayleigh’s puzzled look and shook his head.

“Hahaha, maybe I misheard. Come on, let’s drink.”

“Here’s to our return to the New World! Make some noise, boys!”

“Ow! To our mighty captain!”

Jabba was up at the helm, while the rest broke out a fresh round of partying on deck.

…