After several months, Karl’s crew returned to the final island of the first half of the Grand Line.
The first time at Sabaody, Karl was a nobody who, thanks to riding Carina’s Barrier-Barrier Fruit buzz, barely made a tiny mention in the World Economy News Paper as a bounty hunter.
When he left, thanks to the little dragon, he’d become a mildly famous Dragon Knight.
But now, Karl was a super rookie famous across the world.
Not just a super rookie—in Sabaody’s lawless zone he was a walking treasure.
Just like the Straw Hat Pirates in the original story, hounded again and again by bounty hunters.
Although Karl had made quite a stir in the back streets, that was months ago.
Those weak fools might have even forgotten Karl had ever been to Sabaody.
Now there he was in front of them—the first man to defeat a Warlord of the Sea, the world’s top bounty hunter.
Beat him, and I become the world’s top bounty hunter!
And the large three-masted ship sailing into port with the Golden Bell aboard drew the attention of the entire lawless zone to Karl’s crew.
That attention spread rapidly to the other areas of Sabaody and into the ears of rich merchants and nobles.
News that the Dragon Knight possessed a Golden Bell about twenty meters tall and who-knows-how-many tons spread across Sabaody within an hour, and through certain informants reached some great powers and big shots.
In an instant, countless jackals set their sights on the bell—some wanted to "help" Karl sell it for a fat cut, some auction bosses proposed a world-class sale, even envoys probing on behalf of the world’s richest man, the Golden Emperor... all kinds of monsters swarmed toward Karl’s crew.
A storm stirred up by the Golden Bell began to spread.
"For the last time, I am not selling the Golden Bell!"
On the harbor pier, Karl watched the surging crowd, slowly lifted his right foot, and stomped in place.
Boom—crraack-crack-crack!
With a deafening blast, countless fissures spread across hundreds of meters of ground and pier centered on Karl.
The tremor in those cracks knocked everyone flat.
Tossing out a chest of beli as compensation, Karl glanced at the reporters who had fallen and scrambled up to photograph the bell, and said coolly, "Look all you want, but if anyone comes within five meters of the ship, I’ll take it as you coveting my treasure—don’t blame me for being ruthless." This update ıs available on 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⚫𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦⚫𝘯𝘦𝘵
After that, Karl’s crew left the pier and headed for Coating Street.
The little dragon, unusually, stayed on board, standing on the custom figurehead and warning the crowd with his gaze.
Some rebuffed merchants and agents of certain powers left with dark faces.
Others hatched nasty ideas in their hearts.
If we can’t do it openly, we’ll go dirty.
If I can’t have it, then no one will!
The penniless jackals, bold in their ignorance, set their sights not only on the Golden Bell but on the little dragon.
If we sell the bell and the dragon, won’t we be set for life?
With that thought, jackals rushed the ship with cold steel, or hid far off with sniper rifles and ordinary guns, aiming at non-vital parts of the little dragon and pulling the trigger.
Bang bang bang bang bang...
With a string of gunshots—
A hail of bullets swept toward the bow of the large three-masted ship.
Looking down at the jackals, the little dragon gathered a single Gale Burst and obliterated them all.
With the first wave slaughtered, those who had been watching from behind immediately withdrew to plan another move.
By then, Karl’s crew had reached Coating Street and found the most reputable shop to coat the large three-master.
"Coating a large sailing ship takes a while. If you want it fast, I recommend the top package," the owner said after hearing the ship’s specs.
"The top package?" Nami asked.
"The top one—the hundred-man package."
The owner replied, "I’ll send our five best coaters to lead a hundred workers, and we can finish in at most three days."
"Is the quality guaranteed?" Carina asked.
The owner said proudly, "I’ll even throw in some coral bubbles. If there’s any quality issue, certain big names are welcome to come up out of the sea to trouble me."
"Good, we’ll take the best package."
"The top package is seventeen million beli. Please pay a deposit."
After paying, Karl’s crew took the coaters and workers back to the pier.
Seeing the corpses strewn across the dock, the workers weren’t afraid; they only cast awestruck looks at the massive Golden Bell.
Then they quickly got to work coating the large three-master.
"Xiao Bai, stay and supervise."
Karl patted the little dragon’s head with a smile.
The little dragon nuzzled Karl’s palm and nodded softly.
After the reminder, Karl’s crew went shopping (to spend money), relaxing after the long voyage while the three-day coating proceeded.
Meanwhile, the wave stirred up by the Golden Bell was still spreading.
Perhaps the luck used up on the Rumble-Rumble Fruit rebirth and the City of Gold had run its course for a while.
Thus the news of the Golden Bell, through certain ill-intentioned mouths, finally reached those who regard Sabaody as their domain and backyard, who call themselves "descendants of the Creator," who like to stroll for amusement, enjoy human kneeling and slave auctions—vermin to the world yet enjoying every privilege—the Celestial Dragons.
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