Deceiving Fate

"Hehehe."

Then Pete let out another cryptic sneer.

"Even if you use the Magnet-Magnet Fruit to throw the Golden Ship and the treasure into the sky, once you die, they'll definitely fall somewhere nearby."

"Sooner or later, I'll find them. You're just struggling in vain."

"Hahahaha! John, rest in peace here!"

Laughing loudly, Pete leaped back onto the deck of the Treasure, and the pirates rowed frantically toward the cave entrance.

Before leaving, he took John's Vivre Card from his clothes and only relaxed after watching the tattered paper rapidly burn to ashes.

As the Treasure sailed out of the cave and into the vast open sea, a massive boulder crashed down, completely sealing the entrance.

"Treasure, my treasure..."

"Gold..."

"My wonderful life was ruined just like that by that dead bastard John!"

The pirates who had survived the disaster showed no joy at all. They sat or lay sprawled across the deck like walking corpses.

Their murky eyes were filled with deathly despair for the future.

"Pull yourselves together!"

Pete's roar drew the pirates' attention.

"The gold and treasure will definitely fall nearby. Get into the sea and find them!"

"What? The Golden Ship and the treasure didn't fly away?!"

"Hahaha, Captain Pete, I love you!"

The pirates instantly came back to life, scrambling over the railings and plunging into the sea, disregarding the potential danger of Sea Kings in pursuit of their pitiful dreams of fortune.

Meanwhile, inside the cave.

The collapse had not completely buried the cave. A large open space remained deep within, where John's corpse lay facedown.

"The infamous legendary pirate, Captain John, who had stirred up so many storms, had ended his glorious life just like that."

A hoarse voice rang out. The corpse suddenly stood up, grabbed its cheeks with both hands, and pulled at its mouth and eyes to make a grotesque face.

"Just kidding!"

"Zehahahaha!"

John lowered his hands, spread his arms, and threw back his head in wild laughter toward the cave ceiling.

"Did you idiots really think you had the brains to fight me? Did you?"

Not only had he carefully avoided exhausting all of his Conqueror's Haki, but he had also kept his Armament Haki activated the entire time to guard against Devil Fruit abilities that might strike at any moment.

He had never been hit by the Reaction Fruit's attack at all!

And those attacks coated in Armament Haki had also been neutralized by his own Armament Haki, turning into ordinary attacks.

As everyone knew, ordinary attacks were useless against Logia users!

As for the spurting blood...

It had been sea beast blood purchased in Ohara, sealed in bags and stuck to his body to create the illusion of blood gushing from his wounds.

And the Vivre Card—when he had snatched it from Pete earlier and pretended to stroke it, he had embedded gold powder stuck to his fingertips into it.

All he had to do was heat the gold powder with electricity from a distance, and the Vivre Card would spontaneously combust, creating the appearance that its owner had died.

A Vivre Card was merely resistant to burning. It was not fireproof!

"Next, you can bear the name of 'public enemy of the world' and face a full-scale manhunt from every side in my place."

John's expression abruptly turned cold. His eyes shifted toward the Visual Den Den Mushi in a dark corner.

When he had been the first to fly ashore, he had taken the opportunity to place the Visual Den Den Mushi wrapped in an iron box there.

The entire process of Captain John being killed had been clearly recorded by the Visual Den Den Mushi.

"Walking away with a mountain of treasure intact. Feels great!"

John raised a hand and summoned the Visual Den Den Mushi, replaying the segment where the Golden Ship and treasure were sent into the sky, along with everything afterward...

Cut. Delete!

"Now, people will think Captain John was riddled with holes and killed, while assuming that Pete and those traitors took the treasure."

"I'm a genius. I'm amazing!"

John could not help indulging in self-admiration as he danced about.

"Spin, jump, I close my eyes~ Fate cannot see, are you intoxicated yet..."

"Goddess of fate, you slut, want me to give you one? No, no, I won't!"

He could clearly feel that the Death Omen Star hanging above his head had disappeared.

He had successfully deceived fate and escaped a certain death!

After celebrating for a long while, John sat cross-legged and put on a faceless mask made of gold.

Then he picked up a Den Den Mushi and called Morgans, the president of World Economic News.

At this time, Morgans was still a capable but unknown small-timer. As soon as the call connected, an enthusiastic greeting soon came through.

"Hello, this is World Economic News. Do you have any major news to provide?"

"I have information about Captain John. Do you want it?"

"Captain John? The one who sailed a massive Golden Ship and possessed countless treasures?!"

On the other end of the line, Morgans instantly perked up and sat upright.

John nodded lightly.

"Ah, that poor Captain John."

"Poor? Sir, please don't joke around. If he's poor, then it's a crime for beggars like us to even be alive!"

"Captain John is dead!"

John got straight to the point, his voice as grating as metal scraping together.

Morgans's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Dead? How did he die?"

Captain John had once been an officer of the Rocks Pirates and had become famous across the seas for possessing countless treasures.

Over the years, countless people had coveted Captain John's treasure, yet not a single one had succeeded.

Why?

Because of his strength!

And now, at God Valley, Captain John had escaped leisurely with his massive Golden Ship while being pursued by countless great pirates.

How could someone like that suddenly die?

"He was betrayed and killed by First Mate Pete and the rest of the crew."

"What about the treasure? What about the Golden Ship?"

"They naturally fell into the first mate's hands as well."

"What proof do you have?"

"Is footage from the scene enough?"

"Enough! More than enough!"

Morgans nodded excitedly, then suddenly realized a very important question.

"Who are you? How did you record it?"

"You ask too many questions."

"My apologies. I spoke out of turn."

Morgans hurriedly apologized. He really had violated the rules of the news business.

Unless the informant offered the information voluntarily, one could not ask for his identity!

"Then let's arrange a meeting place. Give me the footage, and I'll pay you handsomely!"

"The footage is free."

John shook his head, a cold smile appearing beneath his golden mask.

Reaching into his clothes, he pulled out several transparent sealed bags with labels on them. Inside were withered, yellowed, blackened fingernails of varying shapes.

He had secretly collected them aboard the ship over the past few days.

"I have fingernails from First Mate Pete and several crew members. You know, these can be used to make Vivre Cards."

"My price isn't high. One billion Beli!"