Chapter 270: The Promise of the Great Revitalizing Pill

But with an organization this big, there’s bound to be people with their own agendas. That’s just unavoidable. As long as Karl is still around, there’ll never be complete peace in this family.

His gaze grew subtly cold. The mafia of East Blue and West Blue have never been good news, even in the original story.

There was that cannibal case in East Blue and the double-dealing in West Blue—neither group is easy to handle. Looks like I’ll need to be on guard. You never know when they might bite you from behind and cause real trouble. The East Blue side seems okay, though. Judging from how the Atto Family later idolizes Luffy, they don’t seem like the scheming type. The real worry is the Capone Family in the West.

Still, that thought only flashed through his mind. Nothing has happened yet, so for now it’s just speculation. Soon, Karl pulled out a heap of small bottles from his chest, each containing a single pill.

He picked up one and addressed the room, everyone’s eyes fixed desperately on him. “I think you all know what kind of pill is inside these bottles.”

“Inside is a Great Revitalizing Pill. Just one is enough to reach the strength of a Vice Admiral. Some of you have already experienced its power, while others haven’t. Let me make it clear again.”

“The Great Revitalizing Pill is gentle. Even if you’re just an ordinary person, you’ll be able to absorb its energy over time—until you reach Vice Admiral-level strength. But that just gives you the shell of such power. Real strength still comes from your own training.”

“If you only rely on the pill without actually training, this strength will slowly fade away. I hope you all keep that in mind.”

“Each squad captain gets five pills.” He was talking about the ten squad captains. The squads were just formed. Without real strength to back them up, they’d be hard pressed to make a name for themselves.

Especially since they’ll be operating in the New World. Without enough power, there’s no way to suppress some of the big pirates out here. Karl doesn’t want his people to lose their turf right after getting it. That would just be embarrassing.

Handing these pills to them is just to help them quickly build up the ten squads.

“Each faction gets five pills as well.”

By factions, he meant the two business associations from the Four Seas, a hunter’s guild, an assassination organization, and the two major mafia groups.

With this, he was practically emptying his savings and every pill he’d managed to draw over the past few months. He wasn’t keeping even one for himself—not even for his own children, since they were too young to make use of it anyway.

Everyone was grinning from ear to ear. They knew how powerful the Great Revitalizing Pill was. Even if they didn’t use it themselves, they could use it to train a loyal subordinate—or at the very least, give it to their own children. Either way, it wouldn’t go to waste.

“Morgans, you’re not getting a pill this time. I hope you can understand.”

That’s right, the huge birdman standing in the corner was Morgans.

After the tea party ended, he’d shown up early to the meeting room at Karl’s invitation. The place was so big that if Karl hadn’t spoken, some people might have overlooked him entirely.

Morgans had already tried the Great Revitalizing Pill, so he knew full well just how strong it was—stronger even than some average Zoan-type Devil Fruits.

Even a Zoan-type Devil Fruit won’t give you Vice Admiral-level strength in an instant.

The reason Karl wasn’t giving him another pill was because he couldn’t risk it. The World Government might notice if Morgans’ organization suddenly produced a Vice Admiral-level powerhouse. They might link it back to Karl—and that wouldn’t end well. He definitely didn’t want to expose their connection just yet.

At this point, World Government spies were creeping around him everywhere, trying to sniff out who was really backing him and how he’d managed to get hold of worldwide news so quickly.

Truth is, the World Government had suspected Morgans and his father for some time.

Back during the Celestial Dragon executions and the God Valley Incident, traces of the two kept popping up everywhere. Their fame instantly spread across the entire sea, which helped the World News Agency rise to power.

If something fishy happened now, Morgans’s agency might be finished.

“Master Karl, I completely understand your reasons,” Morgans replied.

“Anyway, we’re just reporters these days. Strength isn’t everything for us.”

Karl caught a hint of something else in his tone. Wasn’t that almost like the sarcastic banter you’d hear back on Blue Star?

“Don’t worry, I’ve got something special for you, too. But I can’t give it to you now.”

“Even if I did, you’d need to make sure your team trains to their absolute limits first. Let outsiders think it was their own hard work.”

“Otherwise, everything we’ve set up will go to waste.”

Karl was still planning to use the World News Agency for bigger moves down the road. He wasn’t about to let things fall apart here.

Sure enough, Morgans immediately burst out laughing when he heard that. “Haha, thank you, Master Karl! Didn’t expect my crew would ever get a chance to use the Great Revitalizing Pill.”

At first, Morgans thought the pill was super rare. After all, it can leapfrog a regular person straight to Vice Admiral strength—even if it’s just the shell of that strength without real techniques, with some training, anyone could catch up.

But today, watching Karl hand out seventy pills like he was working wholesale, Morgans couldn’t help but feel a twinge of bitterness that none were saved for him.

Still, he understood Karl’s reasoning. They’d been scheming for ages, and if the World Government ever uncovered the truth, it would all come crashing down.

“Alright, that’s all for today’s meeting. I want you all to grow your forces as quickly as possible.”

“A great war could break out at any moment. I will be king of these seas!”

“No one else but me deserves to be Pirate King.”

“Oh right, Morgans. Get my message out there—I want the whole sea to hear it.” Karl did this deliberately to shift the World Government’s attention. That way, they’d stop focusing so much on the Rocks Family and miss his real goal.

Every extra day they could keep their secret raised their chance of success that much higher.

Morgans, still riding the excitement, nodded on instinct. Then he gasped, “Master Karl, is it really okay to broadcast your intentions?”

“Whitebeard and Golden Lion are still watching the New World like hawks. If you reveal your ambition too soon, is it because you’ve got the power to take them head on?”

“But even if you don’t announce it, Whitebeard and Golden Lion already know what we’re after, don’t they?”

“The New World’s at a three-way standoff. Sooner or later, a massive war will erupt.”

“When that time comes, I don’t want anyone here backing out.”

“I’m sure none of you want to know what happens to traitors.”

“Alright, that’s it for today—meeting adjourned!”

It was a short meeting, really only covering two main topics. Once it ended, Karl grabbed Charlotte Linlin and slipped out the side door.

Clap, clap!

Following Perospero’s applause, dozens of Fishmen entered from outside.

“These Fishmen will escort you back to your rooms safely.”

“Today’s conversation stays inside these walls.”

“If word about today’s meeting ever gets out, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Even though Perospero knew his father just didn’t want them spreading rumors about attacking the World Government—

Still, who could say for sure where people’s true loyalties lay? When the empire’s not on the verge of collapse, even the biggest traitors keep their heads down.

While that meeting ended, the World Government was gathering for one of their own.

“With the two Holy Knights Squads, plus Wang Zhi and Silver Axe, we should be able to snatch Vegapunk from Cake Island.”