Chapter 1770

A three-masted sailboat slowly approached the shore, and the pirates on board stood side by side along the rail on the opposite side.

When Su Xiao first boarded the ship, the pirates did not swarm him; judging by their expressions at the time, if it weren't for the distance from land being too great, they might have jumped ship.

This puzzled Su Xiao, as he had been suppressing his blood energy then—these maritime outlaws should not have been so timid. After inquiring, he learned that the World Government had placed a bounty on him, amounting to 1.4 billion, dead or alive, and since he had previously killed a Celestial Dragon, this bounty was not actually high.

Charlotte Katakuri's bounty is 1,057,000,000 Berries, showing just how terrifying 1.4 billion Berries is. Su Xiao has experienced Katakuri's strength firsthand—during their fourth-stage encounter, he and Doflamingo together barely managed to hold their ground. Now, however, Su Xiao is confident he can defeat Katakuri in single combat and even kill him outright. Even against a Marine Admiral, Su Xiao feels no fear.

The pirate crew that Su Xiao had taken hostage was named the Gold Shark Pirates, whose captain had a bounty of 11,000,000 Berries. In the first half of the Grand Line, this would be considered a formidable figure, but in the New World, he is merely a small fry.

Su Xiao had no interest in dealing with this group of pirates; after advancing to the fifth stage, the reward for killing them would be very low, possibly even nonexistent.

Leaping from the ship, Su Xiao finally returned to the Sabaody Archipelago. Last time, he had been chased off this island, but now, if CP0 appeared before him, it might not be clear who was hunting whom.

As soon as Su Xiao stepped onto the grass by the island's edge, he felt a slippery sensation underfoot—a transparent film lay on the ground, a specialty of the Sabaody Archipelago: mangrove resin.

Having already visited the Sabaody Archipelago once and set up an assassination there, Su Xiao was quite familiar with the place. This island is formed by the root systems of 79 mangrove trees; over time, vast amounts of sand, soil, and rock have accumulated between the roots, ultimately forming the island. Each mangrove represents a region, and each region is quite large.

Checking the main quest, the task is simple: find a force related to the Summit War and join it. The time limit is three days, and the reward is 20,000 Paradise Coins.

This is merely the initial quest; the real opportunity to gain benefits will only come after the Summit War begins.

Just after landing, Su Xiao noticed something off in his area—Zone 40, near the shore, had many pirate ships docked, but now these ships were gradually leaving the harbor.

"Am, Beni, you go to Zones 50 through 70 over there, just observe the situation—especially Zone 60, where the Marines are stationed."

Su Xiao divided Am and Beni into a team; at the beginning of the world, observing the situation first is the best choice.

Taking Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang with him, Su Xiao headed toward the direction of Zone 30, as he had to attend to a very important matter.

Half an hour later, Su Xiao arrived at the 30th Mangrove Zone, which is a shopping street. Bubble-style buildings line the area, the clean streets are crowded with pedestrians, and the civilian population in the pirate world enjoys a decent standard of living, evident from their attire—at least far better than that of civilians in the Netherworld.

Upon entering the shopping street, Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang was immediately drawn to a roadside cake shop, while Su Xiao headed straight for a clothing store.

Pushing open the door, the shop's interior was not large; a woman in a red long dress was attending to customers.

"Please wait a moment, sir."

The female shopkeeper smiled at Su Xiao, her expression appearing natural, but her hand hung at the slit of her long dress.

"If you dare to draw that dagger, I will have your head on the ground within five seconds."

"!"

The two girls in the shop stared at Su Xiao in astonishment; they were merely ordinary customers.

"This customer truly has a sense of humor—I was just..."

Su Xiao's hand rested on the hilt of his sword, cold sweat seeping from the shopkeeper's spine, soaking through her undergarments. She could tell that this pirate with a 1.4 billion bounty dared to do this—he was a notorious madman, one who would even dare to kill a Celestial Dragon.

The girl hurriedly left, and the shopkeeper slowly stepped back.

"Contact Joker."

"Impossible—he only contacts me unilaterally."

"Is that so? Then you're useless."

"Wait, wait—I'll go get the Den Den Mushi."

The shopkeeper hurried into the back room of the clothing store. Su Xiao did not worry about her playing tricks, as she was a person of the underworld and at least understood survival better than pirates.

Soon, the shopkeeper produced a garish pink Den Den Mushi. Seeing it, Su Xiao immediately thought of Doflamingo.

Boo—boo—boo……

The shopkeeper tried to call the Den Den Mushi, but there was no response for a long time. Yet she remained calm, as she was an intelligence officer, and contacting Doflamingo was relatively simple for her.

Kakaka～

The Den Den Mushi connected.

"Joker?"

"Huh? You're Lita?"

"I'm Selero."

The shopkeeper's mouth twitched.

"Selero?"

The Doflamingo on the other end of the Den Den Mushi seemed to be pondering, then after a moment said: "Oh, it's you—what's the matter? Do you have news from the Revolutionary Army?"

"..."

Just as the shopkeeper was about to speak, Su Xiao stepped forward and took the Den Den Mushi, a smile gradually appearing on his face.

Above the Red Soil Continent, outside the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, in a luxurious room, Doflamingo sat on a wooden chair, legs crossed, holding a cup of red wine, while the pure white curtains beside him fluttered in the breeze.

Still dressed as before—his pink feathered coat and sunglasses were his signature—his face now showed slight confusion, his gaze turning toward the Den Den Mushi beside him.

The Den Den Mushi is a strange creature; it mimics the user's expression, and the one beside Doflamingo was now smiling.

Seeing the Den Den Mushi's smile, Doflamingo suddenly felt a sense of familiarity.

"Doflamingo, long time no see."

"..."

Doflamingo lowered his legs, his face slightly darkening.

"I heard you were forcibly conscripted by the World Government?"

Su Xiao's voice came from within the Den Den Mushi.

"I am in Mary Geoise; the next stop is Marineford."

Doflamingo's gaze swept over the room's interior—if the World Government learned of this call, things would become difficult.

"Oh? The treatment of Celestial Dragons is indeed different."

Su Xiao's voice, tinged with a smile, came from within the Den Den Mushi.

"Speak plainly—what do you want from me?"

"It's not really anything important—I just wanted to..."

Su Xiao's voice grew increasingly low.

"You're crazy? No, you've never been normal."

"Whether you help or not is up to you. By the way, I'll tell you something: I'll find a way to contact Vegapunk later—no doubt about it. We once developed biological weapons together, named Pacifista. He handled the bear's bodily modifications, and I handled the weapons."

The Den Den Mushi was hung up, and Doflamingo fell silent for a moment.

"Hehehehehe."

That distinctive laugh spread through the room.

……

In the clothing store, Su Xiao tossed the Den Den Mushi to the female shopkeeper.

"If I were you, I'd disappear within a few hours. Your boss wants to kill you even more than I do right now."

Leaving those words behind, Su Xiao walked out of the clothing store.

……

In Red Tree District 12, after a deafening roar, the golden light faded, and the explosion point burned fiercely.

King Rayleigh held his sword in one hand, staring ahead at the Navy's great army led by Kizaru. Around them, members of the Straw Hat Pirates lay scattered in disarray. Today, they understood what a true power gap feels like—something that cannot be overcome by belief or luck alone.

"Don't pluck the sprouts, Kizaru. Their era has only just begun."

As Rayleigh spoke, his gaze gradually sharpened, preparing to battle Kizaru. But just then, his eyes narrowed—because a blood-soaked researcher happened to pass nearby, followed by a large dog sniffing left and right.