IW: Chapter 176 - At this moment, in Golden Lion's eyes, a radiance seemed to emanate from behind Bai Ye!
"After our parting at God Valley, I never expected our next meeting to be in such a state."
On the Moby Dick, Golden Lion, Bai Ye, and Whitebeard sat in a circle.
Behind Bai Ye, Tengetsu Toki was curiously observing the other two. When she had followed Bai Ye earlier, she had directly fainted due to the clash of Conqueror's Haki between Bai Ye and Whitebeard.
It took her a long time to wake up, and when she did, she saw Bai Ye and Whitebeard continuously drinking, while she lay beside Bai Ye.
Later, when Bai Ye intervened to resolve the war between Golden Lion and Roger, Tengetsu Toki also learned a lot from Marco.
It turned out that all three of them came from the same pirate crew.
Moreover, Bai Ye had killed many Celestial Dragons back then and even issued a highly provocative statement to the World Government, where the Celestial Dragons resided. He was challenging the Celestial Dragons and the World Government!
This action further solidified the Nika label on Bai Ye in Tengetsu Toki's mind.
God's enemy!
"Old Lion, are you still planning to continue with your fleet?"
Whitebeard asked curiously.
Yes.
After the Rocks Pirates disbanded, everyone seemed to have become great pirates.
It's just a pity that today witnessed the demise of Golden Lion's fleet.
"Of course, how could I possibly give up just like that?!"
Golden Lion took a deep puff from his cigar; he was clearly not convinced.
Unlike in the anime, his head had not suffered a severe blow, so his strength was completely unaffected. In Golden Lion's view, with his own strength, he could completely recruit another group of pirates.
His ambition had not diminished.
"Tsk, then you'll probably still fail!"
"Whitebeard, you bastard, do you want to fight me?!"
He hadn't even gathered his crew yet.
Whitebeard was already predicting that he would ultimately fail!
You bastard, you're hoping I fail, aren't you?
"He's right. You simply can't gather a fleet of this scale now. You've already failed in the eyes of some powerful pirates!"
Bai Ye understood Whitebeard's point of view; Golden Lion had indeed failed. If you say your strength is inferior to Roger's or not much different, then you lost, you lost.
But you lost with a significant advantage.
"You bastard—"
Golden Lion felt a bit tired. Why did everyone look down on him?
"So you think I'll lose?" Golden Lion suddenly thought of something and then looked at Bai Ye, his eyes full of eager invitation: "Bai Ye, let's team up! If the two of us team up, we can definitely conquer the world!"
Since he couldn't handle Roger, Golden Lion naturally shifted his attention to Bai Ye.
Although Bai Ye didn't know about the ancient weapons, Bai Ye himself was a human weapon. His performance at God Valley back then was shocking even to him.
Actually, Golden Lion's first target for invitation was Bai Ye, but Bai Ye had refused him at God Valley the first time, and then Bai Ye simply disappeared, and he couldn't find him, so he could only settle for Roger.
Now that the main person was here, Golden Lion naturally felt that his chance had come.
"Do you know what you're like right now?"
"Like what?"
Golden Lion subconsciously asked, and then he heard what he felt was the most disgusting thing he had ever heard in his life.
"You're like a simp rejected by a goddess, who, after experiencing a major setback, finally settles for another woman."
What the heck!
I'm actually ranked behind Roger?
So Roger is the succubus of the pirate world, right?
Whitebeard thinks highly of him, Garp traveled thousands of miles to pursue Roger, Golden Lion even stormed Marineford after Roger's imprisonment just to save his lover, and Oden even left the Whitebeard Pirates for him.
"My first choice was you!"
"No! Absolutely not!"
Bai Ye waved his hands repeatedly; this was even more terrifying.
His expression, as if avoiding a fierce beast, made Golden Lion feel an urge to hit him.
This bastard must be doing it on purpose, right?
However, although he was angry deep down, the previous feeling also dissipated quite a bit. This guy is still the same as before, Golden Lion thought with emotion.
"Seriously, let's team up!"
"And then what?"
Bai Ye didn't immediately refuse, after all, he was about to convey his ideas to Golden Lion later.
So if he refused so bluntly now, it might make Golden Lion lose face, and he would definitely refuse him later.
