One Piece: I only realized murder was illegal after leaving the Holy Land.

"The best thing I ever did in my life was to follow you, young master..." Spandam said, wiping away tears and choking back sobs.

He truly never imagined that he, a commoner who didn't even have a surname and worked as a secret agent, could eventually become a Celestial Dragon.

Especially his most worried son, he really doesn't have to worry about him anymore.

Considering the current influence of Viking Grimm on the Celestial Dragons, you know what, that idiot of his is actually really very suitable to become a Celestial Dragon!

"So what happened to that kid Ace?" Vikingum asked again.

Spandam composed himself, then smiled and said, "Ace ate a Devil Fruit, given to him by Commander-in-Chief Barrett. It's a Logia-type Devil Fruit, the Forest-Forest Fruit..."

"Really?" Vikingham was slightly surprised, then said, "Let's go, let's go to the Navy office and see how capable that kid is..."

However, Spandine said somewhat awkwardly upon hearing this, "Young Master, Ace left Mary Geoise a couple of days ago."

Before Vikingham could ask, Spandam continued, "They said they went to Alabasta, because Robin Palace is there these days, Ace..."

"Hahahaha..." Vikingham laughed loudly upon hearing this, "Just wait and see, if Ace goes to Alabasta and shows off his Forest-Forest Fruit, he might get detained by Cobra and forced to plant trees..."

Spandam hadn't thought about these things at first, but now that Vikingham had mentioned them, he couldn't help but laugh.

Bartholomew Kuma chimed in, "Yes, two years ago, during the World Conference, His Majesty Cobra mentioned that he hoped Dr. Vegapunk could provide relevant technology to assist Alabasta's environmental transformation plan... Dr. Vegapunk has been assisting Alabasta recently; they really want to turn the desert country into a huge oasis."

“Mary Geoise should still support this matter,” Vikingham nodded.

Alabasta, a desert country, supports a population of over 20 million. If it could become an oasis country, given its land area, it could easily support hundreds of millions of people.

The key point is that Alabasta is still under the rule of the Neferutari clan. According to Cobra, it would be best to make Alabasta a direct territory of Mary Geoise at the appropriate time in the future.

This would greatly enhance Mary Geoise's foundation and strength, and Vikingham had no reason not to support him.

Side Story 5: Shanks, who obtained the Nika Fruit, and Luffy, who wants to become the Pirate King!

After entering the gates of the God's Abode, Vikingum suddenly asked, "What have Shanks and Buggy been up to lately? It's been a while since I've seen them. When they were talking to me about Den Mushi last time, they said they were going to start a pirate crew, is that true?"

When this was mentioned, Spandam said with a hint of helplessness, "Yes, that's true. They formed a Red-Haired Pirates... and they're currently wandering around the East Blue."

"Hahahaha..." Vikingham laughed loudly, "The Red-Haired Pirates... is it because of Shanks' red hair?"

"In Shanks' words, 'Red' is the 'Red' in 'Red Nose' and 'Hair' is the 'Hair' in 'get rich,' meaning that Red Nose will make a fortune. This represents the fact that their pirate crew's goal is to find the unknown treasures on the sea, which is entirely derived from Buggy's hobby," Spandam explained.

Vikingham? ???

Is this how you explain the Red-Haired Pirates?

Before Vikingum could speak, Spandam added, "But Buggy said that Shanks was talking nonsense, and that the Red-Haired Pirates are called that because his nickname is Red-Haired... After all, Shanks is the captain."

"They've been bickering and joking around like this for so many years, and they still don't get bored at all," Vikingham remarked.

Then he asked, "What were you doing in the East China Sea?"

“Find the Nika fruit,” Spandam immediately replied.

Vikingham paused slightly, looking at Spandam and asking, "That thing has appeared?"

“About two months ago, someone spread the word in the black market of the East Blue that they had found the Gum-Gum Fruit, which our World Government had a bounty of 300 million Berries on. They wanted to trade with our World Government. We did a background check on that group. They are an adventure group that travels all over the East Blue and occasionally does some pirate business on the side…” Spandam said.

