Chapter 299: Training Swords and Sudden Visitors

The reason I don’t worry about the first two is they’re already in their teens. By now, they should know enough to handle themselves.

But the next three kids are a different story. They’re just five and three years old.

To keep them from accidentally causing trouble on the island, a bit of training is in order.

Karl watched as a pair of phantom swords appeared by Ye Linming and Ye Linyue’s sides.

He called out softly, “You two need to control your strength.”

“The simplest way is for you both to fight each other. That’ll help you get used to your templates.”

The templates they received came from anime swordsmen, who were different from the swordsmen of the One Piece World.

These swords had double-edged blades, making them more precise in attack and defense compared to regular single-edged swords.

If you’re not careful with techniques like quick-draw slashes or attacking with the flat of the blade close to your body, you could easily hurt yourself.

The two five-year-olds quickly absorbed all the knowledge in their minds, then stood facing each other with their longswords at the ready.

Ye Linming swung Yuanhong and launched the first attack.

The deep blue longsword danced in his hands, a wall of sword aura slicing straight at Ye Linyue.

“Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Sect!”

To his surprise, Ye Linyue unleashed a big move right away. Maybe it was because she was still a child.

Only a few hundred phantom longswords formed behind her, turning into a stream that shot toward Ye Linming at high speed.

Sensing this fierce assault, Ye Linming wasn’t to be outdone. He used the Hundred-Step Flying Sword right away.

His sword soared from his hand, aiming to clash with the hundreds of sword shadows.

But just then, Ye Linzhi suddenly appeared between their attacks. “No!”

“Don’t!”

Both kids saw what happened and rushed toward the middle, desperate to save him.

Neither noticed Karl standing off to the side, arms crossed and smiling to himself.

“That’s what happens when you open with your ultimate moves. Not feeling so tough now, huh?”

Ye Linzhi had fused with the Calabash Little Titan Template.

With Titan blood in his veins and the added bonus of ironclad skin, attacks like these couldn’t even tickle him.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

As expected, they were a heartbeat too late. Both their attacks landed squarely on Ye Linzhi.

Stunned by how things turned out, the two instinctively shut their eyes, faces twisting in sorrow.

“Linzhi, this is all my fault. If I hadn’t wanted to see how strong Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Sect was, none of this would’ve happened.”

“Linzhi, if you end up in the underworld, make sure to write me a letter. Let me know how you’re doing, okay?”

“…”

Standing between them, Ye Linzhi was still confused by the first half of what they said.

But as soon as they mentioned the underworld, his eyes lit up. He’d read enough storybooks and watched enough anime to know that’s where the dead went.

Hands on hips, he shouted, puffed up and indignant, “Stupid brothers, you’re the ones going to the underworld! I’m heading for the Heavenly Court, thank you very much!”

“Becoming an immortal, calling my own shots—that’s the life for me!”

“Hahaha!”

Hearing that cocky declaration, Karl couldn’t help but cover his face. How did this kid get to be such an over-the-top edgelord?

Clearly, he’s been lacking some real-life supervision. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be spouting such absurd bravado.

Still, maybe giving them a taste of mythic power will snap them out of these fantasies.

Ye Linming and Ye Linyue snapped their eyes open at the sound of Linzhi’s voice, then ran over in relief when they saw he was perfectly fine.

“You okay, little brother?”

“Yeah, I’m fine! My clothes are a little torn, that’s all.”

“That can’t be right. Those two attacks packed quite a punch.”

“How’d you come out without a scratch?”

From the way his brothers spoke, you’d think they wouldn’t rest until they’d seen him bleed.

Ye Linzhi just rolled his eyes. “What, you guys want to see me sacrificed or something?”

“You two always act all quiet. How come now all you talk about is dying? Seriously.”

He hitched up his pants, wiped his nose, and strode off in big steps away from them.

“I’m telling the others what you said. Let’s see how you talk your way out of that!”

As soon as they heard that, they panicked.

If he told the others, none of their brothers or sisters would want to play with them.

They lunged to catch him, but he vanished into thin air before they got close.

“Hehe, you’ll have to wait if you want to catch me!”

If he’d kept quiet, they might’ve thought he’d used some new power to escape.

But as soon as he opened his mouth, they realized it was some kind of invisibility ability.

They activated their Observation Haki right away. Even at their age, they could already use both kinds of Haki.

They quickly picked up on Ye Linzhi sprinting for Cake Castle. Grinning at each other, they dashed off in pursuit.

Karl was just about to call everyone back for some serious training.

But then Krell came running over, clearly anxious about something, so Karl stopped and waited.

Seeing how rushed Krell looked, Karl knew it had to be important.

“Lord Karl, the Roger Pirates are here!”

Karl’s brows knitted together. What could the Roger Pirates want here?

As far as he knew, there was no bad blood between them.

Besides, Roger should be busy dodging Garp or trying to sail all the way around the world.

He shouldn’t have time for detours. This place is way off the main route.

Krell quickly added, “Garp is right behind them. When the Roger Pirates entered the Sweets Sea, Garp’s ship stopped outside. Looks like something’s up.”

Hearing that, Karl immediately realized the problem.

Garp probably isn’t chasing Roger here of his own will. Those two are rivals and friends at the same time.

It must be Navy orders—maybe the World Government and Navy want to force a clash between Roger and him.

Makes sense. In the New World, only Karl and the Golden Lion were strong enough to challenge the Roger Pirates head-on.

The Whitebeard Pirates are still building their crew, and Whitebeard’s adopted sons aren’t ready for a big battle with Roger yet.

Too bad the Golden Lion is stationed at the entrance to the New World. There’s no way he’d chase Roger back out.

“Come on, let’s see what the Roger Pirates are really after.”

And honestly, Karl doubted that, if Roger wanted to refuse, Garp could ever force him here.

Looks like Roger has his own reasons for coming—might as well use this chance to find out.

Krell hurried after Karl toward the harbor. “Lord Karl, should we…?”

Of course, Karl knew what Krell was getting at. If things turned ugly, should they call Ledfield back?

There were no weaklings among the Roger Pirates. Even in a head-on fight, at least three admiral-class fighters would be needed to pin them down. Otherwise, if war broke out, Cake Island would pay the highest price.