Pirates on Rocks' Ship 996

Frank was quite famous on Crescent Moon Island and even throughout the Whitebeard Pirates, but when it came to strength, he couldn't even beat some of the combat squad members, let alone the captains.

"However, Frank deserves a lot of credit for making Crescent Moon Island what it is today!" Reina exclaimed, "Our Whitebeard Pirates still hold the title of the world's number one pirate crew. Even if the Straw Hat crew reaches the final island, as long as our Whitebeard Pirates haven't fallen, the title of the world's number one pirate crew will always belong to us!"

Everyone was getting excited by what Reina said—the world's number one pirate crew!

What a wonderful honor!

"While we enjoy this glory, we are also being watched by countless people. Some want to take our place, others hope to gain fame through our reputation—in short, all sorts of people!" Reina said with a light laugh. "So we can't afford to make any mistakes now. If we do, it could be a devastating blow to us!"

"Don't worry, First Mate! No matter what, even if it costs us our lives, we will protect the Whitebeard Pirates and protect our beloved Captain!" Everyone stood up and said at the meeting.

Reina waved his hand, gesturing for everyone to sit down, and said, "I naturally trust you all. However, this trip to the North Blue will present a significant opportunity to face the extraterrestrial visitors! Killing powerful individuals won't be easy, but killing their soldiers isn't difficult. With your strength, as long as you unite and are cautious, acquiring the power of destiny won't be difficult. With the boost from the power of destiny, your strength will increase again. Only when your strength increases will our Whitebeard Pirates remain at the top!"

After Reina finished speaking, everyone nodded, indicating that they would definitely follow his instructions.

"First mate..." However, one of the warriors hesitated for a moment before asking, "Since killing extraterrestrial visitors can grant us the power of destiny, why not let the captains gather that power first? If the captains' strength increases, the overall strength of our Whitebeard Pirates will increase significantly, right? To be honest, it's not that I don't want the power of destiny, but for beings of our strength, even if we increase it a little, it won't make a big difference, will it?"

Reina smiled and said, "Gaining the power of fortune can indeed make you stronger, but there is a requirement: you must obtain enough fortune to allow it to transform your body! It's true that it's easier for the strong to obtain fortune, but our physical strength is also higher, so we need more fortune. In comparison, it's actually simpler for you to obtain enough fortune!"

Everyone suddenly realized.

“Take me for example. If I want to use the power of luck to become stronger again, I need to kill at least one extraterrestrial expert of the same level as me. And right now, I probably can’t even kill one!” Reina said with a smile. “Compared to their large number of ordinary soldiers, the extraterrestrial experts are not so easy to deal with!”

"Moreover, the war won't end just because we've repelled the extraterrestrials! Only when our overall strength increases will the Whitebeard Pirates remain at the top of the world!"

Although the others didn't quite understand what Reina meant, they understood what they needed to do.

They chatted and drank as they went, and time flew by.

As the first rays of sunlight appeared on the horizon, Reina chuckled and said, "It's dawn!"

"We've left the center of the doldrums, it seems the danger has passed!" a soldier said with a smile.

“Don’t be too careless. We can’t let our guard down until we leave the Calm Belt!” Reina shook his head and replied.

"Yes!" Everyone stood up and began to patrol the surrounding area.

As Reina was about to get up and walk around, he suddenly stopped and looked straight ahead.

"First mate...?"

Everyone noticed Reina's unusual behavior and looked at him with confusion.

"Something is approaching. Notify Frank to activate defenses! Everyone, go into combat mode!" Reina said in a deep voice.

The group exchanged glances, then replied firmly, "Yes!"

As the alarm sounded, the entire Xuan Yue Island began to stir. Those who had just gotten up started heading towards the shelter, while residents who were still asleep were woken up by their neighbors or family members and made to run towards the shelter.

The soldiers quickly ran to their combat posts. Frank, who had been resting, rushed to the weapons control center after receiving the news. Here, they could not only monitor the situation of the entire island, but also communicate with the various combat posts on the island at any time.

Chapter 968 An Encounter

"Are you going out?" Lucien asked softly, looking at her husband who was getting dressed.

Señor Piqué glanced at his wife and said with a smile, "Don't worry, everything will be fine! With Mr. Reina here, I'll go check on things! Besides... isn't this a place you like? I'm not going to fight as a pirate, but as a resident to participate in the defense!"

"Be careful!" Lucien smiled slightly and said, "If you get hurt... I won't let you off the hook! You promised me you wouldn't make me cry again!"

Señor Piqué stepped forward, gently kissed Lucien's forehead, and replied, "Don't worry!"

After saying that, Señor Pique turned and left.

Lucian, who watched her husband leave, did not go to the shelter because she trusted Pike and believed that her husband would protect Crescent Island and protect the place!

