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

Chapter 365 A Storm is Brewing in This World
boom!
The bottle in Whitebeard's hand slammed heavily onto the deck, sending a jolt through the entire Moby Dick.

An invisible aura began to emanate from him, spreading outwards. The oppressive feeling, as heavy as an abyss, made it difficult for everyone around to breathe, and the entire ship seemed to sink a little at that moment!

Even a single, unintentional burst of Conqueror's Haki was enough to overwhelm many Neo Marines, causing them to collapse with their eyes rolling back in their head.

He knew exactly how strong he was at his peak.

If, given his current physical condition, rescuing Ace from Marine Headquarters and under the watchful eyes of the world would require risking everything and fighting to the death to even see a sliver of hope, then...

Then when he regains his peak power, his chances of success will increase to more than 50%!

No one can defeat me, whether in the previous era or this one!

So what if it's the Navy Headquarters?!

If Shiki, who cut off his own legs, could break in, then I can break in even more!
No one can stop me!

Thoughts churned in his mind, Whitebeard gripped Murakumo Kirito tighter and tighter, his tiger-like eyes fixed on Zephyr, yet his heart gradually calmed down:

"what do you want?!"

Whitebeard didn't doubt the truth of what Zephyr said; he was just curious about what Zephyr wanted to do.

As one of the rivals active in the same era, Whitebeard was extremely familiar with the three representative figures of the Navy at that time.

The Warring States period was successful because of its strategic vision; every move it made was designed to cause turmoil in the seas. It was the ideal successor to the marshal, and it was the Warring States period that filled the position of marshal after the previous marshal, Sora, stepped down.

Garp has a pure personality, and his combat strength ranks first among the three. He is the most valiant violent machine and the spiritual banner of the Navy.

Ze Law had the lowest profile among the three, but he had the greatest influence on the next generation of naval officers and his training influenced almost all naval officers.

Even now, the reputation of not killing generals continues to spread around the world.

But at this moment, in Zephyr's eyes, Whitebeard no longer showed the naivety of his past attempts to save everything, nor the all-encompassing benevolence.

All that's hidden beneath a calm gaze is madness!
Tsk——!
After downing a sip of liquor, Zefa turned to look at the distant, undulating sea and murmured:
"This world has been in turmoil for eight hundred years, and how many innocent souls have been buried beneath the sea?!"

"A man from the East China Sea once said..."

"No matter how bad the world is, everyone should have the opportunity to survive. If not, then there must be something wrong with the world!"

"Ha~"

Whitebeard also turned to look at the sea, and chuckled softly:
"As a former admiral in the Navy, shouldn't you know better than me where the problem lies?!"

"what."

Zephyr nodded:
"Now I understand more and more why Roger took such extreme actions back then, to add fuel to the fire of this already burning world."

"Put yourself in a desperate situation and then you can survive."

"Only by standing on the ashes of the old world can a new order be established!"

Roger's choice was to send everyone in the world out to sea to find One Piece, betting that among those thousands of seekers, someone destined to change the world would be born.

Whitebeard turned his head and looked at Zephyr with an indescribable surprise in his eyes.

If Garp, Sengoku, or even Shiki had said these words, he wouldn't have been surprised at all.

But the person being talked about was Zephyr, a man who had lost everything because of pirates several times and deeply hated them.

He had anticipated that Zefa might become depressed due to the successive blows, or even fall into extreme madness, wanting to destroy everything, but he had not expected Zefa to be in his current state.

This is because Zephyr is trying to understand his former enemy.

"you……"

Before Whitebeard could even ask his question, Zephyr interrupted him, continuing:

"The navy's dominance over the sea is weakening, the king of the sea has fallen, new monsters are emerging, the old order is about to collapse, and the world may be able to usher in liberation."

"Everything was exactly as Roger had predicted, until the appearance of the Ancient Weapon wiped half of Britannias off the map in one blow, and everything went back to square one."

"This is enough to guarantee the World Government's superior status. As long as the Ancient Weapons exist, no one will dare to provoke the World Government."

"Only ancient weapons can fight against ancient weapons."

"In just one year, this understanding has become an unspoken rule among the various forces on the high seas. To achieve Roger's goal, the intensity of the war will escalate to a whole new level."

