"Turns out you could do it like that. Captain Pete really was resourceful!"
"If you don't know how to praise someone, shut up!"
Pete shot the pirate an irritated glare. The man had no idea what he had said wrong and lowered his head in grievance.
Meanwhile, inside the captain's quarters.
John leaned against the headboard and tipped back a bottle of rum, using Mantra to hear every secret conversation with perfect clarity.
"So that's all the ambition you have."
He was deeply disappointed.
He had thought Pete had painstakingly arranged all this so that, after obtaining a massive fortune, he could use it as a foundation to accomplish something great.
For example, recruit men and become the new overlord filling the void left by the Rocks Pirates.
Yet he had not expected Pete to merely want to use the money to buy himself a noble title in one of the World Government's member nations, erase his bounty, and live out the rest of his life in peace.
"Wait, that's not right."
"In a sense, that kind of life actually sounds pretty good!"
After all, as a member nation of the World Government, there was no need to worry about being chosen by the Celestial Dragons as the site of a hunting game.
Even if one did something illegal within the kingdom, as long as the king did not pursue it, the Marines could not do a thing.
The only concern was the Revolutionary Army coming to liberate the place twenty or thirty years later, turning years of hard work into smoke.
Still, even that was a low-probability event. After all these years, the Revolutionary Army had liberated only a little over a dozen countries at most.
And there were more than one hundred and seventy member nations of the World Government!
"Using my money to live the life you want, huh? Very nice!"
John laughed in anger, yet he had to admit that Pete really was clever.
Even if, in the distant future, Nika or the Revolutionary Army overthrew the World Government and brought liberation to the entire world.
As long as they cleaned up their dirty work properly over the years, they could still retain vast wealth after liberation and continue living above others.
And if they were even smarter, they could hedge their bets, secretly fund the Revolutionary Army, and then secure some official position once the new regime was established.
For ordinary people unburdened by bloodlines and destiny, this was undoubtedly the optimal choice in the end!
"Why does this remind me of those great clans back in my hometown?"
John recalled a saying.
A dynasty lasts a hundred years, but great clans endure for a thousand!
As long as he could resist the glamour of standing in the spotlight and let Nika and Imu fight it out, he would surely be the one laughing in the end.
"But I... just can't stand being lonely!"
John lowered his head and stared at the bedsheet, his blazing gaze seeming to pierce through layer after layer of obstacles to land upon the worms hiding in the lower deck.
"Come on, you bitch called the goddess of fate. Let's see how I make you beg for mercy."
Several days later, Ohara.
This small island was rich in greenery. In particular, the enormous pod-shaped Tree of Knowledge spread a dense canopy that covered more than half the land.
Yet what made the island famous was not its terrain, but the fact that it gathered the world's finest archaeologists and housed the world's largest library.
A pirate ship flying a gold-trimmed skull flag and reeking of nouveau riche wealth slowly docked while towing the Golden Ship. The island's residents merely grew wary at the sight, rather than shouting and fleeing in panic.
Perhaps their research into the Poneglyph had taught them something, or perhaps it was because Dr. Clou D. Clover had once been a pirate. In any case, the residents did not hold pirates in particularly poor regard.
On the contrary, if Marines or World Government ships had arrived, they would have panicked.
"Mm! The air here is really fresh."
John stepped onto the island via the gangplank, spread his arms, and took a deep breath with an intoxicated expression.
The pirates aboard the ship had gone so long without bathing that they had started to stink. Staying around them too long made it feel as though even his lungs had been polluted.
Washing his lungs with fresh air was good for both body and mind.
"Teach and I will stay on this island."
Alice walked to John's side and gave him a meaningful nod.
From her observations over the past few days, she had noticed that the atmosphere within the John Pirates was terribly off, carrying a strange, oppressive feeling like a storm was about to break.
Having once been a pirate herself, she could roughly guess what was happening.
This group was about to fight over the enormous treasure!
John smiled tightly at Alice, then reached toward the ugly little brat trailing behind them.
"Come on, Teach. Uncle will take you to buy candy."
"Mm!" Having come ashore, Teach had brightened up somewhat. He raised his little dark hand and took John's.
Watching the three gradually walk away, Pete signaled to the pirates with his eyes and hurried after them, terrified that John might run off.
John swept his gaze over the wary residents standing along both sides of the street, then turned back and said helplessly:
"Could you spread out a little? You're scaring the residents by moving around in a crowd."
"And stop following me too. You're all grown up already. Do you still need to follow your old man around to beg for candy?"
"John, everyone's just worried about you."
Pete raised a hand to scratch the back of his head, quickly explaining himself.
"The entire Underworld is hunting you now, and the World Government's Cipher Pol organization has its eyes on you too. We have to stay alert at all times."
Over the past few days, although the newspapers had only mentioned a little information about God Valley, the Den Den Mushi-exclusive channels for pirates had been ringing nonstop.
This was the Underworld's standard method of communication. Whenever a Dark Bounty was issued or a major event occurred, all registered Den Den Mushi would receive a broadcast-like notification.
As a former officer of the Rocks Pirates, John's Den Den Mushi was naturally registered on the Underworld notification list, so he naturally received the latest bounty notice.
Captain John—bounty: ten billion Beli!
This was another new record in bounty history, following the five-billion-Beli bounty for the Paramecia Op-Op Fruit!
From now on, it would likely be difficult for any person or item to surpass this astronomical bounty.
Pirates, bounty hunters, slave traders, Cipher Pol agents, and all kinds of people were now searching for Captain John across the world like madmen.
Even the world itself seemed to have come to a standstill because of it!
It made sense. The pirates at God Valley had only seen John take away that massive Golden Ship. They had no idea he later divided the loot with Newgate and the others.
Newgate and the others would not be foolish enough to publicly announce that they had shared the treasure.
Thus, the entire world's attention was focused on John alone.
Treasure legends such as the Golden City and Emerald City existed only in books and in the drunken boasts people traded at taverns.
But they had seen John's Golden Ship with their own eyes. It was a genuine, tangible treasure!
"I'm the famous Captain John! Why would I need your personal protection? Get lost, get lost, get lost! Stop bothering me!"
John waved Pete and the others away as if shooing flies. How was he supposed to whisper secrets to Alice if these guys kept following him?
Get lost!
Before you continue