Pirates: Your emperor has returned!

Seeing this, Hoka quickly said, "Hey, there's no need to go this far. You'll bring trouble to your country!"

Helping slaves escape—this is an unforgivable crime for the world government.

Rowan grinned, his expression unchanged.

He continued the conversation that hadn't been finished, introducing himself.

“I am Ryan Rowan.”

He suddenly exerted force from his waist and abdomen, and threw the black gun in his hand.

Swift as lightning, powerful as a shooting star!

call out!

A deafening roar filled the air as the black spear sliced ​​through the sky, heading straight for the distant warship.

The seemingly ordinary black gun tip struck the hull.

In the next instant, the warship shattered into pieces, and a storm of sand and gravel swept through the area, accompanied by deafening explosions that spread outwards!

A giant mushroom cloud, composed of sand and seawater, rose from the sea and came into view of the people on the shore.

Such an exaggerated scene silenced everyone.

Crocodile's eyes flickered as he pondered Rowan's specific method of using the Sand-Sand Fruit.

Hoka's eyes widened in disbelief.

He believed that even if he were at sea, he would have a hard time surviving an explosion of that magnitude.

The simple-minded fishman could never have imagined that the human who raised a glass with him and told outdated jokes was actually a top-level powerhouse with such destructive power!

On the dock.

Only Rowan's voice continues.

"Whether they are Celestial Dragons or the World Government, everyone who comes here needs to understand one thing..."

Rowan slowly closed his five fingers, crushing the floating sand.

His words echoed in everyone's ears.

"Alabasta—I've got your back."

[18. Chapter Eighteen was built accordingly]

Splash... splash...

The aftershocks from the black gun explosion gradually dissipated.

The surging waves subsided and began to lap rhythmically against the shore.

"Alabasta—I've got your back."

After saying those words, Rowan twisted his shoulders and let out a long sigh of relief.

He waved to Crocodile.

Crocodile, a cigar dangling from his lips, walked towards Rowan, frowning. "What are you doing?"

Rowan scratched his empty hand and gestured, "The scepter."

"Oh."

Crocodile casually transformed his right arm into an elemental form, and the sand rolled up the scepter that was stuck not far away, pulling it to his side.

At the moment Crocodile handed the scepter to Rowan, he suddenly realized something.

He slammed the scepter to the ground and cursed:

"Why should I help you carry it?"

Rowan helplessly beckoned with his finger, and the sand beneath his feet seemed to come alive, lifting the scepter from the ground and placing it in Rowan's hand.

He held the scepter and smiled at Crocodile:

"Speaking of which, little crocodile, your move just now was very decisive."

Crocodile's brow furrowed deeply, he took a deep drag on his cigar, and said in a low voice:

"Don't get me wrong, I'm just annoyed by those slave traders!"

On the other side, Vivi had just calmed down a child who was even younger than her, and then ran over to Rowan's side.

"Ancestor, Mr. Crocodile, are you alright?"

Rowan patted Vivi's head and pointed to Crocodile, introducing him: "This is Little Crocodile. Little Crocodile just saved a town. Quickly say: Thank you, Little Crocodile."

"Thank you, little crocodile..."

At this point, Vivi sensed something was amiss, but in the end, she could only force herself to say, "Thank you, Mr. Little Crocodile!"

Crocodile: "..."

I'm furious.

In any case, this old man from eight hundred years ago infuriated him!

But what can we do about it?

Crocodile has no desire to fight to the death with an old monster whose fighting power is unfathomable!

It's not that we lack confidence to fight, but rather that there's no need to.

He simply took a cigar and went to the side to calm himself down.

He ended by leaving a comment to express his dissatisfaction:

"You should worry about those guys first!"

Crocodile was referring, of course, to the exiles led by the fish-man Hokka.

After resolving the issue of the slave traders, they stood quietly in place, not daring to look up at anyone.

Hoka's face was grim, and his eyes were downcast.

He was ashamed to face any of the residents of Yaruja.

The residents had kindly taken them in, but their arrival brought unexpected disaster to the small town.

How do those residents feel now?

Anger? Regret? Hatred?

At the very least, there will be some aversion!

Hoka remained silent, bracing himself for the look of disgust he was already accustomed to.

But to his surprise, after a brief silence, he was greeted by a deafening roar of cheers.

"Oh, thank you so much!"

"Mr. Crocodile and that fishman are both so strong!"

"Didn't you see? The last one to make a move was really amazing; he destroyed that huge ship in an instant!"

"In short, it's good that everyone is alright!"

"..."

People cheered, marveling at the strength of the attackers, or relieved that no one was injured.

But there was no sound of blame.

Hoka and the others stood there, stunned, speechless for a long time.

A strange emotion welled up in my heart, and the scene before me gradually blurred.

They have never been treated like this before.

It wasn't the usual contempt or exclusion, nor the pity of those in high positions, but rather being treated like an "ordinary person."

Rowan smiled and said to Vivi beside him, "Your father has governed this country very well."

Then, he walked past Hoka, looked at the scene before him, and sighed to the merman:

"A nice country, isn't it?"

……

evening.

On the coast not far from Yaruja.

Hoka, holding the borrowed mallet, solemnly struck a wooden stake.

Boom!

The wooden stake was firmly driven into the ground.

That was the first wooden stake in the village, and it marked the founding of the Yaruja Fishman Village.

The residents of the neighboring Yaruja brought over all the necessary daily necessities to help the fish people set up a temporary camp.

"Are you really not going to live in Yaruja?"

The old mayor was a little worried. "Even if you want to build your own village, you can stay at the tavern temporarily until the village is built."

"Thank you, sir."

Hoka secured one corner of the tent and chuckled, "But we can't very well disturb you any longer, besides, this is our own village, our home!"

Hoka's eyes lit up when he spoke of "our home".

They fled all the way here and never imagined that they would have a place that could be called "home".

Hearing this, the old town mayor stopped trying to stop him and instead sighed.

"Speaking of which, it's really unexpected that the ancestor of the Alabasta royal family has actually been resurrected!"

Hokka nodded. "Whoever he is, we are truly grateful to him."

……

Not far away.

Rowan and Crocodile watched the busy crowd.