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

Chapter 404 The Ten-Crown King!
"Reward?"

Britannias.

When Gawain heard the news from Chloe, he was somewhat taken aback.

after all.

At this point in time, Gawain, with the Shichibukai label as his protector, was at least outwardly a pirate authorized by the World Government to legally rob.

The world government has no reason or possibility to offer a bounty on him at this time.

But when he saw the bounty poster in Crowe's hand, which was completely different from the Navy's bounty poster, he suddenly realized what was going on.

"The Crusaders?!"

In the original timeline, the Crusades were to be established two years after the start of the war.

The apparent leader is not Crocodile, but Bucky.

but.

Gao Wen could understand this change.

My arrival changed the fate of many people.

Golden Lion Shiki was defeated by Straw Hats without any humiliation, and Whitebeard died on the summit, exhausted, facing the Marines. It was a dignified end for him.

Crocodile, after his defeat, had a profound realization and rediscovered his original aspirations.

While their exact combat strength is unknown, compared to the weaklings who were defeated by the fledgling Straw Hat in the original timeline, they are simply not in the same league.

After the Cross Society was established this time, it not only offered bounties to the World Government, but also to the cadres of Gawain's group!
Gawain flipped through the Cross Society's bounty poster with great interest.

"Van Augur, five stars..."

"Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro, a crown..."

"Black Leg Sanji, a crown..."

……

Unlike the World Government, which assesses the risk for each individual and then sets individual bounties, this is different.

The Cross Society's bounties were for naval positions, and the bounty amounts were represented by stars and crowns.

One star corresponds to 100 million Berries, and one crown corresponds to 1 billion Berries.

Zoro and Sanji's bounties, when converted to real money, amount to one billion Berries, a figure between that of a Marine Vice Admiral and an Admiral.

Van Augur's bounty is 500 million Berries, which is the standard bounty for a vice admiral in the Navy.

It was simple and direct, but its intentions toward the navy were almost entirely undisguised.

The bounty on Gao Wen's gang seemed more like a side effect, mixed with someone's personal grudge.

Gao Wen turned the pages one by one.

The publicly known members of the Knights of the Round Table almost all possess a crown, corresponding to a bounty of one billion.

Only Kro has two, meaning a bounty of two billion Berries.

Numerically speaking, Kuro is almost catching up with Aokiji after he left the Navy in the original timeline.

but.

If the World Government were to set this bounty, it would probably be even higher!

After all, besides his combat strength comparable to that of an admiral, Kuro also possesses a monstrous mind. For the World Government, the latter brings far more destruction than the former.

As for the other members, such as Chopper, Bepo, and Nami, they are basically all at the level of one star or tens of millions.

soon.

Gao Wen then saw his own among a stack of wanted posters.

The cover image is a scene from the Marineford War where Gawain cleaves Whitebeard in two with a single blow, creating a powerful and oppressive atmosphere.

The amount listed below made Kro snatch the bounty poster from Gawain's hand, and after carefully counting it, he was speechless with astonishment:
"Ten crowns?!"

"That is... a bounty of hundreds of billions?!"

"You should know that even the Fleet Admiral only has 5 billion!"

It's not just Kro.

When people saw the bounty the Cross had placed on Gawain, they thought the Cross had gone mad. The bounty was far greater than Roger's back then!

And Gawain has yet to become king!

However, some people agree with this view.

after all.

During the Marineford War, Gawain's combat prowess nearly overwhelmed all the pirates on the entire ocean.

Crocodile opened his mouth, then looked at Gawain, wanting to refute Crocodile's madness, but he understood even more clearly that Gawain...

Worth the bounty!

but.

Gawain didn't seem to care about this.

Whether Crocodile forms alliances or sets up bounties against the Navy, ultimately it poses no threat to him. The so-called bounties are nothing more than a manifestation of impotent rage.

A few days later, a ship departing from the Red Earth caused Gawain to frown deeply.

Lucci is back.

He changed into a white suit symbolizing CP0, and Hadori, the white dove, perched on Lucci's shoulder, making him look very dashing.

But Gawain's expression was somewhat solemn, as was that of Chloe beside him.

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing the worry in each other's hearts.

