Chapter 39: The Eastern Sea Emperor Sets Sail

West Sea, Twin Serpent Island.

Casino.

Yisheng, a gambler who has held a blind cane all his life, stood inside the casino like a door god, with the expressionless Mihawk standing beside him.

"Mr. Mihawk, may I ask what kind of person your captain is?"

Yisheng was truly curious: what sort of figure could earn the approval of the proud Mihawk? Yisheng admitted he could absolutely not do it.

Mihawk's approval of him was based solely on swordsmanship; he might become a companion, but he was not a captain.

Mihawk pondered for several breaths.

"Barzab... hard to evaluate."

"Two years ago, I met Barzab at Twin Capes, sailing to Loguetown to see off his captain, the Pirate King Luo Jie."

"He is ruthless to enemies, yet never targets civilians. In his words, the strong will draw their blades against the stronger, while the weak target civilians."

"Those pirates who target civilians deserve only to be called lowly pirates."

"Lowly pirates?" Yisheng's face was full of shock.

"I have never heard such a claim before. Your captain is indeed a remarkable person. Has he ever said why he sets sail again, having already reached the Final Island?"

Mihawk said calmly, "For freedom."

"Freedom, huh?" Yisheng fell into deep thought.

What is freedom?

In this great sea, freedom is to live out one's own will, unbound by anything.

Not bowing to power, not being held hostage by rules, not compromising against one's conscience, always choosing one's own path, protecting those one wishes to protect, until reaching the destination in one's heart.

The essence of the sea is the unknown; freedom is daring to sail toward the unknown, daring to rush toward one's dreams.

Whether seeking the Great Treasure, exploring the blank 100 years, or achieving one's own small goals, it is all about not being trapped by the status quo, always yearning for places farther away.

In short, freedom is living as one wishes, in one's own way.

Simple to the extreme,

yet precisely the hardest to achieve.

Because on the road to pursuing freedom, one will stumble due to setbacks, get lost due to temptation, hesitate due to responsibility, and be suppressed by powerful authority—

but this is the true face of the sea!

True freedom is, after seeing all the shackles, still gripping one's original heart and setting sail upon the waves.

Even if the path ahead is filled with towering waves, as long as companions stand side by side, one dares to move forward toward where the heart desires, never looking back!

"Hoo~"

Thinking of how, due to the destruction of his homeland, he had become addicted to gambling on Twin Serpent Island and could not extricate himself, a bitter smile appeared on Yisheng's face.

"Even if one truly understands these principles, one still cannot live this life well."

Boom~ Boom~

Thunder tore through the night sky, echoing endlessly, drowning out all the noise inside the casino.

Mihawk gazed at the churning dark clouds outside the window.

"He has come."

Before the words had fully faded, a violent wind suddenly rose, blowing open the casino's heavy wooden doors.

In the interwoven light and shadow of lightning and thunder, a tall figure appeared, surrounded by flickering sparks of electricity; it was Saint Saint Saiwen, rushing in from the seas around Jaya Island.

"Saxi-buri-da-na, Mr. Mi."

"Saxi-buri-da-na."

Once the gamblers inside the casino clearly saw the figure outside the door, their eyes immediately sparkled with stars, and they exclaimed in shock.

"A pirate with a bounty of one billion."

"Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen, a crew member of the Pirate King!"

Saint Saint Saiwen raised an eyebrow: A bounty of one billion?

Well, no wonder the gamblers in this corner of the West Sea knew him; the Marines must have already issued a new bounty notice, which had spread across the seas.

That is to say, he was now considered a famous pirate.

"Mr. Mi, what do you need one billion Berries for?"

Saint Saint Saiwen asked, knowing full well the answer.

Mihawk turned slightly: "This is Mr. Yisheng, a great swordsman, who owes the casino a gambling debt of one billion."

Saint Saint Saiwen nodded and looked at the stunned dealer: "Call your boss over."

The dealer hurriedly replied: "Y-You... please wait a moment."

