I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

"Is he/she some kind of ability user?"

Lox's expression darkened slightly, and his gaze pierced through the wisps of darkness, landing on Sieg like a blade.

At that very moment, a sound like war drums began to resound from Sieg.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The Emperor Engine had been activated, and Sieg's breathing became heavier. Although he stood still, he felt a tangible pressure, rising and falling like the tide with each beat of the Emperor Engine.

"Interesting. Tell me your name."

Lox spoke in a deep voice, and darkness once again enveloped him.

"Shan... just call me Wang Xige."

Sig replied.

"Wang Xige..."

Lox silently recited it, the corners of his mouth gradually widening until it finally burst into laughter:

"Indeed, it seems that this time, we have indeed found a formidable expert."

"Wang Xige, I'll remember you."

"You have the courage and spirit to withstand my attack. Even if you are unknown, you are qualified to participate in the upcoming major events."

Lox turned around, his sharp gaze sweeping across the entire room:

"Everyone, I will announce the details of our upcoming quest to amass a massive fortune in the Skull Mountain Hall in half an hour. Captains of all pirate crews, please come."

Leaving behind these words, Rocks turned and walked away, returning to Skull Mountain on his own.

"An opportunity to make a fortune?"

Sieg pondered the word, glancing at the iconic rocky mountain on Beehive Island, before suddenly snapping back to reality.

He roughly knew what point in time it was.

Starting with this incident, the Rocks Pirates, led by Rocks, were officially established, and an unprecedented maritime overlord was born. The era of Rocks was about to begin.

"The Rocks Pirates... does that mean there will be even more great pirates from the old era here?"

Sieg also guessed why he was in this place.

Not only Whitebeard, Shiki, and others, but also some of the prisoners who were later imprisoned in Infinite Hell, were from the Rocks Pirates.

"Was Rocks, whose existence was buried by the World Government and forgotten by the world after his death?"

Sieg suddenly realized that a lie could be made a reality.

..........

Back in his room, Locke sat on the throne at the head of the table, his fingers tapping incessantly on the armrest of the chair.

For the past half hour, he had sent his men to investigate Wang Xige, but they found nothing.

Wang Xige seemed to be just an unknown nobody, but the strange things he had just shown left a deep impression on Lockes.

"Is he some kind of Logia-type Devil Fruit user? He used some kind of ability to withstand my attack."

Lox was unaware of how Sig had deflected his attack.

Both the pitch-black flames and the darkness of the Dark-Dark Fruit are pitch black. When they touch and merge, they become one, and even he, the ability user, can only see a pitch-black mass.

"Wang Xige clearly did it on purpose."

"Is he hiding his Devil Fruit ability...? Is he worried about others finding the weakness of his ability?"

"It seems this guy is not only courageous and capable, but also quite cunning. Occasionally, such powerful lone travelers can be found on the high seas."

As Lox pondered quietly, the time was almost up.

When he stepped into the lobby on the first floor of Skull Mountain, it was already bustling with noise, and almost all the pirates had arrived.

Lockes' gaze shifted, finally settling on Sieg in the crowd.

Behind Sig, a middle-aged man stood very close to Sig, and the two seemed to be working together.

This was a middle-aged man with high cheekbones and a somewhat gloomy temperament. His long hair was loose behind his head, and he wore a blood-red cloak, exuding an imposing aura.

Chapter 637 The Posture of a Hegemon 3K

Seeing the middle-aged man in a cloak next to Sieg, Lox felt a slight stirring in his heart.

"Hmm? I thought Wang Xige was a lone wolf, but it seems that's not the case."

He first whispered a few words to his subordinate, instructing him to find out the identity and background of the middle-aged man next to Sieg.

Then, Rocks coughed lightly, silencing the entire audience.

"I won't keep you in suspense any longer."

"My next plan, Rocks, is to attack the Navy's Sky Gold Guardian Fleet."

"The Celestial Gold is the enormous wealth held by the Celestial Dragons. Robbing the Celestial Gold once would be enough to make all of us rich."