"The war between ancient weapons would have swallowed the whole world by the sea, and countless people would have died as a result."

"So~"

The white-bearded man lowered his eyes, his gaze solemn.

Since the Britannias incident a year ago, sea levels have indeed been rising worldwide, albeit by only a few centimeters, which is enough to prove that Zephyr's statement is true.

"What are you going to do?!"

"Let's see how the blood flowing through the veins of that being high in the sky is any different from ours!"

"So I need you to hold on as long as possible, the longer the better."

Zefa's lips curled into a smile as he opened the energy chamber of the shredder, exposing a purple, glowing mineral in a transparent container to the air.

The scorching heat filled the air!
The Whitebeard members around him were on high alert upon seeing this, even Whitebeard's expression suddenly turned serious:

"Such a dangerous thing...you bastard!"

Realizing what Zephyr was planning, Whitebeard suddenly looked up, only to find Zephyr utterly unfamiliar.
"Are you crazy?!"

"A storm is brewing in this world!"

Zephyr casually shut off the shredder's energy chamber, glanced back at the distant sea, and grinned broadly:

"Hahahahahaha——!"

The laughter was hearty and resounded through the sky.

The waves on the sea became turbulent at this moment!

The waves surged and the wind howled!
Something invisible, yet strong enough to sting everyone's skin, was flowing!
Whitebeard knew what it was.

Crazy!

A madness enough to set the world ablaze!

This aura shouldn't be on Zephyr. Has the series of blows driven this man completely insane?!
Whitebeard didn't know the reason, but he knew one thing for sure: if Mary Geoise were to burn, it would be beautiful.

He felt that Zephyr was completely unfamiliar to him:

"What on earth happened to you to cause such a huge transformation?!"

Zefa said calmly:
"I met an interesting pirate in the East Blue, the most interesting pirate since Roger. Maybe he is the man Roger was waiting for."

"No!"

"He is the spark that ignited the Great Pirate Era."

Whitebeard was taken aback, and a name flashed through his mind:
"Knight Gawain?!"

"Knight Gawain!"

Zephyr nodded:

"It's said he's already replaced you and become the strongest in the world~"

"Humph~"

Whitebeard remained unmoved, his eyes filled only with confidence in himself and the long sword in his hand.
"I will not be defeated by anyone!"

The next day.

The warships sailed out of Whitebeard's fleet and disappeared on the horizon.

Whitebeard still stood on the deck of the Moby Dick, but his figure had grown taller, and the sickly look on his face had been swept away, leaving only the confidence and boldness of the world's strongest man!
The overwhelming color emanating from the air seemed even more intense, almost tangible, leaving cracks on the deck of the Moby Dick!

"This feeling……"

Marco, standing beside Whitebeard, was deeply moved, and even felt as if he had returned to twenty years ago, to that magnificent era when Whitebeard roamed the seas, fought alongside Roger, and battled the Navy!
"Dad, your power has returned!"

"Is the power of that fruit truly that great?!"

The white-bearded man raised his hand in a gesture of clenching, and as far as his eyes could see, there was only a flat sea:

"Isn't that what Paramecia types are supposed to be like?!" "They don't have the powerful hand-to-hand combat abilities of Zoan types, nor the immense power of Logia types that can easily trigger natural disasters, but they possess the potential that neither of them has."

"Even lost time can be retrieved, though the duration is limited, but it's enough for what I need to do!"

clang!
Murakumo Kirito slammed heavily onto the deck. The old man, now free of the weariness of his youth, had returned to the top. In his eyes, there was only an absolutely invincible will!

We are invincible ahead!
"Now let's go pick Ace up and take him home!"

Marco swallowed hard.

"You're coming too?!"

"Me too!"

……

Beneath the surface of the sea, undercurrents surge.

"Thank you for your hard work, Ain."

On the departing Neo Navy warship, Zephyr patted Ain on the shoulder.

He looked at his pale-faced disciple, his eyes filled with guilt, but even more so with the unwavering resolve to carry out his orders.

Sudden.

Hey!
Hey!
Hey!
A series of hurried footsteps came from inside the cabin. Binz pushed open the cabin door, strode over to Zephyr, and breathed heavily.

"The operation on Lord Yisheng's side has been completed!"

