1490 Grand Line Calendar.
Off the coast of the Land of Endless War.
A pirate ship slowly drew near.
"Captain!"
The pirates on deck watched the approaching coastline, sweat beading more heavily on their foreheads. "Are we really going to land in this country?"
"Yes, Captain."
Another pirate answered nervously, "Every pirate ship that came near this country over the past few years disappeared! Everyone says the waters near this country are haunted by ghosts!"
"Ghosts? Hmph! There's no such thing as ghosts in this world!"
The one-eyed pirate captain, an eyepatch covering his right eye, barked furiously, "This country must be hiding some secret! I'm going to find out exactly what's going on! It might even be some treasure!"
The pirates exchanged glances.
What could they say when their captain was this stubborn?
The pirate ship could only continue toward the island's coast.
Everything went smoothly. No ghosts, monsters, or anything else appeared to hinder their landing.
Only after they truly stood on the country's shore did the pirates finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"I told you! Where would these supposed ghosts come from?"
The one-eyed captain sneered. "This country must be hiding something!"
"Let's go and take a look around this country... Hmm?"
Someone was coming.
A man dressed as a soldier stood on a hillock by the coast. He was studying them through a telescope while flipping through a stack of wanted posters in his other hand.
"Be careful!"
The one-eyed captain raised his voice. "Prepare for battle!"
"Are you the Blood Eye Pirates?"
The soldier took out a loudspeaker and called to the pirates, "Is your captain Fierce Eye Perez, with a bounty of 160 million Berries?"
"That's right!"
The one-eyed captain strode forward and shouted back, "Who are you people? Are you connected to the pirates who disappeared before?"
"Then it is you."
The soldier nodded. "In that case, good luck."
In the next instant, seven dark figures shot out from behind the hillock, pouncing toward the pirates on the coast below like rabid dogs.
"What?"
Although he had only one eye, the one-eyed captain's vision was extremely sharp—after all, his nickname was Fierce Eye.
That was why he now felt genuine terror.
Those charging figures really were human.
But their postures resembled beasts!
Their four limbs moved with unnatural awkwardness. One of them was even running on all fours like a wild dog.
Fierce Eye Perez, the great pirate with a bounty of 160 million Berries, instinctively took a step back. "What the—"
"Captain!"
One of the pirates beside him suddenly screamed in terror. With a trembling hand, he pointed at one of the attackers rushing down. "That, that, that guy is Heavy Shield Milak!"
The one-eyed captain's eye instantly locked onto one of the seven attackers—the imposing man carrying a massive shield.
Heavy Shield Milak!
A great pirate with a bounty of 142 million Berries. He had crossed paths with him two years ago!
No way!
Could it be—
He looked at the others.
That single glance made his scalp go numb.
He recognized every one of them!
Every single one was a great pirate with a substantial bounty!
What, what, what was going on?
Screams and wails soon rang across the coast.
Raven, one of the two major separatist factions' strongholds in this country.
It was the largest fortress in the nation, with the greatest population, the most factories, the vastest farmland, and the highest-quality dark energy.
At that moment, in a distinctive manor on the edge of the fortress—
Roa was leisurely reclining beneath a parasol, dark energy rising and falling with every breath.
In the six years since arriving here, he had not eaten a single meal, drunk a single drop of water, or, naturally, used the toilet even once.
"What a wonderful place."
Roa leisurely repeated the words he had said countless times over the past six years. "If only the whole world were like this country."
But that was impossible. The non-Affiliated Nations were one thing. Most of them struggled at the poverty line, a smaller portion had people barely surviving, and only a very small number were peaceful and prosperous. Naturally, the average purity of their dark energy was not low.
The Affiliated Nations of the World Government were another matter.
With the protection of the Marines, they were relatively much wealthier and more peaceful.
Damn the World Government. Even after decaying to this state, are you still protecting your people in your own way?
Imu! Five Elders! Just wait until I find an opening! Heh heh heh!
While laughing darkly to himself, Roa flipped through the newspaper.
