Chapter 1774

After hanging up with the Whitebeard Pirates' communication, Su Xiao began considering his next steps. Contacting the Whitebeard Pirates was necessary—setting aside any potential gains, their current situation alone warranted investigation.

Besides Su Xiao, there are 24 other fourth-rank contractors in this world. If any have already joined the Marines, a preemptive strike on the Whitebeard Pirates is not impossible—this is precisely what contractors excel at. It wouldn't be surprising if someone infiltrated Impel Down to assassinate Ace beforehand.

One could say that if a fifth-rank contractor joins the World Government or Marines, they become Su Xiao's enemy. Given the World Government's hatred toward Su Xiao, contractors who join them might even trigger an assassination mission against him. With a bounty of 1.4 billion, such a mission would yield rich rewards. Su Xiao can now be considered a boss—his kill reward exceeds that of Doflamingo and Katakuri, yet falls below that of the Four Emperors.

The good news is that Doflamingo has already been conscripted by the World Government. If anything stirs, he might warn Su Xiao—though, given Doflamingo's nature, feigning ignorance is also quite possible.

Therefore, Su Xiao needs accurate intelligence from the Marines or World Government side. The Whitebeard Pirates are about to clash with the Marines. Having ruled the seas for decades, if they lack intelligence channels in this regard, they will surely be annihilated at Marineford.

Realizing this, Su Xiao becomes more determined to contact the Whitebeard Pirates. As for which faction to join, his options are actually limited.

The participants in the Summit War are six: the Marines, Whitebeard Pirates, Red Hair Pirates, Blackbeard Pirates, the revolutionary squad led by Monkey D. Luffy, and the prisoners who escaped from Impel Down.

Among these six, the Marines, Whitebeard Pirates, and Red Hair Pirates are factions Su Xiao is unlikely to join—their conduct styles differ completely. Even if the Whitebeard Pirates urgently need manpower, they could at most temporarily cooperate with Su Xiao. That kind of family-style pirate crew would never make him a formal member.

The prisoner faction is too low—Su Xiao has no interest in scheming with Buggy. His collaboration with Harold has greatly increased his old cunning, but he also has no interest in seizing power with Buggy; he couldn't bear to lose face before that man.

As for the Blackbeard Pirates, based on aura, standing with them would place Su Xiao at least as a second- or third-in-command. However, the height difference is significant, and given Blackbeard's caution, it remains unknown whether they will appear before the Summit War intensifies.

While pondering, Su Xiao threw a stone. It struck a protruding mangrove root, bounced several times, and flew back into his hand.

With a crack, Su Xiao crushed the stone in his grip, turned, and walked away from the shore. A somewhat dilapidated small wooden boat was moored there, its sail already torn.

Amu had been waiting by the coast earlier; as for Benny, she had already gone treasure hunting. This time, Benny prepares to court death by heading to the Holy Land of Mariejois above the Red Soil Continent to hunt treasure (treasure hunting = theft).

"Bold."

Su Xiao muttered and leapt onto the small boat, beginning to modify it.

Half an hour later, the engine's roar spread—the wooden boat shot out, speeding across the sea like a speedboat.

Just as Su Xiao left the harbor, threads appeared in midair, faint and visible, resembling energy-formed strands.

Pa~

The threads were all snapped, condensing into a hazy energy mist. After the energy mass surged momentarily, an arm protruded from within.

Puchi, puchi...

Like squeezing toothpaste, a living person crawled out from within that small energy mass.

"The barrier has been triggered—biological strength is at least fifth rank."

The man seized the energy mass formed from the threads, shoved it into his mouth, and chewed.

"Hmm, this should be the bounty mission's target—just recently promoted to fifth rank, oh? He made some moves in the fourth rank, actually killing the leader of a large adventuring party. Looks like it's him."

The man raised his hand to bind his gray long hair, using those energy strands to tie it into a high ponytail. His black-green pupils held some laziness. After hesitating, he leapt into the sea, bubbles surging forth. Instantly, corpses of various marine life floated to the surface, including not a few Sea Kings.

……

Near the Sabaody Archipelago, Datano Island.

This island has no special products, but is famous for its beautiful scenery—just that stretch of white sand attracts many tourists. Moreover, it's not far from the Red Soil Continent or Marine Headquarters. As long as pirates aren't completely brainless, they won't easily approach this island. Yet even so, many pirate captains still dock discreetly here—due to another reason.

Many merchants and powerful figures reside here. Where there is light, there is darkness. Datano Island appears as a vacation paradise on the surface, but its main economy actually relies on women—singers from Wano Country, stars, dancers from Dressrosa. As long as you have money, you won't lack women on Datano Island.

One could say the flesh trade on Datano Island has already surfaced openly—not the kind where spreading legs earns money, which is what low-class prostitutes do. Here, women don't just take money; they also judge whether they approve of clients. Many pirate captains with unremarkable looks have been provoked by this, ultimately eliminated by the Pleasure Street forces. If Pleasure Street can't handle it, there's always the higher Donquixote Family.

Beach, blue sea, blue sky, sea breeze gently brushing past, stirring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang's fur—this made it unable to resist lying in the sand, beginning to roll and writhe.

Su Xiao has already been on Datano Island for three hours. He hasn't set a specific meeting time or place with the Whitebeard Pirates, nor is there trust between them—this is their first meeting, so naturally, caution is warranted.

There are many tourists on the beach. Near the land, there's a shaded area with various snack stalls, appearing quite lively.

"Bubu."

Su Xiao rose from the beach chair, picked up the Dragon-Slaying Flash leaning nearby—just minutes ago, he had felt watched.

Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang, rolling in the sand, lifted its head to look at Su Xiao. Sensing his expression was off, it immediately stood up, shook off the fine sand on its body, then blended into the surroundings.

Su Xiao's gaze swept around—the feeling of being watched intensified. As his hand just gripped the hilt of Dragon-Slaying Flash, all men and women in swimwear within a hundred meters turned to look at him—this scene was quite chilling.

"You dare openly appear near Marine Headquarters—should I praise your bravery, or despise your lack of caution?"

Dozens of men and women stared at Su Xiao, speaking simultaneously—different voices, same expression, same tone……m.