Carl Had Children

"Mm!"

"Where is this?"

Major Norse opened his eyes and looked up at the white ceiling. After glancing around, he finally let out a sigh of relief.

He knew he was back at Marine Headquarters, because this was the medical department. He'd spent plenty of time here during his training as a young man.

Thinking back, he even felt a little nostalgic for his days in Marine training. He'd spent his youth here, giving it his all.

He turned to look out the window. The sun was high in the sky, and rays of sunlight streamed inside.

He could hear little birds chirping.

He knew he was safe now.

"Creak!"

Norse quickly turned his gaze toward the door.

A beautiful young woman with a tall figure and a nurse's uniform walked in. Her cheeks were rosy, and her gentle smile made her seem like an angel who had descended to earth.

Seeing that Major Norse was awake, she hurriedly called out into the corridor.

"Major Norse, you're awake!"

"Someone, come quickly! Major Norse is awake!"

The beautiful nurse's voice was soft and gentle, too.

Soon, a doctor came in and checked Norse's condition. He nodded to the leading Marine, then the medical staff filed out.

Footsteps sounded by the door.

Admiral Hill entered, followed by Admiral Steel Bone Kong, Admiral Wenhu, and Vice Admirals Garp and Sengoku, among others.

"How are you feeling, Norse? Is your body all right?"

The first thing Marshal Hill asked after entering wasn't about the details of what had happened. He asked about Norse's condition first.

It was clear that Marshal Hill was a caring leader who looked after his subordinates.

"Please rest assured, Marshal Hill. I'm feeling fine now."

Norse spoke to Marshal Hill with a solemn expression, patting his chest with his right hand. But the slight twitch at the corner of his mouth betrayed him—his body wasn't quite as fine as he claimed.

"All right, I know."

"Get some rest. If you need anything, just ask."

Marshal Hill already knew what had happened. But Norse had brought back the Magma-Magma Fruit, along with several unusual Paramecia Devil Fruits. Major Norse had rendered an invaluable service.

And from Admiral Snow Lion's Vivre Card burning to ash, they had learned that he had fallen in the New World.

They were deeply saddened, but they knew this wasn't the time to grieve.

They could only bury their sorrow for now. According to their informants, the Rocks Pirates were about to launch a major campaign.

So they had no time to mourn.

After a brief conversation with Norse, they left the ward and began issuing orders.

They sent some Marines to establish several Marine Branches along the New World front. Garp and Sengoku would lead the force, setting out for the New World ahead of the others.

While the Marines busied themselves with their preparations,

some of the pirates on Hachinosu began to put to sea. The first to leave was the First Division Commander, Golden Lion. His fleet floated through the air and flew off into the distance.

John, Ochoku, and Silver Axe followed close behind Golden Lion, setting out one after another.

The only ones who didn't put to sea that day were Charlotte Linlin, Newgate, and Carl.

That evening, in Charlotte Linlin's room, the two of them had just finished an intense round when they began speaking in hushed voices.

"Carl, I'm pregnant."

Charlotte Linlin looked content as she reached out with her right hand and rubbed her slightly rounded belly.

"What? So soon?"

Carl hadn't expected Charlotte Linlin to get pregnant so quickly. After all, he had Titan Bloodline. Weren't the odds of conceiving much lower for someone with a rare bloodline than for an ordinary person?

Then he remembered that the system had given him this bloodline talent. It wasn't something he'd been born with, so perhaps his children would have the same bloodline power.

"Let me listen!"

The thought flashed through Carl's mind, and he quickly pressed his ear against Charlotte Linlin's belly.

Seeing Carl rest his head against her belly, Charlotte Linlin gently stroked his head with her right hand, feeling rather touched.

With his extraordinary senses, he immediately heard three faint heartbeats inside Charlotte Linlin's belly.

"Haha, I never thought I'd see the day." Carl's lips curled into a smile.

He hadn't expected to have children so soon. To be honest, he'd never experienced what it was like to be a good father.

"Have you thought of what to name them?"

Charlotte Linlin furrowed her brow and asked Carl softly.

Until now, Charlotte Linlin had given all her children her own surname. But now that she had chosen to be with Carl, would their children's names be different from the others?

Would that cause a rift between the children...

"Don't worry. They'll take my surname. Tomorrow, I'll call all your children together and ask if they're willing to change theirs."

Carl said it outright, with a hint of domineering certainty. His male pride wouldn't allow his sons to have a different surname from his.

"I'll leave it to you."

Looking at his commanding face, Charlotte Linlin found Carl especially charming in that moment.

"Let's go again!"

Charlotte Linlin swept Carl into her arms. With Carl's constant efforts to develop his Titan Power, it had already entered its mature phase, and his height had reached seven and a half meters.

He was still a little shorter than Charlotte Linlin, but not by much.

He was actually a little relieved that he could be with Charlotte Linlin. Given how tall he'd become, it would be hard to find a beautiful, powerful woman to be with otherwise.

As far as he knew, there weren't many women in the Pirate World as tall as her.

He didn't want to spend the rest of his life crying alone.

"You're pregnant. Maybe we should hold off for now?"

"It's fine! Come on!"

Before Carl could finish speaking, Charlotte Linlin pulled the blanket over them. Soon, muffled sounds came from the room! (Ten thousand words omitted here.)

"They really have incredible stamina."

"Yeah. I haven't had a decent night's sleep in ages."

The two of them were having a grand time, but Charlotte Linlin's children—Perospero and the others—were suffering outside.

They lived in the rooms next to Charlotte Linlin's, and Carl came over every night. The noise was so loud that they couldn't sleep.

Today was even worse. It was already the middle of the night, and they were at it again.

Some of the sleepless children gathered in Perospero's room to chat. Since this happened so often, their sleep schedules had been thrown off. They usually caught up on sleep during the day and felt wide awake at night.

"Who knows how much longer we'll have to put up with this?"

One of the younger brothers voiced his complaint.

"Probably until we can protect ourselves."

"Maybe we could reinforce Mama's room and make it more soundproof," Katakuri suggested.

"That could work."

"Let's fix up Mama's room tomorrow while she's out."

"Great!"

"Then it's settled."

Perospero made the final call. They decided to renovate their mother's room while she was out tomorrow and improve the soundproofing.

Then they wouldn't have to lie awake every night.

Time slipped by as they joked around. As the sounds gradually faded, the first rays of the day's sunlight appeared on the distant horizon.