I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

Ah Long shrugged, looking somewhat innocent.

Male fish-men certainly don't fit human aesthetics, and he's also a former pirate and bandit, exuding a murderous aura and a fierce temperament. Ordinary children wouldn't dare to approach him.

"Little Shirley, I hope your Mermaid Cafe can join our Aaron Paradise," Aaron said earnestly.

"In human culture, mermaids are fantastical creatures that only appear in fairy tales, and their charm appeals to men, women, young and old."

"If we could have a live mermaid employee join my Aaron Paradise, the two of us working together would definitely make our Aaron Paradise stand out!"

"Alon Paradise will become a benchmark, a fairytale kindergarten built on land with the mermaid theme!"

Ah Long began to paint a grand blueprint for the future Ah Long Paradise.

"So you called me here because you wanted my merman girls." Shirley frowned.

"It's not that simple," Ah Long replied.

"Why do you think I wanted to open an amusement park?"

Ah Long's eyes glazed over slightly as memories flooded back.

The initial thought, of course, was the shared childhood of the fish-men: sneaking out to the surface of the sea and gazing up countless times at the unattainable paradise of Sabaody on the shore.

"Shirley, the barriers and prejudices that have accumulated between our fish-people, mermaids and human society over hundreds of years will not be so easily eliminated, even in this new era."

Ah Long's voice gradually lowered.

"Prejudice in people's hearts is a mountain."

"And that's why my Aaron Paradise is hard for human children to accept."

These words made Xia Li feel a little uneasy. Just as she was about to say something to comfort him, Ah Long changed the subject again.

“However…” Ah Long grinned, his serrated teeth gleaming coldly in the sunlight. He gazed at the massive gaping hole in the red earth continent in the distance, his smile both radiant and terrifying:

"We've conquered that mountain, what can't we, as bandits, do?"

"We are mountain bandits!"

He became a bandit because, after escaping from Garp's prison in the East Blue, he overheard a bandit's speech.

He murmured, “I dream that one day, the next generation of our fish-men’s children will be able to play in paradise on land, and play together with human children, without distinction between them.”

"Let's start with children and help them eliminate their prejudices."

"So, Shirley, after all I've said, what's your choice?"

Garp stood to the side, watching quietly as Arlong and Shirley reached out and clasped hands, his eyes momentarily glazed over.

The small-time pirate he casually caught in the East China Sea back then has changed his appearance without him even realizing it.

Chapter 1299 The Mystery of the Mountain Bandit King XP 7000

East China Sea, Cocoa West Village.

This small village in a remote corner of the East China Sea is Nami's hometown.

Ten years ago, when Sig disappeared and the bandit gang openly disintegrated, the fishman Arlong also went into seclusion here and became his amusement park tycoon, building an Arlong Park in the area.

This was Arongai's first amusement park, but he left after Sig appeared in the world.

On this day, at the Alon Amusement Park in Cocoa West Village.

Clang.

The beer bottle fell to the ground with a clear and loud sound.

The wine splashed everywhere.

Several burly men with mohawks and a thuggish look kicked over the lollipop stand, scattering candies all over the ground.

The sudden change frightened a group of children in the amusement park so much that they burst into tears.

The parents nearby quickly picked up their children, covered their mouths with their faces tense, and walked out. The amusement park staff were also terrified.

"Who's the boss? Did they ask our boss, 'Mad Dragon' Stellan, for his opinion before opening an amusement park in this area?"

A thug shouted, his fingers deftly maneuvering a butterfly knife that gleamed coldly.

"Our boss is a notorious pirate with a bounty of nearly ten million!"

On the steps of the amusement park entrance.

Two young men were squatting on the steps, smoking and chatting idly.

At this moment, the two young men exchanged a glance, nodded simultaneously, and stepped out.

“We absolutely cannot stand idly by when something like this happens, Johnny.”

“You’re right. Besides, when Aaron transferred this amusement park to us, we were practically franchise owners, right, Joseph?”

Two men emerged from the crowd, standing on either side of each other, each with a long knife at their waist.

Johnny on the left has short hair, sunglasses perched on his nose, and is wearing trousers and a short jacket. He is resting his chin on one hand.

Joseph on the right is wearing a green trench coat, but underneath he's wearing shorts, and his calves are covered in thick leg hair.

Judging by their appearance alone, these two look like ordinary passersby, and their fashion sense is terrible. They seem more like extras than these mohawk-wearing thugs.

