Phil Kingdom

"Captain Rocks? What does he want with me?"

Though puzzled, he headed toward the Council Hall.

As soon as Carl entered Rocks's hall, he saw that all the Division Commanders had already gathered.

Golden Lion, Newgate, Charlotte Linlin, John, and Ochoku sat along either side. Kaido stood at the far end. Although he was still an apprentice, his strength was already close to that of a commander, so he was allowed into the pirates' Council Hall.

At this point, Kaido was not far from becoming a commander. Unfortunately, he had not been made a Division Commander. He was currently part of Charlotte Linlin's crew, so he stood beside her.

"Gahahahahaha!"

Rocks's face was grim, but then he burst into laughter.

With a mysterious smile, Rocks said to Carl, "Carl, we've gotten a good sense of your strength, but we still need to confirm your loyalty. I have a mission for you."

Carl immediately looked confused. "What mission?"

Rocks waved a hand. "You're going to attack an Affiliated Nation of the World Government. It isn't very strong, so don't worry. There shouldn't be much danger."

Rocks was only testing Carl. If Carl wasn't a spy, sending him to attack a powerful nation would be throwing away a valuable fighter for nothing.

As soon as Rocks finished speaking, Carl noticed Kaido glaring at him.

Kaido was clearly venting his displeasure.

After all, Kaido had been with the Rocks Pirates for so long and still hadn't become a commander, while a newcomer had been made one right away. He was deeply dissatisfied and didn't think Carl was all that strong.

John was the weakest commander in the whole crew. He and Ochoku had only become commanders because they were among the first to join the Rocks Pirates. Beating them didn't prove that Carl was truly commander material.

"As for your mission, go make a scene in the Phil Kingdom."

Carl didn't know how dangerous the mission was. He couldn't take Rocks at his word, but he understood that he had no choice but to go. Rocks had given the order himself, and Carl could sense the terrifying killing intent pouring off him. He suspected that if he refused, he might die right there.

"Are there any specific requirements?" Carl asked. He wanted to know why Rocks was sending him to the kingdom. Was it just a raid, or was there another purpose?

He had already guessed that being sent to attack an Affiliated Nation right after joining might be a test of his loyalty. But he didn't care. He had never planned to stay under Captain Rocks for long, and the Rocks Pirates wouldn't last much longer anyway.

"Just make as much trouble as you like."

Rocks's expression softened slightly at his answer.

Rocks gave him no other task, only telling him to cause a stir in the Phil Kingdom.

"No problem. Leave it to me."

He accepted without hesitation. As far as he was concerned, a mission like this was actually less dangerous.

Seeing how readily Carl accepted, Rocks's doubts began to ease.

He walked over, patted Carl on the shoulder, and laughed. "Gahahaha, good. I hope you complete the mission safely, Carl. You can keep all the loot you seize this time."

"Gahahahahaha!"

After speaking, Rocks laughed and strode out of the Council Hall.

"Gyahahahaha! Hey, kid, how about joining my crew?"

Golden Lion laughed from his seat. He had only returned to the island last night, and now regretted setting sail the day before and missing his chance to recruit Carl right away.

So he had made the offer the first time they met today.

He had wanted to break away from the Rocks Pirates for a long time, but had never found the opportunity. If Carl joined him, he would make a powerful right-hand man.

"Sorry, Commander Golden Lion. I'm not considering joining anyone else's crew for now."

Golden Lion didn't press him. Carl had made it clear that he wanted to be a commander, and he was already plenty strong.

Golden Lion understood what he meant, so he had only been sounding him out. Still, he couldn't help regretting that he hadn't found such a strong ally sooner.

Then Golden Lion left as well.

"Carl, have a child with me."

Charlotte Linlin hurried up to him with a smile.

"Uh, no thanks."

Carl quickly turned her down. He didn't want anything to do with Charlotte Linlin. Later on, she would have more than fifty husbands, and eventually she would stop caring about her figure and grow so fat that just thinking about it made him—

The image flashed through his mind. He hurriedly shook his head and left.

"Gahaha! Old woman, looks like Carl isn't interested."

Ochoku mocked her from the side. Charlotte Linlin had approached Golden Lion and Newgate, but never the others. He couldn't help feeling jealous, thinking she looked down on his strength.

"Tch, I'm not interested in you either."

"Kaido, let's go."

Charlotte Linlin called to Kaido, then left.

"Want me to go with you?"

Newgate called after him.

After all, he was the one who had brought Carl back. Rocks had immediately sent him to attack an Affiliated Nation, clearly showing that he didn't trust Carl. But Newgate couldn't do much to help him. No one had the power to oppose Rocks's decisions.

Newgate had a fairly good impression of Carl.

"It's fine. It's just an Affiliated Nation. Wait for good news."

Carl answered easily.

The Affiliated Nations in the latter half of the Grand Line couldn't get timely support from the Navy, so though there was some risk, it wouldn't be too great.

"Good. Go ahead, and watch out for Navy ambushes."

Newgate laughed. The Navy rarely came to the latter half of the New World to hunt them down, after all.

So there was no need to worry too much.

"Clay!"

As soon as Carl returned to their base, he called Clay over. Clay was now the second-strongest member of his crew.

"Sir Carl."

"Did Captain Rocks call you over for something?" Clay asked, puzzled. They had only just joined the Rocks Pirates, so surely they wouldn't be given a mission yet.

"He may doubt where our loyalties lie, so we need to go to the Phil Kingdom."

"When do we set sail, sir?"

"To avoid any complications, gather the men. We're leaving now."

Carl didn't want to waste too much time. He knew there was a spy within the Rocks Pirates. If they left too late, the Navy sent by the World Government might be waiting for them nearby.

By then, it might be hard to tell who was hunting whom.

"Understood, Commander Carl."

After receiving a clear answer, Clay replied solemnly, then immediately turned and left to gather the pirates.

A few hours later, Carl led his pirates toward their target, the Phil Kingdom.

"Men, our target is the Phil Kingdom!"

"I'll give you half of everything we seize this time."

He knew the pirates had only just joined his crew and didn't yet trust one another. He had to offer a generous reward to stir their fighting spirit and prevent trouble.

"Long live sir! Long live Sir Carl!"

Clay was the first to shout.

"Long live the commander!"

"Thank you, Commander!"

"Commander Carl!"

The pirates cheered at Carl's announcement.

Usually, when they went out raiding, they might only get one or two tenths of the loot.

They even had to hand a portion over to their commander, so receiving half this time was enough to make them ecstatic.

And since this was an Affiliated Nation of the World Government, there should be no shortage of Beli.

Carl guessed that there was probably a spy among the pirates present.

So he had to make a good impression.

And Rocks really had planted a spy on his ship.

Hidden behind the scenes, Rocks kept a close eye on Carl's every move through the spy. He hoped Carl would complete the mission successfully, while also guarding against the possibility that he might betray them.