Taoist priest, who is so popular in One Piece

After Crocodile "compromised", Barrett didn't say much, but his expression said it all.

For someone like him who only wanted to fight and become stronger, that face was like a display screen, and anyone could read his emotions from it.

Of course, Barrett probably didn't even think about hiding.

Or rather, he knew that Crocodile understood his thoughts.

His previous sarcastic remarks were just to provoke the other party.

Even if Crocodile kidnapped Festa, it would not be easy to get Barrett to compromise.

The two had already fought each other.

Crocodile's current strength is different from what was rumored.

This guy, who once fought with him to a draw, seemed to have finally stepped out of the shadows and gained the strength of a strong man.

This is also the reason why he is willing to be patient.

If Crocodile is still the same as what he heard, he is a coward who relies on external forces to rule the world.

Even if he can't get Festa, Barrett will make this former opponent die in the sea.

After all, Festa is not the only one who can help you achieve your goals, it just takes more effort.

...

In the room, Crocodile tapped the table with the golden hook in his left hand, making a tapping sound.

He naturally saw what Barrett was thinking.

But this was also within his expectations, as he just wanted to make one last attempt.

The result was as expected, the guy in front of me thought the same as I did.

He is indeed a reckless man who only has muscles.

He is obviously in his 40s or 50s like me, and he has failed once too.

Why are you still so reckless?

Suddenly he thought of someone.

Pirate King Roger.

Recalling what happened back then, Crocodile couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

It seems that after Roger's death, no one can control this guy anymore.

Well, since words can't convince him, I can only use complete failure to make him see the truth.

only...

Crocodile had a headache.

Barrett's willfulness this time will undoubtedly affect his plans.

Actually, there is a solution.

Crocodile glanced at Mihawk, who had been acting as if it had nothing to do with him.

After thinking for a long time, he finally looked away.

The plan was still too radical. If it couldn't be carried out, the alliance he had just built with so much effort would collapse in an instant.

Crocodile had an even bigger headache.

These guys are all reckless people who only believe in their own strength. Why is there no one who is willing to use his brain like him?

In other words, they are very strong, otherwise they wouldn't be alive today.

But suddenly, Crocodile thought of something.

Looking at the top powers on the sea today, they all seem to be brainless.

Newgate, Kaido, Linlin, and even the Straw Hat Boy...

Even including Roger and Rocks who are already dead.

Could it be that being reckless is the requirement for becoming a strong person?

Oh yeah, there's also that guy Teach and the golden lion who died in Marinford before.

However, Crocodile did not have any good feelings towards Teach.

Perhaps he had a similar temperament to Teach in Alabasta, believing that as long as he could gain power, nothing else mattered.

But now he and Teach are on a different path.

In other words, he is now closer to the former Golden Lion.

The path is one of dominance.

However, Crocodile has just started on this road and there is still a huge gap between him and the Golden Lion.

But he had a feeling in his heart that this path would allow him to go further.

Although I had a lot of thoughts in my mind, in reality only a few seconds had passed.

Finally, Crocodile said to Barrett:

"I will issue an order to let the Cross begin your plan. All you have to do is wait for my notification."

"However, you'd better be prepared. Even if the Cross Society endorses them, the emperors will not come in person."

Hearing this, Barrett finally smiled, but to anyone looking at him, his smile looked quite scary.

"Although I'm reluctant to say this, my target this time wasn't those guys."

"However, after I become the [strongest], I will [visit] them one by one."

Barrett once again revealed a murderous aura, not directed at the people in the room, but at his own excitement and desire to fight.

After saying that, Barrett also stood up.

The purpose of his coming here to attend the meeting had been achieved, so naturally he would not stay any longer.

What he needs to do next is to adjust his condition to the best to welcome his own coronation ceremony.

The door opened and closed, and there were only three people left in the room.

It was only at this moment that Buggy breathed a sigh of relief, but then he heard Crocodile calling him again.

"Let Gardino build the base quickly, and then we can complete our plan."

Crocodile gave Buggy a "kind" smile and said, "As the fourth leader of the union, you should also do your part and exert your influence. Only you can do this."

Compared to his fear of Barrett, Crocodile is not that scary to Buggy.

I didn't even hear the sarcasm in the words and thought the other person was really praising me.

So he stood up arrogantly, with his hands on his hips:

"Hahahaha, that's right!"

"My influence is unrivaled. This kind of thing is just a piece of cake."

With that, Bucky walked out of the room with a proud and confident manner, completely forgetting his previous embarrassment.

Perhaps it is his innate self-confidence that has allowed him to reach where he is today.

Of course, a little bit of luck is needed.

...

"You seem to be very fond of that clown."

Mihawk's voice suddenly rang out in the room.

This was also the first time he took the initiative to start a conversation since coming here.

He was indeed a little curious.

Buggy does have a lot of financial resources and manpower, but he doesn't think these things are worth Crocodile's efforts to win over Buggy.

To put it bluntly, just relying on Crocodile's current strength and his and Barrett's reputation.

Crocodile could easily build up a stronger force in a short period of time.

At their level, the so-called power in Buggy's hands is completely meaningless.

And from what he knew, Crocodile seemed to have been paying attention to Buggy for a long time.

"Look? Who knows?"

Crocodile shrugged, raised his new wine glass and gestured to Mihawk, then said meaningfully:

"I just have a feeling that there's more to that guy than that."

"Maybe at some point, he can actually help us."

Mihawk remained noncommittal about this.

Crocodile's answer was too vague, and it was obvious that there was something he didn't want to reveal.

He didn't want to ask any more questions, so he asked the second question:

"You've got that thing, why not use it?"

Crocodile looked at Mihawk in surprise.

