Alone and Infinite.

Chapter 340 Choice
Please make your selection within ten minutes.

[Countdown begins: 09:59]

After the Hall of Light popped up a notification, a huge virtual world map suddenly unfolded before my eyes.

The world of One Piece has some peculiar patterns that are absolutely impossible to be naturally formed.

Moreover, it was covered with countless small flags, with various colored words interspersed among them.

The image was unsettling to look at, but with a thought, Li Xia magnified the picture before her eyes, and the chaotic and complex feeling quickly disappeared.

Instead, there are incredibly detailed dynamic distribution maps.

The most numerous and widely distributed color on the map is the naval force represented by white lettering.

The navy has bases and branches all over the world, including G1 and G2 Marineford, the Sabaody Archipelago, the East China Sea, the West China Sea, the South China Sea, and the North China Sea.
Everywhere you look, there are pale white lettering and small flags fluttering in the wind.

Then came the various kingdoms, and the pirate flags that floated gently up and down on the vast ocean, large and small pirate flags scattered like stars, crisscrossing each other.

When they reached the New World, the latter half of the Grand Line, the area suddenly became much cleaner, with four flags and different colored fonts each occupying a large portion of the land.

The purple Beasts Pirates, the Four Emperors Kaido.

The Red-Haired Pirates, led by one of the Four Emperors, Shanks.

Big Mom, the pink-haired pirate queen, Charlotte Linlin, one of the Four Emperors
And the Whitebeard Pirates, also white, but in a grayish-white hue, led by the Yonko Edward Newgate.

So, is the current timeline still before the Marineford War?

Li Xia's expression shifted; this world map actually revealed quite a lot of information!
He quickly scrolled through the map again, his eyes scanning the area.

But suddenly they stopped in a place, the land of sand—Alabasta!

The country was marked not only with the emblem of the Alabasta royal family, but also with a winged skull and crossbones flag.

Baroque Studio!

Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, still occupies Alabasta.

Li Xia continued flipping through the pages and soon found another intelligence point.

That is Nami's hometown, Cocoyasi Village.

The 'Arlong Pirates', which originally belonged to Arlong the Fishman, has disappeared without a trace.

Furthermore, Li Xia saw the Straw Hat Pirates' flag at the very front of the Grand Line.

In other words, the timeframe is in the early stages of the Alabasta incident?
Countless thoughts were born and died wildly in my mind, and sparks of thought collided rapidly.

Invisible lines kept splitting and spreading in my mind, some of them breaking and dimming.

But some lines are intersecting and intertwining.

Li Xia stared intently at the map, repeatedly zooming in and out.

[Executioner, you have one minute left to choose. If you do not choose by the end of the countdown, the system will assign a random selection.]

[Countdown: 59]

Li Xia took a deep breath, reached out and zoomed in on the map, slowly but firmly choosing a location.

"Sure!"

The enormous map suddenly disappeared, and time, which had seemed to have stood still in the room, began to flow again.

Lieutenant General Tsuru placed the empty milk glass on the table, making a slight clinking sound.

His aged yet profound gaze looked at Li Xia with great interest, and he slowly said:

"Oh? Jaya Island?"

Lieutenant General Tsuru leaned back in his armchair and pulled a stack of papers from the pile of documents beside him:

"That's a chaotic place. Ever since a piece of Jaya Island mysteriously disappeared hundreds of years ago, it has become a no-man's land."

Pirates, gold diggers, robbers, swindlers, thieves.
This isn't a good place; many people would rather go to a more stable place, where at least life feels like a vacation.

Li Xia smiled and said nonchalantly:
"I'm still young, I don't want to go on vacation."

"Oh?" Vice Admiral Tsuru's eyes lit up. As a current veteran of the Navy, Tsuru had promoted countless people.

But very few people openly express their desire to take things further in front of her.

"interesting!"

Lieutenant General Tsuru suddenly picked up his seal and pressed it forcefully onto the paper he had pulled out.

"Go ahead, I hope you have a wonderful vacation on Jaya Island."

[Executioner, you have been appointed as the head of Branch G188 on Jaya Island]

The stack of documents was indeed his own file. Li Xia stood up and saluted Lieutenant General He.

Just as he was about to leave, a thought suddenly struck him, and he asked:
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, may I ask... Has the Navy not investigated any of the mysteriously missing parts of Jaya Island?"

