One Piece: Signing In as a Pirate Begins with Roger's Execution

Karl looked at the young man in front of him, around 1.7 meters tall, with a youthful face that betrayed his attempt to appear older.

In the original storyline, Kuro (Klahadore) was introduced in his thirties, nearing forty—a mature, charismatic, and refined man.

Now, however, while still impressive, he seemed far from the seasoned tactician depicted in the manga. Instead, his deliberate effort to project an air of maturity failed to make much impact on Karl.

"Well? What do you want from me?"

Karl feigned ignorance, speaking as though he didn't recognize the boy.

Pushing up his glasses with his palm, Kuro responded with calm self-assurance.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kuro. I'm 14, soon to be 15.

I currently serve as a strategist for Admiral Crete's pirate crew. Because of this, I possess critical information regarding Admiral Crete, including the location of his golden treasure and crucial evidence tying him to captured Navy personnel!"

Kuro wasted no time, dropping two bombshells right away.

Given Karl's plans to develop Loguetown, funding was a key concern. Naturally, the mention of a golden treasure piqued his interest.

If they were able to find the treasure, it would be seized and repurposed under Karl's command.

As for the evidence linking Admiral Crete to collusion with other Navy officers, Marine Headquarters had already investigated this extensively but considered Crete too minor a player to bother pursuing further.

Thus, the second piece of information held little real value.

"Kuro, eh? That's a good name. The information you've provided is passable but not particularly useful to me.

What intrigues me more is why you, as one of Crete's strategists, would choose to betray him."

Karl regarded Kuro with keen interest, curious about how he would answer.

In the original manga, Kuro, nicknamed "Hundred Plans," was officially recognized as one of the most intelligent pirates, second only to Ben Beckman in terms of strategic brilliance.

This was why Karl was eager to understand the young man's intentions in coming to him.

He wasn't overly concerned about Kuro trying to scheme against him.

As long as Karl maintained his overwhelming power advantage, no amount of clever plotting could succeed.

"Karl, sir, I want to join the Navy!"

"Pfft!"

Hearing Kuro's declaration, Karl had just taken a sip of tea, which he promptly spat out—all over Kuro.

The sheer audacity of Kuro's proposal left Karl stunned.

Kuro, equally taken aback, now stood there drenched.

Karl hadn't anticipated this move. The idea that Kuro intended to join the Navy was utterly unexpected.

"Explain your reasoning," Karl said, sipping another cup of tea and sitting back as if nothing had happened.

Kuro didn't seem to mind. He calmly pulled out a cloth from his pocket to clean his glasses before speaking softly.

"I desire wealth—a lifetime's worth of riches! But Admiral Crete cannot provide me with such fortune, especially since he's destined to be eliminated by you soon.

If I continue to follow him, I'll meet the same fate. On the other hand, if I abandon him, I would inevitably have to oppose you.

I witnessed everything that happened on the execution platform. I admire you because only someone extraordinary would dare say such things aloud!"

"So, you've decided to pledge allegiance to me?"

"Exactly. There is no falsehood in my words."

Kuro, having cleaned his glasses, put them back on and locked eyes with Karl.

Karl, in turn, gazed silently at Kuro. After about thirty seconds of contemplative quiet, Karl finally spoke.

"Go change into clean clothes, then return to Crete's pirate crew and maintain your position there.

Until I give you further orders, you must not reveal anything. Simply wait for my command."

With that, Karl tossed a Den Den Mushi to Kuro.

Kuro caught it, frowning slightly.

As a highly intelligent individual, he immediately understood that Karl wanted him to act as an informant within Admiral Crete's ranks.

Still, Kuro had no grounds to refuse. Defying someone with Karl's power and influence would be a disastrous misstep.

Without hesitation, Kuro nodded in agreement and prepared to leave.

"Wait," Karl interjected. "This is the training method for the Six Powers and the basics of physical combat.

Find a secure location to memorize it all, then destroy the documents. Train in secret and avoid drawing attention to yourself."

Karl handed Kuro two sets of detailed training guides.

Kuro was taken aback by Karl's generosity. He hadn't expected Karl to so casually share Navy training techniques.

Upon reflection, however, it made sense. To someone of Karl's caliber, such material likely seemed elementary and unimportant.

But to Kuro, this was an incredible boon.

"Thank you for your trust and generosity, Karl, sir. I will not let you down!"

With a grateful glance at Karl, Kuro left hurriedly, clearly eager to begin training in the Six Powers.

Once Kuro was gone, a sly smile appeared on Karl's face.

"Interesting. Is this the butterfly effect at work?"

"I never realized Kuro was this sharp, even at such a young age. No wonder he became such a genius later on. 

If he can truly be nurtured, his future potential is immense!"

"Still, I need to test him first. If this is just a ploy, I'll have to eliminate him."

Though Kuro was intelligent, Karl had to approach the situation with caution.

As for the training guides, Karl genuinely didn't mind sharing them. Even if they leaked, it wouldn't matter.

With his status and connections, no one would dare question him.

Stretching, Karl glanced at the stack of paperwork awaiting him.

"Ugh, what a tiresome day…"

Early the next morning.

After working through the night, Karl finally finished processing the mountain of documents piled high on his desk.

Just as he was about to rest, his Den Den Mushi rang.

"Hello? Who is this?"

"Karl, sir! It's Buggy! I've found the treasure—real gold treasure!

But pirates are guarding it, and we can't take action. It would be such a waste to leave it!"

Hearing Buggy's frantic excitement, Karl was momentarily stunned.

He hadn't expected Buggy to actually discover the treasure. This guy's luck was truly extraordinary.

"Got it. Send me the coordinates, and I'll head over immediately."

"We're at…"

After Buggy shared the location, Karl quickly tidied up, grabbed a couple of meat buns for breakfast, and set off.

Using Moonwalk to fly at top speed, he aimed for their destination: Gold Island, just a short distance from Loguetown.

Pushing his limits without conserving stamina, Karl expected to reach Buggy's location in about 20 minutes. 

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