"Lord Reina, what happened?" Startled awake, Shirahoshi looked around in confusion before asking Reina.

“It’s alright, it’s not a big problem. Someone is approaching us. You stay here and keep an eye on the movements of the sea monsters. I’ll go check it out!” Reina shook his head and said.

"This... okay!" Bai Xing hesitated for a moment, then nodded in reply.

Aside from communicating with Sea Kings, Shirahoshi has no combat abilities, so she can't help with this kind of enemy attack at all; the biggest help she can give is to avoid causing trouble.

Upon seeing Xuan Yue Island quickly enter a defensive stance, Reina summoned Hyōrinmaru as he advanced, and then immediately activated his Bankai mode.

After acquiring the Frost Wings, he gained the ability to fly and flew directly in the direction he sensed ahead.

"It's you? Brother Shiki?" Reina looked at the newcomer with considerable surprise as he approached and said.

"You brat, is this how you welcome me?" Standing on a floating island, the Golden Lion grinned at Reina and asked.

"Um... why is Brother Shiki here? You... have been to the North Sea?" Reina frowned and asked.

"Of course, with all that 'extraterrestrial visitor' making such a big fuss, it would be a shame if I didn't go and see it," Shiki nodded, replying without any hesitation.

"Oh? So... where are you planning to go?" Reina thought for a moment and then asked curiously, "Aren't those extraterrestrial visitors enough for you to play with?"

"Heh heh..." Shiki chuckled and said, "Playing? I don't think there's anything fun about this place!"

"Oh? Brother Shiki fought with the extraterrestrials?" Reina asked with a light laugh.

"Of course!" Shiki's face darkened. "Those guys didn't care about the casualties of ordinary soldiers at all! They wiped out all the men I brought with me! Otherwise, I wouldn't have retreated! What a bunch of fearless bastards!"

Upon hearing this, Reina's expression turned somewhat strange. It seemed that Shiki had not obtained any information about the North Sea. This was to be expected, as he was a great pirate who secretly went to the North Sea without the cooperation of other forces, so naturally he would not know any such information. These major forces that had long been developing the North Sea could not possibly release all the information. Even if they did, Shiki and his men would not believe it.

So Reina didn't say much, but just asked Shiki what he planned to do.

“I plan to go back to the New World. All of you guys have left the New World, and now the New World has become the Navy’s domain. I’m telling you, you’d better not stay in the North Blue for too long. Once your subordinates are all dead in the North Blue, the Navy can sit back and reap the benefits! The New World is our base!” Shiki glanced at Reina and said.

He naturally saw the Crescent Moon Island advancing on the sea and knew what the Whitebeard Pirates were planning. However, in his opinion, although the extraterrestrial visitors were now completely suppressed, it would not be so easy to get rid of them. The main reason was that you had no idea how many soldiers they had. It was like a bottomless pit, and no matter how many troops you threw in, it wouldn't be enough.

The Navy was much smarter. They sent retired officers and disobedient troublemakers to the North Blue. On the one hand, this proved that the Navy had not abandoned the North Blue. On the other hand, it concentrated its forces to thoroughly sweep through the New World, so that even if they repelled the extraterrestrial visitors from the North Blue, the Whitebeard Pirates would be unable to return to the New World.

This time... the Navy has absolutely won!

He didn't understand why Whitebeard would make such a decision. Although Whitebeard had been a bit naive in the past, with Reyner's help, and since Whitebeard wasn't an idiot, he shouldn't have made such a decision that would lose the big picture for a small gain.

Reina didn't explain, but instead fooled Shiki with some righteous words, which made Shiki despise the Whitebeard Pirates even more.

He originally thought that the Whitebeard Pirates had some reason to stay in the North Blue and even gave up the New World, so that they would come here after seeing Crescent Moon Island. He didn't expect that Reina would give him such an answer, which he thought was a completely idiotic choice.

Watching the golden lion recede into the distance, Reina floated in the air for a moment, lost in thought, then shook his head and turned to leave.

He knew why Shiki thought that way, but whether it was Whitebeard or him, they would both choose to stay in the North Blue. This was also the reason why Reina chose to leave with Whitebeard after the Rocks Pirates disbanded.

If they didn't share the same ideals, Reina wouldn't have chosen Whitebeard. Whether it's Kaido, Charlotte Linlin, or Shiki, they are all powerful figures with formidable strength. Reina believed that with him by his side, Whitebeard's current status wouldn't be bad either. Even if he set sail alone to form his own pirate crew, he could still make his name resound throughout the world.

However, his choice to follow Whitebeard at that time was not only because he wanted to curry favor with him, but also because he agreed with Whitebeard's ideals.

