Pirate: I have a Hollow living inside me

"I think so too."

Robin agreed with Lockes's speculation and continued, "The newspapers said it would be soon, but didn't specify a time. Perhaps they wanted to wait for concrete news of your entry into the New World before setting a date?"

Lox smiled and said, "In that case, I am somewhat interested."

"I'll go and see for myself then. It's definitely time to get to know the other side about the sparring match that ended in a draw."

If their speculation is correct, it means Hawkeye takes this battle very seriously.

He certainly wouldn't let the other party down.

The world's greatest swordsman was one of Rocks' targets.

Now that he's using a sword, he's going to reach the pinnacle of swordsmanship!

Robin asked, "Are you confident you can defeat Hawkeye now?"

Rocks counted on his fingers, thinking, "Hawkeye is on par with Red-Haired Shanks, so his strength may not be below those 'Sea Emperors.' Last time I sparred with him, he wasn't really taking it seriously."

"You can't judge something until you've actually fought a battle."

Rocks' strength had improved somewhat since his battle with Kaido on the Sabaody Archipelago.

Advanced levels of Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki

A head-on battle with Hawkeye is absolutely no problem.

Whether we win or lose... we'll only know after the match.

Robin asked the question: "What are your plans now?"

Rocks had previously mentioned some of his plans for reaching the New World.

The first step is to cause trouble for Doflamingo, and the second step is to find a territory of their own.

Now, Hawkeye has suddenly issued a "challenge".

Do they need to change their actions?

"The specific time for Hawkeye's 'Kendo Battle' has not yet been revealed. We'll talk about it once we know the exact time."

Rocks thought for a moment and made this decision: "Now, let's go and cause trouble for Doflamingo first?"

"That guy is, after all, a stepping stone for Kuina. Defeating him will help Kuina's growth."

If Hawkeye's specific timeline for the "Kendo Showdown" were revealed, Rocks would like to go there immediately.

However, the timing is still uncertain...

Therefore, we can only continue with the previous actions.

Robin added, "That guy is one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. After learning that we've got our eyes on him, he probably won't just sit there and wait to die."

"Their opponent was once a Celestial Dragon, a member of the World Nobles. We have an irreconcilable feud with the World Government, and they might very well be lying in ambush in Dressrosa..."

This is something that needs to be taken into consideration.

Doflamingo won't just sit and wait to die.

World governments and navies will likely take action as well.

Lockes understood this: "Anyway, we're not the ones who should be worried. Let them experience a period of fear and trepidation. Let's just take it one step at a time."

"Who knows, Hawkeye might reveal the specific timeline for the 'Kendo Showdown' in a few days. It's common for plans to be subject to change."

Actually, Rocks preferred to sail around the world and experience the customs and cultures of different islands.

They wanted a piece of land of their own, partly to prepare for the future "attack" from the Blackwing Great Demon Void.

He needs a safe place to prepare.

Although the Blackwing Great Demon Void has not yet shown any signs of "awakening," based on past experience, it's likely to do so soon...

However, there's not much to worry about.

You can also use "appeasement" to calm the Blackwing Demon Void down for a while.

This period of time was enough for Lox to find a piece of his own territory.

As for the choice of location, Lockes had some ideas.

The first is Beehive Island, Blackbeard's lair in the original story.

The second is the international waters of the Grandma's Shopping Mall.

Beehive Island was chosen because it was originally the territory of "Lox".

Is it okay for him to take this Rocks now?

Choosing the World Oceans was, of course, to wipe out the Big Mom Shopping Spree!

If he had to choose between the two, Lox would naturally prefer Beehive Island.

Wang Zhi, the "Cult Leader of the Ocean Sect," is much easier to deal with than Charlotte Linlin, the "Auntie"!

However, Rocks was a man of principle.

"It's not quite appropriate for him to take the initiative to cause trouble, nor for him to take the initiative to cause trouble for the other party..."

The situation is different from Moria's. Moria is someone Rocks wants to recruit, but Rocks doesn't want to recruit Wang Zhi...

"Ah."

Robin nodded.

I didn't think much of it then.

Lockes is the captain; just follow his orders.

Robin brought up something else: "Shall we go for a walk on the island today? The scenery there is much better than Drum Island."

Lockes laughed and said, "Of course, we came here to have fun and sightsee. It would be quite boring to stay in one place all the time."

"How many days will you be staying here?"

"Let's set it for two or three days."