The mysterious disappearance of a large part of the island is definitely a significant incident, and Li Xia would never believe that it hadn't been investigated.

He was more interested in knowing how much the Navy, or rather the World Government, actually knew about the things on the Sky Island.

After all, no matter how you look at it, the winged and tentacled people living on the sky islands don't seem like normal people, let alone the hidden historical texts.

Furthermore, he was certain that Vice Admiral Tsuru would not remain silent, as the highest-ranking official and representative of the World Government and Navy on Jaya Island.

It is perfectly reasonable and normal for him to obtain intelligence about the base; he has the right to do so!
"I thought you wouldn't ask anything—"

Lieutenant General Tsuru laughed, poured himself another cup of hot tea, and said meaningfully:
"The missing part went to the sky; you should have heard the story of the Sky Island."

The subsequent matters were taken over by the World Government's CP agency, and the feedback our navy received was—ignore the Sky Island and do not explore it.

This is feedback, and also a warning, so I don't know what's actually on the Sky Island.

Lieutenant General Tsuru was silent for a moment, then said softly:

"I don't want to know your purpose in going to Jaya Island. That's your right. As a naval colonel, you just need to fulfill your responsibilities and obligations."

But I don't want you to go to the Sky Island, because the things there are beyond your capabilities and beyond your limits.

After she finished speaking, she waved her hand again, this time truly seeing the guest off.

Li Xia also sensibly bowed to Lieutenant General He, then turned and walked out of the room.

Black Charcoal and Awoo, who were waiting outside, came over, and the little dog also gathered around their feet.

"Boss, how's it going?"

"It's alright, a bit unexpected. We need to change our plans."

Li Xia said a few words in the team channel, but then looked up at the clear sky.

Don't touch the Sky Island?
That's not up to the couple to decide anymore.

Perhaps because Vice Admiral Tsuru was in charge of this fleet, the navy here was extremely efficient.

Before long, a medium-sized naval warship broke off from the fleet, carrying Li Xia and 10 elite marines assigned to him by headquarters. They changed course and headed for the first half of the Grand Line.

A naval branch would naturally consist of more than just Colonel Li Xia and ten elite marines.

In fact, these ten elite marines were all sergeants, just one step away from becoming officers.

Once at the branch, Li Xia could use these ten sergeants as the backbone to build the branch.

Given that branch ranks are generally three levels higher than regular ranks, these sergeants would be awarded the rank of branch captain or lieutenant, and those who perform exceptionally well could naturally be promoted to branch major.

This kind of promotion only requires Li Xia to submit a report, and unless there are special circumstances, the headquarters will never refuse Li Xia's report.

Then, recruit about 200 to 300 more soldiers from these core members to establish the G188 branch. This right to promotion and the funding from headquarters Marineford constitute the most important personnel and financial power that Li Xia holds over the entire branch.

This is the head of the naval branch, who has almost all the power over the branch's location; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a local tyrant.

Throughout the world of pirates, there are quite a few Marines who abuse their power and act arrogantly.

The warm sunlight of the setting sun shone on the sea, turning its surface into a golden hue.

The sea breeze swept across the surface, creating tiny ripples that shattered the golden light, making it resemble fine golden scales.

Li Xia stood at the bow of the boat, her arms resting on the gunwale, gazing intently at the beautiful scenery.

Aowu and Black Charcoal stood beside him. Just now, he had cleverly discovered the loophole and disguised Black Charcoal as a Mink who had followed him for a long time.

He was promoted to naval branch major on the spot, which is the highest position he can be promoted to at present.

Awoo is not so easy to deal with, mainly because dragons are still legendary creatures in the world of One Piece.

To avoid making any headlines, Li Xia decided to play it safe and not be greedy for this small gain.

The main reason that prompted him to immediately push Kurotan into joining the Navy was the convenience of the position.

Naval officers' pay consists of two parts, one of which is currency, namely, peles.

The other part is 'contribution'!
Contribution points can only be used within the Navy, but they can be used to buy valuable items that would otherwise cost exorbitant amounts of Beri.

Devil Fruit! 21 Great Grade Swords! Navy Six Styles!

And so on, all of which can be purchased with contribution points.

The contribution points come from two parts.

The daily salary is a fixed contribution point each month based on the job level.

