Chapter 185: The Relentless Drill: A Fierce Family Sparring Match

“Hiss!”

“Lord Karl is ruthless!” Krell sucked in a sharp breath from the sidelines. He never expected Karl would go so hard on his own daughter. Krell was suddenly grateful he hadn’t made any major mistakes—if Karl put him through that kind of ‘training,’ he’d never survive.

If Karl is that harsh with his own blood, what chance do the rest of them have? They’d be lucky to escape without losing some skin.

“I’m not so keen to spar with Lord Karl anymore,” Notty admitted. He’d actually wanted to challenge Karl earlier.

But seeing how brutal Karl was with his kids, Notty quickly squashed that unrealistic idea.

He really didn’t want to end up bedridden for months.

“That’s the right way to do it. Building real combat experience beats waiting for someone else to dish out a lesson,” Davis commented, his eyes giving away his seasoned perspective.

He was one of the few who seemed to immediately understand Karl’s reasoning—smarter than Krell, Notty, and the rest.

After all, these were Karl’s own children. Out in the New World, Karl was bound to make some enemies. Instead of sheltering them, better to toughen them up.

Meanwhile, the battle raged on in the arena.

“Heat Breath!” In the far corner, Ye Linqin shot to his feet, his body morphing into a half-dragon. He cupped his clawed hands around his mouth and unleashed a stream of scorching flames straight at Karl.

“Not bad—picking up Heat Breath that quick,” Karl remarked.

No surprise there, given his bloodline. Ye Linqin had barely eaten the Devil Fruit and already awakened the Azure Dragon’s Heat Breath skill. Karl couldn’t help but wonder, how would that compare to Kaido in the original story? Who would come out on top?

Karl summoned a shield with the Golden Light Spell, raising it in front of him for protection.

“Whirlwind Kick!” Katakuri, thinking he’d found an opening, leaped toward Karl and kicked at his head.

But Karl’s Observation Haki never ceased. There was no way he wouldn’t notice.

He didn’t even bother to look back. With a swift move, Karl caught Katakuri’s incoming left leg with his right hand and, without hesitation, hurled him straight at Ye Linqin.

Seeing Katakuri flying toward him, Ye Linqin cut off his flames instantly to avoid hurting him.

But Katakuri crashed hard into Ye Linqin anyway, his eyes rolling back as the impact sent them both slamming into the far wall.

“Boom!”—Two human-shaped dents appeared in the wall.

“Huh?” Turns out while Karl focused on Ye Linqin and Katakuri, he didn’t notice Perospero’s Devil Fruit power creeping up—his feet were now encased in rock candy.

At the same time, the arena was completely surrounded by the other kids.

“Not bad,” Karl chuckled softly. He hadn’t expected anyone to catch him off-guard enough to trap his feet.

Given he kept his Observation Haki running at all times, missing the candy at his feet meant he’d underestimated Perospero from the original story.

No wonder Perospero had led the Charlotte Family for so long. He clearly wasn’t someone to take lightly.

“True Fivefold Thunder!”

Electricity crackled and danced across Karl’s body. The intense heat instantly melted the hard candy, and he tore his feet free.

“Black Tiger Heart Strike!” He lunged out with his right hand, snatching up Oven as he charged in. Oven had still been smiling just before being grabbed.

But the smile fell away as he switched to a pleading expression—Karl was unmoved. He slammed Oven over his shoulder straight into the ground.

“Boom!” Another human-shaped crater split the arena floor, with Oven embedded tightly inside.

“Swish!”

Suddenly, Karl heard the whoosh of a weapon cutting through the air from behind to his left.

Clang!

Karl turned his head and raised his left hand, just in time to block a massive warhammer.

Daifuku had summoned out Xiahou Dun. The muscular figure showed no fear at having the hammer caught; instead, he swung his right leg fiercely at Karl.

Karl showed no sign of panic. He turned his left hand from a fist to a palm, seized the warhammer and yanked hard.

Xiahou Dun stumbled forward. In the same moment, Karl leapt up where he stood, somersaulted in the air, and kicked Xiahou Dun flying.

“Boom!”

Just then, the ground started rising and falling. In a flash, the dark arena floor turned into thick golden butter.

That was Compote’s Devil Fruit at work. She’d eaten the Butter-Butter Fruit, and with a bit of help from the Rainbow Stone, she’d awakened its power.

Not that it bothered Karl. Within seconds, he’d regained his footing.

“Mochi Lance!”

But the moment he stabilized, Katakuri launched his next attack.

Katakuri rose from behind and pressed his hands to the ground.

With a burst, a sharp spike erupted from the earth, coated in Armament Haki, racing straight for Karl.

Karl crossed his arms, covering them in Armament Haki as he blocked the incoming strike.

Crackle!

“Dragon Fist!” Ye Linshi dashed in, having waited for just this moment.

With Karl’s back exposed, Ye Linshi charged up an excited punch, black lightning crackling around his fist.

Karl pivoted swiftly. Twisting his torso, he spun and lashed out, sending Ye Linshi flying with a quick kick.

Boom!

In the blink of an eye, Ye Linshi was plastered onto the wall behind Karl’s left.

“Biscuit Soldiers!” Cracker clapped his hands, summoning dozens of biscuit warriors right where he stood.

“Level 8—Crown Elbow!”

Karl tore through the biscuit army with a flurry of punches and kicks, shattering them to crumbs. He charged right up to Cracker, grabbed him by the collar, and slammed him into the ground with a brutal suplex—Cracker’s eyes wide with fear.

Fortunately for Cracker, the floor was now just butter—it cushioned the blow and saved him from real damage.

“Oh, forgot about you.” Karl glanced at the failed suplex, realizing it was the buttery floor that saved Cracker.

He yanked him up and, with a flying kick, sent him crashing into a wall nearby. Using Moonwalk in midair, Karl shot toward Compote.

“Poison Mist!”

Castarde quickly used her as-yet-unmastered power, but the poison spread too broadly, catching siblings in the area.

“Castarde!”

“Wrong target, don’t you think?” Ye Linming, Ye Linyue, Ye Linhong, Ye Lindang, Gala, Compote, and the others all retreated from the arena.

They were still young, and their Devil Fruits didn’t suit brawling like this. Leaving was the smart move.

Just then the sky started to darken—Zikt was using the Cloud-Cloud Fruit to gather all the storm clouds overhead.

Rumble, rumble!

A moment later, light rain began to fall. While it kept the poison from spreading further, it also helped lessen the effects on the younger siblings.

“Lightning Strike!”

The instant Karl charged into the poison cloud, Zikt summoned down a barrage of thunder from the gathered clouds.

Just in case, he cranked up the power even more.

“Careless!”

“How could you attack father with lightning?”

Perospero ground his teeth in frustration from the side. He never thought his brother would pull a stunt that dumb.

Still, it was somewhat understandable. After all, Skor didn’t know much about Karl’s abilities.

“Was it really that powerful?” He stood there doubting himself.

Zikt hadn’t fought at God Valley, so he had no idea that lightning only helped Karl.

Perospero and the others looked like they were going to blow any second. But before anyone could say a word—