The pinnacle of pirates begins with deceiving fate!

"secret!"

"whispering sound!"

Alice snorted and turned her head away, turning her gaze to little Teach, who was running happily ahead.

Children don't understand much, and their sadness always comes and goes quickly.

"After we leave, you and Teach should also leave here as soon as possible."

After John hid the things, he reminded Alice.

“The greedy fellows on my ship want to get their hands on Lox’s treasure from you and Teach.”

“Gibbeck didn’t hide any treasure!” Alice quickly explained.

John shook his head, his eyes deep and thoughtful:

"People are only willing to believe what is in their own interest; the truth is not important."

“Lox has hidden treasure, and you know a clue, which is advantageous to them, so that’s the truth.”

"Okay, I see."

Alice quickly accepted the reality of having to continue her escape, and then immediately thought of John.

Since they were a bunch of opportunistic bastards, it was certainly not safe for John to stay with them.

"So, what about you? Are you going to run away, or find a chance to take care of them?"

"Give me your nails. If there's a chance in the future, I'll offer you any help I can."

John wanted to make "life cards" from Alice's fingernails, which was much safer than giving her contact information to Den Den Mushi (a type of electric scoop).

Seeing that John was unwilling to say more, Alice drew a dagger from her waist, cut off her thumbnail, and handed it to him.

Chapter 21 The Storm Is Brewing

Half a day later

The "Treasure Ship" set sail, towing a golden vessel as it gradually disappeared into the distance on the horizon.

Alice stood on the shore, holding Teach's hand with her right hand and carrying a black leather suitcase with her left.

Inside the suitcase were over twenty million dollars in banknotes given to him by John, along with a revolver and some bullets.

Carrying too much money can actually become an obstacle on the escape route, attracting covetous eyes and adding to the trouble.

"Lox, John, I hope you both live."

Alice wanted to help those who were fighting against their fate, but her abilities prevented her from doing so.

All I could do was make sure I and Teach survived and didn't hold them back, and then I would silently pray for them.

The Calm Belt is a dangerous strip of sea that surrounds both sides of the Grand Line in this world. It is formed by an "X"-shaped geographical structure created by the perpendicular intersection of the Red Line and the Grand Line.

The region's unique, windless climate renders traditional sailboats unable to navigate, while it is also home to giant marine life exceeding 100 meters in length, forming a natural geographical barrier.

The Treasure Ship was not equipped with a seastone hull that could obscure the senses of Sea Kings; John relied entirely on maintaining a state of "Conqueror's Haki" for an extended period to drive them away.

"Hurry up and row, everyone! Don't slack off!"

Pete stood on the ship's side, leaned out and shouted down to the cabin, urging the pirates to use their oars to propel the ship forward in this windless area.

Every now and then, he would glance at the bow of the ship, keeping an eye on the purple-haired figure.

"Unleash your Conqueror's Haki to the fullest. Once you've exhausted all your Haki by the time you land on the island, I'll be even more confident."

Pete knew very well that his "Reaction Fruit" only had absolute suppressive power against enemies he had never met before and had no information about.

Commonly known as "meeting-on-the-spot kill"!

People like John, who know everything about him, don't say it on the surface, but secretly they will maintain a domineering aura when they are with him, in order to prevent themselves from being influenced by the "Reaction Fruit" ability without realizing it.

Although Armament Haki is used to resist the power of Devil Fruits, the depletion of Conqueror's Haki will also affect a person's condition.

When in poor condition, one will subconsciously conserve power and no longer maintain the release of Armament Haki for an extended period of time in order to deal with possible emergencies.

And this is his chance!

Even assuming that John was on high alert because he was leading "outsiders" to the treasure trove, and maintained the release of Armament Haki at all times.

But as long as he doesn't have Conqueror's Haki, he's confident he can defeat him head-on!

The sea surface was like solidified blue jade, smooth as a mirror, without a single ripple.

Following the permanent compass pointer, after two days of sailing, we finally saw a solitary island standing tall ahead.

The island is composed of jagged black boulders, steep as if carved by a knife and axe, with sparse vegetation on its surface, appearing incredibly wild and desolate in the calm sea.

"We can see the island! We've arrived!"

As the lookout tower at the top of the mast issued a warning, the pirates on board erupted in thunderous cheers.

"Roar! We'll finally get to see Captain John's treasure!"