And achievements—capturing pirates, completing missions, and being evaluated in the headquarters' governance.
Therefore, with the idea that every little bit helps, Li Xia immediately had Kurotan join the Navy.

Now the kitten is wearing a navy hat and standing on the ship's railing.

The mini navy coat she wore fluttered in the sea breeze, its sleeves dancing up and down.

Black Charcoal's round, large eyes gazed intently into the distance.

Yes, that’s what it feels like!

Cool!
Li Xia and Heitan's noses twitched simultaneously as a faint fragrance wafted from behind them.

Sure enough, after a moment, a slightly deep, hoarse female voice said:

Tina really wants to know why you went to Jaya Island.

Li Xia did not turn around. The person who came was also a naval colonel, known as "Black Fence" Tina.

His catchphrase was using his own name instead of 'I'.

"Then where else can we go, to the new world?"

Li Xia straightened up and turned to look at the aloof beauty with long pink hair:

"That's not a place for a colonel, unless he's a detachment commander in one of the major bases."

"Tina knows, you want to be one too—"

Tina's gaze was cold and calm as she stared ahead.

There were some things she didn't say, but Li Xia could guess what she meant, probably something like the Celestial Dragons.

Some truly righteous officers within the Navy naturally disapproved of the behavior of certain colleagues.

They would also give them nicknames in private, such as 'Little Celestial Dragon'.

Li Xia didn't want to answer; it was pointless.

Hei Tan gave her a disapproving look.

The bow of the ship fell silent for a moment.

Neither of them spoke, but simply watched the beautiful scenery under the afterglow of the setting sun.

Until a small dark shape appeared in the distance, on the high lookout tower, the marine on lookout was waving a flag.

The messenger shouted, "Gaya Island is almost here!"

The ship immediately sprang into action.

Li Xia suddenly said, "Tina, you're from the 'Prison' unit, right?"

"Yes."

"Could you please stay on Jaya Island for another day?"

The icy beauty turned her face and looked at Li Xia:

Tina wants to know why.

Li Xia's gaze was fixed on the approaching Jaya Island, and it seemed that he could see the lively atmosphere inside the tavern even from a great distance.

"That way I won't have to use a Den Den Mushi to call you back."

After he finished speaking, he waved his hand, and Black Charcoal jumped onto his shoulder.

Tina paused for a moment, then suddenly understood, and her eyes widened in shock.

Does this man mean to clear all the criminals off Jaya Island in one day?
How could that be? No matter what, Jaya Island is a large island with tens of thousands of permanent residents, plus merchants, pirates, and others, with a total population of over 100,000!
Cleared out in one day.
While she was still in a daze, she suddenly saw a small boat speeding towards Jaya Island.

There weren't many people on the boat, and Tina immediately spotted Li Xia standing at the very front.

The navy coat he was wearing swayed in the strong wind.

"Tina is furious! Does he even know what he's doing?"

Tina gritted her teeth and muttered to herself, "Even though this is the first half of the Grand Line, which is known as 'Paradise,' the pirates here are still ferocious, and there are even many great pirates with bounties of over 100 million!"
It requires the intervention of the commander-in-chief; they are far beyond the capabilities of a small, newly-set pirate from a weak sea like the East Blue.

"adjutant!"

Tina suddenly turned around and shouted loudly:

"Speed ​​up the entire ship and get to shore as soon as possible! Prepare for support."

At this moment, Li Xia felt no fear of pirates and had no idea what Tina was thinking.

He stood at the bow of the ship, his eyes filled with longing for 'contribution points'.

Capturing a pirate will earn you contribution points based on the bounty!

Not too many, just ten or so pirates with over 100 million, and he can exchange them for a lot of good stuff!

"By the way, boss, let's compare our strength. How do we compare? After all, we've already taken down the Third Hokage. We can't be weak in One Piece, right?"

Xiao Long once again had the idea of ​​playing electronic cricket fighting.

Li Xia pondered for a moment. It was true that he had killed the Third Hokage, but first Orochimaru provided support, and then there was the strategy of using the old man to defeat him.

In the end, I resorted to a shortcut, but my skills have also improved considerably.

Stroking his chin, Li Xia finally gave a plausible answer:

"Probably a lieutenant general!"

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1. Monthly pass 2. Recommendation vote

(End of this chapter)