Chapter 269: Karl’s Pirate Crew: The Ten Divisions and Titan’s Blood

He continued, “Perospero, Captain of the Sixth Division. Katakuri, Captain of the Seventh. Daifuku, Captain of the Eighth. Oven, Captain of the Ninth. Gan Fall, Captain of the Tenth.”

The first four names were no surprise to anyone—Karl and Charlotte Linlin’s eldest son and three younger sons. But the last, Gan Fall as the Tenth Captain, genuinely caught them off guard.

Gan Fall was the first to stand and speak. “Lord Karl, I’m afraid my strength isn’t quite there yet.”

Truth was, he was the weakest among all division captains. At first, when his name wasn’t mentioned, he’d felt a little regret. But now that he had actually been picked, anxiety crept in, worrying that he couldn’t manage the Tenth Division well.

“Don’t worry. If I say you can do it, then you can.”

“But if you can’t handle it, don’t expect to keep the position for long.”

“I’ll do my best, Lord Karl! I promise to lead the Tenth Division well.” Gan Fall sounded almost like he was making a military oath, saluted, then sat back down when Karl nodded at him.

Since more newcomers would arise, new subordinates were sure to join soon, and with Mafia and merchant group members still present, Karl quickly added, “Ten divisions isn’t the limit.”

“As long as you can pass the strength test, anyone can compete for a captain’s post.”

“As for how the test works, that’s another topic. But at the very least, you have to reach vice admiral-level strength.”

“Otherwise, you’ll only drag down the reputation of Karl’s Pirate Crew.”

“We’ll have dedicated testers. If you need a test, just give us a call on the transponder snail.”

Karl’s expression grew serious. He said, “What I’m about to say next requires the effort of every one of you.”

The mood on the field instantly turned heavy.

“Push your strength to the absolute limit, as fast as you possibly can. Spare nothing, do whatever it takes.”

“And when you hit a wall, when you feel you really can’t go any further on your own, I’ll give each of you a dose of the Gene Serum. It’ll raise your bloodline at the genetic level, massively expanding your potential.”

Just as he finished, a wave of murmurs swept through the crowd.

Ledfield spoke up first. “Karl, are you saying someone like me can still get stronger?”

“Yeah, Lord Karl!”

“Is there really such a thing as this serum?”

A question everyone else wanted to ask, too—Ledfield’s strength had already hit its ceiling, admiral at his peak.

No matter how he trained, Ledfield found no room for improvement, which was why he’d finally given up on growing stronger and turned his focus to the Moon, hoping science could help Karl achieve his ambitions.

Under everyone’s expectant gaze, Karl drew a golden serum from inside his coat.

With every eye fixed on him, Karl explained, “This golden serum raises your limits at the genetic level.”

“But you have to push your current strength to the limit first. Otherwise, even if you use it, the improvement will be minimal.”

Karl made his point clear—he didn’t want anyone pinning all their hopes for progress on the Gene Serum. Everyone needed the drive to get stronger on their own. Otherwise, even with the serum, it would be useless.

Using the serum for halfhearted growth would be like forcing open a sprout to make it grow faster. It couldn’t last, and Karl refused to let his own blood—the core of the serum—go to waste on anyone lacking motivation.

And as for measuring whether someone had hit their limit, Vegapunk had long provided a device that could precisely measure someone’s life force, similar in function to the Navy’s combat power meter.

“Can this serum really do what you say?”

“If something like this existed, the whole sea would know about it already!”

“Even if it only makes me a bit stronger, that’s enough for me!”

Just then, Ledfield—who had looked laid-back until now—suddenly narrowed his eyes. He couldn’t help but exclaim, “I can feel a tremendous power inside this serum.”

“My body is longing for it. Could you tell us how this serum was made?”

Once Ledfield finished, everyone instantly stopped talking, their eyes full of shock and curiosity as they stared at the golden bottle.

If even someone as strong as Ledfield would say that, maybe it really was their own lack of experience—or dull senses—that kept them from feeling the power radiating from the serum.

And as for suspecting that Karl and Ledfield were just putting on a show, no one saw any reason for that.

“Haha, you just hit the nail on the head, Ledfield.”

“But before I answer, let me ask everyone this—do you know what my bloodline is?”

Notty, with his big head, jumped in. “Captain Karl, aren’t you just a human?”

“I always thought you grew up huge just like me, right from birth.”

Brown teased, “You big oaf, if Captain Karl says so, he must not be human! Seriously, you need some proper books in your life.”

Notty glared back, meeting his gaze.

Apart from Charlotte Linlin and her children sitting nearby, almost everyone else had no idea what Karl’s bloodline actually was.

Seeing their puzzled faces, Karl didn’t hold back. “I’m human, but I also carry Titan blood. You could call me a Titan, too.”

“Oh, so Captain Karl, you’re not actually human?” Notty slapped his right hand onto his left, suddenly enlightened.

“Ha!”

“Hahaha!”

“…”

After a round of hearty laughter, Karl explained his lineage. “With Titan blood, as long as I stand on solid ground, my stamina never runs out.”

“When we reach adulthood, Titans can easily hit vice admiral strength.”

“And with training, a Devil Fruit, or martial arts on top, even admiral-level isn’t the end of the road.”

He paused, suddenly sounding a bit regretful. “But the downside is, this Gene Serum can’t just give you the full power of Titan blood from the start. You have to awaken it yourselves. That’s why I said you need to reach your current limit before using the serum.”

“If you can’t even reach your own limits, you definitely won’t awaken the true might of Titan blood. Using the serum would just be a waste.”

Davis stood up. “Rest assured, Captain Karl, we’ll push our strength to the max before using the Gene Serum.”

“I thought I’d already maxed out my power, that there was no way to get stronger. But this gives us all a turning point. I trust most people won’t let this chance slip by.”

“Yeah, absolutely!”

“Don’t worry, Lord Karl, we promise not to waste the Gene Serum.”

Pledges and promises echoed through the crowd.

Thankfully, Karl believed in the old spirit of loyalty—just like in the ancient Blue Star classic, Water Margin—to tie everyone together on this warship. By giving them both brotherhood and tangible rewards, plus backing it all up with real strength, he slowly united the crew toward a single goal.