The Trade

The battle for the Fifth Emperor in the New World is becoming increasingly interesting.

The Bondy Pirates are expanding, squeezing out the living space of other forces in what was originally the territory of the Flying Pirates.

With his formidable strength, he personally defeated one Great Pirate after another, subjugating them through violent means, including two former Flying Pirates.

The one who resisted most fiercely was "The Hunter" Alex. As a top-tier fighter, how could he submit to Bondy's subordinates? Moreover, Bondy's strength was not absolutely superior to his; he was no match for Golden Lion Shiki.

Having finally gained freedom and become a powerful ruler, how could he be willing to submit to someone else's subservience?

Now that Alex is no longer suppressed by Shiki, he Awakening Conqueror's Haki not long after forming his own pirate crew. His ambition, combined with his powerful strength, revealed his potential as a king.

Alex resisted, preferring to die in battle or, if all else failed, flee, relinquishing the territory and leading his men to seize land in other seas.

The Bondy Pirates were riding high for a time, but they did not clash with any of their competitors.

They strengthened their power to fight the World Government, but after obtaining powerful weapons and equipment from the Beasts Pirates and the Night Pirates, they became no longer important.

More importantly, he secretly learned of the existence and whereabouts of the forbidden weapon Dyna Stone, which was in the hands of the Navy.

This weapon possesses power comparable to Ancient Weapon.

As long as he could obtain the Dyna Stone, nothing else mattered. He was eager to confront the World Government. If he waited any longer, his strength would weaken, and it was uncertain whether he would still have such ambitions.

Moreover, he didn't want to give the World Government time; Bondy had always kept the lesson of betrayal in mind.

It can be said that the news of Dyna Stone completely disrupted Bondy a's original plan: to become Emperor first, and then use his powerful influence to attack the World Government.

The appearance of the Dyna Stone only excited Bondy a more, making him eager to make his move.

"Are we really going to do this, a?" A's older brother, Bin Jack, asked with some concern. He was born weak and had virtually no fighting ability, but he was an important strategist in the Bondy Pirates, possessing all sorts of intelligence.

It was also his intelligence that led to the immediate discovery of Bondy a, who had escaped from Impel Down.

Such an action would lead to direct confrontation with the Navy and the World Government, which he did not consider a good idea.

The Flying Pirates once faced a devastating attack from the World Government and the Navy, forcing them to flee their Sky Kingdom and suffering heavy losses.

Now, if a really touches that thing, the fate of the Bondy Pirates is predictable; they will likely face a strong crackdown from the World Government.

The World Government and Navy, with their vast numbers of top-tier fighters, are simply no match for the Bondy Pirates.

"I will eliminate everything that stands in my way. My grudge against the World Government should have been settled long ago." Bondy's hatred for the World Government had reached its peak, even bordering on obsession, after all these years of being frozen in ice.

"Sigh." Bin Jack sighed helplessly. He knew he couldn't persuade a. Since a wanted to do it, then so be it. After all, he was the older brother.

"Alright, you go ahead and take action. While you're gone, I'll take care of the internal affairs of the pirate crew." Bin Jack thought to himself, hoping for a safe return.

A only told this to one person, who knew that a did not trust the other crew members, even those who had been rallied by him to immediately follow a in rebuilding the Bondy Pirates.

But there was nothing that could be done; it had become a knot in a's heart that couldn't be untied simply by talking about it.

Now, he actually hopes that Dyna Stone doesn't exist, so that a won't have to take risks or confront the World Government. To be honest, at their age, they are no longer suitable for venturing out to sea.

He prefers a peaceful life.

It's unclear when a will need to leave, but it won't be a short time. Bondy already knows the location of the island, but he'll have to find the location of the base himself, since it's on the island.

The Red-Haired Pirates faced the greatest pressure, but as a small pirate crew composed mainly of elites, they were not affected.

However, the affiliated forces under their protection were the first to be attacked by the forces under the protection of the Demon Pirates and the Moonlight Pirates.

They didn't personally intervene, but everyone knew that the war had begun.

As their strongest rivals, the Red-Haired Pirates are targeted by Gecko Moria and the Demon Pirates in a very coordinated manner.

