As soon as Luffy said this, another earth-shattering roar erupted from below.
" Luffy is so Haki! He's the kind of man we should follow!"
"That's right, from now on we're part of the World's Strongest pirate crew! Let's see who dares to mess with us now. Our days of being timid and submissive are over!"
"..."
Looking at the incredibly lively atmosphere below, Luffy's lips curled into a smile.
These foolish pirates are the foundation for his future conquest of the New World. Even if their individual strength is insufficient, their sheer numbers will overwhelm the enemy! At least, that's what he thinks.
Once they've made a name for themselves, even if they aren't the real Straw Hat Pirates, who will care? Who will dare to question them?
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a surge of pride. Only someone as clever as him could come up with such a brilliant idea!
As for why they dared to impersonate the Straw Hat Pirates, weren't they afraid of being discovered by the real crew?
All he could say was, "What's there to be afraid of!"
Even the real Straw Hat Pirates wouldn't stand a chance against his numerous subordinates!
He's even more looking forward to encountering the real Straw Hat Pirates now, so that once he defeats them, they'll truly become the Straw Hat Pirates.
However, he had to admit that the name of the Straw Hat Pirates was truly effective!
Just look at the tens of thousands of men he's recruited; each one could drown the enemy with a single spit.
To further ignite their passion, " Luffy " said to another fat man in white sitting next to him:
" Xia Chen, why don't you say something too!"
"Um?"
The obese man in white gave a faint "hmm," then slowly opened his closed eyes.
After opening his eyes, the man's sharp gaze swept across his surroundings.
"!!!"
Every pirate who was swept by the man felt as if they were being pricked by needles, their backs soaked with sweat.
For a moment, the field fell into a silent atmosphere.
After a long pause, a pirate finally spoke, trembling, "This... this is Xia Chen the Sovereign? Such overwhelming pressure!"
Upon hearing this, another pirate swallowed hard, his face filled with fear, and said, "Indeed! When his eyes looked at me, I felt like my great-grandmother was waving at me!"
"Is this the man worth 10 billion? Just one look from him is enough to make me feel overwhelmed!"
"..."
After someone spoke, the room erupted in a flurry of conversation, with everyone sharing their opinions.
The content was all about being afraid of Xia Chen, and how powerful Xia Chen was.
"Snort!"
Xia Chen snorted and then closed his eyes, without uttering a single word.
A single "hmm" opened his eyes, and a single "humph" closed them—the process was extremely brief, yet even so, it sparked a series of cheers from the audience.
The sound was even louder than the effect of all the words " Luffy " had just spoken.
This situation is quite normal, after all, the title of the World's Strongest billion-dollar bounty is just that—it has immense deterrent power!
The powerful deterrent effect brings with it a powerful appeal. Of their current subordinates, not many, but 99% are there because of Xia Chen. That's why they get so excited just from humming " Xia Chen " a couple of times.
But " Luffy," standing to the side, looked rather grim. He was the one who organized and initiated the Straw Hat Pirates, so why did he suddenly seem like the leader?
He had said so much, yet it was less impactful than Xia Chen's casual hum. He felt deeply resentful, and a glint of malice flashed in his eyes as he looked at Xia Chen! He thought to himself:
"Luckily, we found an idiot to impersonate Xia Chen back then. We told him not to say anything when there were problems, and just to act aloof!"
"But now it seems... their popularity is a bit too high!"
This had seriously threatened his dominance. In the next few seconds, Luffy's mind flashed through one idea after another, finally settling on one.
He wants to find a time to stage a play with " Xia Chen," a play in which he defeats Xia Chen decisively!
Only in this way can he convince his subordinates that he is the strongest, and only then will they be able to trust him!
He had actually considered killing " Xia Chen " earlier, but after thinking it over, he gave up on the idea.
The reason is that Xia Chen's fame is too great now. If Xia Chen is killed, his reputation will obviously not be enough to attract many pirates to join them.
So even if he really does want to "kill" Xia Chen in the future, it will be after he openly and fairly "defeates" Xia Chen and spreads his fame!
He won't hold back then; he won't tolerate anyone who poses a threat to him, and if nothing unexpected happens...
Luffy turned his gaze to the remaining members of the Straw Hat Pirates; they all had to die.
That way, no one will know his secret anymore, and from now on he will be the real Straw Hat Luffy!
Hahaha...
"Captain! Captain! What are you thinking about?"
A voice interrupted " Luffy," who was immersed in a beautiful fantasy about the future, pulling him back from his virtual world. He then subconsciously answered:
"Huh? What's wrong?"
A green-haired man with three earrings looked at " Luffy " and said:
"Just now, one of his captains, who has a bounty of 200 million, asked us when we're going to the New World. His men are getting bored to death sitting here all day, and they're all shouting that they want to go kill someone!"
"Um..."
Upon hearing this, " Luffy " fell silent, mentally assessing the current strength of his forces.
His current pirate crew has tens of thousands of pirates in total, including more than a dozen captains with bounties over 100 million, not to mention the squad leaders with bounties between 50 million and 100 million.
There are definitely at least several dozen of them; with their current strength, they are certainly capable of advancing into the New World!
Moreover, as time went on, most of the pirates who wanted to join him had already joined his ranks. For example, the number of people joining in the last few days was significantly less than it had been half a month ago.
With this in mind, Luffy made a decision and said to the green-haired man:
" Zoro, go tell them, tomorrow!"
"Tomorrow we'll officially march into the New World. Tell them to get ready! When we get to Fish-Man Island, there will be plenty of mermaids and Fish-Man for them to kill, and..."
Hehehe!
As if he had thought of something, " Luffy " let out his classic villainous laugh, which lasted for a while before stopping.
"I heard those mermaids are all incredibly beautiful. Let's let the brothers vent their frustrations and experience something different!"