How can I become the Pirate King if you don’t work hard?.

Chapter 226 Turbulent World

"Nico Robin, the son of the devil, has been confirmed dead in Alabasta."

"The Golden Lion reappeared in the sea and fought with the Knight Gawain in Alabasta. His whereabouts are unknown..."

The pieces of information processed by the World Government's Spring and Autumn style of writing hit the eyes of everyone on the ocean.

……

New World Kraikana Island.

In the castle.

Hawkeye sat at the desk with the latest issue of World Economic Times in his hand.

His eyes swept across useless information, and finally stopped on a photo of Gawain fighting the golden lion.

"Golden Lion is old and has old injuries, so his fighting power is far from what it was at its peak."

"But being able to fight against the Golden Lion and escape unscathed, just based on the fighting power that Gawain has shown now, it is not to be underestimated."

"Has it grown to this extent in just one year?!"

Hawkeye couldn't help but let out an exclamation of admiration.

Originally, he expected that it would take Gao Wen several years, or even more than ten years, to reach his current level.

But he didn't expect that only one year had passed since their last meeting, and Gawain had already become so powerful.

"You are more outstanding than I thought, but this strange posture..."

Hawkeye looked at the photo of Gawain wearing a set of crimson soft armor, and frowned slightly:
"Animal-type mythical beast?!"

"Abandoning swordsmanship and pursuing shortcuts... Can you really come to me like this?"

"As the seed I have chosen, I cannot let you fall into depravity!"

Om-!
A sharp buzzing sound suddenly came from Hawkeye's ears.

He turned his head and looked sideways.

What meets the eye is the restless black knife night.

"You...are also craving for that guy's blood?!"

"Or are you, like me, longing for someone to surpass you?"

As Hawkeye muttered to himself, Heidao Ye became more and more restless.

The buzzing sound emitted by the blade even startled the birds outside the castle.

The bodies of countless human imitators entrenched around the castle stiffened instantly. For a moment, they even ignored the weapons in their hands and fled in all directions for their lives.

The area around the castle was eerily quiet.

By the time the human imitators came to their senses and tried to return to the castle, Hawkeye had disappeared.

But still no one dared to approach the forbidden castle.

……

at the same time.

North Sea.

Several islands appeared in the clouds, attracting countless passing ships on the sea to stop and watch.

However, when they realized what the islands and fleets floating in the sky meant, they scattered in all directions.

"How far are we from the goal?!"

On the throne.

The Golden Lion stroked the rudder above his head with one hand, his eyes full of urgency and impatience.

Ever since he learned that the Ope Ope Fruit could remove the rudder from his head, he didn't even bother with the clues about Pluto in Alabasta, and directly led a large army to search for the trace of the user of the Ope Ope Fruit.

This was especially true during the battle with Gawain, when the Golden Lion sensed the limitation on his own combat power imposed by the rudder above his head.

"It has now been basically confirmed that the boy who escaped from Doflamingo is in the North Sea. His name is Trafalgar Law!"

Spandam stood aside, humble and respectful.

After gaining the trust of Golden Lion, he was appointed as a staff officer by Golden Lion due to his previous experience working in the CP organization and his extraordinary intelligence.

Now he has become a cadre-level figure on this ship.

"According to the intelligence we received earlier, that guy is currently in Yanzi Town, and it will take about seven days to sail there."

"I can't wait that long."

The Golden Lion gritted his teeth and said:

"If I can't even fight as I please, how can I fight Whitebeard, Linlin, and that arrogant brat Kaido? How can I take over this world?!"

"Speed ​​up the sailing speed!"

"Yes!"

Several navigators answered with gritted teeth, and then they quickly left the castle and passed on the Golden Lion's order.

But at this moment.

A messenger bird flew into the castle from the distant sky. It dropped a newspaper, picked up a few banknotes from the golden lion's hand, and then flew away.

"That arrogant brat has failed again?!"

Golden Lion came back to his senses and slowly unfolded the newspaper.

What caught my eye was a picture of Crocodile wearing shackles and locked in a cage. Although he was imprisoned, his expression was extremely calm.

