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

Chapter 355 How high is the mountain?

"It turns out that three years have passed since then."

Gao Wen was filled with emotion for a moment.

When he first woke up, he only had a pirate ship that couldn't set sail and a few dozen crew members, and he was being chased by Axe-Hand Morgan.

Now, three years later, he has become the undisputed new overlord of the New World, with a large army and many generals under his command. His high-end combat power is second to none even among the Four Emperors.

As a new world power, Britannias' influence in martial arts tournaments has spread throughout the world.

The upcoming third martial arts tournament is also in preparation.

It will be a grand event spanning the entire world, where countless strong individuals will compete on the same stage to determine the undisputed strongest person.

More importantly, Gao Wen could also take this opportunity to recruit a large number of talented individuals to his side, thereby further expanding his influence.

but.

The third martial arts tournament is still some time away, and the Camelot Round Table Arena, which will be the final battleground, is still under construction.

But undoubtedly everything is moving in a positive direction.

The only threat to Gawain on this vast ocean is Im, whose true strength is unknown and who has mastered the Uranus, and the World Government under his control.

As for the other opponents... just kill them with one strike.

Now, Gao Wen has the confidence to defeat any opponent.

He looked down at the wanted poster in his hand, a playful smile appearing in his eyes:

"I have basically exposed the environment in the East China Sea, and I have also smoothed out most of the trials that the Straw Hats would have gone through on the Grand Line."

"The remaining rivals in the new world are still there."

"But when the Straw Hats arrive in the New World, will they still possess the formidable fighting power they had in the original timeline...?"

"That does make it somewhat anticipated."

As for the fact that he had stolen most of his Straw Hat crewmates, Gawain didn't care at all, since they were his own crewmates to begin with.

After taking a closer look at the overly cheerful smiling face on the wanted poster, Gawain couldn't help but smile as well.

He casually put the bounty poster aside and turned to look out the window.

A year has passed and the Sanctuary Camelot has begun to take shape.

The streets crisscross, and buildings rise one after another, giving it a touch of the grandeur of a royal city.

Of course, this only applies to the central area. Although the urban planning for the surrounding areas has been completed, it is by no means something that can be done in a year.

Located in the center of the city was not the king's palace, but a huge arena covering several hectares, called the Arena of the Round Table.

The overall style is somewhat reminiscent of the ancient Roman Colosseum, but the central arena is significantly wider, with diameters exceeding one kilometer in both directions.

The surrounding walls and the ground beneath their feet were reinforced with special materials, making it difficult even for a powerful expert at the Emperor level to break through them.

According to Tezoro, this material is extremely precious and is monopolized by the World Government, which strictly prohibits its sale to foreign entities.

According to Gawain's speculation, it should be made of the same material as the walls used to block the battlefield during the Marineford War.

Even someone as strong as Whitebeard could only leave a huge fist mark with a single punch, its durability being ridiculously high.

As for how Tezoro obtained such contraband, Gawain didn't delve into the details, only saying that those who know, know.

now.

A considerable number of people have already gathered in the round table arena.

They sat scattered on the surrounding viewing platforms, overlooking the battle taking place in the arena.

"Go for it, Zoro! Crush him!"

A pirate with the Gawain Pirates' flag printed on his back stood in the audience, cheering for Zoro in the arena. His face was filled with extreme excitement.
"I've placed a huge bet on you, I can't afford to lose!"

However, his words immediately drew rebuttals from others:
"No!"

"Sanji is the one who will win!"

……

In an instant.

An excited cheer erupted from the audience.

On the contrary, the two figures in the arena stood calmly, their invisible aura spreading around them, seemingly suppressing all the voices of those around them.

One of them was wearing a military green coat and a red belt around his waist; he was Zoro after a year of training.

His attire was now close to that of two years after the original timeline, except that he was taller, nearly 1.9 meters, and thus had a more imposing presence.

Zoro placed his hand next to his ear as if listening, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"Curled eyebrows!"

"Looks like I'm quite popular~"

"wrong!"

the other side.

Wearing a stealth black combat suit, standing nearly 1.9 meters tall, and sporting a short mustache, Sanji shook his head, removed his cigarette holder, exhaled a puff of smoke, and said:
"The one with the most popularity should be me!"

