The pinnacle of pirates begins with deceiving fate!

Then, the conversation shifted.

"Now that things have come to this, Harald should have realized the trap set by the World Government, right?"

More than a decade ago, during the God Valley Incident, Harald had just reached an agreement with the World Government, and at that time, persuasion was futile.

Having toiled for over a decade, even the slow-witted Harald should have noticed something amiss. However, the sunk costs he had invested were too great, making him afraid to face such a cruel reality.

Under such circumstances, only Brogi and Donli, two respected elders in Elbaf, could persuade them.

Harald is currently one step away from joining the 'Knights of God', having only entered into a "Shallow Sea Contract," which allows him to break free from the contract's control by sacrificing his flesh, just like Shanks.

If Harald were to live into the future, he would never have acted rashly and allowed Elbaf to join the Straw Hat Pirates in the World War.

Harald's character prioritizes the preservation of Elbaf and he would never allow Elbaf to be drawn into the war.

This would be equivalent to cutting off a major ally of the Straw Hat Pirates.

"If I can't have it, then you can't have it either, Nika!"

"Are you doing this out of kindness, or... ulterior motives?"

Eurydice looked at John with complicated emotions; this man's thoughts were far too heavy.

John took Olbia's hand in his, held it in his palm, and gently stroked the smooth back of her hand with the pad of his thumb:

"Both are true, but from any perspective, they do not harm the interests of the giants."

"You're still thinking too badly of me; I need to be punished."

"do not want!"

Eurythia tried to pull her hand back, but John gripped it even tighter.

John stared intently at Olbia, as if he wanted to devour her alive.

"Don't forget, you lost the bet."

"What...what do you want to do?"

You'll find out tonight.

"..."

Coast

The campfire crackled and popped, roasting the dinosaur meat until it sizzled and glistened with oil, filling the air with its aroma.

Hearing the approaching footsteps, the drunken Kaido, without even looking up, urged:

"If you don't come back soon, Clover will be urging me to go find you. She'll think you've been swallowed by dinosaurs."

"Something came up and I was held up."

John glanced at Olbia, whose cheeks were flushed, and took the lead in walking over to sit down in front of the campfire and began to eat heartily.

Olbia pursed her bitten red lips, glared resentfully at John, walked around the campfire, stepped onto the gangplank, and boarded the ship.

She was going to take a shower to prepare for the bet.

Fearing that Olbia might be hungry, John cut up some roast meat and brought it to her on a plate.

Seeing the strange atmosphere between the two, Kaido scratched his head and asked in confusion:

"What's wrong? Are they sick?"

"Ah! I'm sick, very sick."

Begabank nodded, then rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Only Clover's eyes sparkled with a father's gratification and complex emotions; his child had grown up!

Chapter 210 Crocodile VS Hawkeye

Into the night

The Milky Way is clear and the bright moon hangs high in the sky.

Under the soft, silvery light, John and Eurythia sat facing each other by the window, gently clinking their wine glasses together.

As she sipped the crimson wine, a blush crept onto Olbia's cool face, and her red lips parted slightly:

"Is this the bet you want me to fulfill?"

John looked at the beautiful woman across from him through the crimson wine in his glass. Her long silver hair was draped over her shoulders and reflected the moonlight. Her black lace evening gown perfectly accentuated her figure.

She looks like a moon goddess, so beautiful!

"Actually, I wanted to go a little further, but I was afraid of upsetting you, so I could only ask you to go on a date with me under the moonlight."

John honestly recounted his thought process.

Are you afraid of making me angry?

Olbia pursed her red lips, clearly pleased with those words.

This man cares about her.

With a sweet feeling in her heart, Olbia became bolder in her movements, leaning forward slightly to reveal her snow-white skin, her eyes seemingly filled with spring water, making her look charming and touching.

"Then tell me, how do you intend to push your luck, Captain?"

As John inhaled the strong fragrance of roses, his heart began to race uncontrollably, and he felt as if a fire was burning intensely within him.

It almost drove him to madness!

