Starting with Kengan beating up the Pirate King

Chapter 121 A Peaceful Afternoon

Two days later, on Cake Island.

"In just one year, this sea has almost become unrecognizable to me."

Inside the Cake Castle, Charlotte Linlin and Guan Yi reunite and sit at the table to enjoy lunch together, but Kaido is nowhere to be seen.

The old woman's tone was somewhat wistful and heavy. Even the delicious snacks seemed to lose their sweetness as she gazed at Guan Yi and said, "'The Burner,' 'The Flame of Calamity,' 'The Demon Tiger,' you are truly remarkable. Now your legend is everywhere on the high seas. All of us pirate emperors combined are no match for you! Ian, have you been to Laugh Tale yet?"

"Not yet," Guan Yi said. "After obtaining the coordinates of Laugh Tale, I flew there to investigate, but it was hidden and protected by a force, perhaps by Joy Boy."

I fear that breaking through rashly would bring about some unnecessary complications. The best way is to travel by ship, using the navigation method recorded on the stone tablet, to enter Laugh Tale. Ordinary ships won't work; Kaido's ship was destroyed in Elbaf.

Building another ship would take some time, and Wano Country was in turmoil at the time, so the matter was delayed until now.

The older woman frowned: "Delay? Mama mama... What we guys dream of is something that can be delayed by trivial matters in your eyes? Ian, I've seen it all along, your goal has never been the Pirate King!"

No, becoming the Pirate King is just a means to conquer secret realms.

Obtaining the coordinates of Laugh Tale was merely a means to find a way to defeat Im. Having a method is not enough; one must also have the strength. Therefore, in Guan Yi's eyes, the importance of the One Piece and the improvement of his own strength are equally important. In a safe and worry-free state, it is not worth Guan Yi spending several months building a fleet to focus on conquering Laugh Tale.

Laugh Tale has been there for hundreds of years without running away; when the time is right, we can go there.

And now... Guan Yi stared at the old woman opposite him. Sure enough, after a two-second silence, the old woman said, "I have a ship, and I also have navigators strong enough to withstand any storm."

"Ian, I have a question. After Kaido dies, does our alliance still stand?"

“Of course, Ms. Lingling,” Guan Yi said with a smile. “While you were in a daze, I borrowed more than 300 billion from Katakuri and haven’t paid it back yet.”

"Mama mama!" The old woman burst into laughter. "You really are a man of honor, Ian, I like you! So..."

"Let's go together, let's retrieve the great treasure!"

……

Meanwhile, in the East China Sea, in Luoge Town.

Four years later, Long Qi set foot on this familiar land again, and his mindset was completely different.

Four years ago, he was the leader of all the explorers, racking his brains every day, thinking only about how to 'use' the exploration volunteers so that he could give the military a satisfactory answer when leaving the secret realm.

Now, he chooses to win without lifting a finger.

At the beginning of his journey into the secret realm, he would only occasionally fantasize about the tiny possibility of conquering it during this exploration when he was lying in bed late at night. And at that time, he only thought that the One Piece world was a purple-level difficult secret realm.

Over the past few years, Long Qi has witnessed too many powerful figures. Especially after joining the Revolutionary Army, he has experienced the power of the leader Long and the legion commanders up close several times. Only then did Long Qi realize how deep the waters of this world are. Even the Red Purgatory might not be enough to stop him. He could even reach the level of the Golden Legend!
But now he felt that this exploration was incredibly close to completely conquering the secret realm!

Doing his best to assist Guan Yi is the best option for him to gain some experience and rewards from the strategy.

Since their parting in Loguetown, when Guan Yi took the position of explorer leader from him, he had never seen Guan Yi again, only communicating with him from afar through dragons and Den Den Mushi.

He was looking forward to this reunion with Guan Yi, and to what kind of task Guan Yi would assign to them, the explorers—it was an agreement.

After Guan Yi took the position of explorer leader from him, Guan Yi sent a message in his name to all the explorers he could contact, warning them that this was a secret realm of Red Purgatory level or higher, and asking them to try their best to integrate and live peacefully.

If, four years later, on April 7th, 1520 of the Sea Calendar, we have established a firm foothold and, under safe conditions, we can reunite in Rogge Town!

"Sam's Tavern." More than a year ago, he bought the agreed-upon gathering tavern as a member of the Revolutionary Army and turned it into a Revolutionary Army stronghold.

