Two days passed quickly. On the morning of the third day, Golden Lion returned, his clothes somewhat tattered and his face bruised, but his spirit as high as ever.
"Captain Shiki is back. Looks like the captain completely won this time."
"Jihahahaha! I have your Holy Grail Wine to thank for that. Otherwise, I really wouldn't have been able to beat that old friend of mine."
As for Zephyr, according to Golden Lion, he had seen that things were going badly and had already jumped off the Floating Island into the sea.
As a non-Fruit user, as long as Zephyr jumped into the sea, even Golden Lion, with the powers of the Float-Float Fruit, would find it difficult to deal with him.
There was no need to worry about the height, either. As long as he used Geppo a few times to slow down before reaching the surface, with their physiques and Haki mastery, nothing could possibly go wrong.
A monster like Kaido practiced bungee jumping from Sky Islands every day, yet no one had ever seen him lose a single hair. Even if Zephyr's physique did not reach that level, the protection of his Haki was not far behind.
It was not that Zephyr did not want to save his students. He simply could not defeat Golden Lion and had no choice but to resort to this.
At least he had preserved his own life. He could still return to the Marines, think of a rescue plan, and warn them that Golden Lion was still alive so they could prepare themselves.
If he had been taken out as well, then it would truly have been over. So despite his immense worry, Zephyr still fled the battlefield first.
Minos checked his Karma Points. Fortunately, he was still just short of another trade.
Golden Lion was not completely exhausted yet, but he had consumed plenty of stamina. If another Kaido-like figure suddenly appeared, Minos felt he should start figuring out how to run.
After his victory, Golden Lion held a banquet. Yet throughout it, he looked at Judge with an extremely meaningful expression.
Judge looked as though he were sitting on pins and needles. He knew perfectly well that his slacking would definitely not earn Boss's Approval.
But in the end, Golden Lion did not directly turn on him. He merely gave Judge an order: in future battles, Judge and his Cyborg army had to fight on the front lines.
Judge knew this was the Pledge of Allegiance Golden Lion had given him. If he failed to fulfill it, he would probably be dead. He immediately nodded like a pecking chicken and agreed.
As for Minos, his status had already risen to vice-captain of the Flying Pirates. There was technically no such position in the Pirate Crew, but that was essentially what it meant.
After all, whether in combat strength or contributions, Minos was beyond reproach. Although his loyalty was somewhat lacking, he had made his stance clear. As long as the captain's orders were not too outrageous, Minos would carry them out.
This was probably the best of a bad lot. With all his trump cards laid out, Minos's current combat strength was, at most, equivalent to the highest-ranking officer of a Yonko Crew—and the weakest kind at that.
His strength was probably comparable to one of the stronger Tobi Roppo. He was slightly lacking if he wanted to become a Lead Performer, but he was a notch stronger than the other senior officers.
Only in Golden Lion's ragtag crew could this level of strength make him a Yonko Commander.
Minos did not have many thoughts about it. At worst, it would just make it easier for him to call on Golden Lion when causing trouble in the future.
Having recovered, Golden Lion was brimming with ambition. During this time, he raised several more Sky Islands and finally gathered enough raw materials to make the IQ Potion.
Golden Lion no longer intended to remain in the East Blue. He decided to head to the New World, reclaim his former territory first, then reestablish the prestige of the Flying Pirates and recruit several major officers.
With his now-youthful body, combined with the vast number of mid-level fighters brought by the Ferocious Potion, he believed that the Throne of the Pirate King was not far away.
Not the kind of Pirate King Roger had been after finding Laugh Tale, but a true King of Pirates whose word ruled all.
Minos was actually rather reluctant about Golden Lion wanting to return to the New World.
The New World was far too dangerous, and it was not conducive to him causing trouble and farming Karma Points.
And once they returned, Golden Lion might very well go to war with the Charlotte Pirates—the reason being that he had taken in Minos, a Three-Eyed Tribe Yonko Commander.
To be honest, although Charlotte Linlin was not very bright, the Charlotte Pirates had not treated Minos poorly. If Minos had not known he could not possibly defeat Golden Lion, he would not have joined Golden Lion's Pirate Crew so easily.
Now that he was going back, Minos felt his position would be rather awkward. In any case, he was unwilling to clash with the Charlotte Pirates for the Golden Lion Pirates.
But if he did not follow Golden Lion... Minos had detained an entire shipload of Marines, cured 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 rise to the threshold again. What if a Marine Admiral showed up then? Without a backer, wouldn't he be finished?
But what reason could he use to object? The New World was the pirates' paradise. Only because Golden Lion's abilities were special, and because he had not caused much trouble, could he wander among the Four Seas. If it were someone like Whitebeard or Big Mom, would the Marines really let him stay in the Four Seas for long without ganging up on him?
The Four Seas were the Marines' talent pool and their money bag. The World Government's Heavenly Gold, the Marines' enormous military budget, and everything else were supported by the money collected from the Four Seas!
If anyone truly dared touch the lifeblood of the Marines and the World Government, then whether he was the Strongest Creature on Land, Sea, and Air or the Strongest Man in the World, it would make no difference.
"Hm? You want to hunt for treasure in the East Blue?" Golden Lion, who was smoking, looked utterly astonished. "Is there any treasure in the East Blue?"
"Uh... I only heard about it," Minos said.
Minos remembered that Ace had found the Flame-Flame Fruit through a treasure map. That place seemed to be called something like Ant Nest Hell.
Of course, who knew whether the Flame-Flame Fruit was still there now? Minos merely wanted to stay in the Four Seas a while longer. The treasure hunt was just incidental.
For pirates, searching for treasure was as routine as holding banquets. Not to mention that the opening of the Great Pirate Era had begun because everyone wanted to search for Roger's treasure. That alone showed how obsessed pirates were with treasure hunting.
Golden Lion did not think much of it after hearing that. "Do you know where exactly the treasure is?"
"It seems to be on an island in the East Blue, a dangerous place known as Ant Nest Hell," Minos said directly.
If it were on the Grand Line, it would truly be difficult to find, since there were simply too many so-called deadly places there. But the environment of the Four Seas was relatively stable, so there were not many Ocean Death Zones, making it much easier to locate.
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