Chapter 111: A Gift for Beehive Island

After leaving the lab, Karl made his way back to the nursery to visit his three daughters.

Meanwhile, once Krell left the lab, he went to find the Fishman, Halil.

“Halil, your next assignment is to keep a close eye on Dr. Vegapunk. This comes straight from Lord Karl. You’ll have a whole team of Fishmen helping you out.”

Halil scratched his head. Truth was, he wasn’t thrilled about it, but he didn’t really have a choice.

“Alright, I got it.”

“Now then, it’s time for the banquet we’ve prepared for you guys.”

“Thanks for all your hard work.”

At the mention of a banquet, Halil broke into a wide grin.

Afterward, Krell headed to the kitchen, where he found Longbread and made sure the food for tonight’s feast was ready.

“Come to daddy,”

In a sunlit room, Karl called out to his eldest daughter with a warm smile.

“Wah!” His eldest daughter, all smiles, crawled eagerly toward him.

“Aww, what a good girl.”

Karl scooped her up and praised her gently, his eyes brimming with affection.

Watching his daughter crawl over, Karl couldn’t help but beam.

“Have you decided on the child’s name yet?”

Karl gave a wry smile in response.

“Not yet. Let’s wait a bit longer.”

He sighed, “Things are still too hectic right now.”

“We haven’t really reached a point where we can truly relax yet.”

“As for the Celestial Dragon, I’ve decided to send him to Beehive Island tomorrow and see what happens.”

“Alright, got it.”

But Linlin wanted to hold out a little longer.

“I’ve got a few names here. Want to take a look…?”

“What names?” Karl asked, a little curious.

“Mash, Constance, Mozart. What do you think of these three?”

Karl thought for a second—these were actually the names of Charlotte Linlin’s 10th, 11th, and 12th daughters from the original story.

He figured it might be better to give his daughters names that were a bit more neutral.

Names that might even carry a bit of his longing for home.

“Let me think about it some more. Don’t worry, I’ll decide soon.”

“Alright then.”

Suddenly, a servant’s voice rang through the door.

“Lord Karl, the banquet’s about to start.”

“Let’s go, Linlin.”

Karl stood, smiling, and stretched out his hand to her.

Together, the two of them walked toward the main hall of Cake Island.

Inside the grand hall, Davis and the others were seated neatly around the round table. Vegapunk, Krell, Long Yi, Long Er, and even the White Tiger—practically every core member under Karl’s banner—had gathered, making for an unusually lively scene.

Karl and Linlin took their seats at the head of the table, with Ledfield sitting just to Karl’s left.

Everyone knew that Ledfield was the newest addition to their crew.

After sitting down, Karl made a point to introduce Ledfield.

“Everyone, this is Ledfield. He’s just joined our crew.”

Ledfield stood up, swept the room with his Mind Reading, and found that with only a few exceptions, most people here were actually pretty open-minded and kindhearted.

“Hello, I’m Ledfield. Glad to be joining you all.”

“I hope we can all be friends.”

“Cheers!”

“Bottoms up!”

With a smile, Karl raised his glass and stood. One by one, Krell and the others followed suit, raising their own in a collective toast.

During the banquet, for Vegapunk, Quinn, and the others,

it was their first time experiencing such a warm and close-knit pirate crew.

After all, in their eyes, weren’t pirates supposed to be ruthless and selfish? Who would’ve thought there could be such camaraderie?

With laughter and chatter all around, the meeting soon drew to a close.

Servants waiting nearby began hauling off the drunken guests one after another.

As for Karl, of course, he and Linlin retired together. (Some details skipped.)

The following morning, Karl and Linlin, accompanied by Ledfield, set out with the Celestial Dragon in tow and flew toward Beehive Island.

On a small islet near Beehive Island, Admiral Wenhu had already been waiting for over ten days, yet he showed no impatience.

Maybe it was thanks to his Ancient Zoan Saber-Toothed Tiger form—he had plenty of patience to spare.

But today, something was finally about to change.

Admiral Wenhu was busy observing strange movements on Beehive Island from his post.

