The pinnacle of pirates begins with deceiving fate!

This was the year Gol D. Roger became the Pirate King and was executed in Loguetown, thus beginning the Great Pirate Era.

There are still three years until the birth of Monkey D. Luffy, the chosen one.

The Western Sea, the Valley of the Gods.

This is an isolated island whose name has long been erased from the world map by the World Government. Many years later, the traces of the great war that shook the sea have been swallowed up by the rampant vegetation, and the entire island has become a primitive wasteland where no sunlight shines.

Many strange legends have been passed down about this island and in this sea area.

In the sailors' legends, there lived a wild man on the deserted island with disheveled hair and a full beard. This wild man had ferocious fangs, ate raw meat and drank blood, and killed anyone he saw!

But because of the existence of this savage, he is believed to be the guardian of the island, and that the island contains a lot of gold and silver treasures.

This attracted many new pirates and explorers who risked their lives to land on the island in search of the legendary treasure that might exist there.

It was midday, and the blazing sun shone through the dense foliage, casting sparse, grayish patches of light.

The waist-high bushes swayed, and then more than a dozen pirates escaped from them. They ran straight to the edge of the coastline and stopped panting when they saw the pirate ship anchored near the sea.

"Roar!!!"

Suddenly, a low, beast-like roar came from the dense forest behind them, startling the pirates so much that they jumped into the sea without a care for their exhaustion.

In legend, the island's savages... no, they are demons! The demons are cursed by the sea and dare not even step into it.

Therefore, as long as they jump into the sea and swim to the boat anchored near the shore, they will be completely safe!

Finally, the pirates climbed the rope ladder hanging from the ship's side onto the deck, collapsing to the ground one by one as if exhausted, their pupils dilated and filled with lingering fear.

After resting for a long time, Jasper, the captain of the New Point Pirates, stood up, looked at the human-shaped shadow lurking in the dense forest of the isolated island, and raised his hand to curse angrily:

"You beast! You killed over a hundred of my men, I will never let you get away with this!"

With that, Jasper turned and glanced at the dozen or so remaining men, giving his orders.

"Quick! Go to the cabin and bring out the cannons. I'm going to bombard that devil!"

But his men were unmoved by the order, staring blankly at the sea in the direction of the right bow. Jasper frowned and shouted.

"Hey! I'm still the captain of this ship!"

"Captain, a pirate ship is coming from over there."

The first mate pointed to the huge three-masted sailing ship that was rapidly approaching from afar on the horizon, with a skull and crossbones flag flying from its mast.

Chapter 196 David D. Teach!

It was a very ordinary, even unremarkable, pirate flag.

Unlike other pirate crews such as New Point, which would decorate the skull on their pirate flag with swords, guns, or different colors to show their uniqueness, New Point does not.

It was just a black flag with a skull crossed by white bones, simple yet exuding an invisible sense of oppression.

"Is that a newbie? I've never seen a pirate flag like that before."

Jasper racked his brains, but he couldn't recall ever seeing such a flag pattern on a bounty poster.

As the first mate responsible for intelligence gathering on the ship, he nodded affirmatively:

"The World Government doesn't have a bounty on this flag. This is a rookie pirate crew, but judging from the size of their ship, they're definitely not to be trifled with!"

"Not someone to mess with? I'm a notorious pirate with a bounty of 37 million Berries!"

Jasper originally thought it was better to avoid trouble, and given the significant reduction in personnel due to the island expedition, he decided not to provoke the other party.

But after the first mate said that, his competitive nature was immediately ignited, and he was determined to give the other party a good thrashing.

"Quick! Push the cannons out of the ship's hold!"

"Captain, there seems to be someone standing on that ship."

The first mate, who was keeping a close eye on the other ship, raised his hand again to remind Jasper.

Following the directions, Jasper saw a dark-skinned young man with an afro on the bow of what looked like a three-masted sailboat several hundred meters long.

The young man was aiming a flintlock pistol at the New Point Pirates' ship.

Then... bang!

Gunshots rang out, muzzle flashes, and a black lead bullet flew through the air, narrowly missing Jasper before he could react, and crashed into the cabin behind him.

"whispering sound!"

Jasper scoffed dismissively.

"Can't even shoot accurately at this close range? You have the nerve to show your face in public with marksmanship like that..."

Before he could finish speaking, a shell in the gunpowder magazine behind him was shot through a small hole, hissing and sparking before bursting into a violent flash.

boom

The entire ship of the New Point Pirates was engulfed in flames, and the dozen or so people remaining on the deck were all killed in the explosion.

Meanwhile, on a three-masted sailing ship.

Standing at the bow, eighteen-year-old David D. Teach turned around and cheered excitedly to the crowd on the deck below.

