Mongge's Ambition!

February, Marine Era 1461.

New World.

It had been over a month since we left Elbaf. During this month, aside from a brief stop at some unknown Small Island, we spent most of our time at sea.

The reason.

"We're out of money!"

Sitting on the Black Pearl's fishing platform, Mongge's expression was extremely grave.

In Elbaf, we ate like giants and hunted in the forests if we were hungry. Elbaf's jungles were never short of prey, as long as you had the skill to hunt them.

But once at sea, problems arose.

Mongge and Lipri were both Devil Fruit users, so they couldn't go into the water to catch fish. Relying solely on fishing, it was impossible to fill their stomachs, let alone avoid going hungry every other day.

Mongge originally had several million Belly, but he gave all that money to Garumoro as a deposit to get Linlin on board.

As for the bounty he collected half a year ago for Blood Skull Farrell's head, although Mongge had asked two Giant Tribe pirate hunters to claim it, he set sail again before they could return.

"Our pirate crew is actually short on money?"

Hearing Mongge's words, Lipri's eyes widened in disbelief.

In her opinion, the White Wolf Pirates had enough money to buy several countries, so they shouldn't have fallen to the point of lacking funds.

Blood Skull Farrell had thought the same.

"Before the crew disbanded, there was indeed some savings, but after distributing all the money, my share was only enough for an old man to live out his remaining years comfortably."

Mongge said with a helpless expression.

"So, we need to find a way to make money now."

"Isn't that simple!"

Hearing Mongge's words, Rocks' eyes lit up, and an evil smile spread across his face.

"Let's just find a couple of merchant ships and rob them... Ow!"

Rocks clutched his head and glared at Mongge, "Why did you hit me?"

"Because it's disgraceful!"

Mongge looked at Rocks and sneered, "Our crew doesn't have a habit of bullying the weak."

"Then what should we do?" Rocks spread his hands, "If we don't rob merchant ships, are we supposed to rob pirates?"

"That's also an option."

Mongge didn't deny it. It was only natural for pirates to prey on each other. Even if the other pirate crew didn't have much of value.

What about the captain's head?

Any pirate captain active in the New World, no matter how low their Bounty, would be worth over ten million Belly.

"However, this is just a temporary solution."

Mongge put down his fishing rod, spread his arms, and embraced the sea.

"For pirates to get rich, of course, they need to seize territory!"

In the New World, a pirate's fame depended on how many pirates they could intimidate and how many countries they could protect.

Only by possessing one's own "territory" could a pirate crew truly establish a foothold in the New World.

"The former White Wolf Pirates only needed to manage a single ship, so there was no need to grow stronger. But it's different now."

In Mongge's eyes, a light called "ambition" surged.

"My journey will not stop at being confined to a corner. If time has not stopped me, then this sea cannot either!"

"I will conquer this ocean!"

In front of Rocks and Lipri, Mongge did not hide his ambition.

In the past, he had once dreamed of changing the world, but he failed. His lack of strength had forced him to stagnate.

Now, it was different.

With Admiral-level combat power, Mongge truly possessed the ability to confront Marine encirclement head-on, giving him the capital to negotiate with the World Government.

Certainly.

This level of strength was not enough to truly stand on equal footing with the World Government and the Marines, but it meant that Mongge had taken a solid step on his own path.

Laugh Tale?

Who cared about that?

In this era, where the future Pirate King Roger had not yet set sail, the so-called final island was merely a symbol of greater significance than practical meaning.

Initially, Mongge thought he was pursuing a path like the Pirate King Roger.

But now, it seemed...

What he wanted to do was actually no different from the future Rocks!

"Sorry, Rocks."

He previously thought Rocks was a loser who competed with Roger for the Pirate King title. That was wrong. The two were never on the same track from beginning to end, so how could there be victory or defeat?

If anyone were to be defeated, the future Rocks would lose to the World Government and his own arrogance, not to Roger.

And now, the path he wanted to take was similar to Rocks'.

"Perhaps in the future, we will become enemies!"

Mongge had no intention of deceiving Rocks. If he didn't even have the magnanimity to accommodate the ambitions of his subordinates, then he wouldn't be worthy of being an Overlord of the seas.

Hearing Mongge's words, Rocks laughed.

"Hahaha, old man, if that day ever comes, I'll definitely spare your life and let you live out your old age in peace."

Rocks just kept laughing, tears almost welling up.

Who would personally nurture their own enemy?

But Rocks could tell that Mongge wasn't joking.

If he still wanted to become an Overlord of the seas, then he would inevitably clash with Mongge in the future, and they would ultimately become enemies.

He also heard that Mongge had no intention of suppressing him.

Mongge was looking forward to it.

Looking forward to him becoming stronger, looking forward to him challenging himself.

"I won't go easy on you then!"

"Haha, if you lose, you'll obediently be my intern for the rest of your life!"

Mongge and Rocks gently clinked their wine glasses.

Then, a resentful voice was heard.

"Hey, did you guys forget about me?"

Lipri looked at the father and son who had completely forgotten about fishing, her face full of displeasure. "If we're talking about ambition, mine is no less than yours!"

"Oh?"

Hearing Lipri say that, Mongge's interest was immediately piqued, and even Rocks couldn't help but perk up his ears.

"Hehe, that is..."

Woo------

A sudden blast of a ship's horn drowned out Lipri's voice. Not only did Lipri pout, but Mongge and Rocks couldn't help but frown.

Because before them appeared a massive steamship, most of its hull armored with iron. Not only Rocks and Lipri, but even Mongge rarely saw such a ship on the sea.

In a pirate world where sailing ships were still mainstream, steamships were generally only found in a few technologically advanced countries.

Even the warships of the Marines were not fully equipped with the steam boilers unique to steamships.

But all three could see the flag flying on the ship.

The symbol on the flag was a cross shape, with circles at the four vertices and the center. Below the cross was a line of text.

[WORLD GOVT.]

This was the flag representing the World Government, belonging to the World Government's emblem!