Chapter 233: A Rift Healed, a Tide Shifts

The real question was, when would the Giants finally stop hating Charlotte Linlin?

Karl thought back on how the Giants treated Charlotte Linlin.

Inside Elbaf rumors got twisted and stretched, but that was nothing compared to what happened in the Elbaf Giant Village. Apparently a Giant had witnessed Charlotte Linlin eat the nun and several others, then spread word everywhere, turning all of Elbaf against her.

“Looks like, if I want to solve Elbaf’s hatred of Charlotte Linlin, that Giant back in the village is the key.”

Dorry trotted up beside him, chuckling. “Gotta say, Karl, your strength is the real deal! It’s a shame I missed your last match though,” he sighed, sounding genuinely disappointed.

He threw a look over at Brogy and grumbled, “Brogy, this is all your fault! If it weren’t for you, I’d have watched Karl’s last fight today.”

Brogy gave an awkward grin but said nothing.

It was true—the two of them always used battles to decide who’d go out recruiting, with the loser taking the job. Dorry had lost yesterday’s match, so he missed out on seeing Karl in action.

“We’ve got news!”

A Giant came running in from the doorway, waving a newspaper.

“Lord Karl, it looks like your mission’s a success.” The Giant handed him the paper.

Karl took it, surprise on his face. “News travels fast, doesn’t it?”

He focused on the article, and as he read, a smile slowly spread across his lips.

The newspaper ran long, but only part of it covered Charlotte Linlin.

The gist was, from now on, things with Charlotte Linlin were back on good terms—almost ten thousand words laid it all out.

After reading, Karl handed the paper to Brogy and Dorry.

Brogy grinned. “Karl, you finally pulled it off.”

“So what’s next?”

“Yeah, Karl, you’ve wrapped up everything in the Giant Kingdom. So, what’s your plan now?”

Karl already knew what they were getting at. From the start, he’d told them he was from the Rocks Family, but kept quiet about the family being a pirate crew.

Because Brogy and Dorry spent the last month busy recruiting, they hadn’t kept up with the news and had no idea Karl was once the Vice Captain of the original Rocks Pirates.

And even if they wanted to find out, it was too late—the Navy had long since buried all info on the Rocks Pirates. You couldn’t find a trace of Rocks anywhere on the seas now.

The Rocks Pirates had been a massive threat, attacking the World Government and even killing Celestial Dragons. Any of those would be enough to send shockwaves through the world—so of course all that info was locked up tight to keep control over the seas.

“Next, I’m heading home. Oh, guess I never told you—my family’s actually a pirate family. So we’ll probably run into each other out at sea.”

“And don’t forget, I’m also a pirate ship captain,” Karl added, pride in his voice.

Thanks to his efforts, the Rocks Family had already become one of the leading forces in the New World. If his dream wasn’t to overthrow the Celestial Dragons and take over the pirate world, he’d just kick back at home and enjoy life.

“Just look at Charlotte Linlin on Cake Island. Years of lounging around and she’s gotten so fat! That’s what happens when you’ve got no one left to fight.”

There were only a handful of top-tier powers in the New World. Fighting each other was a waste, so everyone mostly stuck to their own turf. Gaining weight was practically the natural outcome.

“Wait, Karl—you really are a pirate captain?” Brogy looked stunned.

There was a trace of disappointment in his voice. If Karl captained a crew, didn’t that mean they couldn’t recruit him?

“Brogy, as long as we’re brothers, what does it matter who we are?” Dorry said, lightening the mood.

The words helped calm Brogy down. He wasn’t normally the sentimental type. “Alright then, Karl. Guess we’ll see you on the seas.”

“So, you guys ever think about joining me?” Karl couldn’t help but try one more time.

Brogy and Dorry had seen his strength. He knew Giant pride would probably never let them serve under someone else, but there was no harm in asking, right?

“Nah, Karl.”

“We’ll never join anyone else’s crew.”

Hearing their unwavering replies, Karl wasn’t disappointed—he’d expected as much. This was just to test the waters.

After all, these two had captained pirate crews decades ago. No way they’d serve under anyone now.

“Brrrring, brrring!”

Just then, a Den Den Mushi rang in the room, cutting their conversation short.

Karl listened closely—yep, it was coming from his room. “Alright, hold that thought. I’ve got a call to answer.”

Brogy and Dorry waved him off. The details didn’t bother them. As Karl headed inside, they got busy with the last of their tasks.

Karl found his Den Den Mushi right where he’d left it in the room.

He’d kept it here so it wouldn’t get smashed during battle.

“Hello?”

“It’s Karl speaking.”

“That you, Krell? What’s so urgent?”

Since the Den Den Mushi showed a rough image of the caller, he knew instantly it was Krell.

Krell had finished tidying up the cargo at the shore and, while sitting in the ship’s cabin, dialed Karl more out of habit than anything—didn’t expect the call to go through, but it did.

“Lord Karl!”

“You finally picked up!”

Krell’s relief was obvious. Karl had been out of touch for a while, and it left the older crew worried sick.

They’d been scared something would happen to Karl and they’d be too late to help. Now, finally, that silent spell had ended.

“Enough chit-chat, Krell. Out with it,” Karl cut him off, not in the mood for small talk.

Krell understood—now wasn’t the time for pleasantries. He got straight to the point. “Lord Karl, the trade with the Giants is fully up and running. Every two weeks we’ll do a deal worth over a billion Berries.”

“We’ve also found tracks of the Lanternfish. It’s resting and recovering up in the North Blue.”

“And there’s one more thing… the World Government ambushed Cake Island. Halil is still unconscious from the attack.”

“To retaliate, Lady Charlotte Linlin personally led a raid on the Navy’s New World outpost, but she was wounded by Garp and Sengoku.”

“Word is, her injuries might even affect the child she’s carrying…”

Krell rattled off everything that’d happened this past month, but the moment Karl heard Charlotte Linlin was hurt, the air around him changed—bloodlust exploded from him, rolling out of the cottage.

A murderous intent so fierce it poured out of the cottage and swept across the grounds.