Chapter 988

The Grand Line.

The Shichibukai Islands.

Here is the only path to entering the New World.

It is well known.

To enter the New World from the Grand Line, there are three methods.

The first is to travel over land.

This method requires approval from the World Government, crossing nearly the entire Red Line to reach the other side's New World.

Traveling to the New World this way allows only light gear; ships cannot follow.

In addition,

it also requires permission from the World Government.

Of course,

since one cannot bring a pirate ship along, this is not the method pirates choose to enter the New World.

The second method to enter the New World from the Grand Line

is to fly over it.

Very few people can accomplish this.

The most famous is…

Gold Roger Shi Ji!

A user of the Pika Pika no Mi.

He directly makes an entire pirate ship float like an island above the Red Line, shuttling freely between the Grand Line and the New World — incredibly easy and simple.

In addition,

there is Doflamingo, the user of the Ito Ito no Mi, who possesses the ability to soar through the air and can easily enter the New World alone.

This method of entering the New World is achievable by very few.

It is thus instinctively ruled out by most pirates.

Therefore,

only one method remains…

The method chosen by ninety-nine percent of pirate crews to enter the New World from the Grand Line.

That is,

beneath the sea!

Using the Fish-Man Island, ten thousand meters beneath the sea, as a transit point, pirates coat their ships at the Shichibukai Islands, then dive ten thousand meters down to Fish-Man Island, surface on the other side of the ocean, and reach the New World.

Even the former Pirate King Luo Jie used this method to enter the New World.

Clearly,

the importance of the Shichibukai Islands in the Grand Line is immense!

It symbolizes the final stop of the first half of the Grand Line!

Once you leave the Shichibukai Islands,

the next stop…

is Fish-Man Island and the New World!

In short,

without reaching the Shichibukai Islands, you lack the qualification to enter the New World.

The Shichibukai Islands are the indispensable path for ninety-nine percent of pirates entering the New World!

Therefore,

every day, countless pirate crews arrive at the Shichibukai Islands.

One pirate crew after another floods in.

Making the entire Shichibukai Islands exceptionally noisy and lively.

Bustling,

extremely crowded.

The Shichibukai Islands are divided into multiple districts, each teeming with countless pirates, visitors, and local residents.

Even,

World Nobles, the Celestial Dragons, occasionally appear!

It is an extraordinarily prosperous island.

Though, beneath the surface, it is utterly rotten, become a paradise for countless pirates.

But, no one can deny it.

The prosperity of the Shichibukai Islands is extremely high.

Here, human trafficking is legal!

No marines dare to stir up trouble here.

Many acts despised elsewhere have become perfectly normal here, with no interference or obstruction from the marines.

Precisely because of this,

it led to…

the Shichibukai Islands becoming a pirate's paradise!

Chaotic,

battles everywhere,

People die every day.

The human auction market was established outside the Navy's jurisdiction.

On this day.

Shichibukai Islands, District 13.

This district was extremely chaotic,

with pirates emerging endlessly.

Occasionally, traces of bounty-listed pirates worth hundreds of millions could be found.

And in this chaotic district, there was a very famous tavern, where conflict was strictly forbidden inside, and its main source of income was selling intelligence.

This tavern was named Xia Qi's Extortion Bar.

What left countless pirates stunned was…

The owner of the tavern was a woman!

Someone had once tried to cause trouble inside the tavern—by the next day, their corpse was found abandoned in the wilderness…

Similar examples were countless.

Therefore,

in District 13, there was an unwritten rule.

Anyone who stepped into Xia Qi's Extortion Bar must never, under any circumstances, start a conflict. Otherwise, Bijiang Society would bring disaster upon them, and death would not be far away.

This unwritten rule deterred countless pirates from acting rashly here.

At this moment,

inside the tavern,

at the front desk,

a woman with a cigarette clenched between her lips stood with arms crossed, her eyes as still and unruffled as a calm lake.

She was around thirty-something.

At the peak of her maturity.

Tall and gracefully slender.

Her face, faintly lined with crow's feet, carried the allure of mature elegance.

This woman was Xia Qi!

That is to say…

The owner of Xia Qi's Extortion Bar.

An incredibly powerful pirate!

In the old era…

She was renowned far and wide!

But many years ago,

she had already retired from the sea.

Opened a tavern,

no longer involved in the affairs of the ocean.

The Xia Qi of today was no longer a pirate, but merely the owner of a tavern.

That was all.

At this moment,

tap-tap-tap—

footsteps approached from the Jiuguanda Sect entrance.

Xia Qi's eyebrows lifted slightly.

Before seeing who it was, she spoke: "Lei Li, off fishing again? Looks like you came back empty-handed, as usual."

Then,

a middle-aged man with silver hair stepped slowly into the tavern from outside the door.

Upon closer inspection,

though this man emitted no aura or pressure whatsoever, he still radiated a faint yet terrifying oppression.