Starting a business was hard; making money was even harder

Other pirate crews in the New World with bounties over 100 million!

"Hehehe, the Summer Bounty Crew sure is arrogant!"

Gecko Moria, who was still roaming the New World as an independent pirate, cackled as he read the newspaper!

"It really gives one the chilling feeling of being watched!"

Great Whirlpool Spider Squard, currently an independent pirate, wore a defiant grin!

Iron Arm Pirates!

"Good. Summer Bounty Crew, I've got your heads reserved!"

Iron Arm Kuga looked at Xia Zhiqing in the newspaper and crushed the paper in one hand!

Marine Headquarters!

"The seas are getting more and more turbulent. Four Emperor Whitebeard and Kaido are about to clash!"

"World Destroyer Waldo is running rampant, while Gecko Moria has also clashed with Kaido!"

"And now, the Summer Bounty Crew has appeared!"

"Someone young enough to easily hunt down a pirate worth over 100 million is comparable to Blood-Eyed Xia Zhiqing! Perhaps he'll become another menace destined to wreak havoc across the seas!"

Sengoku rubbed his brow and muttered with a headache!

"Hahaha, Sengoku, the seas are getting livelier by the day! If you ask me, you shouldn't have agreed to become Fleet Admiral in the first place. Look how busy you are now!"

"Now look at me. So carefree. Jealous?" Garp chewed on rice crackers beside him as he mocked Sengoku!

Sengoku's face immediately darkened. He roared, "Garp, how many times have I told you not to eat rice crackers in my office? Can't you finish them outside before coming in?!"

"Hahaha, don't be so bothered by it!" Garp, looking every bit the old hand, hugged his crackers and left!

Watching him go, Sengoku could only shake his head helplessly and sigh. "None of them ever let me have any peace of mind!"

The next day!

"Hehe, I killed so many pirates before this, yet none of it ever made the papers!"

"But the moment I broke 100 million, I made the news. The difference really is obvious!"

Xia Zhiqing looked at the flashy golden headlines in the newspaper—"Hundred-Million Slash," "Bounty Hunter Supernova," and the like—and shook his head helplessly!

As expected of entertainment news, the headlines were absurdly exaggerated!

"Still, we've got a reputation now. All that's left is to wait for bigger jobs!"

"Hehe, it'd be best if Iron Arm Kuga came after us right away. Then I could make another fortune!"

Xia Zhiqing desperately needed money now!

Eating cost money, and buying a ship cost money!

Upgrading Anna's equipment cost money, and buying himself a good blade cost money too!

Not to mention that building a force required money as well!

If he wanted to strengthen the Whitebeard Pirates, he had to keep working even harder!

"Let's go to Water 7. Now that we have money, we need to replace this ship with a good one!"

"Besides, there's a job in the Dongping Kingdom. It's right on the way!"

"Though the job is mysterious, and we won't know the details until we reach the Dongping Kingdom, it's still a major job worth tens of millions of Beli. It would be such a shame to give it up!"

Xia Zhiqing said this to Anna, but she showed no reaction at all!

Water 7!

After coating his ship on an island somewhere in the New World, Xia Zhiqing sailed through Fish-Man Island and the Sabaody Archipelago before finally arriving here!

The moment Xia Zhiqing and Anna appeared, they immediately drew the attention of Water 7's various powers!

"Isn't that the Summer Bounty Crew that's been making headlines lately? They actually came to the Grand Line. Could they have accepted a job from the Grand Line?"

Rob Lucci of the World Government spy agency CP9 watched Xia Zhiqing and Anna from the harbor, thinking this to himself!

But just as Rob Lucci was staring at Xia Zhiqing, Xia Zhiqing suddenly followed his gaze and looked over!