Chapter 37: The Feast of New Blood and Ambitions

Everyone quickly returned to the ship and went back to their rooms.

“Golden Lion, don’t forget our agreement.”

Charlotte Linlin walked at the end of the group with the Golden Lion.

“Don’t worry!”

“Jiehahaha!”

“Aren’t you worried Karl will come after you for this?”

Golden Lion was curious how Charlotte Linlin planned to handle the trouble that would come afterward.

“That’s none of your business, Golden Lion.”

Charlotte Linlin didn’t elaborate, just warned Golden Lion not to meddle in things that didn’t concern him.

“Mama, you’re back!”

Perospero was first at the door to welcome Charlotte Linlin home. Perospero was already ten years old this year.

He was Charlotte Linlin’s eldest son, responsible for looking after his eleven younger brothers and nine younger sisters.

“Mama!”

Katakuri was eight this year, right at the age for mischief, and was currently running wild around the house with his third brother Daifuku and his fourth brother Oven. The younger siblings were still in their cribs.

“Mamamama!”

“Perospero, you’ll soon be welcoming your twelfth little brother.”

“Who’s Mama having a baby with this time?”

Perospero knew well his mother loved having children with people of different races. He was much more mature than Katakuri by now.

Though Perospero was only ten, he was already one of the few that Charlotte Linlin trusted.

“It’s Karl, captain of the Sixth Division of the pirate crew.”

“Karl’s Titan bloodline… I’ve been eyeing it for years.”

Karl, huh? His bloodline’s strength was no joke. Perospero wondered if Mama would finally get what she wanted this time.

“Well then, congratulations Mama. May you achieve a complete victory!”

Perospero figured that since her mind was set, nothing he said would change it.

“There’ll be a huge feast when we get back. Don’t any of you cause me trouble.”

“Yes, Mama.”

Perospero of course didn’t even show a hint of objection.

“We won’t make any trouble, Mama.”

His nine-year-old eldest sister, Charlotte Compote, said seriously. She wondered about all her siblings and fathers, names she’d only heard but never met. With Karl so strong, would he finally become their real father?

After all, all of them knew they could never change Mama’s mind. The only thing left was to obey.

“Mamamama!”

“I’m looking forward to it too.”

Charlotte Linlin drifted off into her own imagination.

Out on the deck, Newgate watched as everyone disappeared into their rooms. He couldn’t help but wonder—when would he finally find family he could truly depend on?

If Rocks hadn’t forced him to join this pirate crew, maybe by now he would’ve had a real family.

The Golden Lion was a bit irritated. In his mind, it would’ve been better to go with John and Wang Zhi to the main base of the Giant Pirates. He might have gotten his hands on some powerful Devil Fruits, not just the leftovers after everyone else made their pick.

…

Inside Rocks’s cabin.

“You did well this time.”

“Welcome back. From now on, you’re in charge of intelligence for the Rocks Pirates. You answer to me and me alone. If anyone else asks for intel, you don’t need to say a word.”

Rocks said this to Shakky.

“Rest assured, Captain Rocks. I’ll handle all intelligence from now on.”

Shakky replied respectfully.

“Good. With you in charge, I’m at ease. Now go on.”

“Yes, Captain.”

At this time, Shakky had just joined the Rocks Pirates. Her entry token had been inside information from the X Pirates.

Without it, Rocks wouldn’t have known that right now was the perfect time to launch a formal assault on the X Pirates.

Just the same, from now on, Shakky would answer only to Rocks.

On the same day, Buckin also joined the Rocks Pirates.

Karl locked the door to his room as soon as he got back.

He emptied out the Devil Fruits he’d collected one by one onto the table. Seeing the fruits lined up, he couldn’t help grinning wickedly.

From left to right he had the Energy Fruit, Rain-Rain Fruit, Zoan-type Golden Bull Fruit, Zoan-type Rhino-Rhino Fruit, and the Poison-Poison Fruit.

In the center were two Paramecia-type Devil Fruits, while off to the side were five unopened boxes—mystery Devil Fruits still waiting to be revealed.

He decided to skip the suspense and smashed the boxes open. Sure enough, inside lay five Devil Fruits of various shapes and sizes.

“System, appraise these two Paramecia and the five unknown ones for me.”

“Each appraisal costs ten points.”

Ten points? Wasn’t it free before?

“What’s going on? Why are you suddenly charging now? Wasn’t it always free?”

Karl immediately voiced the question that bothered his soul. Were they just trying to squeeze him because he’d earned some points?

“Before, you were broke. Now, I can actually deduct from your balance.”

“Those free appraisals were on credit. I just never collected. Want to pay off what you owe?”

“Or do you want to settle up now for the previous ones too?”

He could swear the system sounded like it was gloating.

“No, forget it! Just pretend I never said anything.”

Karl quickly shook his head and backed down.

He thought to himself—the system was getting sly, actually charging him now.

“Fine, fine. System, just appraise these seven Devil Fruits.”

“Deducting seventy points. Remaining points: nine hundred and thirty. Appraisal in progress…”

“Two Paramecia: the Draw-Draw Fruit, the Morph-Morph Fruit.

Two Mythical Zoans: Fish-Fish Fruit, Mythical variety—Flood Dragon form. Bird-Bird Fruit, Mythical variety—Golden-Winged Roc form.

One Logia: Earth-Earth Fruit.

Two Zoans: Triceratops Fruit, Saber-Toothed Tiger Fruit.”

The system had barely finished and Karl leapt up from his chair.

“Damn, I just struck gold!”

“This is a straight shot to the top!”

“All these seriously powerful Devil Fruits, and I got to claim them!”

“System, open my personal panel.”

“Host: Lux D. Karl

Templates fused: Elder Heavenly Master from ‘The Outcast.’ Sword Saint Gai Nie from ‘Legend of Qin’ (not yet fused). Wang Quan Fugui from ‘Fox Spirit Matchmaker’ (not yet fused).

Skills: Full-body Armament Haki, Intermediate Observation Haki, Basic Conqueror’s Haki, Navy Six Powers, Golden Light Spell, Palm Thunder, Yang Five Thunders, Tai Chi Fist…

Innate Talent: Titan Strength

Funds: 3.7 billion Berries

Items: Energy Fruit, Rain-Rain Fruit, Zoan-type Golden Bull Fruit, Zoan-type Rhino-Rhino Fruit, Poison-Poison Fruit, Draw-Draw Fruit, Morph-Morph Fruit, Fish-Fish Fruit (Mythical Flood Dragon), Bird-Bird Fruit (Mythical Golden-Winged Roc), Logia-type Earth-Earth Fruit, Zoan-type Triceratops Fruit, Zoan-type Saber-Toothed Tiger Fruit, Supreme Grade Great Blade—Dragon Spring Blade, Great Blade—Ancient Moon Blade, Great Blade—Silver Alloy Blade…

Assessment: Top-tier powerhouse at sea, all-around strength close to an admiral.”

At this point, I could open up my own Devil Fruit superstore.

Trouble is, with fruits this strong, there’s no way I’m just going to hand them out.

Should I fuse the new character templates? But honestly, I feel like I haven’t even hit my current potential yet. If I go ahead and fuse one now, it might mess with my focus.

Forget it, better stick to the basics. Instead of juggling too many things, I should focus on mastering one. Once I’ve fully unleashed my Titan bloodline, then I’ll worry about those templates.