A warm, confident smile appeared on Kakarot's face as his gaze swept over the people before him, each both familiar and unfamiliar.
Their young faces brimmed with vitality and ambition, with longing for the limitless possibilities of the future.
"Hello, everyone. I'll skip introducing myself. With your knowledge of the world, I'm sure you all know me."
His voice was steady and powerful, echoing slowly through the somewhat empty tavern.
Mihawk nodded slightly, a flicker of approval passing through his sharp eyes.
The corners of Crocodile's mouth lifted into a faint, almost imperceptible smile, and he likewise gave a small nod of acknowledgment.
"I brought you here today to offer you an opportunity to grow stronger quickly and keep pace with this era."
A hawklike gleam flashed through Kakarot's eyes, as though speaking of an opportunity that could change their destinies.
In his mind, he had already sketched out a grand plan for the future campaign against the World Government.
He yearned to see these people among the top-tier fighters who would determine the world's course.
By rights, the force Kakarot led already possessed a considerable number of powerful fighters.
Yet whenever he thought of the deep foundations Imu and the Celestial Dragons had built over eight hundred years, his heart involuntarily grew heavier.
Based on the various secrets he had learned in his previous life, a conservative estimate suggested that the Holy Knights of the high-ranking Celestial Dragons and the Five Elders alone might command more than fifteen fighters at the Admiral Candidate, Admiral, and Emperor levels.
Adding the unfathomably powerful members of Cipher Pol concealed in the shadows, along with hidden powerhouses who might not yet have surfaced, the Revolutionary Army's current fighting strength probably still fell considerably short.
The Revolutionary Army lagged even further behind in mid-level