But John quickly took a deep breath and forced himself to hold it in.

He turned to look at the bright moon outside the window, the sea breeze ruffling his purple hair, and a faint melancholy appeared in his eyes.

"If I were to go even further, I would like to rest my head on your lap and listen to you tell me a bedtime fairy tale."

"Huh?" Olbia tilted her head, feeling like she had misheard.

Does this man really have such a childlike side?

But looking into John's melancholy and lonely eyes, for some reason, it touched a soft spot in her heart.

It turns out that he also gets tired, feels lonely, and longs for a warm harbor.

At that moment, Olbia especially wanted to hug the man in front of her and soothe his barren heart.

She stood up from the chair, walked to the edge of the bed and sat down, looking tenderly at John, and patted her plump thighs covered in black stockings.

"Come on, what story would you like to hear?"

"I want to hear 'The Little Mermaid'."

"..."

Magic Valley Town

The town is located on the west coast of Gaya Island and is a port town on half of the island that was torn apart by a powerful ocean current four hundred years ago.

Mock Town is a place of extreme contradictions. It has the exterior of a gentle tropical resort, but at its core is the most desolate and utilitarian pirate quagmire in the first half of the Grand Line.

There is no order here; the navy rarely sets foot here, and the laws of the nation are invalid. Pirates squander the wealth they have plundered, living a life of debauchery, believing only in immediate gains and despising all empty and distant dreams.

Beneath the gleaming buildings lie countless failures who have given up on their ideals and drifted aimlessly, a climate of repression, restlessness, and resentment.

Late at night, the dim light of kerosene lamps illuminated the empty streets and alleys, and broken signs creaked and swayed in the wind. A figure wearing a long overcoat and a Western-style top hat strode out from the gloomy dock.

Suddenly, the sound of the flintlock musket striking the hammer rang out, though it was very faint, the man still caught it clearly.

The man stopped, his eyes, hidden in the shadow of his hat, scanning the alleyway to his left.

"Does a rat in the gutter not even have the courage to appear in the light?"

As the man spoke sarcastically, the men hiding in the shadows of the alley realized they had been discovered and immediately came out swaggeringly, brandishing guns and knives.

The burly pirate leader, relying on his superior numbers, smugly eyed the man in the Western-style hat with the gaze one would give to prey.

But the moment the man in the Western-style hat slightly raised his head, revealing his eyes hidden by the brim, the burly pirate immediately shuddered, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

Those were eyes as sharp as an eagle's.

What's even more terrifying is the legend and title associated with the owner of these eyes.

"Naval Hunter" Jorra Colmihawk!

He is a pirate who enjoys hunting down Marines!

Seeing that the other party recognized him, Mihawk spoke directly:

"What dangerous individuals currently reside on this island?"

"Yes...yes..."

Stared at by those eyes, the burly pirate was so frightened that he couldn't speak. It was a newcomer standing behind him who spoke for him.

"There's 'Sand Crocodile' Crocodile, 'Tyrant' Bartholomew Kuma, Hanafuda..."

The names he mentioned were mostly recent rising stars, around twenty years old. Only Hanafuda was a bit older.

"tyrant?"

Mihawk only cared about this one name.

"The revolutionary army got involved too?"

Despite John's intervention, Ginny was not captured by the World Government. Instead, she joined the Revolutionary Army with Kuma and made a name for herself.

However, the label of "tyrant" that the World Government smeared him with was still firmly attached to Kuma's head.

"What, you don't care about my name?"

Suddenly, a deep sound came from the roof of the two-story building on the left, startling the pirates who quickly looked over.

What came into their view was a young man with dark purple slicked-back hair, wearing a suit and smoking a cigar.

If it weren't for the scar that ran across the entire face of the young man, he would actually look quite handsome.

"'Sand Crocodile' Crocodile!" the rookie pirate exclaimed in surprise.

As a newcomer, the reason he was able to recognize the other person so quickly was because this guy had killed many people in Mogu Town during the day.

Those killed by the "sand crocodile" all became mummified corpses!