A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

Amidst the gasps of shock, the Golden Lion suddenly tapped his palm: "By the way, you're a doctor, right? Now that we're allies, how about you perform surgery on me?"

"What kind of surgery?" Luo frowned as he looked at the Golden Lion, his eyes filled with apprehension.

The previous sentence revealed the value and ultimate meaning of the Ope Ope Fruit, and the next sentence asked him to perform surgery on him. Anyone would have some wild thoughts in that situation.

Fortunately, the Golden Lion's next words dispelled Law's doubts.

The Golden Lion pointed to the ship's wheel on his head and said, "This thing is in the way. Use your Op-Op Fruit to get it off for me!"

"...It's a small matter!"

Golden Lion, holding his third cup of wine, walked toward Luffy, who was feasting.

"Straw Hat Boy, you heard what we just said, right? How about joining our alliance?"

"do not want!"

Luffy flatly refused Shiki's invitation, continuing to gnaw on the meat made from some unknown animal. "Although I appreciate you treating me to dinner, let's forget about an alliance."

"Wait a minute, Luffy! If you just refuse like this..."

Luffy's carefree and unrestrained attitude startled Usopp and the others, who looked at Shiki with fear, afraid that he might go on a killing spree if he was displeased.

"Hehehe...!! That was quite a direct refusal! Speaking of which, that straw hat you're wearing looks familiar, it reminds me of an old friend..."

"This was given to me by Shanks."

A glint flashed in Shiki's eyes, and his gaze toward Luffy held a newfound interest: "Just like that Red Nose over there, a former apprentice on Roger's ship? Well then, this hat really is Roger's..."

"I don't know about that."

Golden Lion gazed at Luffy's straw hat and began to reminisce about the past: "Back then, I invited Roger to conquer the sea with me, but he refused in the end. I feel deeply regretful every time I think about it!"

Bucky, standing to the side, silently drank his wine, thinking to himself: Are you sure that's regret? You should feel resentment, shouldn't you, after that crushing defeat at Ait Wall...?

"More than 20 years later, fate has brought me back to the person wearing this hat. It's simply destiny!! Hehehehe..."

The golden lion's voice became more generous and passionate, and its laughter grew louder and more unrestrained, powerful and domineering, giving people the feeling that "although the lion is old, its power still remains."

"Join our alliance, Straw Hat Boy!"

"I do not want!"

Roger gave his hat to Shanks, and Shanks gave his hat to Luffy, both because they saw each other as inheritors of their will.

In other words, Luffy and Roger are the same kind of people with the same will. They have no ambition to conquer the sea or the world, only a vision to pursue freedom.

These golden lions knew this all too well, but he still wanted to give it a try! There was one thing he wasn't lying about: he truly regretted not being able to invite Roger back then.

"Why not? Don't you have even the slightest ambition for this sea?"

Is it because the pie in the sky isn't tempting enough? Two people have already eaten it all.

Luffy stopped eating and said seriously, "I don't need to conquer! If I have any ambition... becoming the Pirate King is my ambition!"

Golden Lion looked at Luffy with interest: "If that's the case, why do you still think we don't need to conquer it? Only the one who rules this sea with power is the Pirate King!"

Luffy retorted loudly, "No way! The Pirate King should be the freest person in the world!"

This guy... he really does look like Roger!

"Besides, I don't have time to form an alliance with you. I still have to go save Ace."

Upon hearing this, everyone present simultaneously closed their eyes, black lines appearing on their foreheads, and the same thought flashed through their minds: 'We're done for! We've been manipulated!'

Sure enough, Shiki grinned after hearing this: "'Fire Fist' Ace? Who is he to you?"

"He's my brother!" Luffy told him the truth.

"Hehehe...then you should join forces with me even more! You've seen the power of my 'Float-Float Fruit,' haven't you?"

Golden Lion extended a hand to Luffy: "If you team up with me, I can promise you that I'll take you directly to Impel Down, or even to Marine Headquarters!"

"Wouldn't it be much easier for you to save your brother then?"

Luffy was stunned, while Zoro, Sanji, Nami, and the others had expressions of 'I knew it would happen'. They then pulled Luffy aside and whispered among themselves.

"Indeed, if we had this capability, we would save time searching for permanent markers and navigating the ocean depths, making rescues and evacuations much easier..."

"But the other party is the legendary Golden Lion! If we act with him, we'll also attract the Navy's close attention..."

"It's inevitable that the Navy will take notice! The key issue is that our goal is to rescue Ace, but his goal is to wreak havoc at Navy Headquarters. If such a madman gets to know the planned escape route, no one knows what might happen..."

"Didn't they say the Whitebeard Pirates would be going too? With them sharing the Navy's firepower, there shouldn't be any problems, right?"

"How can you place your hope of survival on someone you don't know?"

"Luffy, what do you think?"

"That's right, Luffy! You're the captain, you should make this decision!"

The group looked up, only to find that Luffy was nowhere to be seen.

Where are they??

Turning around, he saw Luffy already shaking hands with Shiki, a silly grin on his face: "What? So you're going to help me save Ace? Thank you so much! Okay! Let's form an alliance!!"

The air fell silent.

