Chapter 122: Orders for the Skypiea Armada

Gan Fall was buzzing with excitement after obtaining control over Visalia, the flying island.

After all, this meant he’d completed the very first task Lord Karl assigned him.

He wasted no time and dialed Karl’s transponder snail all the way out in the New World.

“Brrr brrr!”

“Hello, Lord Karl, we’ve successfully seized control of Visalia…”

The moment the Den Den Mushi picked up, Gan Fall blurted it out at once.

Still, a trace of nervousness crept into his voice since he’d missed Karl’s original deadline.

Little did he know Karl had long forgotten exactly when he’d set the deadline.

“Oh? Did you manage to get the method for controlling the sky island?”

Karl hadn’t expected such good news today—did this mean his mission was wrapping up?

His tone brimmed with anticipation, not a hint of reproach.

“Reporting in, Lord Karl, we’ve secured it.”

After replying, Gan Fall waited quietly for Karl’s next instructions.

When Karl didn’t criticize him, Gan Fall finally let out a sigh of relief.

Karl quickly checked the System’s panel and saw that Mission 3 was, indeed, complete.

A satisfied smile spread across his face.

Side Mission Four had been unlocked—but this new task…

Karl paused for a moment on the other end of the line, deep in thought.

A single flying sky island probably wouldn’t meet all their needs.

Best to transform every sky island into a mobile fortress. That way, they’d have enough strategic space to maneuver.

“Here’s the plan: work with Haredas and the others to modify all the sky islands, turn each of them into flying islands.”

Karl’s voice came through the Den Den Mushi, steady and decisive.

“Understood, Lord Karl.”

Once Gan Fall received his orders, he hung up and immediately relayed Karl’s commands.

After ending the call, Karl began pondering how to finish Side Mission Four.

After all, its objective was surviving in God Valley.

He was already vice-captain of the Rocks Pirates now.

When the battle at God Valley began, he’d surely be a thorn in the side of both the Navy and the World Government.

Maybe not quite the priority Rocks was, but he wouldn’t exactly slip through unnoticed either.

He had to come up with a solid plan for escape.

And in the original story, God Valley was wiped out completely.

Maybe even Im would pull out the big guns and unleash the Uranus’s attack.

He’d have to find a way to trick Im’s gaze—or survive Uranus’s might.

After thinking it over, he turned and made his way to the west side of Cake Island.

Cake Island had already been neatly planned out. The east was the main entrance, home to the Chocolate Forest.

The western area had been set aside as a training ground for his subordinates to grow stronger.

To the north and south, two corridors connected into a long, narrow town, with the island’s most famous landmark—Cake Castle—standing proudly at its center.

“Bang, bang, bang!”

“Keep it up! Push harder!”

“Move faster! Hit harder!”

Karl hadn’t even reached the western training ground when he heard shouts from within.

A smile tugged at his lips. He recognized the passionate voices of his Fishmen as they trained.

Their shouts crackled with energy and drive.

He drew closer. Before him stretched a hundred neat grid-like training grounds, with a towering platform at the front dozens of meters high.

Each grid contained nearly a thousand Fishmen, all going through their drills.

Their movements were crisp and disciplined. Not a single gaze wavered.

This was the Fishmen Corps he’d built from scratch—one hundred thousand strong right here.

The rest of the Fishmen forces were stationed across the Sweets Sea’s other fifty-five islands.

“Lord Karl!”

“What brings you here, Lord Karl?”

As Karl reached the platform, Long Yi and Long Er spotted him and rushed over.

“How’s your training going?”

Karl ruffled their hair. In just over a year, they’d already shot up to nearly 1.7 meters tall.

“Lord Karl, we’ve been practicing White Tiger’s Vajra Demon-Subduing Fist lately.”

“Oh? He taught you the Vajra Demon-Subduing Fist already? That was quick.”

Noticing their proud faces, Karl was surprised White Tiger had handed over the technique to Krell so soon.

“According to Krell, White Tiger delivered the full set yesterday—said it came from you, Lord Karl.”

“And it’s honestly on a whole different level from what we had before.”

“Every time we train with it, we can feel our power and bodies getting a little tougher.”

The two of them eagerly shared their progress with Karl, describing how it felt to practice the Vajra Demon-Subduing Fist.

“Of course—it’s the real deal, a genuine body-tempering art.”

“Are they practicing it too?”

Karl glanced toward the massed Fishmen Corps inside the grids.

“That’s right, Lord Karl.”

“Our plan is to release only the first half of the art to everyone for now.”

“Anyone who really stands out gets the second half as a reward.”

Clearly, they both realized how valuable this skill was, so they wouldn’t just hand out the whole thing right away.

“Not bad. You two have some brains after all.”

“Alright, let’s get down to business. Go call Jennifer and Smith over here.”

“Yes, Lord Karl!”

They dashed off to the nearest grid on the left, and Karl followed their path with his eyes, spotting Jennifer and the others.

“Sitting up here really is a whole different feeling.”

He settled into a chair atop the tall platform, looking down at the Fishmen Corps below, pride swelling in his chest.

This, he thought, was the army he’d lead to conquer the world.

“Lord Karl!”

Before he could get too lost in his thoughts, Jennifer and Smith had already arrived.

“Captain!”

Their greetings snapped him out of his daydream.

“You two have really bulked up since I last saw you.”

Karl smiled at the bashful Smith scratching his head and the shy Jennifer by his side.

Months of tough training had clearly darkened their skin.

“Was there something you needed, Captain?”

Smith knew better than anyone: Karl never called them over for small talk.

“Are you interested in eating a Devil Fruit?”

Jennifer and Smith exchanged glances.

“We’d like to, but none of the fruits we’ve found really fit us.”

They both knew they were lagging behind the rest of the crew.

And unless they found a way to break through, they’d probably reached their limits already.

Without a Devil Fruit, making it beyond a rear admiral’s power level would be tough.

“Well, I’ve got two Devil Fruits here I want to give you.”

“I think these two will suit your talents perfectly.”

“Captain Karl, what kind of fruits are they?”

Jennifer was pleasantly surprised—she never thought Karl would find Devil Fruits just for them.

“The Draw-Draw Fruit and the Morph-Morph Fruit.”

“Jennifer, you’ve always loved drawing. With the Draw-Draw Fruit, you could really take your art to a whole new level.”

“With its power, you might just become a true master of the arts someday.”

He handed the Draw-Draw Fruit to Jennifer first, then turned to Smith.

“Smith, with the Morph-Morph Fruit, you’ll have plenty of time to master it.”

“You can transform into anything you touch—animal, plant, whatever. And as a chef, that really plays to your strengths.”

“Give it some thought, both of you. No need to decide right away.”

With that, Karl leaned back in his chair, leaving the decision in their hands.