Chapter 52: Three Days on Sook: Crisis at the Shore

“Congratulations, Host! You’ve drawn one Rejuvenation Pill as your prize.”

“Seriously? The System gave me a Rejuvenation Pill?”

Honestly, Karl had been hoping for a new skill or talent template—something more exciting.

“Well, it’s not the worst outcome,” he muttered.

But since the draw was already over, there wasn’t much left to say.

“Rejuvenation Pill: A commonly used energy recovery pill in Chinese animation. Swallowing one restores your stamina to peak condition within seconds and clears all negative effects.”

“Okay, that’s actually kind of impressive.”

Wait a second, something’s off. The System usually doesn’t give out useless items.

Waiting. Three days. Rejuvenation Pill…

He thought he could already guess what was about to happen.

After a brief moment’s thought, Karl made his way to the shore and shouted up at the pirates on the ship.

“We’re staying on this island for three days. Then we head back to Beehive Island.”

The pirates were eager to return to Beehive Island, but since Captain Karl said so, they figured he must have his reasons.

“No problem, Lord Karl!”

“Yeah, since we’re here for three days, might as well bring some things off the ship.”

“Right, right! Don’t forget, it’s Thirteen Orphans!”

At that, the pirate who’d won money earlier wasted no time rounding up the others from the card table and calling out to them.

Soon enough, the sound of shuffling tiles and lively voices drifted from the harbor as the pirates settled in for a game of mahjong.

As night fell, the pirates took over the houses in the town of Hayer. After all, they were staying three days—there was no sense letting empty homes go unused or wasting energy building new ones.

The original residents of Hayer were driven deeper into the nearby towns.

“Bloo bloo! Bloo bloo!”

Inside a spacious house, Karl’s Den Den Mushi started ringing.

“Clack!”

“Hello? Is this Charlotte Linlin?”

Seeing the shape of the Den Den Mushi, Karl instantly thought of Charlotte Linlin. They’d been apart for a month now, and to be honest, he missed her a bit.

“Mamamama!”

“Karl, you’re all finished over there, aren’t you?”

On the other end, Charlotte Linlin was standing in a blood-soaked royal capital, calling Karl.

Clearly, Charlotte Linlin had completed her mission and was in a relaxed mood for once.

“There aren’t any real powerhouses in the Kingdom of Sook. It’s over. I’ll rest a few more days before heading back to Beehive Island. We’ll meet up there.”

A sly smile crept across Karl’s face and there was a teasing edge to his voice.

“Mamamama!”

“I’m looking forward to seeing you too.”

With that, the call ended.

Charlotte Linlin had spent more than a few days with Karl by now, so she easily picked up on his true meaning.

Maybe it was because she’d never felt that way with her previous husbands, but she’d finally experienced it with Karl.

Separated for a month, she now found herself constantly thinking about Karl’s strong, imposing figure. The more she thought about it the more her cheeks flushed red.

“Captain Linlin, are we heading back to Beehive Island now?”

Just as Charlotte Linlin was lost in thought, a pirate barged in and shattered her reverie.

“Mamamama!”

“Ah, don’t—please, Captain Linlin…”

Charlotte Linlin’s eyes glowed crimson. In the wide-eyed pirate’s view she seemed to loom ever larger, and as searing pain shot through his body, he shriveled into a dried husk.

Charlotte Linlin hated being interrupted at moments like this, so without mercy, she drained every last year of the pirate’s life.

The pirates waiting outside witnessed the whole scene and turned deathly pale, heads bowed in terrified silence.

They’d already seen how Charlotte Linlin’s face was slightly flushed while she was on the call—obviously talking to someone special. Now, the poor soul who’d disturbed her paid the price, and everyone outside felt the chill.

Charlotte Linlin’s soul attacks could hit a wide area. Even though she hadn’t targeted anyone else, several pirates present could feel their souls shudder from the backlash.

“Mamamama!”

“Set sail. We’re heading back to Beehive Island now.”

Once again adopting a bashful, longing look, Charlotte Linlin strode straight toward the pirate ship. She couldn’t wait to see Karl again.

“Yes, Lady Linlin!”

The terrified pirates only hesitated for a second before scrambling headlong for the ship.

As for the wealth of this kingdom—they’d long since cleaned it out.

Charlotte Linlin was the first to finish her task. Soon after, Newgate, Golden Lion, and the rest wrapped up theirs and started heading back to Beehive Island.

Meanwhile, Karl and his men had already spent two full days in the Kingdom of Sook.

At dawn on the third day—

Karl hadn’t slept a wink the whole night. He’d been waiting here, eager to see what was coming.

The truth is, he’d felt a sense of danger all last night. The longer he stayed on this island, the stronger that feeling grew.

So before dawn on the third day, he called all his crew together, had them pack up everything, and sail around to the other side of the island. He told them if anything major went down, they should head back to Beehive Island without him—no need to drag him down.

The pirates understood how serious this was. Within minutes, they’d finished loading up and steered their ship to the island’s far side.

Almost noon. It was getting close to midday.

Karl had been sitting at the pier for a solid six hours.

“They’re here!”

In that moment, Karl’s sense of crisis peaked and stopped rising for the first time in ten minutes. He knew the enemy had arrived.

Sure enough, a wave of flags appeared on the sea’s horizon.

Looking closer, three Navy ships were heading straight for the Kingdom of Sook.

Leading them were none other than the Navy heroes, Garp and Sengoku.

Garp had come all this way because some of his men hailed from this kingdom. The minute he learned Karl was here, he’d led his fleet out without hesitation.

He’d also cleared the plan with Admiral Kong and only set out after getting his approval.

After all, Karl had become quite a threat lately. Plus, among the seven division captains, Karl’s own strength was considered among the weakest. If they had a chance to take him out, why not seize it?

But after Karl had killed the Snow Lion Admiral, Kong made sure to have Sengoku join the operation too.

“So this is where the danger’s coming from…”

“Man, talk about overkill!”

Karl never dreamed he’d be hunted by both Garp and Sengoku at once—a distinction not even the Pirate King Roger ever enjoyed.

“Bloo bloo! Bloo bloo!”

“You all head back to Beehive Island. The fight coming up isn’t one you need to join.”

“Understood, Captain Karl!”

The pirate captain on the other side of the island got the order and immediately set his team sailing in the opposite direction.

Since Lord Karl didn’t want them with him, they wouldn’t hold him back.

They’d already spotted Sengoku and Garp and knew there was nothing they could do.

Instead, their first priority was to get the word to Rocks as fast as possible. Maybe, just maybe, they could save Karl’s life. What they didn’t know was that the only reason Karl was still here was because the System had ordered him to stay three full days.

And since they didn’t have the Den Den Mushi contacts for Charlotte Linlin or Captain Rocks, the only way was to get the ship back to Beehive Island first and report from there.

“System, you really know how to throw a guy into the fire!”

“All right then, bring it on!”