#4 Carlo's Grand Scheme

Carlo was secretly overjoyed, imagining his smug grin stretching from ear to ear if only the situation allowed it.

However, he maintained his 'cool guy' persona. Carlo's face remained calm, even looking somewhat mysterious and wise, as he casually agreed, "Indeed."

"The sea is full of strong people nowadays. Ordinary plans won't work if we want to make a name for ourselves."

"Now that we are weak and lacking in resources, we need some crazy methods to rise quickly. Extreme times call for extreme measures!"

Blackbeard's eyes lit up as he eagerly asked, "Do you have any brilliant ideas, brother?"

"I think recruiting crew members is important, but we shouldn't rush it."

"What's most crucial now is that you, Teach, should quickly secure the title of Warlord of the Sea from the World Government!"

Brilliant ideas? Carlo thought: What brilliant ideas? I'm just using your original plan to trick you!

"Warlord of the Sea?"

Blackbeard frowned slightly at Carlo's suggestion, clearly not impressed.

"Why should I become one of those government dogs? Zehahaha, Carlo, you might not know this, but in the New World, that title doesn't mean much."

"It's only useful for scaring newbies in the first half of the Grand Line!"

Oh? Arguing against his own plan? Definitely a contrarian personality.

Carlo chuckled inwardly. If Blackbeard knew this was originally his own idea, his face would turn black with anger.

But to be fair, Blackbeard was right.

The Warlords of the Sea were considered the most terrifying pirates in the first half of the Grand Line. But in the New World, under the rule of the Emperors, these Warlords had to bow their heads.

Even Doflamingo, the underground king known as Joker, was just a tool under Kaido in the New World.

For someone like Teach, who came from the strongest crew, the Whitebeard Pirates, it made sense he looked down on the Warlord title. His ambition was far greater.

"You don't understand! Hear me out!"

Carlo snapped, feeling no guilt for 'stealing' Teach's original idea.

"The title isn't important, but the privileges are exactly what we need right now!"

"Don't forget, as a Warlord, you can enter Impel Down, the World Government's top prison."

"I don't need to tell you what kind of people are locked up there, right?"

"Although they are all lawless, I believe with your skills, Teach, controlling them shouldn't be a problem."

"With such powerful allies, we will grow stronger in no time!"

Before Carlo even finished, Blackbeard's expression shifted from confusion and disdain to enlightenment and excitement. Carlo's plan hit the mark perfectly!

Yes, with such a swift and effective way to grow, why bother recruiting strong people one by one? That would take forever!

And the criminals from Impel Down would definitely suit Blackbeard's style. He needed allies driven by greed, just like him.

Finding such individuals in the vast sea would be difficult. But Impel Down was full of them!

As soon as Carlo mentioned Impel Down, Blackbeard realized the potential benefits.

Blackbeard wasn't stupid. He had risen to power through cunning and brutality.

"Great idea, zehahaha! Carlo, you really know how to get me excited!"

"If we cause chaos in a place like that, we won't just gather strong allies. Our names will also spread across the world!"

"Zehahaha, just thinking about it gets me pumped!"

Causing chaos in Impel Down would shock anyone. Most people would avoid it to escape the World Government's and Navy's wrath.

Carlo wouldn't suggest such an extreme plan to anyone else but Blackbeard.

"I've heard about the Warlord summons."

"The requirements are pretty strict. We need to capture a pirate worth 300 million berries. Zehahaha, those Navy scum really have high demands!"

"Where are we supposed to find a pirate worth that much in the first half of the Grand Line?"

"Do we have to go back to the New World? It took me a lot of effort to get here."

Blackbeard, who had been laughing excitedly, suddenly remembered the steep requirements for becoming a Warlord and became troubled again.

A bounty of 300 million berries was common in the New World but rare in the first half of the Grand Line.

Only a few pirates in the first half reached that level. Most had already ventured into the New World.

In the original story, only Luffy among the Eleven Supernovas had a bounty of 300 million berries in the first half of the Grand Line. The rest were only around 200 million.

This news surprised Carlo!

This was unexpected. In his memory, Blackbeard needed to capture a pirate with only a 100 million berries bounty to become a Warlord.

"No wonder. The timeline must be off…"

After thinking for a moment, Carlo realized that when Blackbeard captured a pirate with a 100 million bounty to become a Warlord, it was during a vacancy in the Warlords.

Crocodile and Moria had been defeated by Luffy. While Moria's title remained until after the Marineford War, Crocodile was immediately stripped of his title.

With vacancies and the chaotic Great Pirate Era, the World Government had lowered the bar for the Warlords.

But now, the Warlords were at full capacity. According to the timeline, Luffy hadn't even set sail yet…

'The bar is high, but it doesn't matter. The World Government really shows their hand with this recruitment.'

'They make it clear they'll use whoever is strongest and replace the weak. It's all out in the open.'

'Even the big pirates have to play along. When will I get to be that domineering? It'd be awesome!'

Carlo clicked his tongue, feeling a mix of envy and ambition.

With his knowledge of the future, it wasn't hard to figure out the situation.

But the raised bar for the Warlord summons didn't faze Carlo.

He never intended for Blackbeard to capture an ordinary pirate.

Breaking into Impel Down? That was just step one…

"Teach, that's not a problem. I've already picked out the perfect target for you."

"Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Fire Fist Ace!"