Chapter 57: A Feast of Power and the Rewards of Battle

Because his body had grown even larger, Karl’s appetite had increased to match.

Thanks to the unique properties of Titan Strength, he could recover his stamina, but it did nothing to ease his hunger.

So eating to satisfy that growing hunger was absolutely essential.

Charlotte Linlin understood this all too well. When she first set out to sea as a pirate, she often went hungry for days. She had already ordered the kitchen to turn yesterday’s catch of Sea Kings into a mountain of food.

So when Karl arrived at the dining hall, he didn’t have to wait at all. Cart after cart of food rolled in, the rich scent of roasted meat filling the air, enough to make anyone’s mouth water.

For three hours straight, Karl ate. He devoured every last scrap from more than a hundred carts piled high with Sea King meat.

“Phew!”

“Burp!”

After spitting out the final bone, Karl rubbed his round belly, satisfaction spreading across his face.

“Come on, let’s test out this new strength.”

He couldn’t wait any longer.

Charlotte Linlin had already eaten earlier, so she barely touched her food. But watching Karl enjoy his meal so much, she picked at her plate a little. Hearing him speak, she nodded eagerly.

…

3:00 in the afternoon, on a nameless island near Beehive Island.

This was the second nameless island to suffer their arrival.

Karl and Charlotte Linlin stood at the edge of the island.

“Boom!”

A nameless wave of pressure swept over the entire island. The animals felt the oppressive force and bolted for safety, even the fish and shrimp at the shore hurriedly swam away.

Karl’s eight-meter-tall frame swelled to ten meters, his whole body shining with golden light. From a distance, he really did look like a giant golden statue. This was the completed form of the Titan Giant.

All his energy gathered into one, nothing wasted. Every blow would use the full force of his power.

Excitement was written across Karl’s face. He’d been dying to test his new strength, and now was the perfect time.

“Here I come!”

Karl only wanted to test the power of Titan’s Gift, so he didn’t bother using Armament Haki or Daoist Thunder Magic or any other techniques.

“Ma~ma~ma~ma!”

“Napoleon!”

Sensing the overwhelming danger rolling off Karl, Charlotte Linlin threw back her head and laughed, not backing down in the slightest.

She reached up and drew a massive broadsword from her hat, settling into a defensive stance.

“Crushing Fist!”

Karl unleashed the eighth-level fist technique inherited from the Elder Heavenly Master—Crushing Fist—focusing all his strength into a single point. The force would strike straight through an enemy’s defenses.

“Spear of Elbaf!”

Charlotte Linlin fired off a weakened version of Sovereign Nation.

“Bang!”

They clashed head-on. The ground split open beneath them. The shockwaves ripped a neat semicircle out of the shore, saltwater slowly seeping into the gap.

“So strong!”

“Hahaha!”

“Let’s go again!”

Karl could feel just how much stronger he’d become. He didn’t bother to hide his excitement or pride.

“Bring it on!”

Since she’d agreed to help Karl test his strength, the real fight was just getting started.

Charlotte Linlin didn’t wait around—she leapt right back into the fray with Karl.

Soon, the two were clashing fiercely above the small island.

But since it was just a test, they weren’t using their full strength. Even so, the sounds of their battle weren’t quiet by any means.

“Who do you think is stronger, Mama or Karl?”

Katakuri watched the clash overhead from the ship, turning to ask his older brother Perospero with a puzzled look.

“Isn’t it obvious? Lord Karl’s definitely the strongest!”

Long Er, strutting along with an air of confidence, couldn’t help but butt in, breaking up the conversation.

“That’s not true! Mama’s the best!”

Katakuri yelled back at Long Er, a little annoyed.

“Lord Karl’s stronger!”

“Mama’s stronger!”

Soon, Katakuri and Long Er were shouting at each other over the debate.

Perospero didn’t stoop to their childish level. He honestly couldn’t say for sure who was stronger, but with shockwaves like that, there probably wasn’t much difference either way.

After all, from what he could see, their exchange shook the battlefield just as much as any Captain’s fight.

“Hahaha!”

“Next time we run into Garp and Sengoku, maybe I won’t have to run for my life again!”

After hours of intense battle, Karl and Charlotte Linlin finally stopped, surveying the wreckage they’d left behind on the island.

“Ma~ma~ma!”

“I swear, I won’t let that grudge go!”

Charlotte Linlin grumbled quietly. It’d been hard enough to find such a good husband; she’d nearly lost him just now.

For years, Charlotte Linlin had wanted a partner she could keep by her side, but most men were either too cowardly or too weak. None of them ever caught her eye, which is why she kept marrying people from different races, hoping to have strong children.

Truthfully, for someone her size, finding a suitable partner was nearly impossible.

Charlotte Linlin stood eight-point-eight meters tall, the tallest recorded human woman in history.

Most giants stood well over ten meters, completely mismatched with her size. Besides, after that incident when she was five, the giants all hated her, so that was off the table.

Even in the utopia she eventually built, Totto Land, not a single giant ever joined. That’s how deep their hatred ran.

