The pinnacle of pirates begins with deceiving fate!

Chapter 75 The Endless Pursuit

"Kid, there's a saying I really like, I'll give it to you."

John lit a cigarette and took two deep drags, his hoarse voice escaping with the smoke.

"You have to taste both victory and defeat. Only by experiencing the bitterness, pain, and sadness of fleeing can a man truly stand on his own. It doesn't matter if you cry your eyes out, but you must get through this!"

These were Shanks' words to Luffy, and John gave them to Dragon ahead of time today.

A life with smooth sailing would be so boring; it's only interesting when it's full of ups and downs, twists and turns!

Dorag gazed silently at John, the words of his dear friend Vincent before his death echoing in his mind, and his lifeless pupils gradually began to glow.

The following days were uneventful.

After several days of silence, Dragon bid farewell to Garp and John, officially leaving the Navy to find his own path.

Someone saw Morgan leave the Kingdom of Leon in a homemade sampan. The task of pursuing Morgan was transferred to other branches by the Fleet Admiral, who also terminated Garp's vacation and ordered him to return to Marine Headquarters immediately.

At Karp's request, John was also transferred to headquarters. John wanted to take Reed with him, but Reed claimed he had met the woman he loved and needed to wait a while.

John also wanted to take this time to visit Begabank, so he lied and said he was going home to see his non-existent brother and needed to take a few days off.

Karp, left with no other option, granted John a two-week vacation...

The second half of the Grand Line, Punk Hazard.

At this point in time, Punk Hazard is not yet the terrifying Ice and Fire Island. Here, the grass is lush and the flowers are in full bloom. The lake in the center of the island is crystal clear, and everything is as beautiful as a poem.

On this day, a man wearing a black trench coat silently landed on the island, his expression gradually turning ferocious as he looked at the "permanent pointer" in his hand.

"Ninety million! I spent ninety million Berries to buy information I already knew?!"

John was so angry that he crushed the hourglass-like hands in his palm, and felt so heartbroken that he wanted to slap himself twice.

It's all his fault for being careless.

That makes sense, since Vegabank used this place as a research institute before it became Ice and Fire Island.

That mythical beast-type Azure Dragon Fruit was born here.

Scientific equipment is usually huge and difficult to move. After being forced to join the World Government, Vegabank would likely choose a familiar place for convenience and to adapt to the environment quickly.

So, naturally, it's Punk Hazard.

"Forget it, let's think about how to meet with Begabank first."

John didn't want to see Stussy, Judge, and the others. These guys were all up to no good, and if they found out he was colluding with Vegabank, they would report it to the Five Elders sooner or later.

Killing them outright wouldn't work either, since these guys are quite intelligent and might come in handy someday.

Although these people can do the same things, Begabank can also do them, but human resources are finite. Otherwise, Begabank wouldn't have created several clones to assist him in the future.

Keeping Judge and his ilk around will save a lot of time in terms of bloodline factors and clones.

John is also short of time.

However, he couldn't imprison these guys; he needed to go out and get money and materials, and he couldn't guard them all the time.

Even moving to a floating island 10,000 meters in the air wouldn't work; scientists can make anything with the materials, and escaping would be incredibly easy.

He didn't have the energy to play the "guards and fugitives" game with these guys.

"In that case, let's use a politician's mindset and divide and conquer!"

John suddenly had a good idea. He glanced at the surveillance Den Den Mushi hanging in the treetop above him, then turned and left Punk Hazard.

A certain sea area in the New World

A huge sailing ship shaped like a beluga whale was moving at full speed across the sea, with a skull and crossbones flag with a crescent moon beard fluttering in the sea breeze.

This is the "Whitebeard Pirates," which has recently caused headaches for the World Government, the Navy, and pirates. Its captain is Edward Newgate, who has started his own crew.

On the deck, Gram, with his pineapple-shaped hair, stood by the ship's railing, raising his binoculars to look at the distant horizon.

In their line of sight, a dilapidated pirate ship was heading in their direction.

Graham put down his binoculars, rubbed the head of his seven-year-old son Marco beside him, and then turned and shouted towards the stern of the ship.

"Captain! Some fools have entered our waters. Please come and deal with them."

Soon after, Newgate arrived with heavy footsteps, took the binoculars from Graham, and looked in the direction Graham was pointing.

After recognizing the faces on the other ship, Newgate grinned.

"Kuralalala, Gram, you really love to act on your own initiative!"

"I didn't. It just happened to happen. I definitely didn't go looking for it on purpose."

Graham shrugged, but what he said was something even he himself didn't believe.

The dilapidated ship that sailed in was none other than the infamous "Pete Pirates," the very crew everyone was currently fighting over, and the very crew his captain had been longing for.

