Chapter 264: The Emperor's Illness on Nine Snake Island and His Promise with Hancock

South China Sea, a small village close to the Red Earth Continent.

Because of its proximity to the Red Earth Continent, this village has its own port, which is used exclusively for caravan ships to dock.

But also because it is located on the route from the South China Sea to the Grand Line, the next supply point is a large town near the Red Earth Continent, which has also become a destination frequented by pirates.

"Beep!!!"

A shrill whistle sounded, and the villagers guarding the port whistled hard and picked up the flintlock rifles beside them.

"Pirates! Get out of here!"

As soon as the warning sounded, a lead bullet hit his shoulder.

On the pirate ship, a pirate holding a gun laughed loudly: "It won't work just by holding a gun, idiot!"

A group of pirates on the deck laughed.

"The battle captain is awesome!"

"No one in the New World can do this kind of shooting, right?"

"When we climb up to the Red Earth Continent, won't the Five Elders mentioned in the New Era Newspaper have to obey us?"

"The secret that can make people immortal... it's really hard not to be moved!"

……

At this time, the whole village started to move because of the whistle.

When the pirate ship docked, villagers appeared at the dock with their weapons.

"hehe!"

The captain of the pirate group staggered forward and looked at the villagers with a mocking look.

"Old man, do you think you can stop me like this? Hand over all your money and replenish all our supplies, then you can survive!"

The words fell, but the villagers gnashed their teeth in silence and held their weapons tighter.

"Pirate, this place is very close to the Marine Branch. We are the people of the Allied Nations, you'd better leave now!"

"Think carefully, you pirates. This is not an ordinary village. Get out of here! We are not lambs to be slaughtered!"

"roll!"

"Get out of this village, pirate!"

"Bang bang bang!"

Three gunshots rang out, and the villagers who were shouting at them to get out fell to the ground.

The pirate captain raised his hand and prepared for everyone to start looting.

But the next moment, a voice sounded on the dock behind them.

"These coordinates are almost in the sea. Although I'm not afraid of falling in, the location is too ridiculous."

Kevin rubbed his wet hair, then looked up and found that everyone was looking at him.

"Who is that? Got a towel?"

Kevin asked as he walked forward casually, as if he didn't notice the group of minions around him.

This attitude also made these minions very dissatisfied.

These young men who had just been out to sea were nothing more than street thugs in the past. They knew very well that at this time they had to demonstrate their strength in order to intimidate the villagers.

"Where did this idiot come from?"

"Can't you see the situation here, bastard!"

"You're not a fool, are you?"

……

A minion came over with his shoulder tilted.

"You! Kneel down!"

He raised the long knife in his hand to intimidate.

However, Kevin seemed not to have heard it and continued to walk forward, getting closer and closer to him.

"court death!"

The long knife chopped down, but it hit directly on the wooden piles of the dock.

"Bang bang bang!"

Gunshots were heard, but Kevin easily knocked the lead bullet back, knocking down several people.

Kevin also looked over at this moment.

"Om..."

Covered by the domineering aura of the king, all the pirates on the dock fainted for a moment, even the captain with a bounty of nearly 10 million.

This scene stunned all the villagers on the dock. They could not understand why this happened, and they had no idea about the existence of domineering power.

At this moment, Kevin also walked up to the village chief and said, "Hello, can I borrow a towel?"

The old village chief nodded blankly, still a little confused about the situation for a moment.

But the villagers beside him reminded him, and the cheers also woke him up.

The pirate was tied up, and the villagers decided to hand him over to the Marine branch, and the bounty was also given to Kevin.

However, Kevin waved his hand as to the bounty and told them to distribute it among themselves. After all, this village had lost a lot of property in the past, all because of pirates.

……

After wiping his hair at the village chief's house, Kevin asked the same question he had asked throughout his journey.

“How do you feel about your life now?”

The old village chief poured him a cup of hot tea and then sat down on the ground opposite Kevin.

"Being alive and living to this age is already the best life. Asking for too much is just a dream."

Kevin looked around and asked, "Don't you have any children?"

The old village chief was silent for a while. "Seven years ago, my eldest son went out to sea with a caravan and died outside. No other news came back except that he was confirmed dead."

"Four years ago, my youngest son was killed by pirates who came to the island to rob him because he said one more word out of anger. Neither of them got married, so they didn't leave any grandchildren."

The old man described the death of his two sons so calmly, without crying or losing control of his emotions.