In addition to the attacks from the underworld forces, there were also other pirate forces.

The Moonlight Pirates also have to deal with the Evil Spirit Pirates, so their role in fighting the Red-Haired Pirates is only supplementary, and the forces they send out cannot compare to those of the Demon Pirates.

The Demon Pirates have numerous affiliated forces and have been rooted in the New World for many years, giving them a greater advantage in their network of relationships compared to other pirate crews.

To form an alliance and unite with other pirate crews to deal with the Red-Haired Pirates and weaken their protective forces.

The rhetoric is simple: many forces do not want the birth of Fifth Emperor, as the Red-Haired Pirates becoming emperor would affect the interests of many other forces.

Being located in such Chaos Sea is Red-Haired Pirates have to endure. At this moment, the Red-Haired Pirates can be said to be surrounded by enemies on all sides, and they are in a state of chaos, suffering considerable losses.

Their forces, having been attacked, could not stand idly by, nor were they afraid; they prepared to retaliate.

The Red-Haired Pirates.

Many members gathered, gazing at their king standing tall in front of them.

"Let's set off. It's a pity things won't go as planned. Since they want to fight, how can we back down?" The red-haired man placed his right hand on the hilt of his sword, wore a long black cloak, and exuded the aura of Overlord.

The powerful Conqueror's Haki can be activated at any time.

The red-haired man was incredibly serious. He wouldn't allow anyone to harm his comrades. The forces under his protection were all willing to submit to him, so how could he stand by and watch them suffer?

Moreover, the root of this matter lies with him and the Red-Haired Pirates; to be precise, they were implicated by the Red-Haired Pirates.

However, this is the choice the sea has made. When they chose to submit to the Red-Haired Pirates, they were bound to them, and the current outcome was expected.

It just happened earlier than expected, before the Red-Haired Pirates were fully prepared.

Now they can only cope, and although they are somewhat passive, they are not afraid of war.

"They've declared war, so let's show them our power!" Shanks said, his imposing aura piercing the sky like a spear. A bolt of lightning flashed across the clouds in an instant, like a signal, representing Shanks' will.

Changing the celestial phenomena? Big Mom can do it, and so can Kaido, but they rely on their own abilities.

Big Mom's Soul-Soul Fruit grants her control over the weather.

Kaido Azure Dragon Fruit the ability to summon wind and rain.

Currently, only Pluto Rayleigh and Teach have achieved this level using Conqueror's Haki alone. Now, Shanks has approached that level, and in terms of spirit, he is no weaker than Big Mom and Kaido, and may even be slightly stronger.

The Red-Haired Pirates set off.

The war came sooner than expected.

The Red-Haired Pirates have a strong average strength and a large number of officers, including a monster like Ben Beckman.

In terms of sheer numbers of officers, the Demon Pirates are no match for the Red-Haired Pirates, but the Demon Pirates have numerous allies who want to destroy the Red-Haired Pirates' Pirate Alliance.

In terms of overall strength and combat power, the Demon Pirates seem to have a greater advantage, not to mention the help of the Moonlight Pirates, with whom they have a temporary alliance.

Given such a disparity in strength, even if the Red-Haired Pirates were to win, it would ultimately be a Pyrrhic victory. The very reason they were stalling for time to allow for greater development was to avoid this outcome.

But they still have allies.

"Buggy, I'm counting on you for this." Shanks, who had been so Haki before setting off, now smiled and said to the screen in front of him on the ship.

"Damn Shanks, I don't want to get involved in this mess. Go find someone else." The person communicating with Shanks via video was Clown Buggy. Although Buggy's title has never changed, and he hasn't expanded too much in recent years, keeping a low profile, no one would mistake him for the Joker.

His well-proportioned physique concealed astonishing strength, and his clown-like attire did not make him seem ridiculous.

With his terrifying Split Fruit power, Buggy is also known as the "Destroyer King" in secret.

Although Buggy has kept a low profile in recent years, the Buggy Pirates have been expanding and developing into the underworld, already possessing considerable power.

Buggy was clearly unwilling to help Shanks. Their relationship had improved somewhat, but they were still adversaries.

Although their territories do not border each other, with the rapid expansion of the Red-Haired Pirates, they are essentially the same size.

