Chapter 117: Vice Admiral Karl

The public trial ended.

Reporters returned to their news agencies with excitement to write their articles, and the crowd went home satisfied. Anyway, they had seen the Navy's sincerity, and that was enough for them.

The response from all over the world was mostly the same.

After all, the Navy's handling of this public relations crisis was almost impeccable. The scandal had just been exposed, all the corrupt Marines were caught, and then they immediately set up an Independent Commission Against Corruption to prevent such incidents from happening again.

What else could they ask for?

It's just that they would never know that all of this was the result of the Navy's careful design—or to be precise, designed by Karl and Sengoku together.

Fleet Admiral's office.

"Karl, congratulations. From today on, you are a Vice Admiral of Marine Headquarters!"

Karl grinned and happily tucked the appointment document into his chest. A system prompt also sounded in his mind.

"Ding, congratulations to the host for being promoted from Rear Admiral to Vice Admiral. Daily mission rewards have been changed to 8 designated attribute enhancement cards + random rewards * 5 (can be stored), and the probability of obtaining rare rewards has increased to 8%."

Karl frowned, but soon relaxed and said goodbye to Sengoku with a smile.

After leaving Marine Headquarters, Karl asked somewhat puzzled: "The daily reward for a Vice Admiral is only 8 cards? Does that mean an Admiral gets 9 and the Fleet Admiral gets 10?"

"No, an Admiral candidate gets 9, and an Admiral is changed to 1 high-level designated attribute enhancement card."

Good guy, fine. Karl was too lazy to complain anymore.

"System, what is the current 【Heart-Thief】 bonus?"

"Calculating... please wait!"

"Calculation successful. Current bonus: Stamina: +53.421%, Stamina recovery speed: +106.842%"

Karl revealed a smile. Today's work wasn't in vain.

"Kid, are you ready?"

Karl was startled by the voice and turned back angrily: "Can you old guy stop suddenly appearing behind me? It'll scare people to death, okay?"

Kizaru revealed a lewd smile, not caring at all that Karl called him an old guy: "Kowai ne~"

"Stop with the 'kowai'. Leaving now?"

Kizaru nodded: "More or less. The tea party starts the day after tomorrow. You can still make it if you leave now."

"The day after tomorrow? Why didn't you say so earlier!"

Kizaru picked his fingernails and said nonchalantly: "Doesn't that bird fly? Besides, you can't just sail a warship directly to Totto Land, right?"

Karl was speechless and asked unwillingly: "Then what about you?"

"Of course I'm waiting for your news at Marine Headquarters! Once there's a situation, notify me immediately."

Kizaru, you've changed! What happened to slacking off happily together?

"Then I... go to Totto Land alone?"

Kizaru nodded and revealed his familiar chrysanthemum face: "Don't worry, Big Mom has many guests invited, she won't care about you."

Kizaru looked Karl up and down and curled his lips: "Wait, you little brat, you'd better disguise yourself! Sigh~ Who told you to be as dazzling as me?"

Karl: ???

"This is the rendezvous point. Once you arrive, someone will naturally take you into Totto Land. By the way, give me a piece of your Vivre Card."

"Why do you want my Vivre Card?"

Kizaru said as a matter of course: "Otherwise, how would I know where you are? In case you get surrounded by Big Mom and Shanks, how would I come to save you?"

Thank you, Kizaru. I'm so touched.

With no other choice, Karl had to take out the Vivre Card with three corners missing from his pocket, tear off the last corner, and hand it to Kizaru.

"Mm, pack up and leave as soon as possible! I have to go have a cup of tea."

As soon as he finished speaking, Kizaru disappeared without a trace. Karl gritted his teeth in hatred.

He secretly swore in his heart that once he became an Admiral, no one would be able to boss him around!

Ahem, Sengoku, you sit down! This doesn't concern you.

The next day, the news about the public trial spread throughout the world, letting those who couldn't see the live broadcast understand what the Navy had done, and they all applauded.

A few days ago, people were still criticizing the Navy, but now they were all praising the Navy for its courage and attitude.

It must be said that the power of public opinion is truly great. The Navy is still the same Navy, and its prestige has risen instead of falling.

Smoker, as the Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, also quickly released relevant policies and gathered manpower to get the Independent Commission Against Corruption up and running as soon as possible. Although he was very tired, he was happy to do it.

New World, Red Force.

Beckman looked at Totto Land not far away, exhaled a puff of smoke, and turned to look at the carefree Shanks beside him.

"Hey, stupid captain, are you really going to Totto Land to attend that tea party?"

Shanks gulped down a bottle of rum, and a flash of light passed through his drunken eyes: "It's a waste not to go~ I really want to know what's fun in Totto Land!"

Beckman shook his head: "I really can't do anything about you..."

*Bang~*

Lucky Roux, standing to the side, hugged Beckman and chewed on meat, saying indistinctly: "What are you afraid of? We are the Red Hair Pirates! Even if Big Mom wants to play any tricks, we aren't afraid! Right! Shanks!"

"Hahahaha! Well said, come come come, let's have a drink!"

The corners of Beckman's mouth raised slightly. He didn't join the group of drunks and instead looked into the distance.

There were currently three maritime overlords: Whitebeard, Big Mom, and Kaido. They had already fought Whitebeard and Kaido, but the BIG MOM Pirates had never made a move.

As a result, they received Big Mom's tea party invitation not long ago, and the intention was obvious to everyone.

In the New World, who didn't know what Big Mom's invitation meant?

Perhaps they had no way out long ago. After all, they were already the pirate crew closest to the maritime overlords on the sea.

Therefore, even if it was a trap, they had to go. Only in this way could they take a step further and let their captain, Shanks, become the fourth maritime overlord!

Above the sea, a huge black raven glided through the air. Karl sat on the raven's back with his eyes closed.

In fact, he was using 【Shadow Sight】 to share vision with the raven, enjoying the pleasure of soaring in the sky.

"Push a little harder! We'll be there soon!"

"Caw! Caw caw! (I'm hungry)"

"Don't worry, you'll get your share. When we get to Totto Land, I'll let you eat your fill!"