No wonder Fist Garp could return to the East Blue as if it were a stroll in the park. It turned out there were safe routes through the Calm Belt on either side of Marineford, near the Red Line, escorted by the World Government and powerful Marines.
The Seastone Warships developed later made the routes through the Calm Belt even safer.
As for rookie pirates from the Four Blues trying to cross these routes or attack the Navy's escort fleets, they were practically asking to die.
Even the great pirates of the New World didn't dare attack the World Government's escort fleets.
That was why rookie pirates from the Four Blues could only enter the Grand Line by way of Reverse Mountain.
It was dangerous, but at least they had a chance of survival.
Just as pirates had to pass through the opening beneath Fish-Man Island in the Red Line to enter the New World.
The bubble elevators at Mary Geoise and the safe routes through the Calm Belt were important shipping lanes, heavily guarded by the World Government.
No pirate could be allowed to lay a hand on them.
Wang Shi looked at the safe routes used by the World Government's affiliated nations.
So the route from the East Blue straight through the Calm Belt to Mary Geoise, then across the Red Line to the North Blue and West Blue, was this convenient.
Even reaching the South Blue was as simple as taking the safe routes through the Calm Belt on either side.
Back then, when Fist Garp took Ace from Baterilla in the South Blue to the East Blue, he had probably used these safe routes too.
"Once I've taken care of things in the East Blue, maybe I'll head to the South Blue first."
A glint flashed in Wang Shi's eyes. After all, going to the South Blue didn't require crossing the Red Line or applying for passage through Mary Geoise.
That might be the greatest benefit of becoming an affiliated nation.
It let them use the World Government's safe routes to travel between the Four Blues.
They wouldn't have to brave the dangerous route through Reverse Mountain, Fish-Man Island, and the pirate-filled Paradise.
No wonder Blackbeard had wanted Hachinosu to become an affiliated nation so badly.
Aside from no longer being targeted by the World Government and the Navy, travel anywhere in the world became incredibly convenient.
That was one of the benefits of joining the affiliated nations.
With a single order from Wang Shi, countless officials and soldiers went to work for him.
That was the advantage of being a king.
Wang Shi had always kept an eye on the powerful figures in the East Blue.
He immediately had his officials invite some mercenaries and bounty hunters he knew, in the name of the Goa Kingdom.
He didn't even need to go out to sea to find them. The promise of a generous reward brought them straight to the Goa Kingdom.
The prosperous and beautiful Goa Kingdom was the best advertisement in the East Blue!
After several days of preparations,
a fully prepared fleet appeared at Gray Port in the Goa Kingdom.
Back then, Sabo had sailed out from this very port in a small boat, only for Saint Charlos to blast him out of the sky. Dragon had later rescued him.
At that moment, aboard the fleet's most luxurious flagship,
several mercenaries stood respectfully below Wang Shi. Among them were two tall, lean figures who carried themselves with considerable arrogance. They looked like skilled fighters.
They were the mercenary and bounty hunter Wang Shi had attracted with a high offer.
Whirlwind Eric, a Paramecia user who had eaten the Scythe-Scythe Fruit. He could unleash Wind Blades and fight as a scythe-man.
He often roamed the waters between Loguetown and Reverse Mountain, and had repeatedly taken jobs from Marine 8th Branch, helping them hunt down rookie pirate crews from the East Blue trying to enter the Grand Line.
Supersonic Van Augur, a famous sniper who carried the renowned gun Senriku.
Surprised?
Van Augur was from the East Blue, only twenty-three years old, and already a fairly well-known bounty hunter. He hadn't yet become a pirate and entered the Grand Line.
His clothes and bearing made it obvious he came from a noble family.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have had the means to take up sniping.
Back when Wang Shi was still hanging around Terminal Town, he had already heard of the man.
He had planned to recruit him after going out to sea.
But he hadn't expected to meet him like this.
As Wang Shi sized them up, they were also studying the new king of the Goa Kingdom.
They'd heard that Wang Shi had once been nothing more than a street thug, but somehow he had become a king.
