One Piece: True Several Thousand Hands, rampaging across Marineford!

Inside the tavern.

Do you want to know my secret to staying young?

A familiar catchphrase.

Gureva's voice echoed through the tavern.

"miss you!"

A chorus of agreement could be heard coming from inside the tavern.

Kahn went into the bar.

She saw a dense crowd sitting around the witch.

They kept egging them on.

"Tell me the story of Lord Kaido and that other man!"

"Yes!"

"Witch, tell me quickly, how did you heal them?"

"Lord Kaido is so powerful, could he be a divine dragon descended from the sky to save us?"

"I watched the live broadcast of the Rocks Pirates executing the Celestial Dragons. It was really exciting. I don't really believe the World Government's reports."

"It must be fake!"

"I may not be well-educated, but I know that following Lord Kaido is better than the World Government. I've long disliked the royal family, and sometimes I really thought about just turning my back and becoming a pirate... But things are different now. I want to contribute to the development of my hometown!"

"it is good!!!"

"..."

Their eyes were full of anticipation for life and the future.

The changes in the Kingdom of Drum and Magnetic within that year were witnessed by all the common people.

They felt there was hope for the future.

Gureva's eyes were sly, revealing a hint of a smile.

Things were much better than she had imagined.

When Kaido first revealed his identity, King Kuchiki was so frightened that he fled to the sea overnight with a few concubines, abandoning his country and people and escaping for his life alone.

Many people felt hopeless.

But they never expected that the terrifying pirate in their eyes was completely different from what they imagined.

Initially, they were forced into labor.

Why bother with infrastructure projects?

The common people thought that the great pirate Kaido was learning from the World Government, capturing slaves and laborers everywhere so that he could enjoy a better life.

It wasn't until some time later that they discovered that Kaido, a great pirate, would actually work alongside them, teaching them about freedom and equality, advocating the preciousness of life, and wanting to help them change their backward country.

Let the economy develop.

In less than six months, the people of the Kingdom of Drum and Magnetic received many tangible benefits. Every day they felt like they were dreaming, fearing that when they woke up, it would all be an illusion.

Now, their country has established friendly relations with the Kingdom of Alabasta.

The two sides have frequent exchanges.

It will boost the local pharmaceutical industry's economic development.

Ordinary people felt like they were dreaming.

In fact, ordinary people who go to the sea will become refugees because they have no money.

They didn't care whether Kaido was a great pirate or not. They believed that Kaido could lead and protect them. Rather than following the World Government and having people die every day, they would rather harden their hearts and stay in the Kingdom of Drum and perish with the country.

When Gureva saw Kahn arrive, she smiled and introduced him to everyone, saying, "Do you know who this is?"

"This...this is Lord Kahn?!" someone exclaimed in surprise.

"It really is him~ It's the world government's wanted pirate with a bounty of 500 million, Lord 'White-Haired Shura' Kahn. He's so handsome, even more so than the wanted poster."

"Lord Kahn is truly a promising young man!"

"Our nation will rely entirely on you, Lord Kahn, in the future!"

"Wow~ So handsome, Lord Kahn! We want to follow you from now on!" Several little kids, boys and girls, ran up to Kahn without any fear.

Kaido did a lot of things this year.

Occasionally, they would take the children of this country to play in the air. Over time, they became unafraid of pirates because they had powerful pirates protecting them.

Chapter 123 Going to Alabasta

"Alright, handsome young men, don't bother him anymore. As an adult, he's very busy. Go play on your own." Gureva holds a unique position on Drum Island.

She seemed strange to many ordinary people, and to children she was a witch.

In the blink of an eye.

The little boy has all run away.

Kahn's expression was complicated.

Throughout the year, I was so engrossed in my research that I ignored everything else.

Kaido did a pretty good job; aside from his inability to control his emotions, his personality was actually quite good.

