The Arrival

"What did you say?"

His Majesty the King of this country was so shocked by Johnson's words that he screamed.

"You said you brought this country into the world—"

His scream lasted only a moment Sirius calmly said, "It's a lie, isn't it?"

"Huh? Is it a scam?" Yamato surprise.

"What?" Johnson's pupils contracted. "What did you say?"

Sirius pointed to the commoners who had come with him.

"I don't believe this country can afford to pay for Heavenly Gold."

Heavenly Gold is a fee that all Affiliated Nation of the World Government must pay to the World Government.

It can be directly agreed to be protection money, after all, Sirius believes that the World Government is the largest pirate group on the sea.

Johnson was already deathly pale.

"Ha, that's right!"

The King, who had been screaming like a chicken just moments before, suddenly sprang to his feet and shouted,

"I know my country best. When I fled, I burned all my treasures to the ground!"

"How could these poor bastards possibly afford the Heavenly Gold!" he said smugly, as if congratulating himself on his foresight.

The Heavenly Gold is an extravagantly large sum of wealth.

Even for other legitimate Affiliated Nation of the maritime government, this would be a heavy burden, let alone for this country, which is clearly extremely impoverished.

Johnson's body swayed suddenly, and his once resolute face was now filled with utter dejection.

He failed.

His efforts to join the World Government were met only with ridicule and contempt; an official from that government told him to get lost if he had no money.

Now, efforts to overthrow the tyrannical and extravagant King seem destined to fail completely.

He knew the King he had personally overthrown all too well; once he returned, all the rebels were doomed.

An overwhelming surge of anger and resentment coursed through his heart. Johnson abruptly looked up, staring intently at Sirius. "Why?"

"Why?" Sirius raised an eyebrow.

Johnson stared intently at Sirius, at Yamato, at the King, at everyone before him, his eyes filled with rage.

"Why did you come here? Why is this world so cruel? Why must the people of our country suffer like this? Why can this scum act with impunity simply because his father is the King? Why won't the navy protect us? Why won't the government accept us—"

Is this person a walking encyclopedia of questions?

Sirius frowned and interrupted him directly, "That's enough nonsense. I have absolutely no interest in what's happening in this country."

Johnson, who was giving a passionate speech, was momentarily stunned.

"That's right, that's right!"

The King laughed triumphantly, "Who understands this? Just accept your fate, Johnson!"

The man's face contorted at that moment, his eyes wide open, his mouth stretched taut, and his face etched with layers of wrinkles, as if a demon were screaming.

"All traitors must die! All those who dare to betray me, the heir to this glorious bloodline, must die!"

Johnson looked bitter. He turned to the people behind him and said, "I'm sorry, gentlemen, perhaps I did do something wrong—"

No! You did nothing wrong, Johnson!

At this moment, an elderly man with white hair, leaning on his cane, shouted loudly, "Since we can't survive anyway, we might as well take a gamble!"

"That's right!"

Someone shouted back, "We just want to survive, what did we do wrong!"

"Since we've chosen to fight, let's fight to the end!" someone gritted their teeth.

"The final result is the same anyway," someone roared, "Let's show these scumbags what our backbone is!"

Johnson shuddered, then his expression hardened. He turned and stared directly at Sirius. "Bring it on! Beasts Pirates! Don't expect us to submit! Never!"

"This war for freedom is not over yet!"

All the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled people behind him simultaneously shouted and raised their weapons.

"Those bastards!!"

The King gritted his teeth in fury, "Lord Sirius, kill them! Kill them all now! Leave no one alive, make them all die!!"

"That's enough!"

Sirius glanced at him. "Are you directing me?"

The King's furious face froze instantly, and then he bowed repeatedly as if his bones had been removed, "I--I'm sorry, Lord Sirius, I was too arrogant!"

Sirius ignored him, only sighing, "It's so noisy. Didn't I tell you I have absolutely no interest in what's happening in this country? And you keep arguing like this."

"Listen carefully,"

He held up his right index and middle fingers. "I have only two objectives."

"First, the flag rental fee must be settled on time."

"Second," he looked at Johnson, "Please explain the source of the weapons clearly, Teacher Kaido is very concerned about it."

"..."

Johnson was stunned; this man's words were truly interesting.

"Of course, of course, Lord Sirius,"

The King bowed and scraped obsequiously, "From now on, the monthly fees will be sent to Wano Country on time. Please deal with them as soon as possible!"

"But,"

At this moment, Yamato, standing side by side with Sirius, spoke up Yamato some doubt. She pointed at Johnson and the people behind him, "Aren't they all your rebels? Why are you giving them money?"

"Forehead--"

The King hesitated for a moment, then seemed conflicted. Finally, he appeared to have made up his mind, "Then let's kill half of them. The other half can be enslaved, right?"

How could this guy be King?!

Sirius smiled. No wonder the feudal aristocracy was swept into the dustbin of history.

"What if we pay this part of the fee?"

At this moment, Johnson, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up.

Sirius smiled. "As long as you pay on time, I don't care who pays, not even Teacher Kaido."

Johnson's expression shifted, he pursed his lips, then turned to look at the people following behind him, "Gentlemen—"

He only got the first word out before the old man who had spoken earlier shouted, "Do what you want, Johnson! Your decision represents us!"

Johnson's expression turned serious, then he nodded emphatically. He turned back and said, "And then, we will pay the fees on time."

Then he continued, "The decision to rebel against the Beasts Pirates was my own, so whatever punishment you have, come at me!"

"Huh?"

The King was stunned. "What? Johnson, what nonsense are you spouting? You're here to pay the fees? Who do you think you are? That's my prerogative!"

He didn't even understand what was happening.

Sirius's lips twitched slightly, a hint of helplessness in his voice. "How many times do I have to say it? I'm not interested in the affairs of this country."

"Now that the first goal has been achieved, let's move on to the second,"

He pointed to the soldiers lying on the ground beside him, emphasizing the various guns and weapons scattered around them.

Where did these things come from?

Johnson looked surprised.

Sirius's answer was unbelievable to him.

This man--

Is he really a member of the Beasts Pirates?

The legendary monster that brought desolation to the lands it passed through was actually a man like this?

Then, he let out a long sigh of relief and said solemnly, "I understand, Lord Sirius."

"The weapons were purchased with money pooled together by everyone in the country over a long period of time, and they came from an arms dealer on a neighboring island."

"He claimed that he got the goods from a man named JOKER."

"JOKER?"

Sirius raised an eyebrow; he did indeed hear a familiar name.

Kindness?

Sirius turned his head and looked at the distant sky, where a figure was flying towards him.

"Fufufufu! Did I arrive just in time?"

I went out for dinner, so the update is a little late...