Two days passed quickly. On the morning of the third day, the Golden Lion returned. His clothes were somewhat tattered, and his face bore a few bruises, but his spirit was exceptionally high.
"Captain Shiki is back. It looks like the captain won this time, completely."
"Shishishishi! This is all thanks to your Holy Grail Wine. Otherwise, I really wouldn't have been able to defeat this old friend."
As for Zephyr, according to the Golden Lion, the man saw that the situation was unfavorable and had already jumped off the Floating Island into the sea.
As a non-Devil Fruit user, once Zephyr jumped into the sea, even the Golden Lion, with his Float-Float Fruit abilities, would have a hard time dealing with him.
There was no need to worry about the height at all. As long as he stepped on Geppo a few times to slow down when nearing the sea surface, with their physique and Haki cultivation, there wouldn't be any problems.
Kaido, that monster, practiced bungee jumping from the sky island every day and didn't seem to have injured a single hair. Even if Zephyr's physique couldn't reach that level, with Haki protection, it wouldn't be too far off.
Zephyr didn't want to abandon his students, but he really couldn't defeat the Golden Lion, so he could only resort to this desperate measure.
At least he saved his old life and could go find the Marines to devise a rescue plan, reminding them that the Golden Lion was still alive and that the Marines should be prepared.
If he were also killed, then it would truly be over. Therefore, despite his deep concern, Zephyr first fled the battlefield.
Minos glanced at his Karma Points. Fortunately, it was just a little bit short of being able to trade again.
The Golden Lion was not completely exhausted now, but his stamina had been greatly depleted. If another Kaido-level threat suddenly appeared, Minos felt he would have to figure out how to escape.
After his victory, the Golden Lion threw a banquet. However, during the banquet, the Golden Lion looked at Judge with a very playful gaze.
Judge felt as if he were sitting on pins and needles. He knew very well that his half-hearted efforts would not receive the Boss's Approval.
However, in the end, the Golden Lion did not confront him directly. Instead, he made a demand of Judge: in future battles, Judge and his Cyborg legion must be on the front lines.
Judge knew this was the Golden Lion's Pledge of Allegiance. If he didn't complete it, he would likely face certain death. He quickly nodded in agreement like a pecking rice.
As for Minos, his status had risen to that of the Flying Pirates' Vice-Captain. Although there wasn't such a position in the pirate crew, that was the general idea.
After all, both in terms of combat power and contributions, Minos was impeccable. Even though his loyalty was somewhat lacking, at least he had shown his attitude. As long as the captain's orders were not too outrageous, Minos would carry them out.
This was probably a case of choosing the best among the mediocre. Minos's current combat power, with all his trump cards revealed, was at most equivalent to a Yonko Crew's top Officer, and even then, at the bottom.
His combat power was roughly equivalent to the stronger members of the Tobi Roppo. He was slightly lacking in strength to be a Calamity, but a notch above the other high-ranking Officers.
With such strength, he could only be a Yonko Commander in the Golden Lion's Makeshift Group.
Regarding this, Minos didn't have too many thoughts. At worst, it would be easier to call upon the Golden Lion when he caused trouble in the future.
The revitalized Golden Lion was ambitious. During this period, he had raised several more sky islands, finally gathering enough raw materials to produce the IQ Potion.
Subsequently, the Golden Lion no longer intended to linger in the East Blue. He decided to head to the New World, first to reclaim his former territory, and then to re-establish the Flying Pirates' prestige and recruit some high-ranking Officers.
With his current youthful body, coupled with the large number of mid-tier combatants brought about by the Ferocious Potion, he believed that the Throne of the Pirate King would not be too far away.
Not the Pirate King who found Laugh Tale like Roger, but a true King of Pirates whose word is law.
Minos was actually quite reluctant for Golden Lion to return to the New World.
The New World was too dangerous, and it wouldn't be conducive to him causing trouble and accumulating Karma Points.
Moreover, if they went back, Golden Lion might start a war with the Charlotte Pirates—all because of him, a Yonko Commander of the Three-Eyed Tribe.
To be honest, although Charlotte Linlin wasn't very bright, the entire Charlotte Pirates hadn't mistreated Minos. If Minos hadn't known he definitely couldn't defeat Golden Lion, he wouldn't have joined the Golden Lion Pirates so easily.
Now that they were going back, Minos felt his position would be quite awkward. He definitely didn't want to clash with the Charlotte Pirates for the Golden Lion Pirates.
But if he didn't go with Golden Lion... Minos had captured an entire ship of Marines, healed Golden Lion's injuries, and caused many Butterfly Effects. His Karma Points were still rising!
Even if he did nothing, Minos estimated that in just a few days, his Karma Points would reach the critical point again. If a Marine Admiral showed up then, without a backing, wouldn't he be finished?
But what reason could he use to object? The New World was the paradise for pirates. Only because Golden Lion's abilities were special, and he hadn't caused much trouble, could he wander between the Four Seas. If it were someone like Whitebeard or Big Mom, you think the Marines wouldn't gang up on him if he stayed in the Four Seas for too long?
The Four Seas were the Marine's talent reserve base and their money bag. The World Government's Heavenly Gold and the Marines' large military expenses were all supported by the money collected in the Four Seas!
If anyone dared to touch the lifelines of the Marines and the World Government, it wouldn't matter if you were the Strongest Creature on Land, Sea, and Air, or the Strongest Man in the World; they would absolutely not hold back.
"Hm? You want to search for treasure in the East Blue?" Golden Lion, who was smoking, looked astonished. "Are there any treasures in the East Blue?"
"Uh... I just heard about it," Minos said.
Minos remembered that Ace had found the Flame-Flame Fruit using a treasure map. That place seemed to be called Ant Nest Hell or something.
Of course, who knew if the Flame-Flame Fruit was still there now? Minos just wanted to stay in the Four Seas for a longer period; searching for treasure was secondary.
For pirates, searching for treasure was a normal operation on par with feasting. Not to mention, the prelude to the Great Pirate Era's opening was because people went searching for Roger's treasure, which showed the pirates' passion for treasure.
Golden Lion didn't think much of it upon hearing this. "Do you know where the treasure is?"
"It seems to be in a death zone in the East Blue, an island called Ant Nest Hell," Minos said directly.
If it were in the Grand Line, this place would indeed be hard to find, as there were too many so-called death zones there. However, the environment of the Four Seas was relatively stable, so there weren't too many Ocean Death Zones, making it relatively easier to find.
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