"Lucci's identity has probably been exposed."

Kro made a quick judgment, and Gawain nodded.

What a coincidence.

The World Government's people just happened to arrive at this exact moment, and the person who arrived just happened to be Lucci.

When several coincidences occur at the same time, it is definitely not a coincidence.

"when?!"

After a moment of contemplation, Gao Wen said:
"It must have been when Lucci was in charge of cleaning up after our previous invasion of Impel Down that the World Government noticed it."

"Is this a test from the World Government?"

Kro frowned.

Back when Gawain offered the Laugh Tale Permanent Pointer as the prize for the World Martial Arts Tournament, he had already anticipated that the World Government would not remain indifferent.

There were even plans to use this opportunity to test the true strength of the world government.

After all, the world government is currently busy suppressing the increasingly unrest in the world, and it is unknown how much combat power is still available.

But the response from the World Government was somewhat unexpected.

"Now this is troublesome."

Klomer remained silent, glancing back at the vast inland sea stretching across the center of Britannias, his eyes filled with an indescribable apprehension.
"Given your personality, you wouldn't be capable of abandoning Britannias outright and breaking it down into smaller parts."

"But if we were to go to war with the World Government at this time, Uranus would be a big problem. Most people, except for you and me, would probably only die."

Gao Wen pondered for a moment and said:

"Since it's a test, it means they don't have any intention of directly starting a war with us."

"After all, suppressing more and more pirates around the world has already exhausted the Navy, and they have even chosen to abandon their deployment in the New World. The pressure they are under is evident."

"It would be unwise to confront us at this time."

"The arrogant king is not without burdens for the World Government; rising sea levels threaten not only civilians."

"No one fears the world being submerged by the sea more than the Celestial Dragons of Mary Geoise, and their diving suits are the best proof of that."

Kro understood:

"You mean they're forcing us to take a stand?!"

Gawain nodded:
"In that case, things become simpler."

"Send Lucci back."

Kro frowned and looked out the window.

In the Raven's Colosseum, Lucci, who had taken off his shirt, was fighting Zoro.

The two were locked in a stalemate, neither willing to back down.

Clearly, even during the two years he was away from the team, Lucci never stopped training. The powerful Armament Haki surrounding his body and the jet-black flame cloud on his shoulder, symbolizing the awakening of his Zoan-type, are the best proof of this.

Although he hasn't yet reached the legendary level, he already possesses the combat power of a Gold-level character, almost surpassing his strength during his time on Future Island in the original story. Boom!
boom!
boom!
The battles in the arena became increasingly intense.

Both players were in top form and hadn't faced each other for two years. This time, they were determined to overpower their opponent.

"That's starting to look somewhat like it!"

Kro praised her, but a rare hint of reluctance flickered in his eyes:
"Isn't Lucci in too much danger?!"

"If we make any move, the World Government will immediately use him as a sacrifice."

Gawain turned and glanced at Chloe, a slight smile playing on his lips:
"This doesn't sound like something Baijiklo would say."

Kro's expression remained unchanged as he calmly stated:

"People always change. After all, I never thought I would end up like this."

"Humph~"

Gawain chuckled softly, then turned his gaze to Lucci in the arena:
"Let's ask him what he thinks first. If he's willing to take the risk, I'll leave him a strong backup plan."

"With my Conqueror's Haki and Bevel's teleportation portal, even if Im makes a move, I can retreat at any time."

"Ah."

……

In the arena.

The roar continued.

Lucci and Zoro fought until late at night.

After Lucci joined the crew, the two fought many times, and Lucci always prevailed over Zoro.

There is a gap, but it's not significant.

But this time the result was different from the previous ones.

Lying in the arena, exhausted and covered in wounds, was none other than Lucci!

"Well~"

"Was it a defeat as expected?!"

Lucci smiled nonchalantly:
"What the captain said is true. When you, this monster, start to realize your talents, you will surpass us at the fastest speed."

"Hahahaha~"

"Humph~"

Zoro, panting heavily, slowly sheathed his cursed sword Muramasa. His strength was at its limit, but his chin was slightly raised, and a wicked smile played on his lips.

"Isn't that obvious?!"

"My goal is to be number one in the world!"

