Chapter 183: Morning After and New Orders

Early the next morning—

Karl slowly woke up in the big, pink bed. Lying beside him, bare as the day she was born, was none other than Charlotte Linlin.

His gaze drifted over that snowy-white skin and he couldn’t help but feel some wicked thoughts brewing in his mind.

Quietly, he slid his right hand under the covers and grasped one of those generous curves that were almost impossible to hold with just one hand.

“Mmm, stop it!”

The beauty beside him blinked open her sleepy eyes, letting out a soft little whimper.

“Hehehe!”

He swooped down on her in a playful pounce.

“Ah! No, stop!” (We’ll spare the details.)

Everyone knows what happens in the morning—no need to explain.

A few hours later, looking completely refreshed, Karl got out of bed and pulled on his clothes.

Without so much as a backward glance he called out, “I’m heading out now!”

At that moment, he really looked like a heartless guy abandoning his family.

But as the scene shifted back to the bed, the woman lying there only watched Karl leave with a rosy glow on her cheeks.

“Still as wild as ever,” she murmured, savoring the memory.

Leaving the bedroom, Karl headed straight to the meeting room. There was a mountain of business to handle today.

“Go fetch Krell for me,” he said to a nearby Fishman.

The Fishman bowed and departed. “Right away, Lord Karl.”

Once the Fishman was gone, Karl picked up the documents on the table, studying them closely.

Some were reports from Wano, others detailed the situation on different islands around the Sweets Sea, plus updates from the Four Seas.

All these noisy affairs were waiting for Karl alone to deal with.

“This is such a pain. Paperwork’s the thing I hate most,” Karl muttered, scratching his head.

Dealing with this stack of files felt like torture to him.

But regardless, he forced himself to go through every page with patience.

Tap tap tap…

Soon, footsteps sounded at the door. Karl looked up to see Krell entering.

“Krell, come over here!”

He greeted Krell and beckoned him over with a wave.

“Lord Karl, what can I do for you?”

Truth was, Krell had just returned to Cake Island last night after wrapping up business in Wano.

Moments ago he’d been overseeing the Fishmen Corps training, but as soon as he heard Karl had called, he rushed over.

“How much of the New World is under our control?”

Krell thought for a moment before giving a straightforward answer.

“Roughly one-fifth, I’d say.”

Karl nodded thoughtfully. He didn’t ask why they hadn’t taken more territory.

After all, Golden Lion and Newgate also claimed big chunks of land. The three of them ruled the New World in a delicate three-way balance, with a few empty buffer zones left since none of them wanted direct borders between their territories.

“Krell, I’ve got a new mission for you,” Karl said, tapping his fingers on the desk.

Krell stepped forward, head lowered to listen intently.

“I don’t fully trust the Mafia in the Four Seas. Assign more Fishmen to watch them in secret.”

Krell replied cautiously, “And if any of them show signs of betrayal…”

Without a word, Karl drew his hand across his neck in a slow, chilling gesture.

Krell nodded gravely. “Understood, Lord Karl.”

“Any progress with Elbaf?”

Krell thought for a moment then said, “We found it, but thanks to Lady Linlin, we can’t get inside.”

Hearing that, Karl recalled the original story. Linlin had always craved the power of the giants, but never succeeded—not even in the end. Looks like he’ll need to visit Little Garden someday.

“Bring me the Devil Fruits we plundered from God Valley,” he ordered with a wave.

Krell turned to leave, but Karl stopped him at the door.

“Don’t forget, find the whereabouts of the anglerfish as soon as possible.”

Krell paused at the doorway, turned back and said, “You can count on me, Lord Karl.”

With that, he left right away.

That left Karl alone in the meeting room, sifting through reports from every corner.

Before long, Jennifer walked in.

“Show me what Devil Fruits you managed to bring back from God Valley,” Karl said, setting aside his file and heading for the sofa.

“Please take a look, Lord Karl!”

Jennifer walked over to the sofa, lifting up a scroll that revealed paintings of over a dozen chests. She unrolled it on the table, and with a puff of white smoke, more than a dozen boxes materialized, each taking on its true form.

These Devil Fruits were the ones found in God Valley and in John’s treasure stash.

When they set out for God Valley, Karl had already sent his Fishmen to secretly ship all the treasures Rocks entrusted to John back to base.

“Looks like we cleaned up,” Karl said with a smile as he inspected the haul, surprised to see they’d scooped up a full twelve Devil Fruits.

But chances to gather Devil Fruits on this scale again would be rare from here on out.

Unless he somehow managed to storm Mariejois, it was hard to imagine so many Devil Fruits ever coming together again.

Bang bang bang!!!

He opened all twelve boxes at once, then pulled out the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia to begin matching each one.

“Elephant-Elephant Fruit, Hound Fruit, Sausage Fruit…” The first six he identified were all pretty ordinary Zoan-type fruits. Karl’s face showed a hint of disappointment—most likely Rocks’ private stash.

Hard to believe Rocks had ruled the New World for so long without laying hands on a single powerful Devil Fruit.

No wonder he never ate one himself. Guess it wasn’t for lack of trying—he just never got a strong one.

If Rocks had wielded a top-tier Devil Fruit in the God Valley War, that battle could’ve gone very differently.

Shaking his head, Karl set aside those pointless what-ifs. After all, Rocks was dead.

“A Logia Cloud-Cloud Fruit, a Zoan Mythical Beast Type—Azure Dragon Form, a Zoan Phoenix Form, Paramecia Paw-Paw Fruit, Paramecia Diamond Fruit, Paramecia Door-Door Fruit. So that’s where they’ve all been hiding.”

“Funny, some of the most famous fruits ended up right here.”

“Jennifer, store those Zoan fruits in the warehouse for me.”

Jennifer nodded and carried away the six plain Zoan fruits.

With Karl’s standards these days, he had no reason to bother collecting such ordinary Devil Fruits.

His second main mission was to strengthen the family. Time to get started.

He put away the remaining Devil Fruits and walked out.

In another room, he called all the children together. Everyone sat around a giant, rotating round table.

This was Karl’s study, its walls lined with antique bookshelves. The children looked a bit confused, but no one spoke first—not with Karl looking so serious.

“Karl, why did you gather all the kids?” Charlotte Linlin asked with a laugh, breaking the silence.

She’d never seen Karl act so formally before.

Honestly, she had no idea what he was up to.

Karl had just been mulling over his next steps when Charlotte Linlin’s question snapped him back. He quickly remembered what needed doing.

“I’ve brought them together because it’s time we really develop the family.”

“And to build the family up, we have to strengthen their abilities.”

There was no point holding onto a pile of Devil Fruits for himself; Karl couldn’t possibly eat them all.

Really, the only Devil Fruits Karl wanted were ones of Space or Time, but none had ever turned up, so that was that.