The cowardice and fear that were once seen in Crocodile have completely disappeared, leaving only an indescribable calmness and determination.

The golden lion showed an interested look:

"The attitude of a man with firm convictions is completely different from that of a cowardly and fearful man."

"That's the look of a man who's clamoring to defeat that Whitebeard guy!"

"After the disastrous defeat, you managed to stand up again and regain your faith? Interesting, but..."

Looking at the knife wounds on Crocodile's chest and abdomen, the Golden Lion's eyes flashed with the image of Gawain, who had fought with him at the Rapeseed Harbor.

Even now he could not forget that extremely fierce slash.

Such an extremely talented young man, in Golden Lion's seventy years of life experience, only Kaido of that year could compare with him.

"You are not dead after all!"

The Golden Lion stood up suddenly, his eyes shining brightly at this moment:
"How could this guy, who is a monster rookie no matter what era he is in, fall so easily in a place like this?"

"next time!"

"Next time I'll really break your spine!"

"Hahahaha-!"

Unruly laughter rang out in the castle, and the domineering aura dispersed the surrounding clouds, but it only lasted for a moment before disappearing completely.

"Ugh——!"

The Golden Lion groaned and reached out to press the top of the boat above his head. A layer of fine cold sweat had already seeped out of his forehead due to the intense pain, and the expression on his face looked unusually ferocious at this moment:

"Speed ​​up the sailing speed!"

"I can't wait even a second!"

"Yes!"

……

Following the order from the Golden Lion, the fleet's sailing speed suddenly increased and disappeared into the clouds just a few minutes later.

Castle Hall.

Golden Lion gradually calmed down, and then read more information from the newspaper:

"If the navy reaches Alabasta, the clues to Pluto hidden there will most likely have fallen into the hands of the navy."

"Qi——!"

"If Roger, that bastard..."

Although he was unwilling to give up, Golden Lion knew better that in his current state, he could no longer accomplish the feat of breaking into Marinford alone.

That is no different from seeking death.

Therefore, the Golden Lion could only suppress his reluctance:

"never mind."

"There's no point in saying this. The most urgent thing now is to heal my injury first."

"Even without Hades, I can still take over this world with the power of the beasts transformed by the IQ plants."

"That's not necessarily the case."

Spandam spoke at the right time:
"Apart from the clues in Alabasta, there is other information about Pluto." The golden lion's pupils shrank:
"Are there any other clues?!"

Spandine nodded:
"The World Government once sent people to conduct a secret investigation, and eventually found clues about Pluto in the Seven Waters. Tom, the shipwright who once built a ship for Roger, is very likely to have the design drawings of Pluto."

"Although Tom is dead, the blueprint should still be hidden in the Seven Waters City!"

……

……

……

On the sea.

The clouds are unpredictable.

The headquarters of the Navy, Marinford, was hit by a rare storm. Countless warships were unable to sail and were anchored in the port, constantly rising and falling with the waves.

The marines stationed here also entered the building to avoid the storm.

Only the conference room on the top floor of the central building was still brightly lit. Countless senior naval officials gathered here to hold a meeting that was related to the situation of the ocean.

"I'm sure you all know about Crocodile's defeat at the hands of the knight Gawain, right?!"

Zhan Guo glanced around and spoke in a cold voice.

"In just one year, he has grown to this point. This guy is a huge potential threat. Fortunately, apart from the incident with Zefa, he has not done anything too outrageous."

"Let's not talk about this for now."

"The question before us now is who should fill the vacant position of Shichibukai?"

"The five currently offer two candidates."

talking.

Zhan Guo remained calm and glanced at Garp. Seeing that the latter looked normal, he continued:
"One is a newcomer who has risen recently..."

"Fire Fist-Ace!"

"He was born in the East Sea at the same time as the Knight Gawain. After entering the Grand Line, he has been unstoppable. His current bounty has exceeded 300 million. Previously, he fought with the Sea Knight Jinbe for five days and five nights on Fishman Island without a clear winner."

"No matter in terms of strength or reputation, you are already qualified to suppress an area of ​​the sea."

"What do you think?!"

"The other one is...Whitebeard II - Edward Weibull!"