"I wonder if there are Devil Fruits? Maybe I'll be able to eat one when they come out?"

"That depends on whether the 'captain' is willing to give it to you."

"Haha, the 'Captain' is so generous, he'll definitely give it to me!"

As the final moment approached, the pirates could no longer contain themselves, and their words became increasingly outrageous and unrestrained.

This "captain" is not that "captain".

Pete frowned as he listened, feeling an urge to kill these pirates.

But in order to minimize his presence and increase the success rate of the sneak attack, he remained silent and did not reprimand him.

"Go around to the back."

John ignored the offensive words and raised his hand to point the way to the helm.

"Yes, Captain!" The helmsman grinned, emphasizing the word "Captain."

A seagoing vessel is essentially a small social circle with a very strict hierarchy.

Aside from the captain and first mate (first officer), positions with special skills, such as navigator, ship's doctor, and helmsman, hold high status.

Combatants could only be assigned to positions before menial laborers.

During the Age of Exploration, both pirates and naval personnel generally had low levels of education; there were plenty of people who couldn't even read.

Of course, having knowledge and skills does not equate to status, but rather these knowledge and skills can help with navigation and improve the survival rate of ships sailing on the high seas.

As a helmsman with professional skills, one's share of the spoils will inevitably be larger than that of those with lower positions.

Therefore, the helmsman was so overjoyed that he could hardly hide it anymore.

"So nice."

John laughed too, but his laugh was very strange.

He raised his hand and placed it on the helmsman's head, gently stroking his greasy hair as if petting a pet.

Then, he wiped the oil stains off his palms on the helmsman's dirty clothes.

The helmsman felt his hair stand on end, a strange sense of dread washing over him, and he forced a smile.

Soon, the "Treasure" circled to the other side of the island, where jagged cliffs came into view of the pirates.

Below the cliff face, there is a cave entrance that looks like the gaping maw of a giant beast. In the sunlight, you can see that the rock walls inside are covered with a thick layer of fluorescent dark green seaweed.

"Sail straight in," John ordered the helmsman, raising his chin.

The helmsman swallowed hard, carefully steered the ship, avoiding the location of the reefs reported by the lookout, and steered the boat into the cave.

As they entered the cave, the icy, bone-chilling air, mixed with a strong fishy smell, hit them, causing the pirates to shiver involuntarily.

The deathly silence outside was amplified a hundredfold, and the pirates could clearly hear their own heavy breathing, heartbeats, and the sound of water droplets falling from the stalactites above.

This dampened their excitement at the prospect of acquiring a huge fortune.

The oars paddled gently across the water, propelling the boat deeper into the island's mountainside.

The pirates lit torches and oil lamps to dispel the darkness, their eyes fixed intently ahead until dappled golden light reflected off the horizon.

Not far ahead was a "shore" made of black rocks, piled with gold and silver artifacts like small mountains, as well as wooden treasure chests with rotten surfaces.

Although it is far smaller than the gold ship being towed behind, these treasures are conservatively estimated to be worth at least two to three billion Berries!

"They're just... leaving their treasure here so openly and blatantly?"

"What else? You think treasure is buried underground, like the boasts you hear in taverns?"

"No, what I mean is, aren't we afraid that some sailor who happens to be passing by might take it if we leave it here?"

"Fools! This is the Calm Belt! Who else but us would dare come here!"

"Hehehe...that's true."

"However, there might be a trap, right?"

The pirates were excitedly discussing the topic when someone mentioned "trap," at which point everyone turned their attention to the purple-haired figure standing at the bow of the ship.

Chapter 22 Backstab! The Death of John!

"Yes, there is indeed a trap."

Feeling the gazes focused on him, John nodded very seriously, his expression becoming increasingly strange.

"Wait... this place is going to collapse."

Before the pirates could ask for details or offer any explanation, he floated up into the air and drifted toward the shore.

Pete's expression changed, he gave the pirates a wink, and then leaped into the air to chase after them.

Upon receiving the signal, the pirates sprang into action. Those who could jump ashore did so, while those who couldn't left their small rafts and rowed across.

"John, what kind of trap are you talking about? Is it a bomb that will blow this place up?"

Pete followed John to the mountain of treasure, his eyes filled with longing, but he dared not touch it, fearing he would trigger a mechanism.

If the cave collapses, even with Armament Haki, one might not be crushed to death, but would certainly be crushed or trapped by the incredibly heavy boulders.