"York?!"
Hearing this name, Harald followed Rocks' gaze and also locked onto York, who was enjoying the delicacies.
As one of the most notorious members of the entire Rocks Pirates, Harald's wariness of York far exceeded that of Rocks himself.
After all, York's ability was simply too dangerous. Any man with a wife, girlfriend, or daughter wouldn't dare to underestimate or ignore his existence.
"Me?!"
York, who was eating, was stunned. He hadn't expected Rocks and Harald's casual chat to suddenly involve him.
"You want me to persuade Harald? I'm not familiar with Harald, how am I supposed to persuade him?"
York didn't want to join the conversation.
Harald had shaved his head to show his resolve. Unless his head was chopped off, it was absolutely impossible to reverse his will.
Oh, Kotoamatsukami from the Naruto world might work, but that was another matter.
"Bastard kid!!"
Rocks cursed but didn't give up.
"I'll ask you a different way! If you were Harald, what would be the most correct course of action for you right now?!"
*Splurt!*
York opened his mouth and bit into a super-large grape with a diameter of over one and a half meters, completely ignoring Rocks.
Annoyed, Rocks was about to stand up and draw his sword, ready to vent all the anger he received from Harald onto York.
Just then, Harald raised his hand to stop Rocks.
"Don't do it, Rocks. This is Ida's tavern! If you destroy this place, I won't welcome you in the future!"
Rocks snorted unhappily but had to sit back down, picking up his wooden mug to drink in frustration.
After calming Rocks, Harald looked at York again.
"York, right? Your youth exceeds my imagination, but since Rocks asked for your opinion, you must have unique insights. Would you be willing to do me the honor of sharing your insights with me?"
York swallowed a whole grape and looked at Harald.
"Your attitude does indeed seem like that of a wise king."
"Alright, since you asked sincerely, I'll answer you generously!"
York paused slightly to organize his thoughts.
"If I were you right now, firstly, I would not actively seek to join the World Government!"
"Things given for free are worthless!"
"I won't give specific examples. As the king of a nation, you can definitely understand the meaning of this sentence."
"Secondly, I would not join the Rocks Pirates either!"
"The reason is exactly what you are thinking. Joining the Rocks Pirates would completely sever the possibility of Elbaf joining the World Government, so you can't do it!"
"Thirdly, conquer by force those countries that have helped Elbaf!"
"Not to go to those countries to kill people, but to declare to the whole world that these countries are now Elbaf's territory! Whoever dares to violate them is declaring war on Elbaf!"
"Fourthly! Attack any existence that dares to assault Elbaf's protectorates! Including World Government ships and the Marines!"
"As long as they dare to attack the countries protected by Elbaf, kill them all! Leave no one alive! Then chop off their heads, pickle them, and send them back to the World Government or the Marines!"
"Fifthly! Defeat the World Government's Buster Call head-on!"
"Use facts to tell the world that the Buster Call is useless against Elbaf!"
"Finally! The World Government itself will send people to request Elbaf to join the World Government."
"At that time, those Giant warriors you mentioned who want to help others can join the Marines openly and uprightly to execute the justice they insist on in their hearts."
"Last but not least, prepare for war at all times! Ensure that Elbaf's military force can suppress the World Government's ambition to destroy Elbaf."
"As long as you achieve the above, joining the World Government and helping those kind people will be just a matter of a word from you."
After these words were spoken, the entire Ida's Tavern fell into a long silence.
Harald and Ida had blank looks in their eyes. Everyone in the Rocks Pirates stopped eating, including Rocks himself, looking at York with astonishment.
"York, you kid..."
"That is my suggestion. Whether to listen or not is up to King Harald himself."
York ignored the reactions of these people, turned around, grabbed a steak measuring over ten meters, and took a bite.
*Swoosh!*
Suddenly, Rocks flashed from the bar counter onto the table where York was sitting cross-legged.
He reached out and grabbed York's shoulder, forcibly turning him around.
"Kid! I didn't expect you to have such wisdom!"
"Since you've already given Harald an idea, you must have thought about my plan to conquer the world for a long time too, right!"
"Tell me! What is your suggestion for me?!"
*Gulp.*
York swallowed the beef in his mouth.
Looking at Rocks' approaching eyes, he wanted to say: Why should I tell you?
But thinking about the past two years, Rocks had indeed taught him a lot. Even if it often seemed perfunctory, he had genuinely learned a lot.
So, he put down the steak he had just picked up and asked Rocks in return: "Do you really want to know?"
"Whether to execute it or not is my business! But right now, I want to hear your opinion!"
York paused slightly, again organizing his thoughts.
Since there was a pause when answering Harald earlier, Rocks had the patience to wait.
A moment later, York spoke.
"For you, it's actually very simple."
"Establish a country with a large enough territory, rule a large enough population, and build an army that is loyal to you and strong enough!"
"Openly and squarely, break through the Marine's defenses from the front, kill your way up to Mary Geoise, and kill all the Celestial Dragons living up there. You will naturally become the King of the World."
After speaking, York shut his mouth, waiting for Rocks' reaction.
The latter was stunned for a while, then suddenly laughed loudly.
"Wahahaha! As expected, you are just a brat! Your thinking is too naive!"
"Are you saying that because I don't know the secret of the Room of Flowers in the Holy Land Mary Geoise, the plan I provided has no feasibility?"
York suddenly inserted a sentence amidst Rocks' laughter, causing the latter's laughter to stop abruptly.
Rocks stared fixedly at York, "How do you know about that?!"
York smiled calmly.
"Secrets are only secrets when only one person knows them. Once a second person knows, they are no longer secrets!"
Rocks said nothing, still staring fixedly at York.
York didn't panic at all and continued to answer calmly: "On the basis of establishing national rule, secretly search for a way to break that secret. With both lines running parallel, you can naturally achieve your goal of ruling the world."
"Neither of these two can be missing!"
"If you don't believe me, let's make a hypothesis."
"Suppose you completed your goal according to your original plan and became the King of the World. Very good. As the King of the World, you issue an order. Who will execute it in the end?"
"You don't think that after you kill the Celestial Dragons, the current officials of the World Government and the Marines will actively defect to you, do you?"
"Even if they defected to you, would you dare to trust them absolutely?!"
"If you don't need others to serve you, don't need others to execute your orders, then is there any difference whether you become the King of the World or not?"
A sneer appeared on York's face.
"A King of the World whose words no one listens to once separated by an island... what kind of bird King of the World is that!!"