Occasionally doing pirate business on the side... Vikingham wasn't surprised by this statement.

To be honest, the reason why piracy is so difficult to eradicate is because people have too much freedom once they set sail.

For example, imagine you are an armed merchant ship with a hundred or so strong sailors on board, well-equipped. One day, on the vast ocean, you discover an ordinary merchant ship that has lost its way. The ship has few people, little firepower, and carries ordinary cargo, such as wool.

But in the newspaper a couple of days ago, you saw that an infectious disease had broken out on an island along your shipping route, killing almost all the cattle and sheep on the island. As a result, the demand for wool from several islands downstream along the route has skyrocketed, and prices have soared.

Back then, you were still regretting not making a fortune. Now, what would you choose?

Unfortunately, many people will take the opportunity to play the role of a pirate in such situations.

The result is that you made a fortune without any initial investment, earning millions or even tens of millions of Berries out of thin air. Then you suddenly realize that even if you work hard and diligently on your ship, you might not earn that much in a year. But as long as you become a pirate and steal other people's money, you can become rich overnight.

So your mindset starts to change. At this point, if the sailors who have risked their lives with you and made a living on the high seas start to say something to you, then congratulations, it won't be long before this whole ship of people becomes pirates.

This is one of the transformation forms of pirates.

It's not only those who start out with the mindset of wanting to be pirates who will become pirates.

Many people drift along the sea and, without realizing it, become pirates.

It could even be said that the vast majority of armed merchant ships have experienced similar situations.

Many great businessmen have been able to quickly accumulate enough wealth and expand their businesses through such unexpected windfalls. Such people are considered to have relatively strong self-control, and most of them would not continue to do business and would go directly to become pirates.

This confirms what Mary Geoise recently discovered in her research: the better the economy, the more merchant ships there are at sea; the more merchant ships there are, the more pirates there are; the more pirates there are, the worse the economy becomes. Therefore, the better the economy, the worse the economy becomes... there's no solution.

However, Vikingham didn't worry about such things; it was one of the rules of the sea, and no one could change it.

Just kidding, when he played the Age of Exploration in his previous life, before leaving port, he also thought he would be a good person who would do business seriously.

But after leaving the port, I'm sorry, but I've always had a naturally loud, cloying laugh...

"And then?" Vikingham asked again.

"We sent people to make contact, but that guy went missing. Our CP team investigated for a long time and found out that he had been kidnapped by pirates. The pirates were just about to contact us when Shanks and his crew happened to be there. After hearing about this, they took over the job from our CP team. Shanks said they would go and get the Nika Fruit themselves..." Spandam said with a smile.

After a slight pause, Spandam continued, "They said that once they get the Gum-Gum Fruit, they'll see who wants to eat it, then find a way to train them to awaken their power, and then take them to Laugh Tale to open Joy Boy's dungeon and see what's inside..."

"Hahaha, so many years have passed, and you still remember that underground palace?" Viking Gum laughed heartily.

"You forgot? There are still over 60 billion Berries in there... Regardless of whether Joy Boy has any One Piece in there, Captain Roger's One Piece is real... A couple of years ago, Shiki and his crew went to Laugh Tale, but they couldn't open the dungeon and returned empty-handed... This means that those 60 billion Berries are still in there to this day," Spandam said with a smile.

“That makes sense…no wonder pirates these days are still all looking for Laugh Tale…” Vikingham remarked.

Logically speaking, the world's ruling government has already undergone a power shift, with Vikingum now serving as the world's king, Joy Boy no longer being important, and even the Void Century is no longer forbidden to be studied.

Didn't you see that the team of scholars has already gone to Alabasta to conduct a major historical review?

The plan is to combine historical records from ancient countries like Alabasta and Elbaf with the blank century and the world government chronicles of Mary Geoise to conduct dialectical research, and ultimately write a new epic.

This thing is no longer a secret.

The existence of Laugh Tale has long been acknowledged.

For the average person at sea, this is not a remarkable island; it's just that it's a bit hard to find.