He didn't expect that this man would talk so much, which made him unable to adapt for a while.

But he also knew what Mihawk was asking.

The thing that Festa could convince Barrett to discuss the big plan with.

The eternal pointer to Raftel!

In other words, as long as you get this thing, you can ignore the historical text and directly reach the legendary island to get the treasure left by the Pirate King Roger - One Piece.

As for the origin of this Eternal Hand, it was made by a crew member of Roger's pirate group on his own initiative.

However, when Roger found out about this, he was quite angry.

He pulled the crewman by the collar and said:

"Our adventure is over."

Roger took the Eternity Pointer in his hand.

"This isn't the kind of treasure that a guy pointing at something like this would get, is it?"

However, Roger did not destroy the Eternal Pointer, but threw it into the sea.

It is for this reason that, decades later, this eternal hand has finally seen the light of day again.

Mihawk was curious about this, unlike other pirates.

He went out to sea in order to ascend to the throne of the world's greatest swordsman, in order to find an opponent of equal strength.

I don't have any thoughts about One Piece or Raftel itself.

But Crocodile is different. This man is definitely setting out to sea for the throne of Pirate King.

So he didn't understand why Crocodile didn't use this Eternal Hand.

“Haha, haha, hahahaha!”

In the room, Crocodile chuckled a few times, and then burst into laughter.

The whole person changed from being a little gloomy before to being dignified.

The reason why he laughed was, on the one hand, because he thought that someone like Mihawk could be so gossipy, and on the other hand, it was a response to him.

"Because this thing is a shortcut."

Crocodile said as he looked at Mihawk.

"One Piece isn't someone you can become by taking shortcuts, is it?"

Maybe it's a coincidence, or maybe it's fate's choice.

Crocodile said something similar to Roger at this moment.

However, Crocodile did not understand this truth at the beginning.

"I took shortcuts before, and I endured it for years and planned everything."

It must be Mihawk's transformation that made Crocodile want to talk.

At this moment, he talked about his past failures without any care.

"I once thought I could get everything through shortcuts, even the Pirate King."

"But I failed."

"I lost to a kid who just went out to sea, hahahaha."

Crocodile laughed again, but this laughter contained no self-mockery or resentment. Instead, it was a laugh of relief.

Crocodile opened his arms and welcomed the sunlight coming in from the window, as if he had finally walked out of the shadows.

A gust of sand swirled in his hand, seemingly cheering in celebration.

"This sea has changed, and what I want is no longer the legendary throne."

"So, I no longer need such shortcuts."

Crocodile gave Mihawk his final answer.

Facing Crocodile who seemed to have been reborn, Mihawk said nothing more.

He simply raised his glass and gestured in the man's direction, then drank it all in one gulp.

At this moment, he had some expectations for the Cross.

Maybe it would add some fun to his boring life that has lasted for many years.

After a long while, he spoke again: "I will go that day."

"Oh?"

Crocodile was stunned at first, then he grinned.

He knew what Mihawk was talking about.

Crocodile put a lot of effort into this matter, but he was still unable to convince the guy in front of him.

I didn't expect that he would agree today.

This is quite a surprise.

Crocodile turned his head and looked at a wall in the room.

There was a giant white board hanging above it, and on top of it were many wanted posters.

In the middle of the many bounty notices is a photo of a young boy laughing.

This bounty order was recently issued by the World Government.

-

“I always feel like someone is watching me.”

In the waters of the New World, Bai Ye shuddered inexplicably.

This is absolutely ridiculous. How could he catch a cold given his physical condition after practicing Qi cultivation?

That's why I felt like I was being targeted.

"Hahahaha, there have been too many people targeting the Straw Hat Pirates since they entered the Grand Line, even though I just joined them."

On the side, Jinbei rarely teased Bai Ye.

He seemed amused by Bai Ye's sudden superstition.

"It may be that the new bounty order has been issued, causing our fame to grow."

Sanji came and sat down next to the two of them. Looking at his appearance, he seemed very happy.

In response, Bai Ye rolled his eyes.

He naturally knew why Sanji was like this.

Not long ago, Newsbird brought them the latest bounty order issued by the World Government.

And their Straw Hat Pirates can be said to have attracted the attention of the entire ocean.

But this is also expected, even though the Straw Hat Pirates have caused a lot of trouble since entering the New World.

But neither the Dressrosa incident nor the Golden City incident caused much trouble.

Even because the enemies the Straw Hat Pirates faced were not that strong, the bounties on everyone only changed slightly.

Some people's bounties haven't even changed at all.

This time, the fact that the Straw Hat Pirates split into two groups to fight against the two emperors is naturally a rare big news in recent years.

Second only to the previous [Rebellion of the Five Emperors].

Naturally, everyone's bounty has changed a lot.

First of all, there are Merry and Chopper. Their bounties after the battle at Marineford were fixed at 230 million.

After participating in the battle with the Beasts Pirates this time, his net worth has increased and reached the 300 million mark.

Robin's fortune increased from 300 million Baileys to 390 million.

Brooke's income increased from 490 million to 530 million.

Frankie's salary increased from 490 million Baileys to 520 million.

Usopp's Beli increased from 500 million to 540 million.

Nami's value increased from 600 million Beli to 640 million.

To be honest, the increase in the bounties for these people is not that big.

After all, the bounties for these people have reached the current critical point. Without absolute achievements, it is difficult to increase their bounties too much.

Moreover, because the news agency did not actually witness Zou's battle this time, the battle situation of these people was not described in detail, which led to the current result.

Most of it was due to this great battle.

However, if you add them all up, the bounty amounts for the seven members of the Straw Hat Pirates have increased to 380 million.

As for the remaining few people, it was completely different.