Chapter 17: A Test of Loyalty Among Pirates

“Captain Rocks? Did he call for me about something?”

Though he was full of doubts, he still headed toward the council hall.

As soon as Karl stepped inside the main hall, he noticed all the division captains were already there.

On either side sat Golden Lion, Newgate, Charlotte Linlin, John, and Wang Zhi. At the end, Kaido stood as well. Even though Kaido was still just an apprentice, his strength was nearly on par with the captains, so he too was qualified to join the pirate council.

At this point in time, Kaido was very close to becoming a captain himself. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been appointed yet. For now, he belonged to Charlotte Linlin’s crew, which was why he was standing next to her.

“Hahahahahaha!”

Rocks wore a dark expression but suddenly burst out laughing.

With a mysterious smile, Rocks looked at Karl and said, “Karl, we’re already quite familiar with your strength, but we need to further confirm your loyalty. Right now, I’ve got a mission for you.”

Karl’s face twisted in confusion. “What mission?” he asked.

Rocks waved his hand and replied, “Your mission is to attack one of the World Government’s allied nations. The place isn’t particularly strong, so don’t worry, it’s not especially dangerous.”

Rocks was really just testing Karl. After all, if Karl wasn’t an undercover agent, sending him to attack a powerful country would just be a waste of good talent.

Just as Rocks finished speaking, Karl noticed Kaido glaring at him with obvious anger.

He quickly realized Kaido was venting his frustration.

Kaido had been with the Rocks Pirates for ages yet never made captain, while this newcomer got the position right away. No wonder he wasn’t happy. He didn’t think Karl was actually that strong.

Among the captains, John was by far the weakest. Both John and Wang Zhi became captains only because they were among the first to join the Rocks Pirates, so beating them wasn’t enough to prove Karl truly deserved the rank.

“As for your task—go raise some hell in the Fill Kingdom.”

Karl had no idea if the mission was dangerous or not. You could never trust everything Rocks said, but he knew he couldn’t refuse. When it was a personal order, Rocks gave off a murderous aura that made it clear: say no, and you might not leave the room alive.

“Any specific requirements?” Karl pressed, wanting to know what the real goal was. Was it simple pillaging, or had Rocks set his sights on something else?

He suspected this assignment was just a test of loyalty, since he’d only just joined and was already being told to attack an allied nation. Not that it mattered—he had no intention of sticking with the Rocks Pirates for long anyway, and the crew probably wouldn’t last much longer.

“Just go wild and make a scene.”

Rocks’ expression softened a bit as he heard Karl’s answer.

He didn’t pile any more work on Karl. The only requirement was to stir up chaos in the Fill Kingdom.

“No problem, leave it to me.”

Without a second thought, Karl accepted the task. In his eyes, this kind of risk was actually pretty manageable.

Seeing how readily Karl accepted, Rocks began to relax his suspicions.

He walked over and clapped Karl on the shoulder, laughing heartily. “Good man, Karl! I hope you come back successful. All the loot from this mission is yours to keep.”

“Hahahahaha!”

Rocks finished speaking, still laughing as he strode out of the council hall.

“Heh, Karl! Ever thought about joining my crew instead?”

Golden Lion laughed loudly from the sidelines. He’d only rushed back to the island the night before, and was still regretting setting sail in the first place—otherwise, he’d have been the first to recruit Karl.

So, the moment they met, he immediately extended an olive branch.

Truth was, Golden Lion had long wanted to split from the Rocks Pirates. He’d just never had the right chance. If he could pull Karl into his group, he’d have himself a powerful right-hand man.

“Sorry, Captain Golden Lion, but I’m not looking to join anyone else’s crew right now.”

Golden Lion didn’t push him. Karl had made it clear he wanted to be a captain himself, plus his strength was nothing to scoff at.

Golden Lion understood where he was coming from. He’d just hoped he’d meet someone as capable as Karl outside instead of missing out on such a good recruit.

After that, Golden Lion left the hall as well.

“Karl, have a kid with me!”

Charlotte Linlin beamed and charged up beside him.

“Uh, no thanks.”

Karl quickly backed away from the suggestion. No way did he want to get tangled up with Charlotte Linlin—she ended up marrying over fifty men, and by the end, stopped caring about her appearance altogether. Just thinking about it gave him the creeps.

That mental image flashed through his mind and he shook his head quickly, making his escape from the hall.

“Hahaha! Looks like Karl’s not too keen on you, old lady,” Wang Zhi teased from the side. Charlotte Linlin had already approached Golden Lion and Newgate, but no one else. Wang Zhi felt a twinge of jealousy—he was convinced it was because Charlotte Linlin looked down on his abilities.

“Tch, like I’d ever want you anyway,” she snapped right back.

“Kaido, let’s go.”

Charlotte Linlin called Kaido and left the hall.

“So, what do you say? Want me to tag along?”

Newgate called after Karl as he was leaving.

After all, Newgate had brought Karl into the crew in the first place. To have Rocks immediately order him to attack an allied nation was suspicious—it was clear Rocks didn’t fully trust Karl. Still, there wasn’t much Newgate could do; no one dared oppose Rocks’ orders.

Still, Newgate had a good impression of Karl.

“It’s fine. Just an allied nation. Wait for my good news.”

Karl grinned easily.

See, with the Grand Line’s latter half so far from Navy support, the risk for him was actually pretty low.

“Alright, go on then. Watch out for any Navy ambushes.”

Newgate chuckled. Navy operations in the New World’s second half were still pretty rare.

So there wasn’t much to worry about.

“Krell!”

No sooner had Karl returned to his quarters than he called for Krell, his right-hand man and second-strongest on the crew.

“Lord Karl.”

“Did Captain Rocks call for you about something?” Krell asked, puzzled. After all, they’d only just joined the Rocks Pirates. Logically, they shouldn’t be getting any big assignments yet.

“He might be suspicious of where we stand. That’s why we’re heading to the Fill Kingdom.”

“When do we set sail, sir?”

“Better not wait and let trouble brew. Gather the men—we set sail now.”

Karl didn’t want to stall. He knew there was a spy inside the Rocks Pirates, so if they waited too long, the Navy could be waiting to ambush them, sent by the World Government.

If it came to that, nobody could say for sure who’d come out on top.

“Understood, Captain Karl.”

Having received his answer, Krell straightened up and hurried off to gather the crew.

A few hours later, Karl led his pirates toward their target—the Fill Kingdom.

“Listen up! Our target is the Fill Kingdom!”

“This time, I’ll split half the loot from the raid with all of you.”

He knew these pirates were new to his crew—there was no real trust between them. So he offered a big reward to spark their fighting spirit and prevent any trouble.

“Long live Lord Karl!” Krell shouted first.

“Long live the Captain!”

“Thank you, Captain!”

“Captain Karl!”

Karl’s announcement sent a wave of cheers through the crew.

In the past, they might have only gotten a tenth or two of any loot—sometimes, they even had to pay a portion back up the chain to the captain. This time, getting half was enough to make them ecstatic.

And this was a government ally, so they’d likely be swimming in Berries.

Karl was sure there had to be a spy among the pirates here.

So he knew he had to put on a good show.

Indeed, Rocks had planted an informant on his ship.

Watching from behind the scenes, Rocks tracked Karl’s every move through his spy—hoping he’d pull off the mission and ready to guard against any betrayal.