But this kind of reaction is what Kevin has seen most often in recent days.

It’s not that he’s not sad, but at his age, he has seen too many tragedies, so many that he’s even a little numb.

The old man was a little timid, but seemed fearless because of his age.

"You...you should be an important person, right?"

Kevin thought for a moment and replied, "He is strong, but not a big shot. Is there anything I can help you with?"

The old man thought for a moment and shook his head. "It's useless. You must be a big shot to make those pirates faint with your eyes. But being a big shot also means you can't help us much."

"The South China Sea has also produced some great figures. The current admiral of the navy was born in the South China Sea. He often appeared in newspapers before, protecting the world's nobles from being harassed by pirates."

"He was here too, and drove away a group of pirates just like you, but he left soon after."

Kuzan?

Kevin thought of the generals who came from the South China Sea, and currently the only one was Kuzan.

"Then suppose starting tomorrow, there is no need to pay for Sky Gold anymore, and pirates disappear from this sea, then life will get better and better, and richer and richer."

"But the price may be the extinction of the entire world hundreds of years later. What will you choose?"

The old village chief was stunned: "Really... is this possible?"

He wiped away his tears and said, "This village was even more difficult in the past. Back then, pirates could destroy and plunder at will, and everyone hid and dared not show up."

"Later, a newspaper called the New Era appeared, and the village began to change. Some people proposed to form a team to protect the village and began to try to resist."

"The first time, we paid a lot. Many of those young children lost their lives. But then, those pirates knew that the people of this village would fight to the death, so they also became cautious."

Having said that, Kevin naturally understood the old man's answer.

In fact, just like the answer he got before, in today's world where we don't even know whether we can survive, no one will consider the illusory future.

……

Grand Line, Chambord Islands.

Kevin stayed here for four days, and those four days were like a nightmare for a human trafficking organization.

The lawless area from Area 1 to Area 29, the slave-hunting teams, auction houses, and human trafficking shops seemed to have returned to the nightmare time many years ago.

The entire lawless area was engulfed in flames, and no hidden business was spared.

"Shh."

Kevin sheathed the Zanpakuto in his hand, and a raging fire had already started in front of him.

Wherever the flames passed, the unconscious slave traders and others woke up because of the pain, but the fire beside them completely devoured them in an instant.

"Fight... the cloaked man!"

"Gu! You...you are surrounded!"

"Hurry up... surrender quickly!"

Kevin had already sensed the movement behind him, and now he turned around and looked at the navy man who had just spoken.

There was no outburst of arrogance, but just because of his fame and gaze, he fell to the ground with one chuckle.

"It takes courage to speak out in this situation."

Kevin disappeared in an instant as he spoke, and when he reappeared he was already beside him.

"But what would you do if the person being auctioned here was your mother, or your father, brother, or sister?"

The sudden voice approaching from the side made the navy's pupils widen. He thought he would lose his life in the next moment, and the figures of his family appeared in his mind.

But as time passed, he didn't feel any pain.

When he reacted again, the cloaked man was no longer in front of him.

"Sir? The cloaked man has disappeared. Should we chase him?"

"Chase? What can we chase? Even if such a being killed a world noble in Mary Geoise, he would still be able to escape unscathed. What would it matter if we caught up with him?"

"Then just now..."

"Just now? We just encountered the cloaked man in Area 1. With the soldiers bravely blocking the enemy, the cloaked man chose to evacuate."

"Nani?"

"Follow orders! Is there anything wrong with what I said?"

"understand!"

……

The slaves in the slave auction house had fled in all directions, and the slave owner and his slave-catching team had been burned to ashes.

The navy soldier just now stood in front of the ruins, his eyes flickering.

Want to put yourself in their shoes?

If it was my own family, what would I do? Without the power of the cloaked man, I'm afraid I can't do anything.

……

In Area 13 of the No Man's Land in the Sabaody Archipelago, at the entrance of a bar that stands alone in an empty lot.

Kevin turned around and looked in the direction of the bubble tree: "I've been following you for so many days, do you want to go to the front and have a drink together?"

A sturdy figure walked out, wearing a baseball cap and with a resolute face.

"I didn't expect to meet you here. The Navy Headquarters has held no less than ten meetings to discuss you."

Sakaski walked over and said, "There are only seventeen days left. As the party at the center of the vortex, you seem to be doing meaningless things aimlessly."

Kevin smiled and replied, "What is meaningless? In my opinion, liberating innocent people is never a meaningless thing..."

