The pinnacle of pirates begins with deceiving fate!

"If that's how you think of me, then I'm really hurt. Apologize to me!"

"sorry."

Without any hesitation, Newgate, Linlin, Shiki, and Kaido lined up and bowed their heads to apologize to John.

Nobody turns down money!

"Yes, I forgive you." John nodded, pleased with the emotional support he received.

"hey-hey."

Seeing that John was so easy to talk to, Kaido rubbed his hands shyly and got down to business.

"Let's talk about how to divide it."

"Didn't we agree from the beginning that we'd split it equally?" Shiki glared fiercely at Kaido.

He felt that this horned guy wasn't very bright. The optimal allocation plan had already been determined, so why talk about it again?

"fart!"

John panicked and jumped up from the ship's side.

"I contributed the most, and I also bear the infamy and the hatred of all the pirates. Now I'm the public enemy, so I should take the lion's share!"

The biggest inequality and unfairness is that those who put in the most effort receive the same pay as those who slack off!

Upon hearing this, the four exchanged glances and reached an agreement.

"Tell me, how do you want to divide it?" Shiki lit a cigar and gestured with his chin toward John.

“I want half!” John said succinctly.

"half?!"

Such a large appetite made the four of them gasp in surprise.

This gold ship is estimated to be about 100 meters long and 20 meters wide, and its value is at least 50 billion berries.

If they had split it equally, each of the five people would have received 20%, and each person would have received more than 10 billion Berries.

They can tolerate John taking 30%, but they absolutely cannot allow him to take 50%!

Otherwise, their profits would have plummeted from over 10 billion to 6-7 billion, almost half of what they were worth!

"Damn it! If you don't want to split it, just say so. We can fight it out!"

Kaido rolled up his sleeves, his fighting spirit surging, as he wanted to test the power of the "Azure Dragon Fruit" with these old buddies.

Shiki and Lingling also assumed fighting stances, weapons in hand, alert to their left and right.

"Since we can't resolve this through negotiation, let's settle it like pirates!"

"Calm down, guys. Don't you have enough troubles already?" Newgate scratched the back of his head in annoyance.

He still has some affection for the Rocks Pirates, but now that Captain Rocks' fate is unknown, the disbandment of the pirate crew is a foregone conclusion.

He didn't want to see these good friends part ways on bad terms. Even if they were to pursue their own ambitions, he hoped they would at least maintain some friendship.

"Let's fight then! Who's afraid of who!"

John ignored Newgate's attempts to mediate, unleashing his Conqueror's Haki and the power of his Rumble-Rumble Fruit, unleashing a torrent of ferocious lightning snakes.

Kaido, Linlin, and Shiki were not to be outdone, each displaying their Conqueror's Haki.

In an instant, the sea, which had been gently rippled by the breeze, became turbulent, and a fierce wave of air swept outwards.

Fish and sea creatures rose to the surface, their eyes rolling back as they floated on the water, and even the clouds hanging in the sky were shaken into water vapor and dissipated.

Alice huddled with Teach at the stern of the ship. Even though she had a special bloodline and wasn't knocked unconscious by the Conqueror's Haki, she was still dazed and struggling to breathe.

"Don't think I'm easy to bully just because I can't beat you."

John raised his hand and pointed angrily at these heartless bastards.

"At worst, I'll sink this golden ship to the bottom of the sea, so you won't get anything!"

"You bastard, threatening us? You try it!"

Despite his harsh words, Shiki's body language betrayed his actions as he bent down and slapped his hand on the deck.

Instantly, the power of the Float-Float Fruit activated, and the entire golden ship lost gravity and floated into the air.

"Let's give it a try!"

A surge of electricity erupted from John's body, transforming into a powerful magnetic force that dragged the golden ship downwards.

The Float-Float Fruit's ability to be blown around by storms was utterly powerless against the strong magnetism. In the blink of an eye, the golden ship crashed heavily onto the sea, creating towering waves.