Rocks' first words stunned all the pirates.

The Heavenly Gold refers to the tribute paid annually by the more than 170 member states of the World Government to the World Nobles. This is an enormous fortune, but before this, no pirate had ever plundered the Heavenly Gold.

"This is what you call a chance to make a lot of money?"

"Celestial Dragons? Pirates who defy the Celestial Dragons will be captured by the Marine Admirals and eventually die."

"You can certainly make a lot of money this way, but you have to be alive to spend it."

Immediately, some pirates shook their heads in disbelief, and some even considered leaving.

In this era, piracy was not yet rampant, the World Government and the Navy were very powerful, and Celestial Gold was the property of the Celestial Dragons, whose status was comparable to that of gods. Even lawless pirates would not dare to plunder it.

“You’re right. There have never been pirates like this before, but things are different now.”

Lox smiled slightly.

"If our operation succeeds this time, a brand new era will begin, and there will be plenty of opportunities to make big money."

"As long as we pirates unite as one, form a cohesive group, and advance and retreat together, then not only the Navy, but even the World Government will not be able to easily confront us."

These words stirred up another uproar.

"Rocks, do you mean you want to recruit us into your pirate crew?"

"Heh... Rocks, you are indeed very strong, but we came here to make money together, not to depend on you!"

Immediately, many people raised objections.

These pirates in the New World are not weaklings; many of them are unruly and rebellious.

Although Lox was strong, he couldn't persuade them to join him with just a few words.

Rocks glanced at the pirates, not answering their questions immediately, but continuing to read:

"On this vast sea, occasionally, great pirates emerge who can rival the admirals of the Navy. Their strength has almost reached the pinnacle of the sea."

"In the same era, there are usually only a handful of great pirates who have reached this level of strength."

"But if we start counting from the establishment of the World Government 800 years ago, the number of great pirates who could rival a Marine Admiral throughout history must be at least several dozen, right?"

Rocks' response was somewhat irrelevant; instead of answering whether he wanted to recruit these pirates, he gradually steered the conversation away from the topic.

"but."

"Since the establishment of the World Government, how many great pirates can you name?"

"Lox suddenly asked."

The pirates looked at each other, some already getting impatient, while others called out three or four names in succession.

"You only remember these three or four names?"

The smile on Lockes' lips gradually took on a mocking tone.

"Over the centuries, there have been dozens of great pirates who were able to rival the admirals of the Navy, but most of their names have been forgotten by the world."

"This is because..."

Lox clenched his fists, and a dense darkness once again emanated from his body.

"These great pirates were all losers, without exception!"

His gaze suddenly sharpened, fixing on everyone in the room:

"For hundreds of years, no pirate crew, no country, and no force has ever been able to truly contend with the Navy."

"Lox, what exactly are you trying to say?" Newgate narrowed his eyes and asked loudly.

"There are limits to piracy!" Rocks laughed loudly.

"A pirate who only knows how to plunder, no matter how strong he is, is still just a pirate!"

"But... if we pirates can unite, recruit men, and gather a large army of thousands or tens of thousands, we can surpass the pirates of the past! We can do what they couldn't do back then."

At this point, Lox pointed to the ground beneath his feet and asked again:

"Do you all know what the pirates call this Beehive Island that we're standing on?"

"Pirate Paradise?" someone immediately replied.

“Indeed, Pirate Paradise, this is one of the few islands completely dominated by pirates,” Rocks continued.

"Imagine if the navy stationed in this ocean called the New World were driven out, and this sea were completely dominated by us pirates?"

"This new world is a brand new pirate paradise!"

"A New World that belongs to us pirates!"

As Lox raised his arm and shouted, a thick darkness spread with his words, as if the night were filling the sky.

But these impassioned words truly stirred the hearts of all the pirates present.

Newgate narrowed his eyes, lost in thought.

He has no interest in domination or money; he came here simply out of a sense of whim.

But... if in the future, in the new world described by Rocks, a world ruled by pirates, Newgate is able to establish a foothold there, could his dream be realized?