"..." × N

"I knew it would turn out like this!!!" ×N

Chapter 969 Crocodile's Adventure in Wano Country

In Wano Country, in the capital city, in an inconspicuous room.

A group of people whose clothing made them look completely out of place among the locals were having a small meeting here.

The leader, with a scar on his face, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, a hook on his hand, and a cloak on his back, was none other than Crocodile!

Three days ago, Crocodile arrived in Wano Country. However, when he and his group entered Wano Country, their ship capsized. By the time they were washed ashore in Kuri, the ship was destroyed, and the people they brought with them had scattered.

The disheveled Crocodile was rescued by Tama, a six-year-old girl from Amigasa Village, and received her meager but all the food she had.

When Crocodile learned that he had eaten all of Tama's food, but had drunk sewage to stave off hunger, and even fainted from poisoning, he was instantly overwhelmed.

Just as he was at a loss, his scattered men came up to him and said that they had also been poisoned by drinking the river water, but were saved by Ah He, the owner of the teahouse, and recovered by drinking a soup made with evil herbs.

Upon learning that there was a cure for the poison, Crocodile ordered two of his men to take Tama to seek the medicine, while he led the rest of his men to Boro Town to scavenge for supplies.

Finally, with his overwhelming strength, he defeated the local Shinta and Taiju in an almost crushing manner, then took over the entire town, and returned to the dilapidated town with all the food to distribute to the locals.

Crocodile's series of actions quickly made him a 'hero' and 'savior' in the eyes of the locals, even giving him the feeling that he was still in Alabasta.

When Crocodile finally felt relieved after rescuing Tama and watching her happily eat, he began to reorganize his forces and gather intelligence from the outside world. However, the more he inquired, the more shocking the results became.

The environment in Wano Country was worse than any other place he had ever seen. It was so bad that the words "dirty, messy, and smelly" were no longer enough to describe how terrible it was. There was a severe shortage of food, the water was polluted, and even the air was more unbearable than in any other place he had ever been before.

Delicious food and clean water are all firmly controlled by "Guardian King" Kaido and "Shogun" Orochi, and can only be used by those who work for them.

All of this made Crocodile exclaim, "Kaido... he's gone even further than I did in Alabasta!"

Although Alabasta is short of water, its geographical environment plays a large part in the problem, and Crocodile merely catalyzes this effect. Moreover, the country is not closed off from the world; from the king and princess to ordinary citizens, everyone can go out to sea at any time.

Even in his unfulfilled plan to seize power, the civilians of Alabasta could still muster an army of 100 million, and the royal family would still have 60 troops!

Looking at Wano Country, the only word to describe it is "utterly devastating".

Although Kaido was not in Wano Country at the time, this did not affect the speed of the Beast Pirates' news transmission. On the same day that Crocodile captured Boro Town, the news reached the ears of "Big Boss" Queen. So before Crocodile could even set off to find "Dark King", Queen came knocking on his door.

After a battle, Crocodile was defeated and forced to flee. At this point, Crocodile couldn't even beat Luffy, let alone Queen.

After the defeat, Crocodile's men went into hiding, threatening wealthy men with their lives to get them to do their bidding, while they themselves lived in seclusion.

It was at this moment that Kaido returned.

Upon receiving the news, Quinn naturally reported it immediately via Den Den Mushi.

Onigashima, Kaido's room.

"Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea? He's come to Wano Country??"

"Yes, Brother Kaido!"

The Den Den Mushi on the table in front of me has an ugly, fat face, and it is imitating Queen, the "Plague" of the Beasts Pirates.

"His whereabouts and motives are currently unknown, but we have notified everyone stationed in Wano Country that this matter. As soon as he appears, we will receive the news immediately!"

Queen's voice sounded somewhat guilty, as if he was afraid of being punished by Kaido for his poor performance. However, Kaido had no interest in the matter at the moment: "It doesn't matter how you deal with that kind of person. Now go and give me the 'Road Poneglyphs'."

"Huh?? Why??"

After a brief silence, Kaido's roar echoed from the room: "...Enough nonsense! Just do as I tell you to do!!!"

"Kachcha!"

After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Kaido complained in frustration, "That Queen is so clueless! Did I have to tell him that he coded the Road Poneglyph to someone else?"

Everyone else around remained silent, not daring to speak.

Only Jin raised the question that had been lingering for days: "I'm very curious, why did that mage insist on using a stone instead of a rubbing?"

Kaido downed a mouthful of wine and said, "Who knows? Probably some kind of collector's obsession... Anyway, we already have quite a few rubbings, so we don't need this one stone. If he wants it, we'll give it to him."

He got more and more drunk, and eventually fell into a deep sleep, until he was awakened by a startled cry.

"Something's wrong!! Boss Kaido!!"

"what happened?"

Kaido opened his eyes, like a sleeping dragon awakening, exuding an imposing aura without anger.

The henchman who rushed in was startled. After regaining his senses, he hurriedly shouted, "Those mages, and Katakuri from the Big Mom Pirates, have entered Wano Country!!"

"What are they doing here..." Kaido frowned upon hearing this.

I already promised to bring the road sign texts, are they really going to come all the way to my place and steal them?! ...It doesn't seem impossible!!

Where are they now?

"We've arrived in the City of Flowers!"

"Isn't that where the giant snake is?"