A pirate with a bounty of one billion was, for the Four Seas, undoubtedly a disaster-level existence; even if they called in the Marines from nearby naval bases, it would still be of no use.

It was better to listen properly.

After about a moment, a middle-aged man with a beard came running over, holding a Den Den Mushi in both hands.

"Mr., our boss would like to speak with you."

Before Saint Saint Saiwen could think too much, seeing the arrogant expression on the Den Den Mushi, he already knew who the boss behind the casino was.

"Oh~ It's the little brat from the Donquixote family."

"Fufufufu."

The Den Den Mushi laughed exaggeratedly: "Barzab, a crew member of the Pirate King Luo Jie, you indeed know the secrets of the Celestial Dragons."

Saint Saint Saiwen immediately lost interest: "I have nothing to discuss with a brat like you."

Being called a brat by a seventeen-year-old brat, Doflamingo was obviously getting quite red.

The Den Den Mushi narrowed its eyes slightly: "I heard from the King of the Seas that you are collecting Devil Fruits; just so happens, I have quite a few good things here."

Saint Saint Saiwen immediately flashed a brilliant smile.

"Brother Doflamingo, I'll head to the North Blue in a while; shall we meet then and talk?"

The Den Den Mushi said with a smile, "Then I'll await your arrival... and that billion-beli debt can be waived..."

Saint Saint Saiwen quickly cut him off: "I have no habit of owing money, especially to my own brothers."

Exchanging a billion beli for a future Marine Admiral is a sure win no matter how you calculate it; you damn well better not mess up my plans.

Hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Saint Saint Saiwen casually waved his hand to produce a stack of billion-beli banknotes and looked at the casino manager.

"Bring out the IOU."

The middle-aged man smiled awkwardly, "Mr. Issho never issued an IOU in his life; we trust Mr. Issho's credit. Now we are even."

Saint Saint Saiwen looked at Mihawk and Issho: "Mr. Mi, Mr. Issho, let's go."

Parenthesis: Tenghu was the alias Issho used when he served as a Marine Admiral; "Yixiao" is the old translation.

Issho clasped his hands in gratitude.

"Thank you, Mr. Saint Saint Saiwen..."

Saint Saint Saiwen waved his hand: "We are all one of us."

The three left the casino and arrived at the port of Twin Shedao.

Mihawk gazed at the nearly empty port, which was no different from when they arrived, and the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily; three people... a coffin boat... should be able to fit, right?

Since Saint Saint Saiwen descended upon the casino, Mihawk had been staring at him from time to time, utterly unable to comprehend—only two years had passed, how did this guy grow so tall?

Two years ago, he was clearly shorter than me.

Thirty-two-year-old Issho stands at 2.7 meters; his height is fully set, and he can only grow sideways from now on.

Seventeen-year-old Saint Saint Saiwen currently stands at 2.6 meters, with ample time for development left; surpassing three meters in height is practically a foregone conclusion.

And twenty-one-year-old Mihawk currently stands at 1.98 meters; he should still be able to grow a bit more.

Grabbing Mihawk, who was about to jump onto the coffin boat, Saint Saint Saiwen pointed at the empty sea surface.

"Board our pirate crew's big ship."

"Big ship?" Mihawk frowned.

"Look closely, Mr. Mi," Saint Saint Saiwen drew his sword, Mengxiang Yixin: "For the rest of your life, you will never forget today."

Only to see Saint Saint Saiwen slash horizontally with his blade, creating a flying slash that parted the sea surface like a curtain; as the seawater fell, on the horizon—

A large pirate ship with a dragon-shaped prow dominated by fiery red and accented with black and gold, and crimson sails, filled Mihawk's entire field of vision.

Full of a desire to share, Saint Saint Saiwen bumped Mihawk's shoulder with his arm: "How is it? Isn't it cool?"

The corner of Mihawk's mouth curved upward: "Cool."

"My dear crew members," Saint Saint Saiwen waved his hand broadly: "Board the ship; the Donghai Dihuang sets sail!"

Donghai Dihuang