"Oh! Uncle Zephyr has already resigned as an admiral? He's going to train heroes?"
Seeing the biggest recent headline, Roa could not help sighing. "What a shame. I wasn't by his side during the time he suffered most."
A new generation of Marines was about to emerge, and the forces of justice were about to expand.
There was no helping it. The pirates' power had grown far too rapidly over the past few years.
Although Captain Rocks had fallen, the pirates of the New World had not become any weaker.
The officers of the Rocks Pirates had all gone independent, and nearly every one of their forces was expanding rapidly.
Even Uncle Whitebeard, the most laid-back of them all, now had dozens of beloved sons.
Golden Lion, an old-school pirate who believed in overwhelming numbers, was recruiting subordinates on a massive scale. The total strength of the Flying Pirates was already approaching ten thousand.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The tremendous noise from nearby interrupted Roa's interest in the newspaper.
In a courtyard to one side, a massive Mercury Giant more than thirty meters tall swung its enormous fist, smashing it toward the slender Dylan like it was swatting a fly.
Invisible ripples coiled around the giant mercury fist.
"I told you, Bullet. A huge body often becomes sluggish."
Dylan's figure flashed, easily avoiding the blow.
The ground instantly split apart beneath the heavy punch. The entire manor—or rather, the entire fortress—shook!
Roa even sensed the dark energy growing slightly denser.
Dylan flashed into existence behind the Mercury Giant and casually opened several holes in its back.
But it was meaningless. Not everyone obediently expanded and elementalized their bodies to take hits like Smoker. Bullet had created a giant shell over the surface of his body, similar to Eren Yeager.
"I don't need you to teach me!"
Bullet snorted. A large number of mercury fists emerged from the giant's back, smashing toward Dylan like tentacles.
The two fought with astonishing intensity.
Roa helplessly shook his head.
As the only person on the team who understood Haki, Dylan had naturally become their Haki instructor once Roa and Bullet began growing up.
It was just that the boy Bullet was not very willing to accept his instruction.
After all, very few people were willing to let someone weaker than themselves teach them.
"Lord Roa!"
A group of soldiers hurried into the courtyard. They were escorting a blood-soaked, one-eyed man. "This is the captain of the Blood Eye Pirates, Fierce Eye Perez!"
"Oh? Fierce Eye?"
Roa studied the man in surprise. "Who was he again?"
"Fierce Eye Perez, bounty of 160 million Berries."
Dylan stopped sparring with Bullet and calmly walked over. Although six years had passed, Dylan, now forty-one, had gained a few more wrinkles at the corners of his eyes compared with six years ago.
"He specializes in kicking techniques. It is said that, combined with his sharp single eye, he can easily kick the wings off a fly!"
"Oh, wow. That really is impressive!"
Roa was astonished. "But why would he kick a fly's wings? That's cruel."
A kind young man like him rarely hurt animals.
The gravely wounded Perez did not answer Roa's question. Staring at the handsome young man in splendid clothes before him, his pupils trembled as if he had seen a ghost.
"You, you, you! Why are you here? You're the remnant of the Rocks Pirates, the monster with a bounty of one billion Berries! Black Tiger Roa!"
"Okay, death sentence."
Roa activated his ability directly, turning the fear in Perez's heart into an abyss that completely swallowed him.
Anyone who called him Black Tiger Roa had to die!
As long as he could beat them.
Many things had happened over the past six years. One particularly important event was that, after discovering what Roa had done at God Valley, the government had raised his bounty to one billion Berries.
Uncle Shiki only had a little over two billion.
"Dylan."
Looking at the newspaper's report about the Flying Pirates conquering an island, Roa spoke thoughtfully. "Shouldn't we start taking action too?"
"Before that, Lord Roa."
Dylan replied calmly, "What are we going to do about this country? Their patience with us seems to have reached its limit."
"Yeah."
Roa sighed. "We've already tried our best not to interfere with them, letting them fight as fairly as possible. What a bunch of ungrateful ingrates."
Dylan said nothing.
"We have to protect ourselves too. We don't have a choice."
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