But aren't there plenty of hidden realms and treasures that are hard to find?

Not to mention, the Emerald Capital and the Sea of ​​Gems, which are on par with the Gold Capital of Sandora, are still nowhere to be found, aren't they?

I've never heard anyone say that finding these things will make you the Pirate King or anything like that.

Perhaps it's because Laugh Tale is the only confirmed place that actually exists, and it's been proven that it truly contains the treasure of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, worth over 60 billion Berries, making it so coveted by pirates...

Vikingham and the others were discussing the interesting things about the Nika fruit.

In the East China Sea, in the waters near St. Itok.

The Red-Haired Pirates' Red Fox is currently anchored on this sea.

Not far away, a pirate ship, already sunk, was smoking and half-destroyed, slowly sinking into the sea.

On the deck, Bucky leaned over the edge of the ship and looked down, saying impatiently, "Why is it so slow!"

Beckman, lighting a cigarette, calmly said, "Retrieving anything from this shipwreck is never easy, let's give him some time..."

"Hmph!" Buggy scoffed dismissively. "Back in the day, before I was a Devil Fruit user, I could have handled this in a heartbeat. It's just that Shanks isn't a good swimmer..."

"Hey hey hey~ Chicken soup's here~~" Tofu ran out of the cabin happily, carrying a pot of chicken soup. "After coming ashore from the icy sea, what a wonderful thing it would be to drink a mouthful of piping hot chicken soup~"

Seeing that Shanks hadn't come up yet, Tofu clicked his tongue and said, "Look at you guys, you had to make things like this. If you ask me, wouldn't it have been simpler to just do a normal transaction with them?"

"The Gum-Gum Fruit is priced at 300 million Berries, but these pirates are asking us for 1 billion Berries. Isn't that extortion?" Buggy cursed. "Don't even mention 300 million, I wouldn't give them even 30,000 Berries!"

Just then, Shanks suddenly emerged from the water, holding up a Devil Fruit and exclaiming, "Hahaha, we've got the Nika Fruit! Now, who's willing to eat it and take us to Laugh Tale to open the dungeon? We can then retrieve the 60 billion Berries lost by Captain Roger and the One Piece left behind by Joy Boy!!!"

The group quickly pulled Shanks onto the ship, and then passed the Nika Fruit around one by one.

Everyone has seen the Devil Fruit encyclopedia, so they can naturally recognize it.

"Back in the day, we drifted on the high seas for so long, and we never even heard of this thing, let alone found it. But ever since the Neptune royal family of Fishman Island gave birth to this generation's Sea King, the Nika Fruit has finally appeared..." Buggy said, playing with the Nika Fruit with a look of emotion.

“According to Mary Geoise, this Devil Fruit has its own will…” Shanks asked while drying his wet hair with a towel, “What do you mean? Who’s going to eat it? Beckman? Why don’t you taste it and see if it’s salty?”

Beckman waved his hand dismissively, saying, "Absolutely not. I have no intention of becoming a Devil Fruit user, not to mention that this Devil Fruit is rather strange..."

"You're not capable either, why don't you taste it yourself to see if it's salty enough?" Bucky said to Shanks.

Shanks immediately waved his hand, saying, "There's no need for that. I don't want to become a landlubber..."

After some back and forth, they realized that no one wanted to become Nika's ability user, and they looked at each other awkwardly.

"What's going on? Judging from the current situation, this is a god-level Devil Fruit... Why are you all so disgusted by it?" Buggy looked at everyone speechlessly.

However, no one would force their companion to eat a Devil Fruit, so Shanks finally clapped his hands and said, "Forget it, let's take it back to Mary Geoise and give it to Brother Viking. Maybe someone there will be willing to eat it?"

"Then we need to find a place to resupply first, otherwise with the supplies on the ship, we'll probably have to go hungry before we reach Donghai Honggang..." Doufu smacked his lips.

"What a coincidence!" Buggy grinned. "Mr. Garp is also in the East Blue these days, in Windmill Village, right next to the Goa Kingdom. I heard that's his hometown. Shall we go visit him, resupply in Windmill Village, and then head back to Mary Geoise?"

