The Mad Golden Lion

Besides that, Golden Lion had over a dozen affiliated pirate captains and more than two thousand subordinates. But in Minos's eyes, they were only good enough to scrape by in the first half of the Grand Line. Compared to the other Yonko Crews, they were basically a pile of trash.

As for Golden Lion's trusted subordinates, there was a scientist named Dr. Indigo, dressed almost like a clown, plus a pet gorilla. And that was it.

What? You asked about combat power? Minos felt he could take on ten Dr. Indigos by himself!

In other words, aside from Golden Lion, Minos was probably the strongest person on the entire island!

Was this really the lineup of a Yonko Crew? This setup was inferior even to most Shichibukai! Even Crocodile's Baroque Works was probably stronger than Golden Lion's crew, wasn't it!?

Golden Lion naturally had no idea what Minos was thinking, but he could see the faint contempt in Minos's expression. He knew his subordinates were truly unpresentable, but what could he do?

Back in that naval battle, Golden Lion's Flying Pirate Crew had been almost completely wiped out, and he had ended up with a ship's rudder stuck in his head. Later, after Roger was imprisoned, Golden Lion had charged Marine Headquarters alone, only to be sent to Impel Down by Sengoku and Garp.

With their captain in Impel Down, Golden Lion's remaining remnants had already been demoralized by that naval battle. Now that even their captain was gone, they naturally scattered in all directions.

By the time Golden Lion cut off his own legs and escaped, he had neither the means nor the inclination to seek out those surviving crew members scattered across the world. Thus, only the ship's doctor and scientist Dr. Indigo, who was most loyal to him, remained by his side.

Dr. Indigo was never a combatant by nature, so naturally his fighting ability was nothing exceptional.

As for the rest of those Scraps and Rags, they were pirate crews that the somewhat unhinged Golden Lion had seized and brought up when he lifted the island into the sky. Their quality naturally varied wildly.

Still, Golden Lion did not want his newly recruited subordinates to look down on him, so he brought Minos to see his greatest achievement: the Berserk Potion extracted from IQ Plants.

To be fair, this stuff really was quite effective. It could directly turn animals berserk and gigantic, increasing their combat strength by more than tenfold—comparable to Kaido's Artificial Devil Fruit users.

Moreover, both its cost and success rate far surpassed those of Artificial Devil Fruits. Artificial Devil Fruits only had a ten percent success rate, while the Berserk Potion had a one hundred percent success rate.

However, the key issue was...

"Animals turned berserk by this potion can't be controlled even by us, can they?" Minos blinked and looked at Golden Lion as he asked.

Golden Lion shook the ship's rudder on his head. "Jiehahahaha, it doesn't matter. When the time comes, I'll just lower the island, and these monsters will naturally tear all our enemies to pieces!"

"With these Berserk Animals, I can truly destroy the entire East Blue!"

One look was enough for Minos to tell that Golden Lion was having another episode. He had no idea what kind of nonsense this guy was thinking. Ever since that rudder had lodged itself in his head, Golden Lion had become rather abnormal.

Charging Marine Headquarters, developing these useless Berserk Animals, wanting to destroy the whole East Blue... In any case, Golden Lion's way of thinking had become extremely bizarre.

With that in mind, Minos asked, "Then, Captain Golden Lion, why are we destroying the East Blue?"

At Minos's question, anger appeared on Golden Lion's face. "Those Marine bastards actually executed Roger in the weakest sea, the East Blue! That was an insult to him, an insult to all pirates! I'll make them pay the price, and destroying the East Blue is the first step!"

Minos blinked. What kind of bizarre logic was that? How did Roger being executed in the East Blue become a disgrace to all pirates?

He spoke with a strange expression. "Wasn't Roger from the East Blue? Wasn't he executed there because he wanted to return to his roots?"

Golden Lion froze. Ever since the ship's rudder had pierced his head and compressed his nerves, his mind had been somewhat muddled.

The fact that a Float-Float Fruit user like him had given up all mobility to force his way alone into Marine Headquarters was enough to show just how muddled he had become.

Now, after hearing Minos's words, he felt they seemed to make sense. His mind turned it over a couple of times, but the more he thought, the more his head hurt. Dazed, he asked, "Then I won't destroy the East Blue? But what should I do instead?"

How would I know what you should do? The look on Minos's face was one of utter speechlessness.

Golden Lion's character among pirates had actually been somewhat like Kaido's—a domineering hero—except his temper was not as unpredictable as Kaido's, nor did he act as brash on the surface while hiding countless calculations underneath. His schemes were generally straightforward, open strategies.

But after getting a ship's rudder lodged in his head, he had started turning into an idiot. Along the way just now, Minos had already seen Golden Lion stare blankly into space, space out, lose focus, and display all sorts of other issues many times. Thinking about it now, wasn't it perfectly normal for an idiot's brain to fail to make turns?

Still, seeing Golden Lion's face grow redder and redder, Minos worried that he might pass out from high blood pressure. It would not matter much if he passed out, but if the whole island fell from the sky, Minos would be utterly screwed.

After thinking for a while, Minos said, "Um, Lord Golden Lion, I remember that your ambition used to be to rule the entire world, right? If you no longer want to destroy the East Blue, why not continue with ruling the world instead?"

"Rule the world?" Golden Lion thought for a moment, then clapped his hands. "Right, right! I used to want to rule the entire world. Damn it! It was all Roger's fault. If he had joined forces with me, this world would have long since been in my hands!"

Keep bragging. Minos rolled his eyes slightly. The Rocks Pirates had possessed so many monsters and still failed to rule the world. Who did Golden Lion think he was? Did he have protagonist plot armor? No—he only had a ship's rudder in his head!

"Very good. To rule the world, the first thing I need to deal with is the Marines. Then I'll send my Berserk Beast Legion to destroy Marineford!" Golden Lion was still muttering to himself, but Minos could no longer listen to it.

"Um... Captain Golden Lion, the Berserk Beast Legion probably can't handle the Marines, can it?"

"And when all is said and done, our pirate crew is far too weak compared to the Marines. Whether it's top-tier, mid-tier, or low-tier strength, we're completely outmatched."