"Then of course, we'll rule the world!"
A hint of excitement flashed across Golden Lion's face, thinking Bai Ye was tempted. Whitebeard beside him also glanced at Bai Ye, clearly surprised. Bai Ye wouldn't really agree, would he?
There's no reason...
Bai Ye seemed completely uninterested in this.
Tengetsu Toki was also of the same mind. Didn't Bai Ye say he wanted to liberate the world?
Why would he want to rule the world?
"So your 'ruling the world' means the New World, or liberating the entire world, getting rid of the World Government and the Celestial Dragons?"
Bai Ye smiled at Golden Lion. There was a fundamental difference. If it was just ruling the New World, that would be simple. But liberating the world would require fighting the World Government and other kingdoms under the current system.
Upon hearing Bai Ye's words, Golden Lion froze. Clearly, he hadn't thought that far.
He did want to rule the world, but he hadn't considered whether it was the whole world or just the New World.
As he thought, Golden Lion's expression kept changing, because he was unwilling to admit that his heart actually leaned more towards the New World than the entire world, but the fact was indeed so.
This made him feel as if his ambition was very small in Bai Ye's eyes, and perhaps his ambition was not even worth mentioning to the other party?
"You see, you yourself know that you only want to become the Pirate King. But what good is becoming the Pirate King? Aren't you still a puppet of the World Government?"
Just a disobedient puppet.
Perhaps this Pirate King was intentionally created by the World Government.
"And you failed this time, you'll still fail next time. You made a fundamental mistake: quality is more important than quantity. If you had more strong individuals in your pirate crew this time, even if you encountered this Marine disaster, you could still have defeated the Roger Pirates, but you didn't.
Similarly, if you had more strong individuals, your pirate crew could definitely have defeated the opponent before the Marine disaster."
Were there any powerful people in Golden Lion's fleet?
It seemed that besides Golden Lion himself, Bai Ye really had no impression of anyone else. What was the use of so many small fries?
"Facts prove that the elite strategy doesn't work, or rather, strong individuals won't gather together!"
Golden Lion said coldly. He admitted that he failed this time, but as Bai Ye said, is the elite strategy really useful?
How did their Rocks Pirates fail?
Ultimately, it was due to disunity. With so many powerful individuals, if Bai Ye had acted then, perhaps Rocks wouldn't have died.
So, he had thought about it back then, but eventually gave up.
Although he was unwilling to admit it, Golden Lion now understood that he simply couldn't compare to Rocks.
"Shiki, you're still limited. In the end, Captain Rocks just changed his goal. If he had followed the plan from the beginning, wouldn't we still have been united and worked together?
It's a pity his ambition started to swell, but if he had been like that from the beginning, then everyone would have been prepared for battle."
In Bai Ye's opinion, if Rocks was only after the treasure, they would probably have covered each other's retreat.
But what was Rocks thinking at that time?
He wanted to kill the Celestial Dragons and become the King of the World.
But they simply didn't want to see Rocks become the King of the World, so Rocks' failure was naturally inevitable.
"Heh heh, I understand now. You're trying to invite me to join your pirate crew, aren't you?"
Golden Lion glanced at Tengetsu Toki beside Bai Ye. Before, he had thought she was just one of Bai Ye's women.
Now it seemed that she was probably Bai Ye's crewmate, and Bai Ye probably hadn't been dormant all these years.
"That's right, Shiki. If you want to become the Pirate King, then there's no need for us to walk together. But if you want to become the liberator of the world, then I can still talk to you."
Bai Ye currently had a pirate crew, but he preferred to think of himself as a Revolutionary Army.
Ultimately, they would all have to face the World Government, and pirates fought the Marines, who were just an organization under the World Government.
"You want to become the King of the World?"
Golden Lion scrutinized Bai Ye's eyes. Was this guy like Rocks?
He wasn't like this back then. Was this ambition that grew over the years?
"No, I want to liberate this world. Shiki, do you still remember why you became a pirate?"
Bai Ye shook his head. He had no interest in being the King of the World.
In the end, he posed a soul-searching question, and Golden Lion also fell into a moment of recollection. Why did he become a pirate?
"Couldn't survive!"
