Chapter 115: Chapter 115: Recognition from the Emperors—The Red Count of a New Era
"That kid... has he grown to this extent?"
"Kaido used his Devil Fruit and still got beaten like that?"
"Those injuries on Kaido—and that sky-piercing current—must have been caused by that massive black sphere!"
"To break through Kaido’s defense and create a sky current thousands of meters high... is that the so-called strongest of the Logias, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit?!"
"The fifth Sea Emperor—if I’m not mistaken, that kid is only fifteen, turning sixteen next year, right?"
"A born monster rare in this world who ate one of the invincible Logias, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit—luck like that makes him the world’s favorite child."
"Hahaha... I wonder how the youngest Sea Emperor, Red-Haired Shanks, feels reading this report?"
"The youngest Emperor in history has been born!"
"..."
Aside from the Beasts Pirates, the other Emperor factions were all talking about the news of Karl defeating Kaido.
Like everyone else, members of those factions were fooled by Morgans’s photos and accepted Karl’s status as the fifth Sea Emperor.
Of course, that status refers primarily to personal strength, not organizational might.
Because Karl hasn’t expanded his crew or fought for a slice of the New World, choosing instead to remain in Gran Tesoro as a king of the underworld and the world’s richest man.
So whether among Emperor forces or major New World crews and alliances, most held a favorable view of Karl.
Because he wasn’t an enemy.
Karl’s decision also meant one fewer powerful adversary for them.
That was one reason those factions sent gifts to curry favor.
Thus...
after seeing Karl challenge and defeat Kaido,
members of those Emperor forces felt no pressure; they only marveled at how fast Karl had reached the summit and ribbed the previously youngest Sea Emperor, Red-Haired Shanks.
Shanks’s response was, naturally, a smile.
As for the junior Karl—speaking frankly—aside from Kaido and Charlotte Linlin, the true pirates,
both Whitebeard and Shanks would have admired him.
They also acknowledged Karl’s standing.
As top-tier users who had mastered Conqueror’s Haki coating, Whitebeard and Shanks naturally recognized a sky-rending clash when they saw it.
No matter how he beat Kaido, a win is a win and a loss is a loss.
In terms of strength, Karl had the qualifications to sit as their equal.
What shocked them most was Karl’s meteoric rise—reaching the summit in barely a year.
Without offending Karl or Morgans, one could truly call him—the Red Count of a new era.
Karl’s current record isn’t without precedent.
In the previous era, there was a figure just as legendary.
Only, when that legend reached the top, he was not as young as Karl.
That legend stood alone and kept pace with Roger, Whitebeard, and the Golden Lion—the Red Count, Baroric Ledfield.
The Red Count’s feats were even more frightening than Karl’s are now.
Because he defeated the sea’s true bulwark of order—the Navy’s fleet admiral.
Like Garp, the Red Count climbed to the top with a body free of Devil Fruit powers.
He’s now in the deep-sea prison, Impel Down, still a non-ability user—only after his jailbreak in the original story did he, two years later, acquire the Zoan Bat-Bat Fruit, Mythical Model: Vampire.
"That guy Morgans sure loves to exaggerate."
Looking at today’s World Economic News, Karl didn’t know what to make of Morgans anymore.
On the surface, Morgans looked like Karl’s man—always standing on his side.
In truth, Karl was just hard to kill; otherwise that birdman Morgans would’ve gotten him killed long ago.
As the saying goes: the tallest tree in the forest is the first to feel the wind.
Not everyone can enjoy Morgans’s praise, and not everyone can withstand the consequences that come with it.
Take Luffy in the original: hyped by Morgans as the Fifth Emperor, his bounty seemed to leap from 500 million to 1.5 billion.
But once he headed to Wano, Charlotte Linlin set sail there herself.
If not for his protagonist’s halo, Luffy would have died who knows how many times.
Likewise, if Karl didn’t have an endlessly evolving body and the Mysterious Spear, hadn’t seized Enel’s Rumble-Rumble Fruit and the Golden Lion’s Float-Float Fruit—making his crew an unsolvable problem—
then just killing a Celestial Dragon and Gild Tesoro, and smashing a Buster Call, wouldn’t have been enough to gain a foothold in the New World.
Mary Geoise and Marineford were the lesser concern.
If Gran Tesoro couldn’t fly, the New World pirates coveting the golden city alone would have kept Karl’s group endlessly beleaguered.
"Exaggerate?"
Because of her height, Yamato had to hook both legs around Karl’s waist, practically draped over his back.
She and little Tama, hanging at Karl’s front, read today’s paper together.
After a look, Yamato burst out laughing: "Hahaha... that Morgans guy isn’t wrong—Karl knocked that old man into the sea without a scratch, and he came out covered in wounds. Of course he lost!"
"Aren’t you afraid Kaido, after reading today’s paper, will furiously drag you back?"
Casually tossing aside the World Economic News the news bird had brought, Karl held the well-behaved, adorable Tama, moving at a pace that wouldn’t jostle her, and joked as he walked.
"Afraid..."
Hooking one arm around Karl’s neck, Yamato reflexively drew the spiked club with the other and shouted into the air: "If that old man dares try to take me back, then this time I’ll team up with Karl and knock him into the sea again!"
"I’ll count on you, then, Yamato."
Having finished his challenge, Karl actually didn’t refuse this time and smiled.
"Heh-heh..."
Hearing Karl agree to fight side by side, Yamato grinned like an idiot.
"Are you ready to explore the world?" Karl asked again with a meaningful smile.
"Ah..."
Yamato nodded hard, staring at the boundless sea ahead, her voice trembling with excitement: "I’ve waited more than ten years for this moment!"
"O sea, o world... here I come!!!"
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