So he deliberately arrived a few days early, taking on the role of a revolutionary army staff officer to replace the soldiers on duty there, and personally became the tavern owner.

As the time drew closer, Long Qi welcomed and saw off guests, and finally saw familiar faces.

"Seventh Exploration Team, Miao Kai."

When the young man opposite him asked questions and revealed his identity, Long Qi nodded and smiled, "Don't be nervous, I'm the team leader, Long Qi."

"Oh, you're the team leader? Hello, hello! I was worried we'd arrived too early," Miao Kai greeted him quickly. "It's alright, I'll arrange accommodations for you."

He received one explorer after another in this way. Before April 7th arrived, Long Qi had met a total of 13 explorers. He chatted with each of them privately and learned that they were all doing quite well.

Naturally, if one is not doing well, one would not dare to attend explorer gatherings casually.

On April 7th, Long Qi hung up a sign outside the tavern saying it was closed, and added a modern code word that only explorers could understand, to prevent anyone from coming that day. He then gathered the 13 explorers who had come for a gathering there.

When the fellow sees the fellow, tears well up.

Those who were already somewhat famous instantly became the focus of everyone's attention.

"You are... Dual-Gun Dean, the notorious pirate with a bounty of 1100 million. My god, you're actually our fellow explorer?!"

"And bro, your outfit must cost a million Berries, right? Waaah... So I'm the only one living a hard life?"

"Don't be modest, Peiwen, I've met you before. You work at Ligong Freight Logistics Company, right? Speaking of which, the company name is quite modern. I even suspect that one of our Explorers is among the company's founders."

The man he called out smiled demurely: "I thought so at first too. I didn't expect to accidentally become a middle manager. After all, I used to be a courier in Tiger City, so it's a good fit for my profession."

But it's nothing, I can't get my hands on a big shot like 'Disaster Flame' anyway, and these days Ligong Freight Logistics has very little contact with him."

"That was because he was protecting them. He even stormed into the Marine Headquarters and killed a Marine Admiral for the sake of his partners in the logistics and freight business!"

"Yeah, speaking of which, Demon Tiger Ian should be the protagonist of this secret realm's history, right? Being able to infiltrate his ranks, even if it's just an organization he built during his weaker days, might even get you some secret runes after leaving the secret realm. I'm so envious!"

The explorers found themselves frequently mentioning the name 'Ian,' after all, he was just too famous and had too much of a 'protagonist' vibe.

"I really don't know what those explorers were doing the previous two times. These guys didn't provide us with a single piece of information or intelligence? Otherwise, we would have all joined the logistics company long ago!"

"Yes, those who come later are very fortunate."

Long Qi mixed drinks for them, listening with a smile. He wondered how shocked these guys would be when they found out that Guan Yi was an explorer's companion and saw Guan Yi walk into the tavern!
He was looking forward to this moment.

I waited until noon.

The ordered lunch had arrived, and the explorers sat around the table. Someone asked, "Leader, isn't lunch ready yet? Are we waiting for someone?"

Long Qi was momentarily stunned.

"Ah... let's eat."

Why haven't they arrived yet? Is something holding them up?
After a meal and several rounds of drinks, the explorers became even more friendly, sharing their experiences and insights over drinks.

The afternoon sunlight streamed through the window and fell on Long Qi's face, at which point he suddenly gave a bitter smile.

"I see."

He's a smart man. Guan Yi won't let anything hold him back now. If he doesn't come at the agreed time, he probably won't come at all.

Perhaps Guan Yi has already forgotten? Perhaps this date agreed upon in the letter four years ago was just a source of hope and support for the explorers?

Perhaps he simply didn't want his exploration of the secret realm to cause trouble for other explorers.

He never intended to come here for a gathering, nor did he expect to 'show off' among the explorers; to him, that was meaningless.

Offering help under his arrangement? Perhaps the greatest help we can give him is simply not causing trouble!
Long Qi felt a little bitter, but he quickly came to a conclusion.

Why force him to participate? Perhaps at this time, he is accomplishing something crucial for conquering the secret realm?
Yes.

On this peaceful afternoon, Guan Yi, along with Robin, arrived at Laugh Tale without any incident, aboard Big Mom's ship!

(End of this chapter)