"The news of the execution of Portgas D. Ace by the Marine Headquarters has been communicated to the Four Emperors Shanks and Rayleigh!"

"Both of these men were once crew members of the Pirate King Roger, so they certainly won't stand idly by."

"With the addition of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and the Beasts Pirates, the entire world's attention is now focused on the impending war!"

Binz couldn't help but swallow hard, the image of the massive amount of kinetic rocks stored in the ship's hold flashing before his eyes. He still found it hard to believe that his teacher would actually devise such a radical plan.

"Teacher, do we really have to do this?!"

Zephyr nodded, his eyes filled with unwavering determination:
"This deformed world is beyond saving."

"Roger injected a powerful dose of medicine into this era, but it's not enough, far from enough."

"A massive war that will affect the entire world is about to begin!"

"If we cannot stop all of this before it happens, the war between ancient weapons will be enough to sink this world into the sea."

"Humanity, having lost its foothold, can only head towards destruction in its freedom, even if it eventually gains freedom."

Binz's breath hitched, and the confusion in his eyes vanished.

Over the past few years, he has followed Zephyr, experienced countless battles, and matured a lot.

Naturally, he knew what Zefa meant by all this.

"The earth, the earth..."

Zefa looked up into the distance.

A series of islands appeared on the horizon, birds and beasts took flight from the forest, their roars echoing, and human figures could be seen appearing and disappearing on the islands.

Countless wars have raged on the high seas, yet those powerful figures who dominate their regions have never seen the land that sustains them and nurtures everything, which is shrinking at a visible rate.

Even without ancient weapons, perhaps hundreds or thousands of years later, when the last piece of land disappears, that will be the moment of human extinction.

Zephyr's heart had never felt so urgent, so much so that he even cast his gaze upon the elusive One Piece:

"If One Piece really existed, and truly had the power to change the world, how wonderful it would be to connect all the lands in the world into one!"

"Well~"

"It's just a boring fantasy."

The sound fell to the ground.

Zefa ignored the disciples beside him and walked alone into the cabin.

Hey!
Hey!
Hey!
The heavy footsteps gradually faded into the distance, and Zephyr's figure disappeared into the darkness, leaving only Ain and Binz gazing into the distance.

The sea is turbulent.

Neither of them was at peace.

……

……

……

Britannias.

Gawain stood at the port, surrounded by members of the Knights of the Round Table.

His gaze, however, fell on Beville.

"Has the Door-Door Fruit awakened?!"

"It's possible to leave permanent portals on objects, which can be opened at any time as long as the user is alive?!"

"However, the range of a permanent portal is limited; it can only open to the size of a normal room door at most."

Beville nodded, reached into his pocket, took out a gold coin, and tossed it into the air.

brush--!
The moment the coin reached its highest point, the surrounding space began to distort, and a semi-transparent door opened.

Gao Wen looked into the room through the door.

The other end connects to a newly built port on the shore of Lake Avalon.

Countless merchant ships came and went, casting curious glances at this place, and some even couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"enough!"

Gawain spoke up, instructing Beville to close the portal.

The noise around me faded away.

However, a hint of excitement couldn't be hidden in Gao Wen's eyes.

Permanent portal!

Although it wasn't as Gawain initially guessed, enough to allow his army to appear in every part of the world.

To achieve strategic ubiquity.

Even if it's only to this extent, it will already be of great help to Gao Wen's next plan.

Gawain had initially hesitated about how to get Kroos to infiltrate Impel Down undetected, but now he knew what to do.

With the world line shifting, it's unclear whether the Straw Hats will invade Impel Down again.

But Blackbeard definitely will!

Snapped--!
Gawain caught the falling coin, gripped it tightly in his hand, and then turned to look at Chloe and the others beside him:

"I'm going to Marine Headquarters to attend the Seven Warlords meeting, and I'll also be involved in the Marineford War afterwards."

Chloe's lips curled into a smile, a hint of aggression flashing in her eyes:
"To seize the title of the world's strongest man?!"

"You've been waiting for this day for a long time, haven't you?!"

Gao Wen shook his head calmly:

"If it were Whitebeard at his peak, I might be somewhat interested, but that would be just interest."

Kro sighed:
"How arrogant!"

"but."

"Only you are qualified to say such a thing."

(End of this chapter)