Chapter 59: Undercover on Beehive Island, Reunion in the Depths

“Long Yi, Long Er.”

As Krell slipped away in secret, Karl called for Long Yi and Long Er.

They might still be young, but they could already help lighten his load. This was a good chance to give them something to do—otherwise, with Krell gone, they’d just cause havoc.

“How are those kids doing lately?”

“Don’t worry, Lord Karl. They’ve all picked up the Five Elements Fist now. Under Lord Krell’s guidance, they’ve been practicing in the woods against all sorts of wild beasts.”

“They’re still a bit behind regular pirates in strength, but honestly, the gap’s not that big anymore.”

Long Yi, always the more serious one, reported everything he knew. He was definitely more mature than Long Er.

“You two are about to have a bit more on your plate.”

Karl paused, weighing the risks. Trusting them with this would probably fly under most people’s radar.

“I need you both to secretly buy children, ages five to ten, within Beehive Island.”

He considered it. Of all the things he lacked, time wasn’t one of them—the actual story wouldn’t kick off for years.

So, kids even younger might work too. It made earning their trust easier.

“Actually, younger than five is fine as well.”

“The most important thing is that this operation stays completely under wraps. No one can find out.”

Karl paused again, curious what ideas Long Yi and Long Er might have.

Long Yi noticed Lord Karl’s intent gaze. His eyes darted, thinking, but settled into a smart, determined look.

After all, this was the first proper mission Lord Karl had assigned them—they needed to ace it, no question.

And honestly, Long Yi was way sharper than Long Er.

“Don’t worry, Lord Karl.”

“We’ll claim we need more playmates our age and handle the buying discreetly. No one will catch on.”

Long Er hadn’t quite caught up, but when he saw his brother speak, he hurried to echo him.

“That’s right, Lord Karl, don’t worry! We’ll keep it a secret!”

Long Er’s simple-mindedness meant he didn’t fully grasp the situation, but thankfully, he knew to save questions for later—this was just how he and his brother worked together.

Karl still worried a little, but he couldn’t do everything personally.

This was the best compromise he could come up with.

It’d also be good training for the two of them.

“Alright, then I’ll leave this to you.”

Karl smiled with satisfaction, ruffling their hair and signaling they could get started right away.

“Yes, sir!”

With no further instructions, the boys left the room, their young voices bubbling with plans about how to pull this off without anyone noticing.

As they left, Karl lingered in thought.

How could he find two truly loyal subordinates to give the Draw-Draw Fruit and Morph-Morph Fruit to?

After all, giving those Devil Fruits to Long Yi and Long Er would just waste their potential bodies.

Orphans were out—they were too young and fragile, far more likely to die in the process.

His current men were no good either. He hadn’t known them long enough to trust them, and every one of them cared more about money than loyalty—hardly ideal.

He needed folks to infiltrate God Valley, a place crawling with gold and untold Devil Fruits. Could he trust anyone not to betray him for such fortune?

Looks like everyone on Beehive Island was out of the question.

He’d need to go out to sea himself and recruit the kind of men he needed.

…

Meanwhile, Charlotte Linlin wasted no time gathering her sons and daughters together.

She only gave them a rough outline of her plans to build power—no need to share more.

“Ma ma ma ma!”

“Did you all remember what I said?”

Perospero, looking serious, closed the notebook in front of him.

“Don’t worry, Mama, we’ve got it all down.”

Perospero had written down every word Charlotte Linlin said.

“Good. Now that you know, get to work immediately.”

For Katakuri, this was the first time Mama had entrusted him with a big responsibility. On this island plenty mocked his massive jaw behind his back.

But thanks to the Five Elements Fist Krell taught them, their bodies were beginning to take on golden proportions.

Still, people only dared mock him in secret. After all, he was Charlotte Linlin’s son. He was desperate to prove he could handle Mama’s important task.

“Don’t worry, Mama, I’ll finish this perfectly!”

Katakuri slapped his chest, his face tense and determined. For a moment, he even looked a little cute.

Charlotte Linlin knew Krell had taught them some special martial art, but she hadn’t expected it to be this effective.

Honestly, who wouldn’t want their children to look good?

“Ma ma ma ma!”

“Alright, I’ll leave it to you all.”

Things remained quiet on the island for quite some time after.

Except for spending time with Charlotte Linlin at night, Karl devoted every other minute to training the powers he’d gotten from the Elder Heavenly Master’s template.