"I'll go ask the boss to prepare breakfast."

Robin nodded slightly, got up, and left.

Soon, the rest of the members also got up one after another.

After the group had breakfast, Rocks also brought breakfast to Moria and Perona on the Black Demon.

Then Xing Siwan opened a hotel.

They decided to split up, and although they slightly altered their appearance, they could still be recognized if they acted together.

Lox didn't want to cause any more trouble.

While Rocks and the others were sightseeing on the island separately...

A ship flying the flag of the "Grandma's Shopping Caravan" landed on Winter Hot Spring Island at the port on the east side of the town.

A man with a thick upper body and a thinner lower body, nearly three meters tall, with a long nose, a scarf around his neck, and a large samurai sword slung across his back, stepped off the merchant ship of the "Auntie's F"...

The man said indifferently to the people who came to greet him at the port, "Is everything ready?"

"Lord Snag... could you please give us one more day..."

An elderly, balding man, seemingly the leader of the island, spoke respectfully and timidly to the man in the scarf:

"We were hit by a storm not long ago, and we..."

“I didn’t come here to listen to your nonsense.”

The man named Snag coldly interrupted the other: "You should know what will happen to you if you miss the tea party."

"Once we understood the consequences, we've already started rushing to produce the 'hot spring eggs' needed for the tea party..."

The bald old man, pale-faced and trembling, pleaded respectfully:

"Tomorrow... we'll be able to produce enough tomorrow. Please give us a little more time, Lord Snag..."

"Humph!"

Charlotte Snag, one of the "Four Sweethearts," the top executives of the "Big Mom's Shopping Spree" group, snorted coldly upon hearing this and said indifferently:

"I'll give you half a day at most. If you don't make it in time, you'll be in for my wrath!"

It wasn't that he was kind-hearted and chose to let these people go.

But if he fails to complete his "mission" and the tea party is postponed, he will be overwhelmed by his mother's anger...

An angry mother doesn't care whether he's one of the "Four Dessert Stars".

When it's time to take action, there will be no hesitation.

No one and nothing can stop the tea party from taking place; this is the absolute ironclad rule of Dama's Shopping Spree and the World Trade Center!

"long time……"

The bald old man opened his mouth as if to say something.

But Snag interrupted him rudely: "I don't have time to waste here with you. If you can't make it in half a day, you should know what the consequences will be!"

"We understand..."

The bald old man trembled, but dared not say anything more.

This is an ultimatum.

The other side didn't give them a chance to refute.

The Charlotte family didn't care about their lives; what they cared about more was whether "Hot Spring Island" could make its offerings on time...

Snag said calmly, "I need to take away enough 'onsen eggs' before dinner, so don't make a mistake."

He then ordered his men who had followed him: "You stay here and keep watch. If anyone dares to run away, kill them without mercy!"

After saying that, he leisurely left the port.

This wasn't his first time on the island, and he headed straight for the hot spring hotel at the foot of the volcano.

Since we have to wait, we might as well go for a soak in a hot spring.

The island's hot springs are also quite famous. In the past, when he came to collect tribute, he would occasionally soak in the hot springs...

"Guests? Then tell them to get lost."

Upon arriving at the hot spring inn, Snag looked down at the respectfully kneeling innkeeper and said indifferently, "You surely know whose territory this is, don't you?"

The innkeeper spoke hesitantly, "But sir, we've already accepted their gold. Wouldn't that...?"

Snag said dismissively, "If they have any objections... let them come find me!"

To book the entire hotel?

He seems to be quite wealthy.

However, money is useless here.

He is one of the four dessert stars of the "Grandma's Shopping Spree" series, and his words are absolute authority here!

……

After strolling around the island, Rocks also saw the residents busier than ever.

However, I have no intention of interfering with these people's fates.

There are many suffering people in this world, and Lox doesn't think he can handle them all.

Moreover, as long as you work hard, you can avoid the oppression of the sea brethren. The people on this island are far happier than ordinary people on other islands.

They're not exactly suffering people, are they?

Living hand to mouth is the norm for ordinary people in this world, but the people here... apart from looking a bit tired, are doing pretty well.

At least he wasn't emaciated or withered.

The living conditions of the people on this island shouldn't be too bad.

After they got tired of walking around, Rocks took Kuina, Nami, and Robin back to the hot spring inn.

Upon returning to the hot spring inn, Locke heard something interesting...

"You mean someone told us to get out of here?"