The sound fell to the ground.

The office suddenly became cold.

Everyone's eyes were focused on Zhan Guo.

I just thought I heard it wrong.

To most people here, Ace the Fire Fist is just a super rookie who has recently emerged.

To them, the Whitebeard II could not be more familiar.

But this familiarity was accompanied by a hatred that made him want to be eaten alive.

"absurd!"

A vice admiral in the corner suddenly stood up, his eyes red:
"What do they mean by this? Rubbing salt into Mr. Zephyr's wounds?!"

"That's right!"

The lieutenant general's words immediately aroused responses from everyone, and everyone's emotions were out of control at this moment.

“Is there anyone here who doesn’t know what this guy did?!”

"We attacked the trainee recruits led by Mr. Zefa and almost massacred all the freshly graduated recruits!"

"Letting this guy become a Shichibukai is driving Zephyr-sensei to death!"

……

Akainu, who was sitting next to Sengoku, raised his hand to suppress his cigarette, and the flowing lava next to him fell on the desk, making a harsh burning sound.

Apparently even Akainu could hardly suppress his inner anger at this moment.

Although Zhan Guo had anticipated such a situation, he still couldn't help but frown slightly at this moment.

Zefa's influence in the navy is still too great.

However, he should not be treated like this no matter what, but those five people specially added this name... Could it be that his previous words had already reached their ears?

"In that case, the candidate we're considering is the Fire Fist - Ace."

After saying that, Zhan Guo skipped this topic and talked about several other important matters.

Half an hour later.

The meeting ended and everyone dispersed.

Sengoku, Garp, Tsuru and Akainu who stayed in the headquarters were still sitting firmly in the office, holding a small meeting of the navy's core decision-making circle.

"I'm afraid the Seven Warlords' incident was intentional by those above them."

Zhan Guo recalled his previous judgment, and his tone became more serious at this moment:
"Even if we mention the name of Fire Fist Ace, he won't be the one who eventually becomes a Shichibukai."

He has dealt with the Five Elders for decades and knows that they would never do anything without a purpose.

There is no need to explain Zefa's status in the navy. They must be aware of it.

But even if he knew this, he still included Whitebeard II's name among the candidates for the Seven Warlords of the Sea, which is enough to explain the problem.

"This is a knock on Zefa."

"His previous behavior has crossed the line."

"Ugh……"

He sighed deeply, feeling extremely upset for a moment, while Garp, who was standing next to him, had disdain written all over his face.

Anyone can see that Zefa's condition has been getting better and better recently.

This is enough to prove that he has completely walked out of the haze and returned to justice.

Even though the justice that Zefa upholds is different from before, no one thinks this is a bad thing.

After all, the core figures of the navy now are either students trained by Zephyr, or comrades like Sengoku and Garp who once fought alongside him.

"Then this matter..."

"Don't let Zefa know until the results come out."

"I'm worried that with his strong temper, he might do something irreparable."

"Ah."

……

……

……

The Grand Route.

In Alabasta, at the Rapeseed Port.

More than a month has passed, and this place has gradually recovered from the great war.

Buildings rose up on the ruins, and the number of merchant ships and people coming and going increased again.

Only the ferocious cut left by the golden lion became two rivers that almost divided the entire rapeseed port into four parts.

soon.

A warship slowly docked in the port.

Aokiji, who was sleeping soundly on the deck, slowly took off his blindfold and yawned. Just as he was about to get up, Zefa threw a newspaper in his face.

"Look at this."

Aokiji was stunned, opened the newspaper, and his eyes swept across the pieces of information, finally stopping on the news of Robin's death. For a moment, Aokiji lost all desire to sleep.

Looking at the face in the photo, which was 70% similar to the Robin in his memory.

Aokiji's mood was extremely complicated:
"She's dead?!"

"Should I say it was unexpected or reasonable..."

"what."

Zefa raised his hand and patted Aokiji's shoulder.

As a teacher, how could he not see that Aokiji had special feelings for Robin?

Not a lover, not a friend, but she pays close attention to Robin's every move...

"Are you trying to prove something to her?!"

(End of this chapter)