Golden Lion said faintly. No one's initial dream was to become a pirate, but back then, his hometown was impoverished and experiencing war. If he wanted to survive, he had no choice but to go to sea.
Whitebeard, who was beside him, also felt the same way; he, too, seemed to be a war orphan.
"So you became the Pirate King, but ultimately couldn't change anything. What good is even being the Pirate King? It's just an empty title. But if you change this world, if you make this world no longer full of war, isn't that more meaningful than being the Pirate King?"
The so-called Pirate King, in the end, isn't he still a thief?
Most of the so-called freedom is at their expense, but after creating a reasonable world, the tragedies in this world will be greatly reduced.
Tengetsu Toki, who was beside him, had stars in her eyes after hearing Bai Ye's words. Clearly, she strongly agreed with Bai Ye's view, just as Bai Ye had told her before about establishing a nation where all races were equal.
Isn't this the Great Kingdom?
"So, Shiki, go think about it. Go understand the meaning of your existence in this world. See whether you want to become the Pirate King, or a partner of justice!"
"Speaking so righteously!"
Golden Lion curled his lips, but he didn't say anything more. He was actually a bit lost himself. Did he really need the title of Pirate King?
Before, he would have answered with a definite yes!
Because in the past, he was so proud, and also possessed formidable strength and vast influence. He only needed the Pirate King title to prove that he had surpassed Captain Rocks and become the first Pirate King in history; at least, he had never heard of a Pirate King appearing before.
But now he also understood that he simply couldn't become the Pirate King anymore; his last chance had been wasted.
Of course, if Bai Ye teamed up with him, he believed it was definitely possible, but the other party simply didn't care about the so-called Pirate King.
Finding the meaning of his existence in this world?
That's fine.
His fleet was completely wiped out anyway, and he also felt that he could travel the world and see.
However, he, a cruel and ruthless pirate, would not become a savior who saves the world as Bai Ye imagined, nor did he want to be a partner of justice!
Thinking of this, a sneer flashed across Golden Lion's face. When did he, a pirate, ever become a savior?
However, compared to those Celestial Dragons, he seemed indeed worthy of the title, didn't he!?
"By the way, I owe you another favor for this matter, but I won't join you because of this favor. So if there's nothing else, I'll be leaving first. Newgate, you really are annoying!"
"Shiki, you bastard!"
With that, Whitebeard directly picked up Murakumogiri, which was placed aside, and clashed it with Golden Lion's Sakura Kogarashi.
Another burst of Conqueror's Haki. Many members of the Whitebeard Pirates fainted again, and even Marco and others, who had been holding on, fainted after Bai Ye joined the battle.
The clash of three powerful Conqueror's Haki was simply something they couldn't endure.
The power of vibration, the soaring sea, the flashing lightning—this sea area at this moment was like a Shura hell.
"You really are a monster!"
Golden Lion looked at Bai Ye, panting. He had thought that he would be stronger than Bai Ye, but now it seemed Bai Ye was even stronger than him!
"Gurarararara, the World Government must be having a massive headache!"
Whitebeard took a hearty gulp of sake. He understood that in the future, Bai Ye would have a huge impact on the World Government.
"Then I'm leaving. I'll find you for a drink next time."
Golden Lion gave Bai Ye a deep look, then used the power of the Piao Piao Fruit to take away his remaining fleet.
He needed to leave for a while and observe this world.
Bai Ye didn't stop him. He wouldn't agree so soon.
Watching Golden Lion leave, Bai Ye turned around, then picked up the unconscious Tengetsu Toki in his arms, and looked at Whitebeard, saying, "Newgate, I'm leaving too. You clean up this mess."
After his voice faded, Bai Ye's figure was nowhere to be found on the ship.
Watching everyone run off and leave such a mess, Whitebeard was also annoyed.
These guys really left all the trouble to him!
"Let's talk, that guy has appeared again."
Holy Land Mary Geoise.
With Bai Ye's reappearance, the Celestial Dragons started to jump up and down again.
After Bai Ye disappeared, they had secretly added another two hundred million to the bounty just to find Bai Ye, but they ultimately found nothing. Now Bai Ye had appeared again, and at the sea battle between Golden Lion and Roger, stopping their fight.
This guy's appearance seemed somewhat unusual!
....
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