From the moment they boarded the ship, the two regarded each other as their greatest rivals, and naturally neither was willing to concede to the other.

"It's no use talking more!"

Zheng——!
Zoro drew his sword, unleashing a powerful roar that stirred up a surge of energy!

After a year of arduous training, his combat strength is now incomparable to what it was before. He is confident that, apart from Gawain and Kro, he will not lose to anyone!
Including Bevel, who was already close to the limit of gold!

Sanji did the same. He kicked lightly, and a ball of crimson flame exploded in the air, only to turn azure in the next instant!

Higher flame temperatures result in even greater destructive power!

This time, I will crush you!

Ode——!
Two sonic booms, almost completely overlapping, exploded in the air.

The two figures collided in an instant, and the powerful force stirred up a gust of wind, making the clothes of the people around them flutter loudly!

There was no probing, no scheming, and no unnecessary procedures.

Knowing each other's strengths, the two immediately went all out, ready to defeat their opponent as quickly as possible!

boom!
boom!
boom!
A series of impacts resounded, the earth trembled, and dust and smoke filled the air, making the two already incredibly swift figures appear even more ghostly!
"Awesome!"

"As expected of a high-ranking officer, such combat power would be enough to make him the leader of a force in the outside world, and he might even be chosen by the World Government to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."

"Both of them are candidates for Knights of the Round Table, but it's unclear which seat they will get."

in the audience.

A pirate with a full head of braids stared wide-eyed:

"So they are Gawain... the strongest under Captain Gawain's command, and they're vying for first or second place?!"

The moment the man's voice rang out, it drew the attention of the surrounding pirates. After sizing him up, they asked suspiciously:
"A newcomer?!"

"Uh... I just joined two weeks ago, what's wrong?!"

The braided pirate was a little confused.

The pirate who had spoken earlier looked enlightened, pointed to a figure in the spectator stands ahead, and said:
"The first seat will definitely be the captain's, and the second seat should be occupied by the captain, barring any unforeseen circumstances."

The braided pirate looked in the direction the person who spoke pointed.

All I saw was a refined man in a black suit, wearing sunglasses, with a gloomy demeanor.

He frowned subconsciously.

"I think he's quite ordinary, really as impressive as you say..."

Halfway through.

The braided pirate's throat felt like it was being squeezed, because the man sitting in front of him in the audience turned around.

Their gazes met.

A cold, bloody, indescribable feeling welled up inside him, making him unable to help but lie down and gag.

Ouch!
The bitter fluid from my stomach spilled all over the floor.

He managed to lift his head only to find that the gloomy man had already looked away and turned to look at the match in the arena.

Until then.

The nearby pirates finally reacted and rushed to help him up, their eyes filled with concern.

"What's wrong?!"

"it's okay no problem!"

The braided pirate, pale-faced, waved his hand. In that brief moment, he vaguely saw himself being cut into pieces.

It's murderous!
An indescribably intense killing intent!
It wasn't even a voluntary release; rather, the killing intent escaped unintentionally!
"Who...who is that person?!"

“That’s Lord Clod, the strongest man on the ship besides the captain. He was the one who repelled Wang Zhi, who attacked the border of Britannias a few months ago.”

The braided pirate shuddered.

He was indeed a newcomer to Gawain's crew, but before that, he was a pirate capable of sailing to the New World, with a bounty of over 100 million.

He was well aware of just how outrageous his victory over Wang Zhi was.

The braided pirate immediately averted his gaze, no longer daring to look in the direction where Kuro was.

In front of the spectator stands.

Akin looked at Cloth:

"What's wrong?!"

Kro shook his head:
"Nothing, just found a little bug that snuck in."

"Do you need me to handle this?!"

A Jin's eyes turned cold.

After taking control of Britannias, the Gawain Pirates gained a stable sphere of influence, and the number of pirates under their command skyrocketed, exceeding five figures in just one year.

Of course, there are some with ulterior motives among them.

To this end, Gao Wen even established a special agency to deal with internal traitors.

This is the so-called special operations force, which is currently being temporarily managed by Van Auger, but will be handed over to Lucci once he returns.

In this regard, no one on Gawain's ship is more professional than Lucci.

Kro shook his head:
"No need."

