I will traverse countless worlds and become a god entirely on my own!

Everyone could see that Shanks had been forced to agree.

"Don't worry, I won't take advantage of your favor. It's just a small matter."

"Uh-huh."

This is right!

Shanks nodded in satisfaction. It was just a small matter; people were asking him for help, so he would do his part.

Ultimately, Roger's dignified death was something he should thank the other party for.

Shanks gulped down the beer, which made him feel much better.

"For example, if we ever fight the World Government, you can lead the charge for me!"

puff!

Shanks spat the entire drink he had just taken a swig onto Lucky Roux's face. Lucky Roux wiped the drink off his face and roared, "You idiot captain!!"

It's my own chicken leg!

Looking at the chicken leg in his hand, still dripping with beer, Lucky Roux clenched his fist, feeling an overwhelming surge of dominance within him.

"Just kidding, don't mind it."

This is no joke.

Shanks was speechless for a moment.

It's unclear whether Bai Ye said this as a joke.

But Shanks couldn't care less about that right now; he just felt a headache coming on.

Because he had also realized that this matter was not as simple as it seemed.

"Shanks!"

Just as Shanks was pondering how to resolve the favors he had inexplicably incurred,

The bar's wooden door was kicked open, and Shanks couldn't help but smile when he saw who it was.

The real reason I came here was to see Luffy.

After that, he probably won't come to the East China Sea again.

"Hey, isn't that the future Pirate King?!"

Shanks chuckled and joked, an attitude Luffy was already used to.

Is it Wang Lufei?

Bai Ye followed Shanks' voice and looked over, then immediately used the copy card.

[Ding! Copy the Zoan-type Mythical Zoan Fruit - Human-Human Fruit - Sun God Nika Form?]

"copy."

Bai Ye muttered to himself.

Then, Bai Ye had some ideas about using Nika's form.

And

It goes straight to level five?!

Bai Ye was originally pondering whether he should train in the same direction as Luffy or something else.

It seems like there's no need for training now; they just copied it along with how others activated their abilities.

The bodies of the three fruits were completely filled.

One Zoan type, one Logia type, one Paramecia type—a perfect balance!

"Okay, let's go."

"Just leave?"

Shanks glanced at Bai Ye with some surprise; in fact, he still had quite a few questions he wanted to ask Bai Ye.

This was just the beginning, and the person is already gone?

"Otherwise, I'm just here to take a look."

Having already copied Luffy's Devil Fruit ability, Byakuya has no reason to stay here any longer.

"No need to see us off, we can go by ourselves."

Looking at Bai Ye's retreating figure, Shanks truly couldn't understand it.

"Captain, what are you thinking about?!"

"Just as you thought, that guy really didn't get any information out of him!"

Shanks looked at Ben Beckman with some distress.

He hadn't said much before, intending to analyze more from Bai Ye's behavior and words.

But to my surprise, they didn't give me a chance at all.

"It seems we have to go to the new world, otherwise we can't maintain the balance."

Shanks watched the departing figure of White Night from the tavern's entrance.

He was curious about Bai Ye's purpose in coming here. Surely it wasn't just to see him and then leave?

He admitted that he did have some strength, but it wasn't enough to make Bai Ye come to see him in person.

After all, a legendary pirate like Bai Ye is older than him, belonging to Roger's generation. He used to compete with Roger for supremacy. What is he in Bai Ye's eyes?

Shanks wasn't as shameless as he thought he had truly caught the other person's attention.

But if it weren't like this...

There is no reason why a great pirate would come to this obscure island in the East Blue.

Could it be Luffy?

Thinking about this, Shanks realized how ridiculous his thinking was. Luffy was still a child; how could the other party possibly have come for Luffy?

Although Luffy ate that fruit, very few people know just how powerful it really is.

When Shanks first obtained the Devil Fruit, his first thought was to give it to Captain Roger's son.

He didn't yet know who Roger's son was, but he understood that Roger was the one who should have taken that step.

So after stealing the fruit, he began to search for Roger's son across the seas, but he never expected that Luffy would eat it.

At first, he was somewhat angry, but after thinking that the fruit would choose him as its user, he felt relieved.

From this perspective, it seems that Luffy was chosen by this fruit, rather than it being a problem with Luffy.

So, having made that clear, Shanks decided to stake his arm on the new world.

"Forget it, I don't think there's any need to speculate about what he's saying. In fact, strictly speaking, he's no longer a pirate."

Ben Beckman offered a reminder that, although he had some prior speculation, he felt his guesses might not actually be correct.

For someone like Byakuya, the one he's actually facing isn't the Navy anymore, but the World Government.

His threat level has surpassed that of all other pirates. For example, if he were just asked to compete for the position of emperor, would he go?

Actually, they don't care at all.

"That's true, those guys are just like the revolutionary army!"

Given this, it seems there's really no need to speculate on this issue.

Pirates shouldn't meddle in other people's business, but it seems that the balance of the sea is about to be broken by White Night.

However, there was nothing he could do unless he could defeat Bai Ye.

"Hey! Shanks, what are you muttering about?!"

Luffy muttered in dissatisfaction, "I've been here for so long, and Shanks is still ignoring me."

He rushed over immediately after hearing the news that Shanks was coming.

"Haha, Luffy, you little brat, you wouldn't understand. You'll only understand when you set sail and become a real man!"

"Shanks, watch out, or this kid's grandfather might come after you!"

The group had recovered from Bai Ye's situation. It was clear that Bai Ye was not on their side, and they were not qualified to stop him at the moment.

It's not just Shanks; the entire Red-Haired Pirates now have a growing desire to compete for the Emperor's position.

"Hey, is this the kind of boring thing you came here to do?"

Gion asked, puzzled. He had sat there for a while, chatted with Shanks for a bit, and then left.

She doesn't understand.

"Let's go and take a look at the Kingdom of Goa."

"The Kingdom of Goa?"

Although Gion didn't understand why Byakuya was doing this, she obediently followed him, while Robin was taking notes nearby.

Setting foot on the land of the Kingdom of Goa gave Gion a new understanding of the region.

"It turns out that the place known as the most beautiful kingdom is also so evil."

"This is just a microcosm of the world. It's not just the Celestial Dragons who oppress everyone, while these nobles oppress the common people. The Goa Kingdom is also a member state of the World Government, yet your Navy is protecting the interests of these very people."

Gion remained silent.

Bai Ye was right; the navy was actually protecting their own interests.

"Let's go check out other places."

With that, Byakuya continued to lead Gion to Shells Town, where the scoundrel Marine Morgan was located, and Syrup Village was home to the once-famous pirate Kuro from the East Blue. Even in the weakest sea, pirates were still rampant. At the same time, the disparity between nobles and commoners in the various kingdoms made Gion's wavering heart even more obvious.

If Byakuya were a pure pirate, then Gion would definitely not have colluded with him.

The more Gion learned about Byakuya from him, the more she understood what Byakuya was trying to do.

The gold in the sky was the straw that broke the camel's back for all the member states.

In order to obtain the protection of the navy, the nobles of this country need to plunder the civilians of their own country at all costs, and then hand over the spoils to the world government in exchange for the protection of the navy.