The pinnacle of pirates begins with deceiving fate!

The pirate ship, adorned with a gold-plated skull flag and exuding an air of extravagance, slowly approached the shore, towing a golden ship. The island's inhabitants, upon seeing this, merely became wary and did not shout or flee in panic.

Perhaps it was because their research into the "Poneglyphs" had taught them something, or perhaps it was because Dr. Clover D. had been a pirate, but the residents didn't have a very bad impression of pirates.

Conversely, they would only panic if it were a naval or World Government vessel that arrived.

"Hmm! The air here is so fresh."

John stepped onto the island using a springboard, spread his arms, took a deep breath, and looked quite ecstatic.

The pirates on the ship hadn't bathed in a long time and their bodies smelled bad; being around them for too long felt like my lungs were being polluted.

Cleansing your lungs with fresh air is good for your physical and mental health.

"Teach and I will stay on this island."

Alice walked over to John and gave him a meaningful nod.

Based on her observations over the past few days, she noticed that the atmosphere within the "John Pirates" was very strange, with an eerie and oppressive feeling that a storm was about to break.

As a former pirate, she roughly guessed what was going on.

This group is about to fight over a huge amount of treasure!

John smiled at Alice, then reached out to the ugly boy following behind.

"Come on, Teach, Uncle will take you to buy candy."

"Hmm!" As they landed on the island, Teach became a little more cheerful and raised her little black hand to hold John's.

Watching the three of them walk away, Pete winked at the pirates and quickly followed, afraid that John would run away.

John's gaze swept over the wary residents standing on both sides of the street, then he turned back and said helplessly:

"Could you please spread out a bit? You're scaring the residents here by being in such large groups."

"Also, don't follow me around. You're a grown man now, do you still want to follow your old man around begging for candy?"

"John, everyone is worried about you."

Pete raised his hand to scratch the back of his head and quickly explained.

"The entire underworld is now after you, and the World Government's CP intelligence organization is also watching you. We have to be careful all the time."

In the past few days, although the newspapers only mentioned a little information about "God Valley", the Den Den Mushi channel, which belongs to the pirates, has been ringing non-stop.

This is a common communication method in the underworld. When a "dark bounty" is issued or some major events occur, a broadcast-like notification is sent to all registered Den Den Mushi.

As a former member of the Rocks Pirates, John's Den Den Mushi was naturally registered on the "underworld's" notification list, and he naturally received the latest bounty notice.

Captain John has a bounty of 10 billion Berries!

This is another new high in the history of bounties, since the 5 billion Berry bounty for the "Paramita-type Ope Ope no Mi"!

It is likely that in the future, it will be difficult for any person or item to surpass this astronomical reward.

Now, pirates, bounty hunters, slave traders, CP intelligence agencies, and all sorts of other people are frantically searching the world for "Captain John."

Even the workings of the world have come to a standstill!

That makes sense. The pirates from God Valley only saw John take away that huge golden ship; they had no idea that he later shared the loot with Newgate and the others.

Newgate and his men wouldn't be foolish enough to announce to the outside world that they had divided up the treasure.

Therefore, the eyes of the entire world are focused solely on John.

The legends of treasures like "Golden Land" and "Emerald City" only exist in books and in the boasts of people chatting in taverns.

John's golden ship was something they had seen with their own eyes; it was a real, tangible treasure!

"I'm the famous 'Captain John,' I don't need your personal protection. Get out of here! Don't bother me!"

John waved to Pete and the others as if shooing away flies. How could he whisper to Alice if these guys kept following him?

Get out, all of you!

Chapter 20 Resisting Injustice Needs No Reason!

"Alright, we're nearby. We'll come right away if anything happens."

Seeing John's resolute attitude, Pete dared not provoke him now, so he had no choice but to lead the pirates to disperse and "protect" him from a distance.

After shooing away the annoying flies, John was about to take Alice and her son to buy some necessities when several more people appeared and blocked their way.

The leader was a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties, whose hairstyle and large beard resembled a clover, making him look very strange.

Clover stared at John and quickly recognized him by his long purple hair and handsome face.

Considering the recent newspaper articles, he believed he had deduced the other party's intentions.