"Godfather, Mom, I sank them!"

"Now, can I set sail alone and become a pirate?"

Upon hearing this, Alice frowned, but instead of answering immediately, she turned to the purple-haired man beside her for help.

When asked for help, John tilted his head back, took a swig of rum, and then shrugged helplessly.

He had only recently visited Alice and her son, and upon meeting them, Alice immediately poured out her troubles.

Two years ago, Teach had been clamoring to go to sea and become a pirate, to go to the "New World" and find his own power.

It was Alice's threat of suicide that finally subdued Teach.

Seeing that John refused to help persuade Teach, Alice, whose eyes were already etched with wrinkles, sighed helplessly:

“Teach, we’ll find your father soon. If he agrees, I won’t stop you.”

"it is good!"

Teach nodded, then turned to look at the nearby Valley of the Gods, where trees blocked out the sky, a hint of worry flashing in his eyes.

Tragic childhood memories swirled in his mind, those terrifying scenes making him unable to believe his father was still alive.

As the three-masted ship docked, John glanced at the people on the deck.

Alice and her son, Kaido, the blond-haired handsome Vegapunk, Clover, and Olvia—these are the current crew members.

As for that stupid bird Yatagarasu, it went to Marineford a month ago and joined the Navy as an "armored man" under the introduction of Ootori.

"Is everyone going ashore? Anyone want to stay and watch the ship?"

As soon as John asked the question, everyone shook their heads, indicating that none of them wanted to stay.

Olbia, in particular, had a sparkling curiosity about the Valley of the Gods, an island steeped in history.

"John, you promised me you would show me the history of the whole world."

Now approaching thirty, she has long silver hair that reaches her waist, possessing both the tranquility of a scholar and the aloofness of a mature woman.

However, she has an exceptionally hot figure, with full breasts, a curvy bottom, and a tiny waist that can be encircled with one hand.

A purple, fitted, cropped strapless top with a sleek, cinched waist that perfectly accentuates a slender figure. It's paired with a light khaki, high-waisted, slit maxi skirt made of lightweight chiffon. The wide, flowing skirt and high slit reveal perfectly long legs when the sea breeze blows.

She is stunningly beautiful!

"Then let's all go to the island."

John wasn't worried that thieves would take advantage of their absence to board the ship and steal from it, so he immediately leaped onto the shore of God Valley.

Kaido and Teach also displayed their powerful physiques, leaping onto the shore. Olvia and the other clerks, relying on Vegapunk's technology, emitted white vapor from their feet, propelling them into the air and allowing them to float down onto the island.

As everyone landed on the island, roars resembling those of wild beasts echoed from a cluster of towering trees deep within the island's interior.

It wasn't a threat to the intruders, but rather an unease and fear of something.

John glanced at Alice and her son, guessing that Lox must have sensed their presence and was afraid that encountering them would harm them.

"Gibbek!"

The familiar voice brought tears to Alice's eyes, and she immediately abandoned her group and rushed into the dense forest following the sound.

"Mom!" Teach's expression changed, and she quickly followed.

John and his group, on the other hand, were in no hurry, looking around like a sightseeing tour group, pointing here and there.

"Hehehe! How nostalgic! John, wasn't it here that you stole all the treasure from the island?"

It was only afternoon, but Kaido was already completely drunk, carrying a gourd and swaying as he pointed at the land still marked with sword scars, his eyes filled with sorrow.

Since the incident in Wano Country where they stole the ancient weapons, he and John have been living in seclusion in Atlantis, which is located at the bottom of the sea.

It has to be said that John is really steady. He insists on pursuing the "SIQ" super evolution, spending all his time in a seawater tank made of Seastone, saying that he wants his body to get used to this oppressive environment.

Then they need to evolve in the environment and adapt to no longer be afraid of seawater and sea stone.

John also wanted him to use Haki to attack, greedily wanting to adapt to "Haki" so that he would no longer be captured by Haki in his elemental state.

Because, according to Bergabank, this kind of evolution requires a guiding will, and cannot be left with just an empty shell, which caused John to suffer a lot.

During his time underwater, Kaido could only drink alcohol and occasionally enjoy beating up John.

"I wonder how many of those guys from back then are still alive."

A hint of nostalgia flashed in John's eyes. Although most of them were enemies, they had coexisted in the same era.

Over the years, many of them have probably died.

This ocean is truly cruel!

Chapter 197 I am Joy Boy!

"What secrets does the David family hold that the World Government treats them with such care?"

Even through the rotting leaves scattered on the ground, one can still occasionally see the stark white skeletons of people in Olbia, which gives one a sense of how many people died here back then.

"Who knows?"