After so many years of getting along, Reina has come to realize how right his initial choice was.

"First mate!" Frank quickly led his men forward as he saw Reina slowly landing.

"Let's put an end to the alarm! It's Golden Lion. He retreated from the North Sea!" Reina shook his head, deactivated Hyōrinmaru's Bankai mode, and then spoke.

"Golden Lion? Is that the legendary pirate, Golden Lion Shiki?" Señor Piqué asked in surprise.

“Yes, he and I used to be shipmates, so when he discovered Xuan Yue Island, he came over to say hello!” Reina nodded with a smile and said.

Señor Piqué gave Reina a strange look. He was certain that if Reina hadn't been there, the other man might not have left so easily.

Moreover, he seemed to have never heard of Shiki ever joining the Whitebeard Pirates, so Reina's statement that he and Shiki were former comrades puzzled him greatly.

Frank, as the head steward of Crescent Moon Island, had heard Marco and the other captains, as well as some of the captains who had followed Whitebeard for a long time, talk about how Whitebeard and his vice-captain Reina had both been members of a pirate crew.

Chapter 969 Arrival

After the chance encounter with the Golden Lion, nothing else happened on the way to Xuan Yue Island.

After all, in the Calm Belt, if no sea kings come to disturb them, no other creatures will appear here.

Reina even believed that even extraterrestrials would likely suffer losses if they tried to occupy this place.

The image of that colossal sea king from a few days ago flashed through Reina's mind. Perhaps even the Venerable One would not have a good way to deal with such a behemoth.

Soon, as the sun was about to set, Xuan Yue Island finally reached the edge of the calm zone and was about to leave its range.

Reina breathed a sigh of relief. Once they left the Calm Belt and entered the North Sea, the danger level would be much lower. He also believed that Whitebeard had already arranged for backup.

But just as Crescent Moon Island was about to leave the Calm Belt, Reina suddenly sensed that countless Sea Kings were approaching them.

"Lord Reina!" Shirahoshi looked at Reina with a worried expression; she had also sensed the approaching Sea Kings.

"Don't rush, let's go take a look!" Reina waved his hand, stopping Shirahoshi from continuing.

Especially in times like these, we must be more cautious, and at the very least, we must not panic and cause others to worry and be afraid.

"Frank, a Sea King is approaching. Activate the defense system, but don't notify others yet. The other side may not be hostile!" Reina whispered to Frank beside him.

Frank was taken aback, then his expression changed, and he asked, "First mate... why are the sea kings approaching at this time?"

"I don't know, but it doesn't necessarily mean they're going to attack us. After all, if they wanted to attack us, they wouldn't have waited until now!" Reina said in a low voice as he led Shirahoshi toward the direction where the Sea Kings were approaching.

"Yes! I'll make preparations right away!" Frank nodded and said solemnly.

When Reina brought Shirahoshi to the side coast of Crescent Moon Island, countless sea kings had already poked their heads out of the water.

Although the colossal sea king didn't come that day, the sheer number of large sea kings in front of us gave off a severe sense of oppression.

The Calm Belt serves as a nesting ground for sea kings, and even the worst inhabitants here are large sea kings that are tens of meters long.

“Shirahoshi, ask them why they came here!” Reina frowned and asked Shirahoshi beside him.

Without wasting any time, Shirahoshi directly asked the Sea Kings, explaining that she had made an agreement with them beforehand that she was only passing through this area.

“Lord Reina, they say this is where they originally lived. They left our shipping lane to avoid us, but now that we are about to leave, they naturally want to come back!” Bai Xing breathed a sigh of relief and replied.

Reina nodded and said, "Then thank them for me!"

"Mmm!" Shirahoshi's little face turned rosy, and then she expressed her gratitude to the sea king.

Actually, Reina initially planned to give some food to the sea kings, since he had been taking up their space for so long. However, when he thought about the sea kings' appetites and their numbers, he decisively gave up on the idea.

Putting everything else aside, the Whitebeard Pirates would have to bleed a lot of money to feed the sea kings here.

So Reina wisely allowed Shirahoshi to express her gratitude without mentioning any reward or anything like that.

Fortunately, the sea monsters didn't ask for any reward; they just wanted the strange island to leave their territory as soon as possible.

Soon, at full speed, Xuan Yue Island left the windless zone, and several whale-shaped pirate ships ahead identified them.

"Captain Izo, why is it you who came? I thought Daddy would send Captain Marco instead!" Frank shouted as he watched Captain Izo of the 16th Division disembark from the pirate ship at the port of Xuan Yue Island.

"Hahaha... Marco doesn't want to leave the front lines right now. The attacks from the extraterrestrials have been getting more and more frequent lately, so I'm the only one who has time to come over!" Izo replied with a loud laugh.