Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a month had passed.
The incident involving the Richest Group and the Big Mom Pirates had faded from the headlines.
Other news had taken its place.
Golt Island, New World.
A tropical island, and a fairly prosperous one at that.
There were countless islands like it across the sea.
On a street somewhere, plenty of people were watching—some openly, others on the sly—as a young man drank alone inside a tavern.
It was Crocodile.
A month had passed since he left Poppy Island. During that time, he had been spreading his ideas across the sea. But his arrogance often brought him into conflict with others.
He had killed at least a thousand pirates, if not more.
"That's the Richest Group's Brainwashing Representative, Tsar Crocodile, with a bounty of 560 million!"
"That's right, it's him!"
"Look at how he's dressed. He's pretty brazen."
"I hear all the representatives in the Richest Group are arrogant and domineering. Crocodile's killed a lot of people lately."
"What's a big shot like him doing on this little island? Could the Golden Emperor be here too?"
Greed filled the eyes of many pirate thugs. If Tsar had shown up, could the world's richest man, the Golden Emperor, be on the island as well?
Whoever captured the Golden Emperor would have it all.
That temptation had spread across the sea, and it wasn't a rumor. The whole world had confirmed it.
"Hey! That's the Aquite Pirates! What are they up to?"
The crowd stirred. More than thirty pirates strode toward the tavern, looking ready to make a move.
"Have the Aquite Pirates lost their minds? That's Tsar, with a bounty of 560 million!"
People pointed and whispered as they watched the thirty-odd pirates enter the tavern.
They