Buggy didn't want to get involved in such a murky battle for supremacy, so he'd been keeping a low profile these days, with very little news about him.

He knows his own situation best; his current strength is still far from that of an emperor, and he is quite satisfied with his current status as a regional overlord.

How much loss will a battle for supremacy bring? He might lose more than half of the power he painstakingly built up. And what will it bring him?

The losses were completely disproportionate to the gains; Shanks wanted to drag him down with him, so why would he agree?

Moreover, while the Red-Haired Pirates' current situation appears somewhat dangerous, there are still quite a few ways to break the deadlock.

Alliances between pirates are easily broken; with the strength of the Red-Haired Pirates, wiping out one or two factions is no problem.

This will make other forces wary and unwilling to risk their lives for the Demon Pirates.

This Pirate Alliance is on the verge of collapse. Take this opportunity to attack the Demon Pirates.

How can a defeated Demon Caesar compete for the throne? The alliance would completely collapse.

However, this is the best-case scenario, and the probability of it happening is slim. Everyone knows how powerful the Red-Haired Pirates are, and those who are with the Demon Pirates wouldn't be so foolish as to confront the Red-Haired Pirates. At most, they would help the Demon Pirates and hold off the Red-Haired Pirates' officers.

Beside Buggy were the main officers of the Clown Pirates: First mate Carlos, "Shield" Gru, and "Kamaitachi" Zak.

Their expressions remained unchanged. Knowing their captain as they did, they knew that it was impossible to get the Clown Pirates to help them, given Shanks' influence and their past friendship.

After all, the Clown Pirates now represent the interests of many more people, so how could they possibly make enemies of other dominant forces for the sake of the Red-Haired Pirates? Frankly, it's not worth it at all.

Buggy understood this, which is why he refused very decisively at the first moment.

The two pirate crews had no vested interests after entering the New World; they were both overlords of the sea and needed to consider their own interests.

"Buggy, I'm really begging you," Shanks said sincerely. He knew that now they needed to talk about interests, and relying solely on past friendship would be too difficult for Buggy.

"Fifty billion Beli, fifteen treasure maps, all you need to do is hold off the Moonlight Pirates. You see, Captain John's Treasure wasn't found by Moria, and the key is on Captain John's zombie body."

The red-haired man smiled slightly and said in a seductive tone, "If we could get it during this opportunity?"

The Red-Haired Pirates had already made preparations, offering the Clown Pirates the benefits they wanted, which was exactly what Beckman had anticipated.

However, this also caused the Red-Haired Pirates to suffer a huge loss. For the Red-Haired Pirates, 5 billion Beli is a considerable sum, representing the wealth they have accumulated over the years.

Buggy's eyes lit up as he listened. Five billion Beli was a huge sum of money. And what Buggy liked most was the treasure map, especially the legendary Captain John's Treasure.

He knew the secret of Captain John's treasure and had long coveted it. Captain John, who was practically still alive, did not want his treasure to be found, so Moria did not obtain it.

And now, this is his chance.

Simply holding off the Moonlight Pirates wouldn't be difficult for the Clown Pirates, since the Moonlight Pirates don't have many high-level fighters. They only need to deploy their elite forces to minimize their losses.

As for offending a dominant force, Buggy wouldn't hesitate to do anything for the treasure map these days.

Moreover, gaining huge profits while also helping Shanks is a good deal.

As for the Demon Pirates, the Red-Haired Pirates have to deal with them themselves. If they get too involved, the losses will be too great to be compensated by money alone. Buggy treats his subordinates very well.

Seeing this, Carlos knew that Buggy had decided to help the Red-Haired Pirates -Red-Haired Pirates, or more accurately, to cooperate with them—a deal.

This mission isn't difficult; it's simply about holding off a dominant force. Perhaps after a clash, the Moonlight Pirates won't bother attacking the Red-Haired Pirates anymore, allowing them to gain the greatest benefit with the least loss.

"Alright then, let's deliver the stuff first." After calming down, Buggy thought about it carefully and finally made up his mind.

The deal was thus struck.

Without the threat of the Moonlight Pirates, the Red-Haired Pirates can focus on dealing with the Demon Pirates and the pirate alliance they represent.