Chapter 117: Waves Stirred: The Navy and the World Government’s Hidden Tug-of-War

After receiving orders from Fleet Admiral Hill, Vice Admiral Peide wasted no time spreading out the new plan.

Across the Four Seas and the first half of the Grand Line, promising new recruits were sent in droves to Navy Headquarters.

Simultaneously, small-scale recruitment drives kicked off locally.

Even though the incident with the Celestial Dragons had dented the Navy’s reputation,

they still managed to recruit huge numbers of marines within just two months.

By the time the World Government caught wind of what was happening, it was far too late to stop them.

Power Center of the World Government—Mariejois.

“Bang!”

“Damned Hill, getting more disobedient by the day!”

A loud thud echoed as the Bald Five Elder slammed the table.

He had always been quick-tempered—these outbursts were nothing new around here.

This time though, the Navy had really crossed the line.

They’d given explicit orders to prohibit recruitment, yet the Navy defied them anyway.

“No matter how many small fry you gather, without decisive combat strength, it’s useless.”

The Tall Thin Five Elder wasn’t as concerned. In his view, unless someone reached admiral level, sheer numbers meant nothing.

And besides, the Navy’s overall strength had already been cut down significantly.

As long as no real powerhouses joined their ranks, everything would stay under control.

“If he wants to play this game, why not muddy the waters a bit more?”

“Send in the washed-up CP0 members. Isn’t he desperate for people? Fine, let’s give them to him.”

The Middle-Aged Five Elder, one of the council’s main strategists, teamed up with the Long-Bearded Five Elder to plot their next move.

Since the Navy was actively recruiting, they might as well slip some spies in there. That way, they could keep an even closer watch.

“Good idea,”

The Scarred Five Elder nodded in agreement.

The Navy had grown more and more unruly in recent years. It was time to lay down some countermeasures.

“Right. He wants people? All those useless ones are just wasting resources here anyway—send them all!”

The Bald Five Elder broke into a grin. It was better to put those rejects to use than let them eat for nothing.

With everyone on board, he actually started seeing this whole recruitment drive as good news.

After all, true admiral-level powerhouses were rare out on the seas.

As long as the Navy didn’t snatch up any of those, there was nothing to worry about.

“Alright, it’s settled. I’ll notify CP0 right away.”

Once things were decided, the Long-Bearded Five Elder picked up his Den Den Mushi and dialed CP0’s chief.

…

“Fleet Admiral Hill, your plan was brilliant.

Now our marines are double what they used to be.”

“The Four Seas and the first half of the Grand Line are firmly under Navy control.”

Fleet Admiral Hill looked at Vice Admiral Peide, who was positively beaming with excitement. He couldn’t help but nod with satisfaction.

“Still, that’s not enough. The new recruits are too weak.”

He paused, then continued.

“Every day, pirates pour into the New World from Sabaody Archipelago.”

“Looks like the fallout from Rocks executing the Celestial Dragons still isn’t over.”

At that thought, Fleet Admiral Hill frowned slightly.

“Don’t worry, Admiral. Most new recruits only need about six months of training.”

“By then, things will calm down in the Four Seas and the North Grand Line. We’ll have the muscle to really enforce justice.”

Peide, though, had her own thoughts—she felt their recruitment plan was going smoothly.

Any chaos in the Four Seas or the North Grand Line should settle itself in half a year.

“That’s all we can do for now.”

“Next up is Zephyr’s admiral promotion ceremony. We’d better make it count.”

With a shift in tone, Hill brought up Zephyr.

“Understood, Fleet Admiral Hill!”

Vice Admiral Peide snapped off a salute.

The Navy was knee-deep in their next phase, but the pirates weren’t sitting idle, either.

New World—Sweets Sea—Cake Island!

“Seriously? That’s it?”

“Looking like that, you’ll never be a queen.”

Karl stretched lazily and sat up, shaking his head at the still-sleeping Charlotte Linlin in bed.

He pulled on a cloak—showing off his eight-pack—then walked into the living room and flopped onto the sofa.