Even though the captain didn't say it, Graham could tell that the captain wanted revenge for his "former partner" John.

It's just that I'm refraining from getting involved in the conflict because of my family.

Thank you.

Newgate nodded to Gram, then raised his right arm, clenched his fist, brought it inward to his chest, and then slammed his arm down hard into the air.

click

In an instant, the atmosphere caved in and twisted, its edges shattering and cracking like a mirror, the cracks spreading rapidly, growing into a grotesque spiderweb even larger than the Moby Dick in the blink of an eye.

Immediately afterwards, with a deafening roar, a terrifying shockwave burst forth from the cracks in the spiderweb, whipping up towering waves that swept towards the dilapidated pirate ship.

Meanwhile, on the dilapidated pirate ship.

Pete lay exhausted on the deck, his face haggard but his muscles bulging, giving the impression that he had become stronger but was actually quite weak.

Ever since he shot the Navy's "undying monster" into the sea and seized the warship, he has been hunted down by all sorts of people and hasn't had a good night's sleep in a long time.

The continuous high-intensity battles made him stronger, stronger than he could ever be.

However, his mental state was extremely fragile, to the point that he would experience auditory hallucinations for no reason, and his ears would constantly ring.

"Captain, there seems to be a pirate ship ahead of us."

Just as Pete was about to close his eyes for a nap, the crew's shouts woke him up like the whispers of demons.

Pete sat up agitatedly, and roared irritably:

"Are you stupid! Don't you know how to change direction and avoid it? Do you think I even have the strength to fight now?!"

"Uh... but that's the Whitebeard Pirates' ship. Since we were both members of the Rocks Pirates, Newgate should protect us, right?"

"Yes! After all, Newgate is the most loyal friend!"

The remaining crew members weakly echoed their sentiments.

They were all exhausted!

A few days ago, some crew members couldn't take it anymore and abandoned Captain John's treasure, secretly disembarking to escape all of this under assumed names.

But a few days later, the crew member called back, and all that could be heard on the phone was his agonizing screams of torture.

The person on the day of the phone call used the crew member as leverage, demanding they reveal the whereabouts of Captain John's treasure.

But how could they know!

They want to know too!

Therefore, the crew's idea of ​​abandoning Pete and escaping alone was also abandoned, and they could only stick together and suffer endless pursuit.

Chapter 76 The Legend of the Knight Prince

Just as the crew was discussing how to reminisce with Newgate and gain his sympathy and protection, the previously gentle sea suddenly became furious.

boom

A giant wave, tens of meters high, suddenly rose from the front, sweeping towards the direction of the Pete Pirates with a deafening roar.

"A bunch of idiots! Run!"

Pete was so frightened that he was wide awake. He slapped and kicked the pirates, urging them to get the oars and row the boat.

"Damn it! If we try to escape from the side, the ship will capsize if the waves come crashing down! Row in the direction the waves are coming from!"

Amidst Pete's shouts and curses, towering waves crashed in, and the wrecked pirate ship swayed and rose and fell helplessly like a leaf in a storm.

Meanwhile, in the waters near Punk Hazard.

Countless tiny bubbles rose and gurgled on the surface of the sea, and then a huge bubble burst out from underwater, revealing a steamship.

"Hahaha! I'm here for the second half of the Grand Line!"

"The Pete Pirates? Captain John's treasure! It's all mine!"

On a steamship flying the skull and crossbones flag, the one-eyed pirate captain with slanted bangs laughed loudly, as if the world would be under his feet once he stepped into this sea.

It's no wonder he was so confident; news of the Pete Pirates entering the second half of the Grand Line had already spread throughout the underworld, and countless people were flocking there for Captain John's treasure.

Along the way, his one-eyed man had sunk several of his fellow ships and killed many bounty hunters.

He even captured more than a dozen graceful mermaids while passing by Fishman Island, which brought him nearly a billion Berries!

"Captain, look at the sky! It looks like something is falling down!"

The crew member's reminder silenced the one-eyed man's smug laughter, and he looked up at the sky.

Many objects of various shapes and sizes fell from the clouds, as if there were islands above the clouds and someone was standing on them throwing trash down.

"Could it be... a sky island?"

The knowledgeable one-eyed man raised an eyebrow, then quickly shook his head to dismiss the thought.

"Now is not the time for such fantasy adventures. Capturing the Pete Pirates and interrogating them to find out Captain John's treasure is the most important thing!"

"Quickly activate the steam propeller to avoid the falling debris!"

"Oh!"

As towering smoke billowed out, the steamship's outboard propellers slowly began to turn, propelling the ship to make rapid turns and avoid obstacles on the sea.

However, even though they had already avoided it by a considerable distance, One-Eyed noticed that the debris falling from the sky was still above the ship, and it was getting bigger and closer.