The sun was shining brightly.
Roldy had set up an oversized deck chair on the ship's deck and was lying on it like a salted fish, basking in the sunlight. It was one of his favorite pastimes—something he'd learned from a certain unreliable old man.
The sea breeze carried a bitter, salty coolness.
He took a sip of orange juice and let himself drift, thinking about nothing at all.
"Vice Captain! The destination is just ahead. The captain requests that you scout it first!"
A former combatant of the Rocks Pirates jogged over respectfully.
The times had changed. Past glory meant nothing now. If one wished to secure a stable position aboard this ship, there were two people one absolutely could not offend:
The captain—Shiki the Golden Lion.
And the vice captain—
Roldy, whose name had already become synonymous with brutality.
Roldy removed his sunglasses, a trace of confusion on his face.
It had been half a month since Shiki departed from the Rocks Pirates. With over 2,000 men under his banner, he had officially named his crew the Golden Lion Pirates.
Thanks to his Float-Float Fruit ability and ruthless reputation, outsiders had begun calling him the "Flying Admiral."
In these days, they had scouted several territories.
Shiki's plan was simple:
First, establish a secure base of operations.
Roldy hadn't cared much.
But judging from this request—
Had they finally found one?
He thought about the nearby kingdoms in these waters and frowned slightly.
"If I remember correctly… this is the territory of the Kingdom of Karl, isn't it?"
Roldy's strength was terrifying—but his intellect was equally sharp. He had once studied under Vice Admiral Tsuru and retained a fair amount of geopolitical knowledge.
"Yes, Vice Captain. Captain Shiki intends to make the Kingdom of Karl our base. It's rich in iron ore—perfect for rapidly arming ourselves."
Roldy said nothing further.
Just as expected of Shiki.
The Kingdom of Karl, famed for its iron production, was predictably wealthy. It lay within the New World and was one of the few powerful kingdoms there.
More importantly—
It was a member nation of the World Government.
A militaristic nation. A hard bone to chew.
Yet Shiki had chosen it as his first major target.
Beyond its strategic location and resources, there was surely another motive—
To use it as a declaration to the world.
Roldy drained the last of his juice, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and departed.
No ship.
No escort.
He stomped down on the air with one foot—
And shot skyward.
His muscular body skimmed over the sea's surface at extreme speed, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
New WorldKingdom of Karl
The Kingdom of Karl was undeniably powerful.
Aside from its main island, it controlled four smaller surrounding islands. The royal capital was naturally located at the center of the main island—so prominent that one hardly needed to ask.
And yet—
It was astonishing how a single wall could divide an entire nation into two extremes.
The island's shape was almost unnaturally symmetrical. A colossal wall split it cleanly down the middle.
Whoever designed this place must have had an obsession with order.
Outside the wall—
Slums.
That was where ships docked.
Even from the harbor, one could see the massive wall towering high into the sky, completely blocking the view of the royal capital.
Commoners were not even allowed to see how the nobles lived.
Roldy appeared at the docks.
From the moment his foot touched land, he downgraded this so-called "powerful kingdom" to the category of ordinary nations.
No matter how wealthy a kingdom was—
The wealth always belonged to a tiny fraction.
The nobles controlled everything with ease.
The commoners couldn't even glance at the inner capital without committing a crime.
This kingdom was nothing more than a miniature version of the world itself.
The same sickness.
The same ugliness.
The same… distastefulness.
This should not have concerned Roldy.
Even when he had been a Marine, he had never interfered in such matters. It had irritated him—but he had been powerless.
Now?
Things were different.
He was a pirate.
Roldy grinned.
The expression on his face grew increasingly savage.
"This time… I don't need to feel guilty."
With that thought, he walked toward the town.
The area where he had landed was remote. No fishermen with battered boats were in sight. He strolled forward casually, the air thick with the bitter scent of poverty.
The outskirts were home to wild beasts. For those who ventured out to sea in fragile vessels, every trip was a gamble with death.
Roldy sensed eyes watching him from the forest.
He didn't even bother looking.
He released a faint trace of his aura.
The beasts retreated instantly.
But when he finally laid eyes on the so-called town—
He realized he had underestimated the situation.
The town wall was barely chest-high.
Some sections were patched together with scraps of wood.
At his height, he could step over it without effort.
Behind it—
Ramshackle huts.
The better homes were built from uneven stones.
The worse?
A few sheets of cloth strung together to block the outside world—barely enough to be called shelter.
Roldy had seen poverty before.
He had visited countless lands.
Even nations that were not affiliated with the World Government—those typically fared miserably.
But this?
This was worse.
A violent emotion began rising in his chest.
Unconsciously—
His brutality stirred.
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