Departure and Preparation

"The Empty Throne of Pirates!"

New World, headquarters of the Golden Lion Pirates, residence of Meier Weiyu. The banquet hall was frozen under Aguria's ability, giving off a chilly atmosphere.

"Kinks, are you saying that that little devil, Lox, made Boss Ske lose an arm and a leg? How is that possible?"

"He's just a rookie who hasn't been at sea for two years!" Aguria was having a hard time accepting it. In his mind, the invincible man, that lion-like, powerful and charismatic man, actually suffered such a significant loss at the hands of a little devil. Kinks shivered, hugging himself and exhaling.

"Ah, Aguria sister, please retract your power. I'm freezing to death!" Aguria glanced at Kinks and slowly retracted her ability.

"Phew!" Everyone in the banquet hall let out a sigh of relief. The aura Aguria had emitted during her outburst was just too overwhelming.

"Jekhahaha! Everyone, it looks like you're all here!" Just as Aguria still refused to believe Kinks' words, the Golden Lion, Boss Ske, along with several men and a woman of various appearances, walked out from behind the banquet hall.

Seeing Boss Ske's mechanical arm and leg, the temperature in the banquet hall dropped again.

"Hey, Aguria, do you want to freeze me to death!" One of the men behind Boss Ske spoke coldly to Aguria. His gaze was full of lifelessness.

Perhaps it should be said that his whole being exuded a sense of death. Aguria looked at the man who spoke. He was tall and slender, dressed in a black windcoat with long black hair tied into a ponytail.

Purple nail polish adorned his nails, and his whole body was wrapped in jet-black material.

"Tch, Joseph, you bastard, what if I froze you to death!"

Joseph, one of the top members of the Golden Lion Pirates, is a superhuman with the Dead Air Devil Fruit ability and is incredibly powerful.

Once, because a prince of a kingdom disrespected him, the entire country turned into a realm of death overnight. With a fierce personality, he committed countless heinous crimes.

The World Government wanted her for a bounty of 1,230,000,000 Berries. "Well, well, Joseph, don't bully my little sister too much, or I might just kill you."

Suddenly, a woman with dark skin, a tall stature, and two buns on her head appeared behind Aguria. She lightly embraced Aguria's neck, pressing herself against Aguria's back.

"Hmph! Mi Nei Ba, don't get too full of yourself." Joseph looked at Mi Nei Ba, coldly snorting.

Mi Nei Ba, one of the top members of the Golden Lion Pirates, is known as the Space Witch due to her superhuman spatial Devil Fruit ability. A woman with a bounty of 1,158,000,000 Berries.

Seeing the noisy and tense atmosphere in the banquet hall, the Golden Lion burst into laughter.

"Jekhahaha, alright, everyone's here, it seems! Since we've gathered, let's wait to fight as soon as we meet. Let's enjoy a good feast!"

Upon hearing the words of Boss Golden Lion, the arguing temporarily ceased, and everyone returned to their seats. Boss Ske of the Golden Lion took his seat at the main table.

"Alright, next, let me explain the reason for gathering all of you back to Meier Weiyu."

Boss Ske looked at all the members below, his expression shining.

"Jekhahaha, we're preparing for war, brothers. Our opponents are the recently famous Grand Pirates, the Lox Pirates!" Boss Ske didn't beat around the bush and directly named the opponents.

The banquet hall erupted in commotion after hearing that the opponents were the Lox Pirates.

"The Lox Pirates? That little devil's crew? What makes them worthy of our Golden Lion Pirates gathering to deal with them!"

"Exactly! Some ignorant little punk dares to call himself 'Lox.' I'll make sure he knows not everyone can be called Lox!"

"Tch, Boss Ske, are you losing your mind? Gathering all the top members to deal with a little brat? I could easily take care of him myself!" Boss Ske grinned mischievously at the disgruntled top members below.

"Which of you can disable one of my arms and one of my legs?" Ske extended his mechanical arm, gently clenched his fist, and gazed at the crowd below.

For a moment, the entire banquet hall fell into a brief silence. Everyone looked at Boss Ske and his mechanical right hand.

"I didn't expect it to be true!"

"That little devil, does he have that kind of power!" The top members couldn't believe it. 

But the evidence was before their eyes, leaving them with no choice but to believe. She looked at the silent crowd and burst into laughter.

"Well, don't be too nervous. Although that kid has some strength, he still needs to be at a level where he can easily defeat me. My arm was cut off by that guy, Barbosa."

"I'm telling you all this to make you aware that the enemy pirate crew is formidable."

"If we underestimate them, it could be our downfall." After finishing his words, the Golden Lion raised his cup and took a big sip.

"Let's eat, drink, and discuss what's next." The Golden Lion refilled his empty cup and raised it to everyone below.

The top members, each with different thoughts, lifted their cups and drank. Fishman Island, Fishman Bay Harbor. Many pirates were loading various supplies onto two massive warships at the port.

"Hey, Arlong, we've got dozens of barrels of wine left. Once we're done, we can finally take a good rest!"

A pirate lieutenant walked up to Arlong, draped his arm around Arlong's shoulder, and winked at him.

"Let's go to the Mermaid Cafe together later. How about that?"

"Hohahaha, sure thing. Once we finish the supplies, we'll all go to the Mermaid Cafe and have fun!"

Since visiting the Mermaid Cafe yesterday, Arlong has become utterly infatuated with it. "Hehe, Big Brother Arlong, take us with you. We also want to go to the Mermaid Cafe before we leave."

We perked up upon hearing about the Mermaid Cafe and the busy pirates on the harbour. "Hohahaha, no problem, leave it to me! I've got one million Berries here, enough to take everyone for a good time!"

Hearing Arlong's generous offer, the pirates in the harbor erupted in cheers. With heightened anticipation, all the pirates worked with renewed vigour, swiftly loading supplies onto the ships.

Cruiser No. 12, Captain's Office Company. Lox sat alone on the sofa, supporting his head with both hands.

"In the past few days, I've had a feeling that something big is about to happen. What could it be making me so restless these two days?"