"Karl, hurry—show me the combat suits!" Daphne sounded a little anxious. Right now, she was far too weak for her liking.
"Here. Twenty sets in women's sizes," Karl said, tossing out a row of capsule-cans. "Pick your colors. Ellie, you want one? These suits can fly."
"I do—I want the pale pink," Ellie said immediately. "If it flies, I'll definitely use it."
"I'll take this purple one!" Daphne snagged a violet canister, pressed the button—shff!—and the suit wrapped onto her body.
"(⊙o⊙) Whoa! So pretty, Daphne-jiejie! Uncle, I want one too!" An's eyes sparkled at the transformation.
"Pick it yourself. Karin, you?"
"I'll take light blue. Suits me." An grabbed a light-blue set.
"I'll go red," Karin said, grinning. "Goes with the hair."
Karl's gaze slid to the guys. "What about you lot?"
"I'll pass," Adrian said. "My Owl-Owl Fruit lets me fly already. This'd be redundant."
"This god doesn't need one either!" Enel snorted.
"My strength's in the water. Not for me," Jerry, the fish-man, added.
"I'm out too. Doesn't fit my style."
"Fine. We'll stash the rest. Once we bring the Shandians down, we'll outfit them—combat suits plus dials will crank their battle power way up."
A month later, the Tiger God anchored off Jaya.
"Captain, do we hit them now, or do you have a plan?" Benson asked, fingers itching. He hadn't fought in a while.
"No hurry. We go ashore first." Karl looked up. "Enel, you'll monitor from the sky. You know when to strike, yeah?"
"Yea-hahahaha! Same as Skypiea, right?" Enel smirked. He knew this playbook well.
"Exactly. Come on—Mock Town first."
Mock Town's civilians lived like mice, skittering under the boots of pirates.
"W-why would he come here…?"
"It's the Tiger God Karl!!"
People parted on their own, opening a clear path down the middle of the street.
At the busiest square, Karl rose into the air.
"I'm here for one thing," he said, voice carrying over the rooftops. "From today on, Jaya belongs to me. Pirates—you have two choices. One, leave now. I won't stop you. Two, submit to me. But under my banner, you don't stay pirates—you work. Betray me, and the consequences are severe."
He let a sliver of Conqueror's Haki slip.
Weak riff-raff's knees buckled; those with a bit of spine still broke into a cold sweat.
"W-what a joke! You think we'll just—"
"Yeah! Even if you're some emperor of the seas, you can't just—"
"Right, we—"
A white flash stitched the sky.
"God's Judgment!"
Lightning speared down. The dozen-plus shouting pirates didn't even have time to scream—nothing left but smoking silhouettes.
"Anyone else have objections?" Karl asked mildly.
"N-no… no, sir!"
"We're leaving right away!"
A flood of pirates bolted for the harbor. About two hundred stayed behind.
"So, the rest of you—are you submitting to me?" Karl asked.
"Yes, Lord Karl," said a man who looked like their mouthpiece. "May we ask… what work do you want from us?"
"We'll talk assignments later. I won't have you working sunup to sundown and going hungry. That's a promise."
"Any other questions? I'm very democratic—ask now. Later, I won't repeat myself. And if anyone raises a fuss after today, you'll end up like those ash piles."
"No more, sir. Most of us only turned pirate because we couldn't survive back home. If we can eat our fill, we'll work for you."
"Good. In a couple days someone will brief you on jobs. For now—disperse."
"Lord Karl, I'm the mayor of Mock Town," an old man ventured. "What will happen to our townsfolk?"
"Live as usual. In a bit, I'll put out a hiring notice—whoever wants a job can apply."
"Thank you, Lord Karl!" The old man had clearly feared hard labor conscription.
"That's it for now. Let's head back to the ship." Karl turned to Daphne. "About our headquarters—what style? Skyscrapers, or a fortress?"
"Both take forever," Daphne frowned. "If we spend months building, it'll delay everything."
"She's right," Ellie agreed. "By the time it's done, who knows how long will have passed."
"Don't worry about the timeline," Karl said, smiling. "I've got a solution. Construction speed won't be a problem."
"What solution?" Daphne asked.
"I'm going to Dressrosa to borrow someone from Doflamingo."
"Pica?" Daphne's eyes lit up.
"Bingo. With his Stone-Stone Fruit, any structure we want is trivial."
"And if he refuses?" Karin asked.
"He'll lend him. Doflamingo's a businessman first."
"True. That guy's got hands in every black-market trade there is," Daphne murmured—arms, Devil Fruits, even slave dealing.
"First, food. I'm starving," Karl stretched. "Karin, we're in your hands."
"On it! Give me a minute."
"Daphne, while I'm gone, draft the master plan. I want the whole island walled, and a circular harbor here—like Marine HQ's. You get it?"
"That's great. Marineford's harbor design is tough to breach," Daphne nodded, already sketching in her head.
"Add a secondary side harbor—private berth for us. Doesn't need to be big. The rest of the buildings, your call. Set aside a scenic district for our people; I'll be bringing five hundred down from Skypiea."
"Plan a few six-story apartment blocks, and we'll build several large power stations across the island."
"Got it. I'll draw the blueprints," Daphne said crisply. "I'll also set up the staff schedules and work policies."
"Perfect. Management's your arena, not mine," Karl said with a shrug—and a grin that promised trouble for anyone who thought Jaya was still their playground.
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