“Got important things to do today.”

Taking a glance at the calendar—February 2nd, 1481—Karl smirked.

“Two’s my lucky number. Saved up all my draws for today. Let’s see if I finally hit gold.”

Just as he was about to shout ‘draw’ to the System, a flicker of lightning suddenly flashed through his mind.

“Step, step, step…”

“That’s more like it.”

Turns out, he’d spent the morning washing his hands and face, arranged a portrait of the Three Pure Ones on the table along with an incense burner.

“Open the System panel.”

“Host: Lux D. Carl

Fused Template: The Outcast—Elder Heavenly Master

Unfused Templates: Legend of Qin—Sword Sage Gai Nie, Fox Spirit Matchmaker—Wang Quan Fugui

Skills: Armament Haki—Internal Destruction, Observation Haki—Hearing All Things, Conqueror’s Haki—Advanced Conqueror, True Fivefold Thunder, Golden Light Spell…”

Innate Talent: Titan Strength

Funds: 191.5 billion Berries

Items: 4 Shaolin Great Rejuvenation Pills, 7 Bloodline Pills, 6 Rejuvenation Pills, Halberd (Lu Bu’s Halberd), Supreme Grade Great Blade—Dragon Spring Blade…”

Devil Fruits: 11

Points: 110,000

Draw Chances: 3 Standard Draws, 1 Special Draw

Assessment: Top powerhouse on the sea; overall strength at admiral-level peak.”

Karl admired the lavish System screen. He nodded to himself, clearly satisfied.

“Three Pure Ones, Jade Emperor, Queen Mother of the West—please bless me with a good draw…”

“Start three standard draws!”

Karl lit an incense stick, placed it in the burner, and ordered the System to begin while his eyes went wide with anticipation.

The familiar golden wheel appeared, spinning slowly. Each pointer represented one of his three draws.

But this time, the System didn’t even give him a chance to see the prizes—the wheel started spinning faster and faster, dissolving into blurry afterimages.

“Stop!”

Since he couldn’t see a thing, Karl just called it off, resigned to leaving it to fate.

“Congratulations, Host! You’ve drawn an ownerless Rainbow Stone from Stardust Journey, the Zodiac Mouse Talisman, and a wooden Muya Essence used by Luo Feng, though it still has a little energy left!”

With those rewards in front of him, Karl’s mood instantly lifted.

“Rainbow Stone: From Stardust Journey. Can change and evolve to suit its user’s powers in endless ways.”

“Not bad. I probably can’t use the Rainbow Stone myself, but it’d be perfect for the kids.”

Karl mulled over the Rainbow Stone’s info. His own power system wasn’t so messy, so it was better to save it for others.

“Mouse Talisman: Transforms stillness into movement. Can animate non-living items and grant them abilities based on their original symbolism. At its peak, it can maintain dominance for three minutes.”

“Actually, I already know just the place for this.”

A mysterious smile crept across his face as he eyed the Mouse Talisman.

“Incomplete Muya Essence: Even incomplete, this comes from the Swallowed Universe and still has enough energy to instantly boost someone to admiral peak strength.”

“What, seriously? All that’s left is the leftovers?”

“System, come out here! Want me to beat you up or what?”

Meanwhile, in the Swallowed Universe—Luo Feng scratched his head, staring at his now-missing Muya Essence. “Wait, I thought I hadn’t finished absorbing that. Where’d it go?”

“Whatever—I’m not going to argue about it.”

“Three Pure Ones, Jade Emperor, Queen Mother—please, just give me something good this time.”

“Starting the special draw.”

At Karl’s command, the familiar golden wheel spun up again at dazzling speed.

“Alright, stop.”

He could barely see a thing. There wasn’t even suspense.

“Congratulations, Host! You’ve drawn a Special Template—Enhanced Thunderbolt Tiger!”

“Thunderbolt Tiger?”

For a second, Karl couldn’t remember which anime Thunderbolt Tiger came from.