"This world is in tatters, and there will always be someone who keeps patching it up, right? If you stand by and watch coldly today, what will you do if the disaster befalls you in the future?"

A sentence from the quotation made Sakaski stunned.

He knew this sentence because he had carefully read and studied that collection of quotations and many other books on new ideas in the revolutionary army.

"I can feel it..."

"what?"

"The seeds deep inside you have already been planted."

“I haven’t figured it out yet.”

"That's why you traveled on the sea, to the place where the revolutionary army said the tragic fate happened. You want to see it with your own eyes, right?"

Kevin and Sakaski locked eyes.

Then he asked, "You should have seen it, right? This is the true scene of this world, and also the darkest scene."

Sakaski fell silent.

The door of the Knockoff Bar was pushed open, and Kevin walked in by himself. Sakaski behind him thought for a moment and followed him.

As soon as they entered the door, Xia Qi at the bar had already noticed their arrival.

Frowning and sighing.

"This is just a small bar. It really can't accommodate two big shots like you!"

Sakaski's eyes narrowed slightly, and then he looked suddenly at the guy sitting and drinking on the other side.

"Silbaz Raleigh?"

"In a bar like this, I know that an ordinary vice admiral is no longer considered a big shot."

Sakaski said, looking at Kevin: "So you are here for help?"

"bump."

Before Kevin could speak, Rayleigh, who had put down his glass, looked over and said, "In front of the whirlpool that is sweeping across the entire ocean, elderly retirees like us are nothing and can't do anything."

Sakaski looked solemn, but Kevin beside him also spread his hands, walked directly to the bar, and asked Xia Qi to pour him a glass of wine.

For a moment, he still stood there, as if he was out of place here, but he couldn't get so angry as to overturn the table.

Not to mention that his domineering power is weakened now, even if he was determined and his fighting power was close to the peak two years ago, he would not dare to act rashly at this moment.

There is nothing simple in this so-called small bar.

The spark of the revolutionary army, the mentor cloaked man.

Silver Baz Rayleigh, the former vice-captain of One Piece.

Former captain of the Nine Snakes Pirates, Amazon Lily Emperor: Xia Qi.

"Want a drink?"

Xia Qi mixed a glass of wine and gestured to Sakaski.

The admiral thought about it and sat down, but he almost spit out the wine as soon as the glass touched his lips.

"Five million Baileys."

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Sakaski, who was coughing violently, glared, "Are you trying to rob me? Five million Baileys for a glass of wine?"

Xia Qi calmly replied, "This is not as fast as robbery, Navy. In the Sabaody Archipelago, in addition to all the money on the body, even the person will not be spared."

Kevin added: "Women with a little bit of beauty and strong men will be sold as slaves, but if they don't look good, they will be broken up and sold."

"The Sabaody Archipelago is also the favorite place for those guys from the dark world. Doflamingo, one of the former Seven Warlords of the Sea, also controlled part of the power in the Lawless Zone in the past."

Split?

Sakaski is no novice, he knows what the so-called split means.

New World organ dealer Jigura is engaged in this business.

“A lot of times there’s nothing we can do.”

"Just like you said, sir, this world is in tatters, and patching it up is just patching it up."

"Without the navy, the world would be a more chaotic place."

Kevin drank the wine in his glass and said, "Use your heart to face the world and find what you really believe in. No matter what decision you make in the end, it is the real you."

The real me...

After traveling to Alabasta, he chose to take action and chose to follow his heart.

During this period, he could feel that what he had lost was gradually being recovered.

That thing was the trembling gratitude of the old man after he used his ability to defeat the pirates for the first time many years ago, and it was also the girl in Alabasta who called him uncle.

"Cuckoo..."

After a glass of wine, Sakaski stood up and left.

……

Kevin waited until the breath in his perception left before he asked, "What do you want from me?"

On the day when he talked to Roger, he also learned that Rayleigh was looking for him, so he came here.

Rayleigh laughed and said, "Sir, your visit here has caused too much noise. Those auction houses are in big trouble."

At the bar, Xia Qi frowned and was a little worried: "Although it was someone brought in by the gentleman, it's okay if he didn't pay for the drinks, but he won't go out and bring a large group of navy with him, right?"

Kevin shook his head slightly: "No. That guy... has attended classes in the Revolutionary Army's school. He has changed a lot now compared to the past."

Upon hearing this, Xia Qi and Rayleigh were stunned.

