After getting his new clothes, Karl didn't leave the Dressrosa Kingdom immediately.
At Doflamingo's invitation, he stayed at the villa on the King's Plateau for a few days and then toured Doflamingo's country.
It had to be said that Doflamingo's business acumen was truly top-notch on this great sea.
His Dressrosa, because of King Riku's benevolent rule, often aided countries mired in war, leading to a very poor national treasury, unable to even scrape together ten billion Berries.
Although the throne was seized by Doflamingo, causing the country to be shrouded in darkness, its economy and national strength had soared by an unknown number of times.
In these years, Dressrosa had become one of the most famous and prosperous islands in the New World.
As a member nation of the World Government and the headquarters of the Donquixote Family, no country or pirate dared to attack the Dressrosa Kingdom.
After touring the Dressrosa Kingdom and watching a few matches at the Corrida Colosseum...
Three days later, Karl bid farewell to Doflamingo and returned to Gran Tesoro.
Using As Big or Small as I Please, he changed into the new clothes that Carina had washed clean. Karl didn't give Carina the chance for her eyes to light up and hug him fiercely, changing back to his normal state.
"Nami and Shiro haven't returned yet?"
Fearing that Carina would again coquettishly ask him to shrink, Karl quickly changed the subject.
"They've been gone for a week. They should be back soon."
Carina replied, "When I spoke with Nami yesterday, she had completed her objective and was preparing to fly over the Red Line."
"That's good. Did they run into any trouble during that time?" Karl nodded and continued to ask.
"Ushishi... who would be so blind?"
Carina said with a smile, "With Shiro's Rumble-Rumble Fruit and Nami's Float-Float Fruit, that combination, even if Marine Headquarters dispatched two Marine Admirals, they couldn't do anything to them."
"Besides, the Sabaody Archipelago is so big. For us to secretly take a ten-thousand-meter-long piece of mangrove ground, for that world's largest mangrove tree, it's just like plucking a small twig."
That's right...
Nami and Shiro were currently not in Gran Tesoro, but had gone to the Sabaody Archipelago in the first half of the Grand Line.
Their purpose was to steal a piece of mangrove land that, for the Sabaody Archipelago as a whole, was not even a drop in the bucket.
The reason they went to steal the mangrove land was for the new crew member, Shirahoshi.
Although merfolk and Fish-Men were classified as fish by humans, they belonged to the human category.
Because they were both mammals and viviparous, the same as humans.
Female mermaids, after the age of 30, their fish tails would split into two legs, allowing them to freely switch between human and mermaid forms.
But Shirahoshi was only 13 years old this year; she had seventeen years before she could live like a human.
In addition, her body was quite large. To prevent her movement from becoming difficult and to allow her to move freely in Gran Tesoro, Karl decided to modify the city of gold.
And so, he had Shiro escort Nami to the first half of the Grand Line to steal a ten-thousand-meter-long and a certain width of mangrove land, preparing to use the Float-Float Fruit's ability to integrate it into Gran Tesoro.
This way, the city of gold would not become a bubble island, and they could also use bubble corals to fly within the city.
Not only that, but Karl also decided to transform a part of the private garden behind the Golden Hotel into a style like the Sabaody Archipelago, and connect the swimming pool to the sea, so that Shirahoshi could play there to her heart's content.
After putting on his new clothes, Karl began to train.
That's right... train!
Karl, whose overall strength was in the top five, or even top three, in the world, and whose physique was number one, was training hard.
Because he was only 17 years old this year, still in his growth phase, and there was still some time before his peak.
This was the reason why the world, including Doflamingo, believed that the next era would surely belong to Dragon Knight Karl.
The other overlords of the seas were now either entering a period of decline in strength, or were in their golden age, their strength having reached its limit, making it difficult to improve further.
The current Karl was in his growth phase.
He could become stronger!
The brief, pinnacle-level duel with Garp, although it gave Karl a full understanding of the strength of his new body.
But, Karl had not yet completely mastered this new body.
Especially the new trait of As Big or Small as I Please. Karl needed to use Life Return to control himself when he transformed to a size of three meters.
It was fortunate that his opponent was a non-ability user, a martial arts powerhouse like Garp.
If it were a super-powerful individual with astonishing speed like Kizaru, if Karl hadn't used the Rumble-Rumble Fruit at that time, he would definitely have been played around with by Kizaru.
So, Karl decided not to use Life Return and to adapt to the changes in strength of the various forms of As Big or Small as I Please.
As long as he completely mastered the various forms of As Big or Small as I Please, Karl's strength would improve further.
Imagine, when he grew larger, his strength surpassed human limits; when he shrank, his speed was unparalleled in the world...
In battle, Karl, who could freely switch between these two forms, would surely drive a super-powerful individual of the same level crazy.
After completely mastering As Big or Small as I Please, it would be time for Karl to ascend to the pinnacle of the world.
Time flew like a white steed flashing past a crack.
Unknowingly, the end of Sea Circle Calendar 1519 was approaching, and a new page was about to be turned.
According to the promise between Ace and Luffy at the age of 17, in April of next year, Sea Circle Calendar 1520, would be the time when the true child of destiny set sail.
For these few months, Karl had been in seclusion, staying in the training grounds of the square behind the Golden Hotel, mastering the various forms of As Big or Small as I Please without using Life Return.
From the one-meter child form, the 2-meter normal form, then 3, 4, 5 meters... all the way to the 20-meter giant form.
Because of the limitations of As Big or Small as I Please, Karl's strength and speed were different in each form.
So, Karl spent several months to fully adapt to the changes in strength and speed of these different forms.
During this period, Carina and the other girls seemed to know something and did not disturb Karl's closed-door training.
Only every night, the few girls who had a close relationship with Karl would fiercely reward him for his hard training.
Not long after Karl began his training, Nami and Shiro also returned with the mangrove land.
Then Nami used the Float-Float Fruit's ability to integrate the mangrove land into the city of gold, allowing Shirahoshi to fly with the help of bubble corals.
For the next few months...
Except for Baccarat, Tama, and Shirahoshi, Carina and the other girls, as if influenced by Karl, also began to train hard.
With the help of a large number of supplements and the "electric current method," Carina and the girls, who had adapted to Karl's and Yamato's hellish training, all made rapid progress in their strength.
Because like Karl, they were all in their growth phase.
After the last day of Sea Circle Calendar 1519 passed...
Karl, who had spoken with Morgans countless times over the past few months, finally allowed him to announce that monumental news to the world.
Karl, who had completely mastered his new body, was also finally preparing to realize one of his remaining three great dreams.
That was—to ascend to the pinnacle of the world.
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