Early the next morning.
A chilly sea breeze blew, and Dar jolted awake on the deck.
A hangover headache hit him instantly, his head throbbing and heavy, his throat dry enough to smoke.
Last night had been too wild.
That old guy, Golden Lion, had one toast after another—things like “Drink this cup, and all the treasure is yours,” or “Clink glasses, and you’ll crush an Admiral.” Hearing it made one’s blood boil, and it was impossible to stop.
He rubbed his eyes, walked to the edge of the deck, took out his equipment, and contributed to the rise of the world’s sea level.
Just as he turned around, the sound of flapping wings suddenly came from the sky.
A news bird was circling constantly above the xuanjin ark.
Dar skillfully fished out a coin and flicked it with his fingertips; it landed precisely in the news bird’s satchel.
A second later, a rolled-up newspaper drifted slowly down from the air.
He reached out to catch it, unfolded it, and a smile immediately curled at the corners of his mouth.
The front-page headline read clearly: “The Seven Warlords of the Sea system is officially implemented by the World Government and Marineford!”
His system mission was finally about to be completed.
The newspaper also listed the privileges of becoming one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea:
1.
Personal bounties are permanently frozen and revoked, and all past crimes are pardoned.
2.
Legal right to plunder: Free to loot in regions not affiliated with the World Government.
3.
The right to act independently in non-affiliated waters without arbitrary interference from the Marines.
More details weren’t specified, but Dar knew without thinking that the candidates for the Seven Warlords of the Sea would definitely be hand-picked by the Marines and the World Government.
The criteria were nothing more than strength + prestige.
He was now a Great Pirate with a bounty of 1.28 billion Berries; he could just sit at home and wait for the Marines to come and invite him.
Dar turned and walked back to the deck, looking at the three guys sprawled out in a mess, and couldn’t help but shout:
“Hey!
You three, time to wake up!”
The three opened their eyes almost simultaneously, scanned their surroundings blankly, and then all fell back asleep in unison, their movements as synchronized as if they had been rehearsed.
“Damn it…”
Dar’s mouth twitched at the sight.
The cold wind kept blowing against him, so he immediately spoke up:
“Angela, activate the energy shield.”
“Yes, Master.”
A pale blue shield slowly expanded, quickly becoming transparent and invisible, instantly blocking out the cold wind.
Only then did Dar feel relieved and turned to walk back into the cabin.
It was time to recruit some ordinary crew members; doing everything himself was too much of a hassle.
After chugging a large glass of plain water, the discomfort of his hangover eased slightly.
Dar tidied up a bedroom for Golden Lion, then returned to his own room, intending to catch up on some sleep.
But lying in bed, he tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
The question Golden Lion had asked him yesterday kept echoing in his mind:
“Captain brat, you’ve gathered a bunch of monsters on one ship—what exactly is your ambition?”
At the time, he could only brush it off with drinking.
Now that he had calmed down, Dar was asking himself the same thing—what exactly did he want to do?
With his current strength, even if he ignored the system missions, he could find a place to live comfortably for the rest of his life, living in a way he wouldn’t have dared to imagine in his previous life.
But why did he feel the urge to pull every strong person he met onto his ship?
People really are contradictory creatures.
After thinking for a long time, Dar suddenly gave a self-deprecating smile.
When he came to this world, wasn’t his initial goal freedom?
Since recruiting strong people made him happy, then he would recruit them.
If the system missions made him look forward to things, then he would do them.
Having figured all this out, he stopped struggling with it.
“Angela, adjust the course; find a large island to resupply.”
“Understood, Master.”
With his orders given, Dar finally drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
When he woke up again, it was already afternoon.
He let out a big yawn and casually fished a piece of roasted meat out of the system space as a post-nap snack.
After finishing the meat and washing up, Dar walked into the main hall.
Bullet was doing squats in the corner, his muscles tensed;
Hawkeye was sitting quietly drinking tea, his demeanor cold and sharp;
Golden Lion was reading the newspaper intently; having been out of prison for only two years, he urgently needed to figure out the current state of the world.
As soon as Golden Lion saw Dar enter, he immediately put down the newspaper and grinned:
“Captain brat, we’re almost at the Sabaody Archipelago.
The three of us are planning to go look around; do you want to join us?”
The Sabaody Archipelago?
Dar walked to the table and sat down, and Hawkeye naturally poured him a cup of hot tea.
He picked up the teacup, took a sip, and his eyes lit up:
“Go?
Of course!
I’ve been out at sea for so long, and I haven’t really had the chance to visit a big place and broaden my horizons.”
“Broaden your horizons?”
Golden Lion smiled meaningfully.
“The Sabaody Archipelago is indeed a good place to broaden your horizons.”
“Then it’s settled.
Full speed ahead to the Sabaody Archipelago!
Once we get there, we can recruit a batch of ordinary crew members, renovate the deck, and more importantly, hire a few more chefs—we eat way too much.”
As he said this, Dar dragged a heavy wooden chest out of the system space; inside was all the Berries left over after he raided the 758 Marine Branch—over 100 million in total.
After the four of them split it evenly, Dar also assigned their respective tasks.
Bullet was responsible for recruiting chefs.
Hawkeye was responsible for renovating the deck.
As for Golden Lion, Dar had him recruit some ordinary crew members.
How could a Great Pirate not have a group of underlings to serve him?
As the Captain, Dar didn’t need a task, and the other three had no objections.