The mohawk-wearing men glanced at Johnny and Joseph, completely ignoring the idea that the two young men were the amusement park owner.

"A nobody trying to be a hero? Trying to be a hero in front of us? This is no joke, people can die here." A mohawk-haired pirate shouted.

"A nobody...why does everyone say that?"

Joseph reached into his clothes and scratched his back, saying casually:

"Has the world truly forgotten my title, Sword God Joseph? Sword Saint Johnny?"

Johnny coughed lightly, adjusted his sunglasses, and tried his best to appear serious, slightly raising his chin to adopt an expression he thought was profound and unfathomable.

"Listen up, you little minions."

"We only give you one chance."

These words had no deterrent effect whatsoever; in fact, they made the mohawk-wearing thugs burst into laughter.

"What are these two clowns doing jumping out here?"

"You dare to mess with a big shot with a bounty of nearly ten million? You're asking for trouble, aren't you?"

"You're asking for death." The leader, a burly man with a mohawk, snorted coldly.

“I have already killed 56 of you ignorant, arrogant little heroes.”

Mad Dragon pulled out a large sword from his back and walked toward Joseph and Johnny with a sinister grin.

At that moment, a strange voice suddenly rang out from the crowd in the distance.

"Stop joking."

“In this day and age, still talking about bounties is a sign of weakness.”

At the foot of the Ferris wheel, a man in a slicked-back black suit raised his hand and pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses with the heel of his hand, the lenses reflecting a cold light.

"Hmm? He is... Kro?"

Joseph and Johnny both showed surprise and turned to look.

"Still dare to look around?" At this moment, the burly man with the mohawk had already walked up to them, and he swung his broadsword down with a whistling sound.

In that instant, a sword light as sharp as a bolt of lightning flashed by, tearing through the night sky and disappearing in an instant.

“I almost forgot you guys were here.” Johnny placed his hand on the knife at his waist.

Ding-dong.

The burly man with the mohawk dropped his large knife to the ground, a long, narrow line of blood appeared on his chest, blood gushed out, and he collapsed to the ground.

Not only him, but also the dozens of other people who rushed over were all struck by swords at the same time and fell into pools of blood.

The multi-million dollar bounty notice that the mohawk-haired thug had just been showing off fell to the ground and was stepped on by a leather shoe.

Chloe walked past the mohawk-haired thugs lying in pools of blood, not even glancing at them.

Compared to Johnny and Joseph, who both have minor roles, he exudes the aura of a powerful figure.

"Still mimicking Boss Sig's way of speaking? That's definitely a bit like parroting."

Kro sat down on a chair at a nearby stall, picked up a cup of tea, and took a sip.

Beside him, a burly man with short blond hair appeared silently, a huge axe of exaggerated size leaning quietly against the corner of the wall.

“Cloth, Monka...you’re all here,” Joseph said with a smile.

"I heard you inherited the amusement park that Ah Long opened during his seclusion in the East China Sea, but I didn't expect you to still not act like a boss," Chloe said coldly.

"What's wrong? You can't keep being a bounty hunter anymore?"

Before the two could answer, Chloe continued on her own:

"That's true."

"In this day and age, there is no longer any fertile ground for powerful bounty hunters."

In the world of One Piece, bounty hunters are basically a group of scattered individuals; it's a profession with only low to mid-level players and a lack of leaders.

The high-bounty pirates of the New World are no match for ordinary bounty hunters.

A great pirate's opponents are usually only other great pirates and high-ranking officers of the Navy; bounty hunters don't have that kind of strength.

Bounty hunters with sufficient strength usually seek other avenues.

Zoro, a former bounty hunter, became a pirate, and other strong bounty hunters are usually absorbed into the Navy, thus leaving a lack of a leader.

Once you reach a certain level of strength, the hundreds of millions of Berries earned from taking down pirates are no longer a concern for someone of that level.

Top-tier powerhouses with extremely high bounties, such as Roger and Whitebeard, have bounties of five or six billion, which is naturally very high... If a bounty hunter could kill them, the World Government back then would be laughing in their sleep.

The World Government certainly doesn't lack money. If money could take down Higuma, Roger, and Whitebeard, they would give up tens of billions of Berries, let alone billions.

But even if the bounty is high, will anyone actually claim it?

The only person in decades to have ever received a multi-billion dollar bounty for a criminal was Higuma, who captured Sig.

Of course, this is an exception among exceptions.