Chapter 41: Plans in Motion at the Rocks Pirates’ Stronghold

Yesterday, after testing the kids on their boxing forms, Karl felt completely satisfied.

It seemed Krell really was pouring his heart into teaching them.

Every single child’s skills had improved noticeably.

After that, Karl taught them a simplified version of the Golden Light Spell.

He held back the full technique, of course. He wanted to observe each child’s character and only hand over the complete version after they’d passed his tests.

Ever since he introduced the Golden Light Spell, Karl trained with them every morning, guiding their practice.

The kids ranged in age—some as old as eleven or twelve, others as young as five or six.

The good thing was they learned quickly. In just fifteen days, they’d grasped the basics. Once that was done, the rest was up to their own hard work.

After all, a teacher can only show the door—cultivation depends on the student. It applied to them and even to Karl himself.

He still had to keep honing his Haki. But these days, every night, he’d visit Charlotte Linlin. Honestly, he’d grown to enjoy it, almost like clocking in for a daily routine.

…

One crisp morning, deep in the woods.

“Bang!”

“Crash, crash, crash!”

The birds in the forest had already scattered.

After exchanging blows, Karl and Newgate both stopped their attacks.

“Gurararara!”

“Karl, you’re improving fast.”

“Your Armament Haki can already be projected.”

Every time Newgate trained with Karl, he ended up surprised. He never thought that in just a few short days, Karl could reach the level of externalizing Armament Haki.

Then again, Newgate figured Karl really was a monster. His growth spurt had been wild lately—he was pushing six meters tall.

“That’s all thanks to you, Newgate.”

“I couldn’t have progressed this quickly without your help.”

Ever since Karl handed the Golden Light Spell to those kids, he’d been sparring with Newgate to train his Armament Haki.

After every exchange, he could sense his bloodline being awakened just a little more each time. The changes slowly added up, making him even taller.

Still, even with all that, he felt his physique was far from reaching its limit.

“Alright. Since you’ve mastered external Armament Haki, we can pause this training for now. You need to rest. Keeping your nerves taut all the time isn’t good for you.”

In Newgate’s opinion, rushing Haki training never worked. You had to pause and get a feel for each stage after every breakthrough.

Otherwise, the road ahead would only get steeper. Like building a house—if the foundation isn’t solid, everything built atop it is just a castle in the air.

“I heard there’s something going on with you and Linlin…”

With a nosy grin, Newgate peered at Karl, curious. As the saying goes, at the end of the universe lies gossip. Nobody is immune to it.

“Newgate, where’d you hear that?”

But before Newgate could finish, Karl cut him off, quickly asking, suspicion etched all over his face. He thought he’d been discreet—how had Newgate found out?

Could he have slipped up somewhere? He was sure he’d hidden things well every time.

“Don’t worry about it.”

The truth was, Newgate had stumbled upon it by accident. One night, bored at the beach, sipping his drink, he happened to sense Karl heading toward Charlotte Linlin’s cabin.

Later, he overheard some of Charlotte Linlin’s subordinates saying strange noises kept coming from her room these past few days.

Most thought Charlotte was just entertaining men again, but Newgate immediately suspected Karl.

“Just tell me if it’s true or not.”

Realizing he couldn’t hide it, Karl told Newgate about his arrangement with Charlotte Linlin.

He made him promise to keep it a secret—and Newgate wasn’t the type to blab anyway.

“Hehe, I knew it!”

Newgate was secretly pleased Karl trusted him enough not to hide it.

He was still itching to gossip about them, but it wasn’t the right time. He suddenly remembered there was something important to handle.

“Right, we’ve got business today. The attack on Tyr Kingdom is about to kick off.”

“That soon? I thought the plan was off after word leaked last time.”

Karl grabbed a spare set of clothes. The fight just now had shredded everything he was wearing.

“I’ve heard the new intel captain, Shakky, is supposed to be really sharp.”

If he remembered right, Shakky was Rayleigh’s old flame.

“Alright, let’s go.”

“Yeah, let’s move.”

With that, the two set out together for Rocks’ quarters.

…

“Jiehahaha!”

“Finally, we have a lead on this!”

The Golden Lion was all grins and excitement—after all, a shipment of his had been secretly seized by Tyr Kingdom. He’d been dying to settle the score. He missed his chance last time thanks to delays, but now the operation was back on.

So of everyone present, apart from Rocks, the most excited was him.

“This is Shakky. From now on, she’ll officially serve as intelligence captain for the Rocks Pirates.”

“Mama mama mama!”

“Where’s Karl? He’s still not here?”

Speak of the devil—Karl had just arrived and caught the Golden Lion’s loud boasting.

“Everyone’s here now.”

“Gurarara!”

“Sorry for keeping you waiting.”

Newgate didn’t let it drag on. He strode in, made his presence known, and found himself a seat.

Karl followed close behind, sitting next to Newgate. The moment he settled in, Charlotte Linlin shot him a flirtatious look. He quickly glared back—they couldn’t risk exposing their situation yet.

It was just a fleeting moment, but Rocks seemed to notice, his gaze sweeping over them.

“Shakky, fill them in on Tyr Kingdom.”

Switching gears, Rocks steered the conversation straight to their upcoming target.

“Hello, everyone. Tyr Kingdom is one of the most powerful nations in the New World. Here, take a look—this is the main port of Tyr Kingdom.”

As she spoke, Shakky unrolled a huge map on the wall behind her.

The Kingdom’s map was shaped kind of like an uneven diamond.

“According to intel, Tyr Kingdom has half a million soldiers. Some of the elite can use Armament Haki.”

Tyr Kingdom? How come I’ve never heard of it? They sound tough.

Karl frowned, wondering if his time-traveling had changed something in the One Piece world.

“There are three people to watch out for on the island: King Tyr, strategist Kreuss, and General Giles.”

“Based on intel, all three have admiral-level strength.”

“Jiehahaha!”

“Then let me take King Tyr! I’ve never fought a king this strong before.”

The Golden Lion jumped at the chance, eager for action. He looked to Rocks for approval.

“No problem. He’s yours, Golden Lion.”

Rocks didn’t hesitate for a second.

“Reliable sources say Navy Admiral Snow Lion arrived at Tyr Kingdom two days ago.”

“Whether they’re planning an ambush isn’t clear yet, but one thing’s certain…”

Shakky didn’t finish, but Rocks immediately caught her meaning—there was a leak. Someone in their ranks was feeding info to the enemy. Yet he’d told no one else about the plan.

Looks like they’d have to turn this inside information to their advantage.