The pinnacle of pirates begins with deceiving fate!

No wonder, in the original timeline, the first thing Shiki did after escaping Impel Down was to come and chat with Newgate.

How comforting it is to be able to drink and chat with old friends!

“Newgate…”

"If you're trying to invite me to do something big, I advise you to give up the idea. That guy Shiki almost got sunk into the sea by me before because of it."

Newgate interrupted John before he could finish speaking.

Newgate has gotten what he wanted, and now all he wants to do is protect it.

Upon hearing this, John was speechless. He did indeed want to extend an invitation to Newgate, but it seemed the time was not yet right.

"Okay, but I believe you'll agree to my request someday."

"I don't want to!"

Newgate twitched his mustache with a touch of arrogance and pinpointed the fatal flaw.

"If that day ever comes, it must be because something terrible has happened on my ship that I absolutely cannot accept!"

"No matter how capable a person is, it is difficult to resist the cruelty of fate." John smiled meaningfully.

Newgate felt uneasy at the sight of the laughter.

Although John has now messed up my fate, many things cannot be easily changed.

"Captain John, would you like a drink?"

Seeing the awkward situation, Gram, who had a pineapple-shaped hairstyle, stepped forward with a barrel of wine to ease the tension.

John glanced at Marco, who was following behind Graham, took the barrel from him, and kindly reminded him:

“Gram, this ocean isn’t just for us; there are many dangerous creatures lurking in the shadows.”

"Don't let your guard down just because you've become the first mate of one of the Four Emperors. Be careful of the malice lurking in the shadows, and don't act on your own."

"Oh? Thank you, I'll be careful."

Gram paused for a moment, then assumed that his reputation was too great and would attract the attention of bounty hunters and some ambitious people, but he didn't take it to heart.

What storms and waves hasn't he seen along the way?

Seeing that Graham was completely ignoring him, John frowned and had no choice but to say more.

Do you know why I faked my death?

Upon hearing this, not only Gram, but also pirates like Newgate and Kaido became interested and listened intently.

John uncorked the barrel, lifted it up, and gulped it down, letting the excess rum spill over him. He only stopped when he couldn't drink any more in one go.

John exhaled a breath reeking of alcohol and said with a stern face:

"No matter how powerful we are, we are still human beings, and we will die if we are killed."

"There are many ways to kill, among which poisoning is the most difficult to guard against and is also a common method used by many bounty hunters and slave traders."

"You're on the ship, and the cook and purchasing agent are your own companions, so you don't need to worry about food and drink."

"But when you go out to buy supplies, you always have to eat at restaurants and quench your thirst at pubs, right?"

John was able to roughly deduce the cause of Graham's death.

It certainly wasn't a Challenger attack on the Moby Dick. Gram was killed in front of Newgate; no one in the world could have done that except for Im himself.

As for Ace...

Ace died while taking a punch for Luffy, which was completely outside of Newgate's assessment of his crew's strength.

Otherwise, even if Ace couldn't defeat Akainu, he could definitely escape using the mobility provided by the Flame-Flame Fruit.

In this situation, the only explanation is that Gram left Newgate and was caught when he was alone.

"Yes, I can vouch for that!"

Kaido mumbled something about Sea King thigh meat as he raised his hand.

Because he had been traveling alone for a long time, he had experienced many attacks, poisonings, and other terrible situations. If it weren't for the fact that he had "demon blood" which made him immune to most poisons, he would probably be dead by now.

"So you faked your death to escape because you were afraid of being poisoned?" Gram understood what John meant.

And he just happened to be the purchasing agent for the Whitebeard Pirates, since he didn't trust anyone else with such an important task.

He would also frequently travel to unfamiliar places to purchase ingredients, trying to find ways to change up the food for everyone on the ship and prevent them from getting tired of eating the same things all the time.

"Then I won't eat random food from outside anymore!" Gram suddenly felt incredibly scared.

John nodded in satisfaction when he saw that Graham had taken his words to heart this time.

In fact, when pirates reach the level of the Four Emperors, they are no longer just pirates; they can be considered a new regime.

And Newgate was a very competent emperor; Fishman Island lived peacefully for decades under Whitebeard's banner.

But Newgate's life was truly tragic. Not only was he forced to leave his homeland at a young age, but many people he cared about also left him one by one.

This is incredibly cruel for Newgate, who is so attached to the warmth of family!

"So what are your plans now? Want to join my Whitebeard Pirates? I can make you my first mate!"

John's reminder made Newgate realize that this guy seemed to be all alone, so he thought of taking shelter for his old friend.

John felt a warmth in his heart upon seeing the concern in Newgate's words, and shook his head, saying:

"I have many people under my command now, but I didn't bring them with me this time."