"What brings Mr. Garp back?" Shanks asked curiously, tossing down his towel.

"They're probably here to take care of their grandson..." Beckman raised an eyebrow, then lowered his voice and said, "You probably don't know, but Mr. Legal Martial God, Dragon, actually has a son in the East Blue..."

"Huh?" Shanks, Buggy, and the others were all stunned.

"When did this happen? I've never heard of it before," Shanks asked quickly.

“It’s been so many years!” Beckman slapped his thigh. “I only found out when he let it slip last time I went back to Mary Geoise and helped them with some government affairs. Good heavens, he actually had a child back in 1500, but it seems he didn’t want the atmosphere of Mary Geoise to influence his child… well, you know, Mr. Dragon is a very simple man… so the child has always been raised here in the East Blue…”

"What's wrong with Mary Geoise? Robin and Andre grew up there and they didn't have any problems. I think Mr. Dragon is overthinking it..." Shanks clicked his tongue.

“But it’s their own child, how they want to raise him is none of our business…” Bucky added from the side.

"That's true." Shanks had nothing to say after hearing this; it was indeed the case.

Beckman continued, "That's not the most outrageous part. What's even more outrageous is that, due to his busy schedule, Mr. Dragon was almost never able to leave Mary Geoise, so the last time he saw the child was... six or seven years ago. The child was always with his mother, and his grandfather, Karp, would visit occasionally."

Shanks?

"Why does this feel so familiar?" Bucky said, stroking his chin.

"Isn't this what happened between Viking and Robin in their early years?!" Shanks suddenly realized.

"What else is there to say?" Bucky waved his hand and called out, "Let's set sail, let's go to Windmill Village and see the Monkey family's brat..."

"Alright, let's go!" Shanks said, raising his hand sharply.

Soon, the Red-Haired Pirates' Red Fox began its journey towards Windmill Village in the East Blue.

Meanwhile, at the port of Windmill Village.

Wearing a beach shirt and floral shorts, looking like he was on vacation, Garp stood on the pier, looking at his beloved grandson in front of him, and said with a solemn expression, "What did you just say you wanted to be a king?"

"The Pirate King!!!" Luffy answered without hesitation.

His tone was firm and powerful!

Side Story 6: Mountain Bandit Dadan: It's over, darkness has fallen in the East Sea!!!

Springtime is perfect, and the sea breeze is gentle.

Behind the Windmill Village in the East Sea, in the stronghold of Dadan, a bandit and friend of Garp.

Karp is arguing with Dadan.

"Dadan, you bastard! I entrusted my beloved grandson to your care, and look what you've done to him! Huh?" Garp slammed his fist on the table in exasperation.

Not far away, at the doorway, Luffy, with a bruised and swollen face, sat on the threshold, still looking very defiant.

"It's been days already. It's just that kid saying he wants to be a pirate, right? Why are you so concerned? You're taking a kid's words seriously?" Dadan said impatiently as she came out from the inner room.

He glanced at Luffy sitting on the threshold, and then said, "Kid, you haven't given up yet?"

"Even if you kill me, I will never change my dream. I am going to become the Pirate King! I must set sail to find Laugh Tale, find the Pirate King Roger, and pay tribute to him!!!" Luffy shouted, waving his arms despite being covered in wounds.

"You little bastard!!!" Garp was furious when he heard this, and he kicked Luffy, sending him flying off the threshold.

Luffy glided through the air for several meters before crashing heavily into a large tree in the distance with a loud bang.

An ordinary kid would probably die instantly from a kick like that from Garp, but this kid is incredibly resilient. After sliding down the tree, he dusted himself off and shouted, "No one can stop me from becoming the Pirate King!!!"

Then, with a "biu" sound, Garp's slipper grazed Luffy's cheek and hit a tree. Luffy didn't even look, and immediately started running down the mountain towards Windmill Village.

"You little brat, I'm going to straighten you out, you rebellious bastard!!!" Garp shouted, hopping on one leg behind him.