The more he trained, the more he realized the System had only given him basic entry-level skills.

The deeper stuff he had to master on his own by constant training.

As he practiced, he could feel just how formidable the Elder Heavenly Master truly was. Even just the martial techniques would take him years to master—not to mention the Taoist spells.

He was sure that once he fully integrated the Elder Heavenly Master’s abilities, he’d reach another level entirely.

…

Ten days later!

“Fishman Island!”

After a long, hard journey, Krell—looking exhausted—sailed a battered little boat into deserted waters directly above Fishman Island. His face was full of homesick longing.

“I’m finally home!”

The emotion in his eyes was impossible to hide.

He quickly packed up his belongings and dove straight into the sea toward Fishman Island.

“Splash!”

As he dove deeper, the sunlight faded, replaced by endless black water. He didn’t stop, not until a glimmer of light appeared below, and he swam toward it with all his strength.

Ten thousand meters beneath the waves!

Heavy footsteps echoed through the dark Fishman Street.

“Who’s there?”

“Stand still! Don’t move!”

The voices belonged to Ikaros of the Deep Sea Whale Clan and Arthur of the Coral Reef Shark Clan!

Fishman Street was under brutal rule at this time. The merfolk had exiled them here—now fights, robberies and chaos were everywhere, and nobody respected anyone else.

The merfolk hated how the fishmen hunted fish for food, so they banished them to Fishman Street and forbade them from setting foot on Fishman Island itself.

Fishman Street never saw sunlight, giving everyone a simmering anger with nowhere to go. Crime was rampant every single day.

But today, everything was about to change on Fishman Street.

As a familiar shadow approached, a voice made them both look up in surprise.

“It’s Krell. Don’t you recognize me?”

Once Krell stepped closer, they instantly realized he was one of Fishman Street’s top leaders—Lord Krell.

“Big Brother Krell, you’re back!”

“Where have you been these days, Brother Krell?”

“Yeah, things have been really bad lately on Fishman Street.”

…

Following their brief exchange, Krell got up to speed on the current situation.

Ever since he’d gone to sea, his territory had spiraled into chaos and sparked even bigger brawls.

No one emerged as a new leader either. Now, the Fishmen were practically split into three rival factions.

That meant the unrest had never really ended all this time.

Hearing this, Krell’s face twisted with sadness. He couldn’t bear to see his people keep fighting each other.

“Don’t worry. I’m back now. I’ll fix this.”

“Take me to whoever’s in charge now.”

The two exchanged glances.

“Right this way, Lord Krell.”

…

Inside a dimly lit room scattered with candles, fishmen of all shapes and sizes had gathered in silence.

Krell sat at the largest round table in the center, arms folded, looking out at the crowd.

“That’s all I have to say.”

Reger’s mouth fell open in disbelief.

He couldn’t believe Krell had joined the Rocks Pirates—let alone become the right-hand man of the Sixth Division Captain. The news hit like a thunderclap.

Even at the bottom of the sea, news traveled. Everyone knew by now that the Rocks Pirates dominated the latter half of the Grand Line, and nobody dared challenge them openly.

“I’m in.”

Quinn shot Krell a look of disbelief. He remembered Krell running with the Lyon Pirates—when did he join the Rocks Pirates?

“Krell, didn’t you used to be with the Lyon Pirates?”

Krell gave a quick rundown of what had happened.

“I can’t believe you went through all that.”

“That’s old news.”

“Alright, what do you all think about my proposal?”

Krell steered them back to the matter at hand.

“Sounds good to me.”

“Yeah, I’m on board too.”

Some battle-weary fishmen spoke up. They were tired of endless fighting, but the environment kept forcing their hand.

“The Rocks Pirates are easily the strongest crew on the seas right now.”

“Joining them should guarantee some measure of safety, right?”

Most of the fishmen put safety first. Their value on the black market was still over tens of millions of berries, so they had to be careful.

Krell saw the hesitation. Obviously, it would take some time before everyone decided.

“Anyone who wants to come with me, get your things ready and join me at the exit of Fishman Street tomorrow.”

“I’ll be waiting for you all tomorrow at the exit.”

“Alright, that’s it for tonight. Think it over carefully.”

Exhausted, Krell issued his ultimatum and walked out of the tavern.

He was confident many would choose to follow him.