“Alright, let’s head back. We’ve got a long stretch of downtime ahead.”

“There’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”

Karl finally relaxed, reassured that his new power had been tested. He’d climbed another step forward.

He started making plans. With the big battles done for now, the most important thing was to recuperate and set plans in motion. Now was the perfect time to get a head start.

“Let’s head home then!”

Charlotte Linlin was curious about what Karl meant, but she trusted he’d explain everything to her soon. Now wasn’t the right place for a long conversation anyway.

Back on the deck, Katakuri and Long Er were still horsing around.

Karl sat in the largest chair at the highest point, enjoying the breeze on his face.

“System, open the mission panel!”

Since he was in such a good mood, it was a perfect moment to check what had changed in the system.

“Main mission one: Form your own pirate crew!”

“Mission reward: Thunder Dragon Egg!”

“Mission status: Incomplete!”

“Side mission one: Stay in the Kingdom of Sook for three days!”

“Mission reward: 10,000 System Points and 1 Basic Draw!”

“Mission status: Complete!”

“Side mission two: Serve as the Rocks Pirates’ Vice Captain!”

“Mission reward: Rocks’ Conqueror’s Haki.”

“Main mission two: Unlocked after completing main mission one!”

Karl hesitated when he saw the Thunder Dragon Egg was the main mission reward. Was he really supposed to hatch it?

“What’s a Thunder Dragon Egg?”

“The Thunder Dragon Egg comes from the xianxia world adapted from a certain anime. Three hundred meters long, innate mastery over lightning, as powerful as an Admiral. Ten years to hatch, twenty to mature! (System acceleration is already applied, otherwise it’d be even longer!)”

“How did you even get something like this? Didn’t you say you couldn’t hand out rewards that exceeded this world’s limits?”

Karl was full of questions. Wasn’t the Thunder Dragon Egg from a cultivation world way stronger than what this world allowed? That’s basically the stuff of legend.

System: “If not for the current @#$%&@#%&…”

Looked like there would be no answers for now. He couldn’t help but wonder: would a Thunder Dragon from a xianxia world be stronger than a Marine Admiral?

Since he wasn’t getting anywhere, Karl just opened up the lottery page.

“Lottery panel!”

“Remaining basic draws: 2! (One from the mission reward, one for a full month!)”

“Let’s do one now!”

“Drawing, please wait…”

A golden virtual roulette wheel began to spin, displaying all kinds of items and equipment from different anime. Some slots even held rare skills and talents. He didn’t spot any templates, though.

“Congratulations, host! You’ve drawn Lu Bu’s Halberd from the animated Three Kingdoms!”

Karl’s eyes lit up as he stared at the gleaming halberd. Who wouldn’t love something so brilliantly golden?

He tapped on the halberd’s info page.

“Halberd: Forged from extraterrestrial meteorite, measures 9.9 meters in length. Its sharpness rivals any Supreme Grade Great Blade!”

He quickly equipped it. Placing his right hand to his chest as if measuring its heft, the nine-point-eight-meter-long halberd materialized in his grip.

“Ma~ma~ma~ma!”

“Karl, where did you get that?”

“I’ve never seen it before!”

Charlotte Linlin was startled. She knew Karl hadn’t eaten any Devil Fruit. So where did this weapon suddenly come from?

But she kept her questions to herself, gazing in awe at the halberd. She could tell its aura was nothing to scoff at.

She’d thought Karl was just stretching because he was bored—sea voyages got tedious, after all.

She never expected he’d pull out such an impressive weapon. Whose subordinate was he, anyway?

The halberd glistened gold, mysterious runes carved all over, a red tassel hanging from its blade.

“That’s a secret.”

Karl wasn’t sure what would happen if he exposed the system, so for safety’s sake, he decided not to tell anyone—not even the person closest to him.

He brushed off her curiosity with a vague answer.

Karl set the weapon down, then got ready for another spin.

“Let’s use up the other draw too.”

The roulette spun again.

“Congratulations, host! You’ve obtained a bottle of Shaolin Great Rejuvenation Pills, from an unknown Shaolin Temple anime.”

“Great Rejuvenation Pills?”

Karl frowned. Weren’t those pills supposed to increase internal strength? Would they even work in the One Piece World?

He opened the info page on the pills.

“Shaolin Great Rejuvenation Pill: Refines and enhances the body, instantly grants the user 60 years’ worth of internal energy—comparable to a peak Vice Admiral in the One Piece World!”

Well, if you put it that way, each pill is basically a makeshift admiral’s worth of power.

Karl shook the bottle; the rattling inside told him there were ten pills.

“Not bad at all. Pretty solid reward.”

Ten Great Rejuvenation Pills meant ten people could reach Vice Admiral-level power. Not bad at all.

Karl was quite satisfied. Now, the next step was to complete side mission two.

Thinking about side mission two, his expression grew serious.

After all, being appointed vice captain of the Rocks Pirates wasn’t a job to take lightly, nor was it easy to walk away from once you had it.

But he knew that if he did become the vice captain, it would be huge for the timeline. A real turning point.