After everyone had finished watching the excitement and returned, Vic threw a small banquet, which also served as a welcome party to celebrate Pizarro joining the Thunder God Pirates. After all, it had been a very, very long time since Vic had left!
" Vic! Are we going to fight for territory and seize the throne of one of the Four Emperors?"
Barnett had been holding back for a while, and before he'd even taken a bite of his food, he was the first to ask. Back in the Navy, he'd wanted to help Vic become Marine Admiral and even the Supreme Commander of the Navy.
But then something uncontrollable happened. He couldn't blame Vic for that, and even admired Vic's actions. If it were him, he wouldn't have had the courage to take that step!
So after becoming a pirate, he wanted to help Vic become the ultimate pirate— the Pirate King. Becoming one of the Four Emperors was a crucial step towards achieving this goal, so he was naturally quite eager. Now, the timing was perfect.
" Barnett! Have you heard of the uncrowned king? Ever since the death of Pirate King Roger, Whitebeard has been the uncrowned king of the sea. As long as you all become strong, even without territory, I will succeed Whitebeard as the uncrowned king!"
The title of "Four Emperors" is merely an enemy created by the World Government for other pirates who aspire to rise in rank, in order to incite pirates to fight each other for fame and fortune. With our strength, we have nothing to fear!
But I can't let them use me as a pawn; I don't like that feeling. Besides, I suspect that becoming the Pirate King would make me stand out against the Five Elders, so the title of "Uncrowned King" suits me better.
From the very beginning, Vic never intended to become the Pirate King. As long as he was strong enough, he would be even freer than the Pirate King. Moreover, based on a lot of information, Vic knew that standing out too much would make him a target.
He didn't know how many Celestial Dragons were at the Law God- level, but there was no need to gamble on that. Everything would come to light in time. He just needed to keep getting stronger; he hadn't even reached the limit of his Haki and Speed-Speed Fruit!
"Yes! I understand what you're thinking!" Barnett said solemnly.
" Fisher Tiger! Have you been back to Fish-Man Island recently?"
Vic took a sip of his drink and asked Fisher Tiger about the Ancient Weapon of Fish-Man Island — Shirahoshi. He was still very interested in it. Although the ability to control Sea Kings was useless against top-tier powerhouses, it was really useful in group battles, especially at sea, where it had an even greater advantage. It would definitely become one of the main forces in future wars.
"I've been there a few times. I didn't get involved in Shirahoshi's affairs, I just took down some human traffickers who wanted to kidnap mermaids. But with Whitebeard's death, Fish-Man Island's situation isn't very good. Can we help them?"
Years ago, Fisher Tiger often returned to Fish-Man Island to deal with human traffickers who wanted to do bad things. However, he missed the chance when Queen Otohime died, and he regretted it deeply during that time!
He also wanted to take down the guy who kept throwing weapons at Shirahoshi, but Vic told him not to interfere. Although he didn't know what Vic was thinking, he listened to Vic and didn't interfere.
Vic also made a special trip to Ryugu to reinforce Shirahoshi's Hard-Shell Tower with metal, as an extra layer of insurance.
"Yes! Shirahoshi is no ordinary person. She possesses immense hidden power, but this power needs someone to guide it, and that person is not one of us here!"
Shirahoshi needs these experiences, and the person who can guide Shirahoshi is about to appear!
Fisher Tiger! Send one of our pirate flags over there and hang it at the entrance to Fish-Man Island. From now on, I'll protect Fish-Man Island!
After Vic finished speaking, he glanced at Olvia and then looked away. Olvia also knew about the Ancient Weapon, and based on Vic's words and actions, she had already concluded that it was Shirahoshi. That's why she had been staring at Vic while Vic was speaking.
Vic glanced at her because he felt her gaze, which was a signal for her not to say anything. Olvia understood Vic's look, nodded slightly, and then lowered her head.
She was thinking about what she had said to Rebecca last night. Had Vic heard her? Just thinking about it made her afraid to look Vic in the eye. Vic's eyes seemed to see through everything, bright and deep, full of wisdom!
Vic agreed to Fisher Tiger's request without hesitation. With Whitebeard protecting them, Fish-Man Island was relatively peaceful before.
However, in the original story, after Whitebeard's death, Fish-Man Island was taken over by Big Mom's flag. It was originally Whitebeard Pirates ' territory, but in the end, it was still taken over by Big Mom.
Moreover, Fish-Man Island is not doing well under Big Mom's rule. Not only has crime increased dramatically, but they also have to pay a lot of protection money. Big Mom doesn't care much about Fish-Man Island; she just puts up a flag and waits to collect protection money. So, Vic's willingness to lend a helping hand can be seen as a way of building a good relationship with the future Poseidon in advance.
" Vic! Won't Ace and Marco think something's wrong if we do this? After all, that area still belongs to the Whitebeard Pirates!"
The speaker was Ain. Unlike Yamato and Olga, who were busy eating and drinking, she had been listening to Vic the whole time. So she spoke with some concern. After all, Whitebeard had just died, and Vic seemed to have a good relationship with the Whitebeard Pirates. If he really went to hang the flag, it wouldn't sound good to others.
"Don't worry, Marco should run into trouble soon, and I'll lend him a hand then. I'll also explain this matter to him publicly. As for Ace, I'll talk to him too. Fish-Man Island is such a strategic location; they really can't defend it!"
" Vic! Thank you!"
"Don't be shy! We're all in this together now. The Whitebeard captains are all pretty good guys; we should lend a hand if we can!"
Mantis was genuinely grateful to Vic. Whitebeard's willingness to sacrifice himself to save his son was admirable, and Vic felt the same way. Even without Whitebeard's involvement, he would have still stepped in to save Ace.
Therefore, Whitebeard's debt to Mantis is not yet fully repaid. He will also step in to stop Blackbeard from targeting Marco and his crew, which is the remaining debt he will repay. However, with the current strength of the Whitebeard Pirates, they certainly cannot defend those territories. We'll have to wait and see how strong Ace in two years!
"Oh, right! Let me formally introduce our new partner, Barrow Pizarro! He's a Zoan- Zoan Ox-Ox Fruit user with the Mythical Zoan form, specifically the Kirin form."
Those of you who came out of the navy with me should all know him. I was the one who arrested him and put him in Impel Down. I didn't expect him to come to me as soon as he got out. Pizarro isn't a bad person at heart, he was just corrupted by this rotten world. Now he's back on the right path, he's turned over a new leaf. Let's all have a drink to celebrate the addition of our new comrade, cheers!
"Cheers!..."
" Pizarro! Welcome to the Thunder God Pirates!"
" Zoan! And Mythical Zoan at that, so rare!"
"This is the first Zoan ability we have here!"
"Welcome!"
"Welcome!"
Welcome!
Vic glanced around at his companions and spotted Pizarro drinking alone. He then formally introduced him to everyone, and they all raised their glasses in celebration. Everyone welcomed Pizarro's arrival, and the atmosphere was wonderful. Pizarro was all smiles, his eyes slightly moist, as if he had found a home!
The atmosphere became even more lively afterward. Everyone drank quite a bit of alcohol and let go of many things. They talked about everything under the sun, from the current situation to matters of spiritual practice, and shared their own insights. Vic would chat with everyone for a long time, completely emptying his heart of loneliness, emptiness, and longing!