Van Augur marveled at Wang Shi's luck.
Eric, on the other hand, was envious and resentful. He thought Wang Shi was just a pretty-boy who'd gotten lucky when the Goa princess took a fancy to him.
Looking at Wang Shi's handsome face and luxurious clothes, the ugly, scrawny Eric felt even more bitter.
"You've taken my money, so I expect you all to do your jobs properly. Otherwise, there'll be serious consequences."
Wang Shi didn't try to recruit them right away. He simply offered a faint smile.
He could tell that Eric seemed envious and displeased.
It looked like he'd have to beat these men into submission.
Eric was the kind of man who'd dared to kill Nelson Royal, the commander of Marine 8th Branch, over the Millennium Dragon.
Wang Shi had already decided how to make use of this sort.
"I care about money, not people. You pay me, and I'll get the job done!"
Eric spoke with utter self-confidence, as though he didn't take Wang Shi, the king of the Goa Kingdom, seriously.
He was confident in his own strength.
Even if he had to face Arlong, the most highly wanted pirate in the East Blue, he wouldn't be afraid.
The Guard Army aboard the ship stared at Eric's insolence, their eyes wide.
Would their Demon King kill this mercenary or exile him?
"I hope so."
Wang Shi smiled calmly, but didn't immediately teach Eric a lesson.
He'd make good use of him first, then show him what cruelty meant.
"I hear you're an excellent shot. I'm quite interested in marksmanship myself."
Wang Shi turned to Van Augur and drew a Golden Flintlock from his waist.
The royal collection of the Goa Kingdom was certainly extensive.
It even included high-tech firearms given to the king of Goa by the Celestial Dragons.
There were Golden Flintlocks, Golden Sniper Rifles, and Golden Cannons...
That Golden Cannon was impressively powerful. It was the high-end weapon Saint Charlos had used to blast Sabo's pirate ship to pieces.
Anything the Celestial Dragons liked
was, of course, expensive and effective.
Wang Shi felt that combining his Toki Toki no Mi abilities with bullets for assassination might work quite well.
At least he wouldn't have to charge in and chop people himself.
And his accuracy would be almost perfect.
It was a great way to show off and intimidate these weaklings.
"I know a little."
Van Augur actually sensed a deadly threat from this pretty-boy king.
He didn't act nearly as arrogant as Eric.
His manner was calm and gentle, with a hint of nobility.
"I have high hopes for you!"
Wang Shi didn't hide his admiration for Van Augur. As expected of a future officer in a Four Emperor's pirate crew, and one of the subordinates Wang Shi had his eye on.
Wang Shi's praise for Van Augur left Eric beside him deeply displeased.
He was a Scythe-Scythe Fruit user, and clearly stronger. Why did Wang Shi think more highly of Van Augur, a sniper who only knew how to take cheap shots?
At Wang Shi's command, the Goa Kingdom's fleet—nine warships and over a thousand men—sailed out of Gray Port in grand style.
Queen Sally didn't accompany the royal fleet. She had to oversee the Goa Kingdom's internal affairs.
She also had to prepare to take over the kingdoms Wang Shi conquered.
Several kingdoms lay along the route from the Goa Kingdom to the Konomi Kingdom.
And every one of them was a target for Wang Shi.
These little kingdoms were so weak that they might as well join his Goa Empire.
As for whether the World Government would object, all he had to do was pay the Heavenly Tribute in full.
If Garp had a problem with it, he could get the World Government to rein him in. Wang Shi was already thinking of causing trouble for Foosha Village!
After the fleet left port, the first kingdom it would encounter to the west was the Four-Leaf Kingdom, established on the Four-Leaf Archipelago.
Shells Town, where Marine 153rd Branch was stationed, lay on one of the small islands in the archipelago.
Speaking of which, Roronoa Zoro, the Mosshead who was seventeen this year, might not have gone out to sea yet.
The name Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro had yet to spread through the East Blue.
He had been nineteen when he first appeared. Who knew how long he'd get lost in the nearby waters before making a name for himself?