They knew the name of Sakaski, the user of the natural lava fruit, who was once considered to be one of the three future admirals of the navy.

During his reserve period, he fought a great battle with BiGMOM in the New World's Wanoku Sea. Although he was defeated, the entire battlefield turned into lava in a few days, which shows that even the Four Emperors BiGMOM would not have an easy time against him.

And now, someone who is obviously the top fighter of the navy has attended classes in the Revolutionary Army’s school?

Kevin didn't want to continue the question, so he waved his hand and said, "You two have already retired, so there's no need to go through this trouble again. Just tell me what you want to say, I have to go to the New World soon."

Xia Qi thought for a moment and replied, "Since you already knew my past identity a few years ago, I wonder if you know about the illness that the Emperor of Nine Snake Island has been suffering from until now?"

"lovesickness?"

Kevin directly said the name of the disease, then looked at Xia Qi and then at Rayleigh: "I remember the lovesickness of Nine Snake Island, which can be relieved or even cured as long as you go out to sea. You have been away from Amazon Lily for so many years, and you still have symptoms?"

"Click."

Using a lighter to light the cigarette, Xia Qi blew out a smoke ring and said, "So sometimes the best men in this world are like this, they take a woman's heart away unknowingly, but then forget it."

These words made Kevin's hand holding the wine glass stiffen for a moment.

Then he said innocently, "I didn't provoke you, did I? And considering your age, forget it, the more you explain, the worse it gets. Anyway, when you were suffering from lovesickness, I was probably not even born yet, right?"

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Rayleigh, who was standing by, choked on his wine.

After coughing for a while, he spoke directly: "It's Hancock. A few years have passed, sir, I'm afraid you have forgotten that girl? That child also has a great talent. Not long after returning to Amazon Lily, her domineering aura began to awaken, and she has the demeanor of a king."

At this point Rayleigh glanced at Kevin, and seeing that he was not surprised, he thought of what Roger said about the ability to foresee part of the future.

"Sir, do you know?"

Kevin: "I do know something about Hancock's talent, and I even know that she will become the emperor of Amazon Lily. But regarding the child's lovesickness... I can understand it."

The action on Marijoa a few years ago, when Hancock was only fifteen years old.

I remember that time she was crying and shouting with snot and tears, and she rushed towards me with dust on her face. She looked like a piece of charcoal and was not cute at all.

So... I pressed down on that gray face with one hand and suppressed it.

"that……"

Kevin pointed at his face and said, "She probably hasn't seen my true face, has she? My current appearance is just a common one. How can she get sick without even knowing what I look like?"

Rayleigh: "It's understandable... After all, it's a place like Marijoa. What you gave her at that time was all hope."

Xia Qi poured him another glass of wine. "When Rayleigh tried to contact you, it was when the projection broadcast of the World Government just appeared. Hancock also saw it on Nine Snake Island that day."

"That child immediately wanted to relieve himself of his duties as the emperor. He even refused to continue the Seven Warlords of the Sea who had been invited to protect the Nine Snake Island. He wanted to go out to sea to find you directly."

Kevin sighed upon hearing this.

It was expected that Hancock would become the Queen of Nine Snake Island. It was precisely because of this that she had a conversation with Admiral Marijoa when she rescued the slaves from her, and even made an agreement to meet on the sea in the future.

But this agreement... in his view, was a meeting and reform promotion with the Emperor of Nine Snake Island as a benefactor and a high-ranking member of the revolutionary army.

However... things seemed to be going in another direction.

"In that case, I'll go to Nine Snake Island later. The Revolutionary Army didn't leave any coordinates there, so I'll leave one this time."

Kevin gave his reply.

Xia Qi and Rayleigh looked at each other, both confused.

"What are you going to do, sir?"

Kevin smiled and said, "Emotions themselves are the most difficult thing to suppress in this world. Strong emotions can even bring powerful strength to people."

"But... our responsibilities involve too many lives. The warriors of Nine Snake Island, the Revolutionary Army, and the future of this world..."

Is that really the case?

Xia Qi and Rayleigh had guessed some of it before this.

The gentleman in front of me is no longer ordinary after his growth in youth.

The core ideas that lead the world speak for themselves.

Afterwards, Kevin chatted with the two for a long time in the bar.

About the decision after knowing everything, about the future of the world, and about the next war.

……

Nine Snake Island, Amazon Lily.

At this time, Kevin was escorted directly to the cell by several female soldiers, and there were several men who were also arrested next to him.

……

(End of this chapter)