"Are you here to resupply? As long as you don't disturb the residents, I can provide them to you for free."

"Don't worry, we're not here to plunder. We'll pay you."

John took a stack of Baileys from his pocket, shook it, and then led Alice and her son through the group of Clover and the others.

The reason he came to Ohara was simply because it was on the way to the nearest treasure location; he had no other intentions.

He also didn't want to get involved with these historians.

John believed that O'Hara's study of the "historical texts" was a complete waste of time.

All that O'Hara did, risking his life, seemed to be merely to find evidence in the past that the world government had "illegitimately come to power," so that he could use this as a reason to confront it with a clear conscience.

But is evidence of "illegitimate accession" important?

Like the prisoners in the Wano Country prison in the future, Luffy saved them, but they ignored their savior.

When Kozuki Momonosuke, the son of a daimyo who did nothing but caused the country to fall, appeared, the prisoners immediately knelt down to pledge their loyalty.

When did resisting injustice become something that requires finding "orthodox" legitimacy?

If Im and the Celestial Dragons were in their rightful positions, would they simply give up resisting and allow themselves to be bullied?

Therefore, John is not interested in the "truth of the world," he only knows that he will fight anyone who makes him miserable!

If people are not doing well, then just do it!

No other reason is needed!

Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny?!

"Please wait a moment!"

Clover turned and rushed to catch up with John, her eyes fixed intently on him.

"Can you tell me what exactly happened in God Valley?"

"What's the point of knowing all this to you?" John asked instead of answering.

Clover took a deep breath and nodded solemnly:

"This is very important to me, and to the whole of Ohara!"

"Ugh."

John sighed helplessly and looked intently at the clover.

"Although I don't agree with what you did, I admire your courage, so I'm telling you."

"What happened in God Valley was a horrific massacre by the World Government against rebels, potential rebels, and innocent people."

"There are methods and approaches to doing things, and more importantly, you must act within your capabilities. I hope you will not follow in the footsteps of the Valley of the Gods."

John patted Clover on the shoulder and led Teach away.

He disliked those who acted superior and didactic; his last sentence was merely a well-intentioned reminder to courageous people.

Scholars of Ohara should be prepared to die when studying the "historical texts".

Clover and the others need to understand that Ohara is a "non-World Government member state" and is not protected by the Navy.

They might even find themselves on the opposite side of the World Government and the Navy because of their research into the "history texts".

Without the power to resist, destruction is inevitable.

If you naively believe that studying the "Poneglyphs" will only get you imprisoned in Impel Down by the World Government, you're sorely mistaken.

Throughout history, all struggles involving "power" have been exceptionally brutal!

"massacre?!"

Clover's gaze followed John's departing figure, her pupils dilating violently.

He was somewhat...unable to believe it.

He embarked on the path of researching the "Poneglyphs" because his older brother's name contained the character "D" when he was a child, and he was killed by the World Government.

Now, he has been put on a bounty by the World Government as a pirate for his search for the "Poneglyphs" at sea, and has been arrested and imprisoned by the Navy.

Even after escaping from the naval prison, he did not give up his pursuit of "D" and continued to try to uncover more of the truth.

He knew it was dangerous, but he didn't expect it to be this dangerous.

"They're not even sparing innocent people?!"

Clover is scared.

He wasn't afraid of dying himself, but rather afraid of dragging innocent people on the island into it.

“We either leave O'Hara, or we arrange for innocent people to leave.”

"..."

Young Teach has an adorable, albeit slightly ugly, appearance. Having never left God Valley since childhood, he is curious about everything new and exciting in the outside world.

Led by John, Teach happily ran between the shops on the street, sometimes grabbing candy and putting it in his pocket, sometimes picking up roast meat and stuffing it into his mouth.

John and Alice followed behind, paying for the goods Teach had taken and buying what they needed.

Sea monster blood, video denial snails, projection denial snails, sealed plastic bags...

"Why are you buying all this?" Alice tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked at John, who was hiding things in his coat, with a puzzled expression.

Why hide the things you bought? Are you afraid that Pete and his pirates will find out?

John hid his things, looked up, and grinned.