"Welcome to my country, four seniors."
Karl, with Shiroori on his right, Hancock on his left, and Carina and Yamato behind him, walked up to the four Emperors of the Sea. He greeted them politely, in the manner of a junior.
This appearance didn't show a trace of the arrogance of the World's Strongest Man.
Just from this first meeting, Shanks felt a favorable impression of Karl.
He even decided in his heart that if the guys next to him caused trouble in the Golden Nation, he would definitely step up and be a peacemaker.
"...Yamato!"
Before Shanks could act familiarly and make friends with Karl, Kaido stared at Yamato, who stood out in height behind Karl, with a sullen face.
"Stinky old man, long time no see."
Seeing the "bull gorilla" staring at her, Yamato raised her hand and greeted him.
Five years had passed, but her address for the father who had imprisoned her freedom for over a decade remained unchanged.
Yamato's resentment towards Kaido over the years was something even Karl couldn't correct, so he could only skip this stage.
"...Hmph, it seems you're doing well here."
Observing Yamato's changes over the past five years closely, and sensing the aura hidden in her body that faintly surpassed King the Conflagration, Kaido's heart was extremely complicated, but on the surface, he just snorted coldly.
The father and daughter were still tit for tat.
"Zehahaha... I don't dare to be called senior. You are my senior, the World's Strongest Man—Dragon Knight!"
At this time, Blackbeard suddenly let out a unique laugh.
His aura of evil, which seemed almost tangible, made Shanks beside him frown slightly.
Blackbeard's changes over the past two years made Shanks feel very unfamiliar.
Like the Dark-Dark Fruit, Blackbeard's current appearance could only be described as dark.
"You're too modest, Senior Teach."
Karl said with a smile, "You are now rarer than Senior Linlin and me, and even an unprecedented user of two Devil Fruits."
"Mamamama... Karl, you brat, your island is indeed as luxurious as the legends say."
Charlotte Linlin looked at the city that was not made of gold but plated with a layer of gold, which covered the entire island, and her eyes were instantly filled with greed.
With Whitebeard's death and the Whitebeard Pirates' withdrawal from the highest stage, the Big Mom Pirates were undoubtedly the number one force among the Five Emperors.
Except for the high-end combat power being inferior to the other four, the low-end combat power of the Totto Land Kingdom was more than the sum of the other four.
Charlotte Linlin's territory was also the NO. 1 among the Five Emperors.
She was the only pirate emperor who owned an archipelago.
But as the number one force, Charlotte Linlin, who needed to support so many minions, had astronomical annual expenses.
Therefore...
Five years ago, when Karl killed Gildo Tesoro and occupied Gran Tesoro.
If Mary Geoise hadn't made the Marines launch a Buster Call against Karl, Karl's true battle for fame would definitely have been against the Big Mom Pirates.
Charlotte Linlin, who was extremely short of money, was the first among the Four Emperors to set her sights on the city of gold.
Even now, Charlotte Linlin was full of covetousness for the Golden Island and the Golden Nation, the richest and most profitable in the world.
Ever since Gran Tesoro completed its expansion and created Amazon Lily, which was only open to women, the Golden Island had attracted both men and women, becoming the first choice for countless rich people and nobles for vacation.
Even more profitable was that they had a Float-Float Fruit user.
Not only could they earn the money of the rich and nobles in the New World, but they could also go to the first half of the Grand Line to earn the money of those rich and nobles who had difficulty reaching the New World or didn't want to enter the New World.
Just as Morgans had written in the World Economic Journal, the Golden Island was the richest and most profitable island in the world.
If it weren't for the fact that she couldn't beat Karl, Charlotte Linlin would really have gone to war with Karl.
"I just have a little better luck."
Karl didn't care about Charlotte Linlin's greed at all and smiled, "Senior Linlin, seeing that your body is fine, I'm relieved."
"..."
Hearing Karl's words of concern, Charlotte Linlin's face turned ugly.
This brat really knew which pot not to open.
Under that polite exterior, there really was a belly full of bad water.
But with his appearance of concern, Charlotte Linlin, who had her scars exposed and lost face, couldn't get angry.
Otherwise, she would lose even more face.
"Hahaha... I finally meet you, Dragon Knight Karl."
Shanks finally had a chance to speak.
He walked over, familiarly put his arm around Karl's shoulder, and laughed heartily, "I've always wanted to meet you, and now my wish has finally come true."
"Me too, Senior Shanks."
Karl let Shanks put his only arm around him. Looking at Shanks, who was full of heroism and had a temperament completely different from the other three, he couldn't help but say to the four emperors of different heights in front of him, "Seniors, thank you for giving me face."
"I have prepared a welcome banquet for you."
After finishing, Karl said to Carina and Hancock beside him, "Carina, Hancock, go and arrange for the cadres to be seated."
"Yes!"
Except for Shiroori, Carina and the girls clapped their hands, summoned dozens of turtle cars, and gestured to the cadres of the Four Emperors' pirate crews.
Looking at Shiroori standing beside Karl, except for Benn Beckman, King the Conflagration, Charlotte Katakuri, and Shiliew of the Rain, the other cadres all got on the turtle cars and headed for the world's number one hotel—the Golden Hotel.
Creak—
After all the turtle cars left, a huge air door more than ten meters high appeared in front of the Five Emperors and the five first mates, ten major figures standing at the pinnacle of the great sea.
"Everyone, please follow me."
Karl gestured, then walked into the air door leading to the top floor of the Golden Hotel.
"Paramecia Door-Door Fruit, even such a rare ability... As expected of the Golden Nation, full of monsters."
Looking at the scene inside the air door, Benn Beckman sighed slightly.
Ever since Karl's group received bounties for all members for the first time, Benn Beckman had been collecting intelligence on this crew.
Just like the Marines, who would no longer waste their efforts launching a second Buster Call against Gran Tesoro no matter what.
Karl's crew were all monsters.
Everyone was a powerful and rare ability user.
If not the strongest Logia, then one of the strongest Paramecia, or at least a top-tier or high-level Paramecia, which could even be compatible and fused, coordinating with various simply unsolvable abilities.
If the intelligence collected two years ago was correct, there was a Paramecia Op-Op Fruit user in the Dragon Knight's crew.
Relying on the unreasonable ability of the Op-Op Fruit, Karl had taken the hearts of countless major criminals in the Infinite Hell.
This brat could summon a group of powerful monsters at any time.
Even if his crew only had a dozen people, it could instantly become an overlord force surpassing the Four Emperors' pirate crews, second only to Marine Headquarters.
Now, Karl's crew had once again exposed a powerful ability user who could achieve spatial jumps—the Paramecia Door-Door Fruit.
Behind the air door, in the restaurant on the top floor of the Golden Hotel.
A huge, specially made golden round dining table, with ten golden dining chairs of different sizes, specially made by Nojiko using her Gold-Gold Fruit ability according to the body sizes of the Five Emperors and first mates, entered Kaido's vision.
After everyone sat down, Karl clapped his hands.
Before long, a large amount of delicacies from the mountains and seas were brought up one by one by the maid unit of the Golden Blade.
Accompanied by the five first mates, the banquet of the Five Emperors standing at the pinnacle of the New World officially began!
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