Suddenly, he turned and spotted three figures soaring through the sky. Grabbing his binoculars, he peered closer.

It turned out to be Karl, Linlin, and an unfamiliar face. He started to relax.

But in the next instant, he spotted a bit of distinctive clothing beneath their feet.

“Wait, what’s that?”

“A Celestial Dragon!”

Admiral Wenhu couldn’t help feeling a bit regretful. He never imagined the Celestial Dragon would end up in Karl’s hands.

Before he knew it, Karl had already landed on Beehive Island. Wenhu had missed his chance.

He quickly pulled out his Transponder Snail.

“Bulu bulu!”

“Fleet Admiral Hill?”

For days, Fleet Admiral Hill had been waiting for good news from Wenhu, but none ever came.

As soon as the call came in, Hill answered straight away.

“It’s me, Admiral Wenhu. What’s up?”

Wenhu wasted no time and got to the point.

“Reporting in, Fleet Admiral Hill. Karl and Charlotte Linlin just brought a Celestial Dragon onto Beehive Island.”

Fleet Admiral Hill turned the message over in his mind. So, they hadn’t taken the Celestial Dragon straight to Beehive Island—instead, they’d hidden him in their secret Sweets Sea.

He immediately shared his deduction with Admiral Wenhu.

“Wait, so they didn’t go straight back to Beehive Island—they detoured through Karl’s mysterious Sweets Sea.”

“Looks that way.”

Hill massaged his furrowed brow, feeling the headache set in.

Now that the Celestial Dragon had reached Beehive Island, many of their plans were useless. All they could do was wait and see what Rocks would do next.

“Alright, hold on a sec while I get in touch with our inside man on Beehive and see what’s going on.”

As soon as he hung up, Hill quickly called their contact inside Beehive Island for an update.

Meanwhile, inside Beehive, Karl and Linlin—still escorting the Celestial Dragon—had arrived just outside Rocks’s quarters.

From inside, Rocks sensed Karl’s approach and opened the door. The next moment, his eyes widened in surprise.

“Is that—?”

“A Celestial Dragon!”

“Hahaha! Karl, you’ve really brought me quite the surprise.”

Rocks’s confusion turned quickly to delighted laughter.

He never expected Karl to deliver him such a gift.

“So they’re not really any different from the rest, huh?”

Rocks walked over, inspecting the Celestial Dragon in Karl’s grasp.

“Captain Rocks, consider this a little present from me. What do you think?”

“Of course! A gift like this is impossible to refuse!”

The two locked eyes and both broke into smiles.

That night, in response to these events, Rocks assembled his commanders, the Golden Lion among them, and made a proclamation on the island: the Celestial Dragon would be executed on Harth Island.

“Alright, got it.”

The moment Fleet Admiral Hill heard from their inside man, he wasted no time contacting the World Government.

“This is completely unacceptable.”

“Send CP0 in.”

“Understood.”

With little discussion, the Five Elders dispatched five CP0 agents to Harth Island.

Their mission was simple: attempt a rescue if possible. If not, at all costs, make sure no footage from the Video Transponder Snails could record Rocks and the others executing a Celestial Dragon.

“Received, Fleet Admiral Hill.”

On hearing Hill’s message, Admiral Wenhu immediately set out for Harth Island, determined to evacuate as many residents as possible.

Harth Island sat in the second half of the New World, nestled between Fishman Island and Beehive Island.

It was a small island, home to just over ten thousand inhabitants.

These people had been living life as usual, never suspecting that world-shaking events were about to erupt here, threatening to wipe their home from existence.

The next day, Rocks and his group headed to Harth Island with the Celestial Dragon in tow. Tagging along were Mor Morris, Morgans, and a slew of Video Transponder Snails.

“Finally, we’re here!”

Admiral Wenhu gazed at Harth Island ahead. After traveling through the night, he arrived early and wasted no time revealing his status as a Navy admiral, relocating residents one by one.

With little time to spare, he could only move them to nearby islands.

Just as he finished, Wenhu spotted an incoming fleet on the horizon.

It was none other than the Rocks Pirates.