The sun was warm and gentle.
Inside a tavern, bursts of hearty laughter occasionally rang out.
The island's residents would rather take a detour than pass by this tavern, which resulted in this area of the tavern being mostly empty.
"Wurorororo..."
"My subordinates, let's celebrate our first victory in the New World!"
"Ahahaha, let's celebrate Captain Kaido's bounty reaching 1.187 billion!"
"Wo!!"
"Wo! Congratulations, Captain Kaido!"
Looking at his subordinates, the brothers he brought from the first half of the Grand Line, Kaido was full of hope for the future.
"Wurorororo..."
"My subordinates, next, follow me to Wano Country! That will become our base of operations!"
After a hearty laugh, Kaido chugged a mouthful of sake and dropped a piece of news. This was also the message he had recently received from the Kurozumi siblings, who were also part of the Rocks Pirates, telling him to enter Wano Country.
Kaido discussed it with his two current First Mates, King and Queen, and they decisively agreed.
Hearing that they were finally going to have their own territory, the pirates under him erupted into collective cheers once more.
"Wo! Long live Captain Kaido!"
Just as Kaido was about to chug another mouthful of sake, he suddenly sensed a faint Conqueror's Haki.
"Hmm?"
Faint, too faint. It was indeed Conqueror's Haki, but the aura was flickering, as if it would disappear at any moment. But even a faint Conqueror's Haki was still Conqueror's Haki. Out of a million people, only a few possessed Conqueror's Haki.
Even among the powerhouses on the sea right now, only a handful possessed Conqueror's Haki.
So, this Conqueror's Haki was detected by Kaido as soon as it appeared.
After a moment of contemplation, Kaido called King over.
"King, go see what's happening at the port."
At this moment, King had not yet put on his iconic black leather outfit covered in spikes and his mask. Currently, King was simply wearing a white shirt with a long sword tucked into his waist.
"Alright, Big Brother Kaido."
King didn't ask why. When Kaido rescued him from the cold laboratory, he had already decided to pledge his loyalty to Big Brother Kaido for the rest of his life. Kaido was his Joy Boy.
Currently, King had not yet eaten the Ancient Zoan Pteranodon Devil Fruit, but the characteristics of the Lunarian race allowed him to fly even without eating any Devil Fruit.
King soared rapidly, rushing to the port at his fastest speed. Big Brother Kaido's mission had to be executed quickly... On the other side.
Having escaped the ship's cabin filled with cages, Karl, not knowing the structure of the ship, could only rely on instinct to flee.
He encountered many people along the way, but managed to avoid them all with some close calls.
Suddenly, he smelled a fragrance, and his stomach protested at the opportune moment.
After a moment of hesitation, Karl headed straight for the source of the fragrance.
The commotion from the slave-holding cabin should have already attracted people, so the kitchen was likely empty.
Moreover, this body's stamina had already reached its limit; Karl was only holding on by a thread and needed to replenish his energy quickly.
Without food, he would find it very difficult to escape this ship.
Before long, Karl followed the scent to the kitchen. Before entering, he cautiously checked if anyone was inside.
The result was good; the people in the kitchen had also been drawn away, or perhaps they were still on the island procuring supplies.
Looking at the various delicacies and fruits displayed in the kitchen, Karl unconsciously swallowed.
Gulp, gulp.
His body was also urging him to eat quickly.
Karl entered the kitchen, closed the door, and his eyes immediately spotted the steak on the table.
He unhesitatingly picked up the steak, which was bigger than his face, and chewed it heartily.
"Delicious!"
The long-lost sensation of food filling his mouth—at this moment, Karl felt his life was complete. Even if he died now, he would have no regrets.
If he was going to die, he couldn't die on an empty stomach!
Karl began to frantically raid the kitchen, stuffing any visible food into his mouth without even looking.
Without him noticing, an apple next to his hand began to change. Patterns started to appear on its surface, and eventually, the fruit turned ice-blue, its entire body seemingly covered by a thick layer of icy, scale-like armor, resembling dragon scales.
Karl casually picked up that fruit and stuffed it directly into his mouth.
Crunch.
"Ugh..."
Karl covered his mouth with both hands, struggling to swallow what was in his mouth.
"Cough, cough, cough, what was that? It tasted worse than shit." Karl recalled the taste; he never wanted to eat that thing a second time in his life.
It was too disgusting.
He was so hungry just now that he ate anything, not even knowing what he had consumed.
"Damn it, no way, it couldn't really be that thing, could it?" Karl hurriedly checked his body for any changes.
He finally discovered that the floor within a half-meter radius around him was covered in a layer of frost. This discovery shocked him greatly.
"Did I eat the Ice-Ice Fruit? No, that's not right, the Ice-Ice Fruit should have already been eaten by Aokiji..."
After much thought, besides Logia types, the only other type that could be related to elements was Mythical Zoan. And since he could unconsciously cause frost immediately after eating it, this ability must not be weak. He just didn't know what Devil Fruit it was exactly.
Since he had confirmed that the Devil Fruit he ate was not a useless one, Karl relaxed and continued to feast.
Suddenly, his ears twitched, sensing someone approaching.
Karl swallowed the food in his mouth and slowly moved behind the door. He would first check how many people there were; if it was just one, he would simply knock him out.
"Captain Victoria, a slave just escaped and killed two of our brothers."
"Don't worry about it for now. Let's go, leave this island."
Victoria said in a deep voice, as if there was some great terror on this island.
"But..."
Bang!!
"Hmph, just do as I say. Where's all this nonsense coming from?"
Hearing the footsteps gradually fade away, Karl also felt relieved.
Then, a surge of joy filled him. They were leaving this island, and in a hurry. This meant it was a good time for him to escape.
Karl began to plan how he could safely escape.
Karl scanned the kitchen and finally stopped at a large sake barrel.
"This is it!"
Having found a solution, Karl directly opened the sake barrel and took a sip himself.
"Hmm~ not bad."
Any thoughts about minors not being allowed to drink were completely thrown out of his mind.
He had already transmigrated, so why bother with such rules.
Karl then poured out all the sake from the barrel; he didn't want the sake, just the barrel.
Subsequently, Karl carried a sake barrel to a neglected corner at the back of the ship's cabin. Everyone was currently on the deck preparing for departure, so no one was in this area at the back of the ship.
Karl squeezed into the sake barrel. Because he was an Oni, the three-year-old Karl was already almost a meter tall; if he were any taller, this barrel probably wouldn't fit him. This wasn't a bad thing; Karl knew that anyone under two meters tall in the pirate world was considered crippled.
"I wonder how tall I'll grow in the future," Karl thought to himself.
"Hoist the sails, set sail!"
With a loud cry, the ship slowly began to move, starting to leave the port. Karl also knew that his opportunity had finally arrived.
Without further hesitation, Karl, still inside the sake barrel, took a leap, then quickly closed the lid in mid-air.
Splash!