"but."

"You've been away from the team for so long, yet you've still grown like this. If you had chosen to stay in Britannias, you might not have lost to me."

Say it.

Zoro reached out and pulled Lucci up, and the two of them helped each other walk off the field.

Sitting in the audience, Buena Festa watched the two figures gradually disappear into the distance, his eyes also filled with indescribable astonishment:
"Either of these two already possesses the fighting power to dominate a region on the sea, enough to bear the title of Shichibukai."

Barrett nodded, his eyes filled with undisguised admiration:
"These two are far stronger than Smoker. According to the combat strength evaluation system established by Gawain's group, they should be around the Gold level."

"More importantly, they are all young and have the potential to go even further, and there are many such people under Knight Gawain's command."

"Members of the Knights of the Round Table?"

Buena Festa gasped, turning to look at Barrett:
"Even further...Legendary? Equivalent to the combat power of a Navy Admiral or an Emperor of the Sea?!"

He knows what this means.

After all, Barrett, another legendary figure, was standing right next to him.

Although Barrett suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Gawain, the scene of him creating a combined giant thousands of meters tall with a wave of his hand was enough to prove Barrett's terrifying combat power.

If Barrett's guess is true, and all the Knights of the Round Table have the potential to grow to the legendary level, then wouldn't that mean that Gawain has more than two hands to count the number of generals and kings under his command?
This is already a formidable fighting force capable of confronting the world government!

Buena Festa was secretly amazed, and couldn't help but feel fortunate for his earlier sliding kneeling move against Gawain.

Given that the World Government would not tolerate them, there was no safer place than under the command of Knight Gawain.

This is especially true when it can help one achieve their ambitions here!

"Ah~"

Even Barrett's heart was unsettled at this moment:
"Even the Roger Pirates of yesteryear were far inferior to them."

"perhaps……"

"Staying in Britannias won't be too boring."

After saying that, Barrett stood up and walked out of the Round Table Arena.

"where are you going?"

"Practice."

"The gap between me and that man is still too big."

Buena Festa, recalling Barrett's self-torturing training, couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy and instinctively offered words of comfort:

"Don't go too far!"

“Cultivation also requires a balance of tension and relaxation; if you keep doing this, your body will break down first.”

Barrett didn't turn around, but simply waved gently at him:

"Where do you think I got all this power from?!"

"Only sweat doesn't lie!"

"No one in this world works harder than me!"

Buena Festa watched Barrett's retreating figure and wholeheartedly agreed.

This man crawled out of hell; his incredible strength is proof of his relentless effort!
"What unwavering will!"

"Um?!"

"That is……"

Just as Buena Festa finished speaking, he saw Zoro and Lucci, who had just walked out of the Colosseum, quickly treat their wounds, change into loose training clothes, and head towards the back of the Colosseum.

"No way……"

Buena Festa's lips twitched.

Looking at the spot where Barrett disappeared, and then at the direction Zoro and Lucci had gone, a strange premonition arose in his heart:
"Don't tell me these two are injured to this extent, and they still want to cultivate?!"

"No no no!"

"Even a Barrett wouldn't be this outrageous!"

"This isn't an effort, it's dancing at the gates of hell."

"Ha~"

"Shouldn't you be looking for a place to relax?!"

Buena Festa shook his head, dismissing the unrealistic speculation from his mind.

After all, no matter how hard a person tries, there's a limit. How many monsters like Barrett are there?!
While thinking.

Buena Festa gradually calmed down. Seeing that the battle in the Round Table Arena was over, he also stood up and walked towards the City Hall.

He is now the chief planner of the World's Number One Martial Arts Tournament.

The mere thought that this enormous event, capable of influencing the entire world, would be born from his own hands filled him with barely suppressed excitement.

Since accepting this job, he has worked several consecutive all-nighters. His legs are weak, but he is full of energy!
Suddenly.

Buena Festa stopped and looked at the brightly lit city hall, then looked back in the direction where Barrett had disappeared.

He fell into deep thought for a moment.

"wrong."

"This is different."

"I am pursuing an ideal, while Barrett and the others are simply destroying their own bodies."

"I am right."

"Ah."

"I am right."

(End of this chapter)