Clifford Kingdom, Micity Port.
The coast was lined with watchtowers, each flying a skull flag. The flag was black with a white skull, behind which a sword and a saber crossed. The hilt of the saber and the hilt of the sword were adorned with a golden ring, and on top of these two golden rings were two incomprehensible characters.
"Hahahaha~ What a prosperous place!"
A two-meter-tall fat man, draped in a brown coat embroidered with gold thread, landed with a bang from a pirate ship flying a skull flag onto the port.
Hundreds of fierce-looking pirates gathered around him.
He stared at the bustling, noisy port, and the merchant ships constantly moving goods from shore to vessel. The greed in his eyes was almost palpable.
Bang!
Finally, this ferocious-looking fat man couldn't resist. He pulled out a flintlock pistol, fired a shot into the sky, and loudly declared: "This prosperous place, I, the 87,000,000 Berry bounty pirate, Zakedo, hereby declare it occupied! You lot, hand over all your goods and money! Otherwise, I'll throw you into the sea!"
"Oh! Hand over your money!"
"Refuse, and we'll cut you down!"
"Occupy this place!"
"Our Captain is the future Pirate King!"
"..."
Hearing their boss's words, the pirates behind Zakedo brandished their weapons and roared.
Upon hearing the gunshot and the words of this fat pirate, Zakedo, the surrounding civilians, merchants, and others were stunned.
"Idiots."
"Looking for a death wish."
"Another newcomer who doesn't understand the rules here."
"How many is this this month?"
Everyone looked at the fat pirate Zakedo with expressions usually reserved for idiots, then ignored him and continued with their own business.
"Uh~"
Finding that the people around them showed no reaction, as if indifferent to their words, Zakedo and his crew froze, opening their mouths but unsure what to say.
"Bastards! Didn't you hear me?! I'm going to throw all of you into the sea!"
Immediately, Zakedo erupted in fury. He had always considered himself the future Pirate King and detested it when others ignored his commands or disregarded him. These people had done both.
"Hey, hey, hey! Can you shut up, you idiot? I knew I should've let Oliver handle this. This is already the eighth idiot this month."
Suddenly, an irritated voice came from ahead.
Zakedo and his crew froze again, looking up.
The crowd ahead parted, revealing a purple-haired youth in a white fur coat, followed by over a dozen companions.
"Ah~ A high-ranking executive of the Chris Pirates, Captain of the Chris Sixth Elite Squad, and the highest commander stationed at Micity Port! Steel Demon, Angus Abel-sama!"
Someone in the crowd recognized the newcomer. It was indeed the Steel Demon, Abel, a contemporary Supernova pirate who had been defeated by Oliver and later joined the Chris Pirates.
"How annoying. Guys who don't even have a 100,000,000 Berry bounty. What a bunch of clueless fools." Abel walked up to Zakedo, looking at him with disdain. "Fat pig."
Instantly, Zakedo felt a surge of rage rush to his head, his eyes turning red on the spot.
"Oh no, the Captain hates being called names the most!"
As Abel's "fat pig" remark escaped his lips, the pirates behind Zakedo gasped, recoiling in fear, almost falling into the sea.
"Bastard! Bastard! I'll tear you apart! I'll smash your bones!"
The enraged Zakedo pushed off with his right foot, displaying a surprisingly swift speed completely unbefitting his body, and charged directly at Abel.
"Like I said, an idiot is an idiot."
Abel scoffed dismissively, slightly adjusting his stance.
Whoosh!
Zakedo's punch missed Abel's ear, hitting only air.
Almost simultaneously, Abel clenched his left fist, which began to glow red, emitting a faint heat. He struck out with a lightning-fast punch, slamming it hard into Zakedo's corpulent abdomen.
Thud!
Rumble!
With a dull thud, Zakedo was struck as if by a heavy blow, his eyeballs nearly popping out. He was sent flying backwards instantly, becoming a black blur that traversed dozens of meters in the blink of an eye, smashing heavily into the starboard side of his own pirate ship, with more than half of his body embedded within it.
He was now unconscious, his eyes rolled back.
"O-one hit!"
"Hey~ Captain, stop playing around."
"Am I seeing things?"
"Impossible! The Captain is a great pirate with an 87,000,000 Berry bounty!"
The pirates' mouths hung wide open, their jaws dropping to the floor. Their eyes held nothing but shock, astonishment, and fear. They had never witnessed a master of this caliber.
"Damn it, what garbage." Abel twisted his neck, spitting. "Are the Marines all dead? They're letting trash like this into the New World. Do they think this is a garbage dump?"
To Abel, guys of this level were too weak. Those who made it to the New World usually did so by sheer luck. However, there had been too many lucky ones in recent years, especially this year, with several clueless rookie pirate crews showing up every month looking for the gates of hell.
Indeed, it was already Sea Calendar 1518, the third year since the Chris Pirates conquered the Clifford Kingdom.
Over these three years, the frenzied pirate attacks on nations gradually subsided. Countless pirates were captured or killed by the Marines, who themselves suffered heavy losses.
Their strength, which had not fully recovered from the "Operation Weedkiller" campaign in Sea Calendar 1514, was once again severely depleted, leading to a significant decrease in the Marines' control over the seas.
Fortunately, the large number of pirate deaths and captures also meant far fewer pirates setting sail each year.
The number of particularly troublesome rookie pirates had also decreased, so many of the new pirates pouring into the New World weren't particularly strong; they were mostly third-rate pirates.
However, over these three years, after Aeridar conquered the capital city of Nakor, he first forcefully reclaimed the other cities, then was crowned king.
The World Government also honored its previous promise, allowing the Clifford Kingdom to join the World Government. Aeridar even attended the Reverie in Sea Calendar 1516.
At this conference, Aeridar met many familiar faces: King Nefertari Cobra of Alabasta, Neptune of Fish-Man Island, and King Elizabello II of the Prodence Kingdom, capable of unleashing his "King Punch."
Of course, there was also the current King of Dressrosa, Donquixote Doflamingo, who, like Aeridar, was attending the Reverie for the first time.
However, this conference had essentially only one theme: protests against the World Government and the Marines.
The pirate attacks on nations had left many affiliated countries reeling, causing immense headaches for the World Government and the Marines, who also had to allocate fleets and manpower to eliminate these pirates.
Naturally, Aeridar, as the catalyst for these events, also faced hostility and accusations from many countries. However, they could only engage in verbal sparring; they were truly powerless against Aeridar.
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