With guidance, his awareness and ability are not much worse than Dorrag's. The infrastructure and development of the Kingdom of Drum are quite good. It's not as simple as killing the king and destroying the royal family.

Instead, they chose to gradually change a country in this way.

And it was successful.

This kind of awareness!

Kahn considered himself far inferior.

He didn't have the same experience as Kaido.

That kind of passion etched into one's bones drives one to make a firm and unwavering commitment to pursuing true freedom and equality, and to dedicate one's life to changing the world.

A warrior born to change the world.

Kahn believed that his previous understanding and vision were short-sighted.

There has always been a prejudice against Kaido.

It might be related to Katakuri, or it might be related to Kaido's volatile behavior in the Rocks Pirates.

He shouldn't have had this prejudice.

Kaido is far stronger than me in this respect, possessing terrifying conviction and tenacity.

Kahn decided to dedicate more time to in-depth exchanges with Kaido in the future.

"Do you want to give me the flower?" He noticed a cute little girl holding a flower, standing timidly behind the boys, too shy to approach.

She remained where she was until all the boys had run away.

"She seems like a fool~"

"Lord Kahn, ignore her!"

"..."

Not far away, the words of a few little boys made the little girl lower her head in self-consciousness.

Kahn ignored the boys, walked up to the little girl, and carefully took the flower as she shyly held it up, returning a warm smile.

The little girl's face turned even redder.

She returned a shy smile in return.

Overwhelmed with joy, steam rose from the little girl's head.

Gureva smiled and joked, "Why don't we bring this little girl back to my castle and make it more lively?"

"Sister Gureva, don't joke around."

"I'm not kidding you. You're great in every way, except that you've been trapped in your own inner world for too long. It would be nice to get out and about, wouldn't it? Staying cooped up in your castle doing research every day, is that what a young person like you should be doing?"

Gureva's voice suddenly rose, "While you're young, have a few romances, have a hundred or so confidantes, travel the world and meet all kinds of outstanding girls. The girls will be attracted by your looks, your strength, your talent, your ability... and will support your great and lofty ideals. Don't let your life leave any regrets, don't be like an old man. I think you can do it!"

"..."

"Look, if you stay in one place for too long, you can't even speak properly. When you're young, you should travel more. This ocean is vast."

Kahn fell into deep thought and nodded seriously. "Kureva, I've decided to set sail next. That's why I came out of the research lab this time. I'll leave Kaido, Shiki, and Little One in your care for now."

"Let's go."

Gureva pulled Kahn out of the tavern.

The two arrived at a quiet, deserted place.

"You sure know how to stir up trouble. Kaido is one thing, but Shiki is no pushover. He's very ambitious, and of course... very bold. You're putting them here with me. Aren't you just making things difficult for me?"

Kureha gulped down a few mouthfuls of plum wine. "I know what you're up to. I advise you to let Shiki out and cause trouble as soon as possible. That ambitious lion is probably influenced by that kid Rocks and wants to build a large fleet. There's not enough room for him to cause trouble here."

“Sister Gureva, Shiki is an important partner of mine in the future. I have a plan for his future. I will use his name to build my own power and army.”

"...I already told you, don't try to drag me into this, openly or secretly. Do you believe I'll beat you up? Your captain was beaten to a pulp by me back then."

"Sister Gureva, you shouldn't have the heart to hit me. It would be a waste of your life force, which is not worth it."

“You’re right. If you put some effort into your daughters… in a few years, when the kids are old enough to run errands, my castle will probably be full of children crawling all over the place.”

"..."

"Let's not talk about this anymore. Just know your limits. I can tell you have plans for the future. Don't dwell on the past. Let what you've lost become your motivation to move forward."

"I will."

"The Kingdom of Drum is one of the member states of the World Government. Becoming rich may not be a good thing. It will become a piece of meat for various forces in the ocean, a piece of meat that everyone wants to bite into."

"Sister Kureha, don't worry about that. Kaido will step in. If he can't cover it up, I will."