Then, he raised his hand and pointed at Kaido, who was still eating voraciously, as if he were a reincarnated starving ghost.

"I plan to take Kaido and my crew to God Valley."

"Then set off from the West Blue, cross the Reverse Mountain to enter the Grand Line, circumnavigate the world to reach the end of the Grand Line, find the legendary island Laugh Tale, and become the Pirate King!"

Chapter 195, Year 1500 of the Sea Calendar

"Valley of the Gods?!"

Newgate didn't listen at all; his attention was entirely focused on the place name that had long been erased by the World Government.

"You don't mean to..."

“Yes!” John nodded, confirming Newgate’s guess.

Newgate looked regretful, and after a moment of struggle, shook his head:

"If you see Rocks, please give him my regards."

He also wanted to see if Rocks was still alive, but now that he and John were both in the public eye, their joint action would inevitably cause tension with the World Government and the Navy.

The possibility of an unprecedented war is extremely high!

He didn't want his crew to be in danger, so he couldn't go!

"Row."

John nodded regretfully.

He even had the audacity to think of luring Newgate to God Valley so that they could reminisce about the past together after meeting Rocks, and then, moved by the memory, form a group to roam the seas and dominate the world.

But now it seems like childhood playmates have grown up, started their own families and careers, and are busy with their own things. Now it's hard to find time to hang out with them anymore.

There's always a mess to deal with.

There's nothing we can do but wait. Once Newgate, Skeeter, and Linlin's families are separated, they can play together happily again.

In the years that followed, news of the three sea emperors, Golden Lion, Whitebeard, and Big Mom, frequently circulated on the high seas.

Today, Shiki destroys a World Government member state that provoked him; tomorrow, Whitebeard defeats an arrogant challenger; and the day after, a new race joins Big Mom's Whole Cake Island...

And many other world-shaking events...

World Destroyer, inspired by Captain John's destruction of Mary Geoise, built a massive warship and, in conjunction with the Momo-Momo Fruit, intended to obliterate the Marine Headquarters with a single shot.

At the critical moment, Sengoku mobilized the ancient weapon that was coated and hidden on the seabed of Crescent Bay at the naval headquarters. "Pluto" fired the first shot, blasting Wald's huge warship to smithereens.

In the place where the Gates of Justice once stood, a huge, bottomless crater was blasted out, just like the abyss beneath Enies Lobby that will never be filled by seawater.

Later, it is unknown what agreement Sengoku reached with the Five Elders, but the Fleet Admiral was promoted to Commander-in-Chief, while Sengoku was promoted from Admiral to Fleet Admiral.

After being promoted to Fleet Admiral, Sengoku announced to the world that the navy possessed the ancient weapon "Pluto" and would maintain order on the high seas to the very end.

Because of the appearance of the ancient weapon "Pluto", the Golden Lion and Big Mom, who had been frantically expanding their power, suddenly stopped.

The three parties sent envoys and reached a secret agreement...

Time continued to pass.

Vice Admiral Tsuru was promoted to Chief of the Naval Staff; Vice Admiral "Black Fist" Zephyr was promoted to Admiral...

A new Mary Geoise was re-established on the Red Line, and the remaining few Celestial Dragons began to frantically intermarry with various member states to produce offspring...

The Roger Pirates, enraged by the humiliation suffered by their crew members at the hands of the royal family of a kingdom they had joined, destroyed the entire kingdom. Their bounty increased, and the Navy dispatched "hero" Garp to hunt them down…

Don Quixote Homing, disgusted by the Celestial Dragons' enslavement practices, stayed away from Mary Geoise for many years, thus narrowly escaping the destruction of that year.

Under the call of the Five Elders to "have more children," the Homingo couple had two sons, Doflamingo and Rosinante...

However, after a few years, the Homing Ancient Saints could no longer tolerate the Celestial Dragons' atrocities of capturing slaves on a large scale, so they gave up their status as "world nobles" and went to the lower realm.

The self-defense force led by Monkey D. Dragon changed its name to the Revolutionary Army and set its sights on the kingdoms that oppressed and enslaved their people.

After overthrowing the regimes of two kingdoms, the revolutionary leader Dragon was called "the most dangerous criminal in the world" by many kings, and his ideology should not be spread...

In the Kingdom of Goa in the East Blue, a boy named Sig is forced to flee the town and into the deep mountains after his parents, who were merchants, are persecuted to death by nobles...

But there was still no news of that man...

And so, some legends about that man began to circulate on the high seas:

Some say that Captain John was secretly arrested and imprisoned by the World Government.

Some say that Captain John died in a massive shipwreck.

Some say Captain John has changed his appearance again, this time becoming the king of a member state of some world government...

1500 AD (Haiyuan Calendar)