Chapter 92: Dividing Responsibilities, Setting Grand Plans

Let’s set John’s situation aside for now—we’re only targeting his subordinates and businesses at this point.

The next day.

“We’ve completed the first phase of the plan.”

“Now it’s time to launch phase two. This stage will take a bit longer.”

Inside a spacious conference room, Karl and Linlin sat at the front, with a massive blackboard behind them.

On the left were Perospero and his group, on the right sat Krell, Davis, and the others.

Everyone in the room focused on Karl, each wearing a serious expression.

Karl had already told them these were the plans for the next few years, so they needed to pay close attention.

“Krell!”

“Yes, Captain. I’m listening.”

Krell straightened up even more when Karl called his name first, quickly standing at attention.

“Your main job is searching and building.”

“Go out in the New World and look for Wano, Thunder Island, Zou, Sleeping Ancient Town, Asuka Island up front… and one last thing—a giant Sea King full lantern anglerfish.”

“Understood, Captain. I’ve written it all down. I’ll send out my Fishmen to search everywhere.”

Seeing Krell jot down all the locations, Karl handed him a second assignment.

“Speed up development in the Sweets Sea. Make sure every island can support tens of thousands of people.”

“Don’t worry, Lord Karl. I’ll keep a close eye on things.”

“Good.”

At Karl’s signal, Krell took his seat.

“Davis!”

“Captain Karl!”

Davis, second to be called, sprang to his feet as well.

“Your assignment is a bit tougher.”

“Don’t worry, Captain. No matter the challenge, I’ll see it through.”

Davis didn’t waste words. He met Karl’s gaze with steely determination.

“Gather Devil Fruits for me. Once Krell finds Wano and Sleeping Ancient Town, head over and locate the Devil Fruits there.”

“I’ll tell you which specific ones I need in a bit.”

“The rest of the time you’ll stay by my side.”

“Understood, Captain.”

Karl wasn’t sure Davis was the best fit for gathering Devil Fruits.

But he simply didn’t have anyone else with both the brains and enough strength, especially when it came to Wano.

They called it the Land of Samurai—and they weren’t exactly friendly to outsiders.

Could Davis pull this off?

“Fields! Notty! Halil!”

“The three of you will take turns guarding the Sweets Sea.”

“Understood, Captain.”

Fields was the most dependable of the group. Sure, he was obsessed with martial arts, but his loyalty was firm.

“As for you, Perospero…”

Karl paused, not sure if sending all these kids to the Sweets Sea was a good idea.

“Father, please go on.”

But seeing the resolve in Perospero’s young face, Karl still gave them the job.

“You’ll handle taking care of your younger siblings and making sure the islands are managed properly in the Sweets Sea.”

“Once you all come of age, each sibling will be tasked with guarding their own island!”

“Rest assured, Father.”

Next up were final details to be ironed out.

After the specifics were set, Karl looked around at the group with a rare smile.

“Alright, that’s everyone’s task sorted. You may all go now.”

“Davis, stay behind.”

Once the others had left, Karl locked eyes with Davis.

“Davis, the reason I’m assigning you these two missions is because both islands have Mythical Zoan Fruits.”

“For real, Captain?”

Davis wasn’t a rookie pirate—he knew just how powerful Mythical Zoan Fruits could be.

“Absolutely. That’s why I’m trusting you with this. Keep it a secret at all costs.”

“Also, here are the Mafia’s contacts in the Four Seas. Have them quietly gather Devil Fruits too.”

“You can count on me, Captain.”

Davis solemnly accepted his orders and left.

“Ma ma ma ma!”

“Karl, you sure have the air of a leader these days.”

As soon as Davis left, Linlin smiled and joked with Karl.

She hadn’t wanted to speak up while everyone else was around.

“People always grow up at some point.”

“Come on, let’s clean up and head out. In a few days we’ll send Perospero and the others to the Sweets Sea.”

Dropping the formality, Karl stretched and stood, his tone lighter.

“Ma ma ma ma!”

“True enough.”

Karl walked Charlotte Linlin back to her room.

Then he went off to find Newgate for a drink—using that as a chance to ask him about some unspoken rules he still didn’t know!

On Krell’s end, his first move was to delegate the island-searching job to the Fishmen in charge of salvaging shipwrecks.

Luckily, they’d already set up teams of Fishmen to scour the seafloor for lost ships, so passing off the hunt for unknown islands to them was a breeze.

As for developing the islands, the only way to speed things up was to get more manpower.

Once Krell got back to base, he quickly called Kano on the transponder snail.

“Bloop, bloop!”

“Hello, is this Kano?”

Kano was surprised—Krell almost never called him directly.

“Yes, Lord Krell, this is Kano. Please go ahead.”

“I need you to send more Fishmen to the Sweets Sea.”

“We need to push the development there as fast as possible.”

Krell’s voice was full of urgency and resolve.

“Understood, Lord Krell!”

Even if Kano didn’t know the details,

If Lord Krell was calling in person, it meant they truly needed more people!

And as it happened, he was worrying about the growing number of Fishmen on hand.

Talk about perfect timing.

After hearing they’d be heading to the Sweets Sea, Perospero and the others hurried back to their rooms to pack.

Davis knew Karl told him alone so the news wouldn’t spread.

After all, Mythical Zoan Fruits were seriously valuable.

So when he got back, he didn’t explain to the group—just told them he’d be sticking close to Karl, then gave out orders.

“Notty, Fields, Halil—take turns guarding the Sweets Sea. As for the other two, you’ll stay stationed at Beehive Island.”

“The rest of you could use some more strength, so stay in the Sweets Sea and train your Haki.”

“If we locate the islands Lord Karl mentioned, some of you might sail out with me. So use this time to toughen up as much as you can.”

“Aw, really?”

“I don’t think my power’s going anywhere fast.”

“Can we even set sail if we’re not strong enough?”

Jennifer fretted on the side—her ceiling was lower than most, making rear admiral already quite an achievement.

“Don’t worry, we’ll find a Devil Fruit for you—get you powered up.”

“Yeah, no need to stress. We’ll handle it.”

Fields echoed Notty and stepped forward.

He’d gotten hurt the most in practice matches, so Jennifer had patched him up the most too.

So this job was his without question.

“Relax—besides, we’ll keep you safe.”

“Your job is to cheer us on from the back!”

“Hey! Knock it off—move over!”

Hunter, seeing Brown teasing Jennifer, quickly pushed him away.

“Alright, that’s all for now. Go get some rest. In a couple days we’ll all head to the Sweets Sea, with Krell in charge of your special training!”

Seeing the group’s confused faces, Davis explained right away.

“Don’t underestimate Krell.”

Glancing at their skeptical looks, he continued.

“All hundreds of crew members under Captain Karl are trained by Krell.”

“If you take him lightly, you’ll regret it.”

“He’s tough.”

“I can feel it,”

Halil answered gravely.

“Really?”

“Absolutely. As a fellow Fishman, I can tell straight away.”

“I’d love a spar with him when I get the chance.”

Fields could hardly hold back his excitement.

“Clap, clap, clap!”

“Alright, everyone. Get ready—soon we’ll be heading to the Sweets Sea.”

The group began to disperse.

“I heard the Sweets Sea is full of desserts. Wonder if you can use them for cooking?”

“I guess so?”

“You should give it a try.”

Davis glanced at Smith standing nearby, still not entirely sure himself.

……

“Punk Hazard?”