But that wasn't the end of it. The golden ship that had crashed into the sea continued to sink, and seawater quickly overflowed the ship's sides and flooded the deck.

As the seawater reached above their calves, Shiki and the other three, being ability users, felt a slight discomfort. Their eyes flickered repeatedly, and they gave in.

"Stop! You want half, then half!"

"John, you damn madman, get the boat afloat!"

"You already possess so much treasure, yet you refuse to share more with us. You are truly a miser unlike any other in the world!"

"Ah!"

John snorted and controlled the golden ship to rise to the surface.

At the same time, multiple drainage outlets were opened on the ship's side using "Lei Metallurgy" to drain the seawater.

"Why didn't you just agree earlier? Why make things so unpleasant? You're all no better than me."

He has always firmly believed that dignity is earned through strength, not by begging and groveling.

If you don't have the strength to win, then use ruthlessness!

If you're ruthless enough, you can earn respect!

"whispering sound!"

Shiki and his friends turned their heads away unhappily, but did not continue to cause trouble.

They were surprised that John had become so assertive, but ironically, they were very susceptible to this "assertiveness."

Only in this way can we gain their approval.

Conversely, if John were to plead and weep, they would not only despise him but also divide him up completely.

Next came the very pleasant allocation process.

The group found a deserted island, and John used lightning to forge the golden ship into a giant gold brick, cutting off half for himself.

Newgate used the "Murakumo-giri" (a type of slicing knife) to divide the remaining half into five equal parts, and each of the four people took one part...

They started arguing again over the remaining portion.

Kaido proudly raised his head, displaying the sword scar on his chest that had not yet fully healed.

"If I hadn't stopped Rocks, no one could have left God Valley. This share should be mine!"

"You stole my Devil Fruit, so repay me with this gold."

"I even got kicked by Rocks, and I still have the shoe print on my face!"

Shiki tilted his head and pointed to his left cheek, where there was indeed still a lingering shoe print.

Newgate sat on a stone stool to the side, crossed his legs and watched them argue, then sighed helplessly.

He had originally planned to bring these people together and re-establish a warm and family-like pirate crew.

But now it seems that if these bastards get together, they'll probably have a small fight every day and a big fight every three days.

Forget it, let's find someone else.

"that……"

John put down the coconut with the golden straw and raised his right hand to indicate that he had something to say.

When the three bastards turned their gazes toward him, he pointed to Alice and Teach, mother and son, beside him.

"Lox's fate is unknown, so let's leave this gold to them, mother and son, as living expenses. Give it to me for safekeeping."

Chapter 18 respectively

"You bastard! Don't push your luck!"

"I really will kill you!"

"Come on, let's fight one-on-one! One of us must die!"

Shiki, Linlin, and Kaido were absolutely furious. They had never seen anyone as shameless as John, who took advantage of others and then acted innocent.

Pirates who value loyalty know that even if they have to help raise the wives and children of their fallen comrades, it should be the one who benefits the most who does it.

And what about that bastard John?

How dare they use the names of Lox's wife and children to shamelessly try to get another share!

"I'm not saying anything anymore, you guys continue."

Seeing that these three bastards were really on the verge of exploding, John shrugged and picked up the coconut to continue eating.

The three of them ignored him and continued arguing about who would get the last piece of gold.

Newgate picked up a coconut, dodged a chop to the side, tilted his head back and drank it down, then turned to look at John.

What are your plans next?

"Follow your destiny."

John gazed at the azure sea and sky ahead, watching the waves disappear into the sand, a resigned calm in his eyes.

Despite all that was done, and even though Rocks was changed to "missing," the pirate crew still couldn't escape the fate of disbanding.

Since fate wants it so badly, then let's give it a try.

"What about you?"

“I don’t know.” Newgate shook his head blankly.

He just wanted a home on the sea, but he hadn't figured out how to take the first step.