"That guy thought he was hiding well, but little did he know that he had been targeted by Van Auger from the very first day he infiltrated. Now he's just seeing if he can catch a big fish."

"When the time comes, someone will take care of him."

"That's good."

Akin nodded, then turned his attention back to the battle in the Round Table Arena.

now.

The battle between Zoro and Sanji gradually intensified and reached a stalemate.

Zoro has an advantage in terms of Haki and attack power, while Sanji has even greater speed and a monstrous physique due to his bloodline modifications.

Both of them sustained injuries of varying degrees, but this did not affect their fighting ability. On the contrary, the pain stimulated them to become even more aggressive.

boom!
boom!
boom!
Round after round of clashes of powerful moves created one climax after another in the arena.

Many people had hoarse voices from shouting, but they showed no sign of stopping.

Kro sat calmly in the spectator stands, watching Akin with great interest:

"These two are roughly between the upper and upper Gold rank, surpassing you and me from a year ago. How does it feel to be surpassed by a junior?!"

Akin raised his eyes to look at the arena, his gaze calm yet exuding an understated confidence and dominance.

"The captain once said that Zoro, Sanji, and Law all have the potential to become legends."

"They might be able to surpass me, but they're still a bit short of the mark."

"As for you, you've spent most of your energy dealing with Britannias this year. How much growth have you actually experienced this year?!"

"Ah……"

Chloe raised an eyebrow, a faint smile playing on her lips:
"I knew it. You weren't going to give up so easily. It seems you've grown a lot this year, but..."

"You are no match for me."

"You have to try it to know for sure."

Akin remained steadfast:

"After all, I haven't fought against a legendary-level expert yet, so I'm quite curious about what the difference is."

"You'll know."

"Speaking of which..."

between words.

Akin looked up and gazed into the distance. In his line of sight, there was only one tall building, standing prominently in the center of Camelot.

That was the newly built government building, and Gao Wen was inside.

"How strong is the captain now?!"

Chloe paused, her eyes filled with unspeakable solemnity, but she uttered only three words:

"do not know."

“A year ago, when I had just entered the Legendary realm, I tried to fight Gawain. At that time, I was still no match for that monster, but I could sense the gap between us.”

"But now I can no longer see how high the mountain in front of me really is."

"Perhaps the titles of the world's strongest man and the world's strongest creature should change hands, or perhaps Gawain is the world's strongest now."

"The captain really is..."

"It leaves one with absolutely no hope."

Akin's breath hitched, but the corners of his mouth curled up in a wicked smile as he looked at Chloe:

"I remember you saying something before?!"

"Oh."

"I remembered."

"The emancipated serfs sing songs, and Gao Wen becomes the captain."

"Now……"

Kro's face stiffened, and he immediately launched into a triple denial:

"I didn't! I didn't! Don't talk nonsense!"

"Hahahaha~"

The stands were filled with cheerful voices for a moment.

far away.

The top floor of the government building.

Gawain sat on the sofa, gazing at the arena in the distance.

From his vantage point, he could clearly see the battle taking place in the arena.

"Both Zoro and Sanji are close to reaching the Gold Saint level."

"With the blessing of the Captain's Wrath, the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and the Emperor of the Sea, it is normal to jump a major class in just one year."

"The combat power of these two should be equivalent to that of the Wano Country War in the original timeline, and they would rank among the top even among the Seven Warlords of the Sea."

"It's not bad at all."

"But what's truly astonishing is..."

Gawain's gaze shifted and landed on Akin in the spectator stands, his eyes filled with inexplicable surprise:

"Is Akin almost at the threshold of becoming a legend?!"

The high temperature couldn't help but let out a gasp of surprise.

Even among Gawain's group of "scummy kings," Akin was the most scummy of them all.

This is especially true after the Sea Emperor Badge takes effect, granting immunity to injuries and illnesses, increasing cultivation efficiency, and providing a chance to break through one's own limits.

Only Ah Jin himself knows how much blood and sweat he has shed to grow to this point in just one year.

Gao Wen was surprised but also understandable, given his own even more remarkable growth.

The system panel pops up.

Gao Wen's gaze fell on the individual rating section:
【

Rating - Legendary Extreme:

The strongest in the world!
】

(End of this chapter)