"It's rare for everyone to gather... together like this today—truly a grand event in the East Blue."
Mok, wearing a yellow lion's mane cloak, waved his large hand as he looked at Captain Krieg, who had stopped because of his shout.
Then, with a serious expression, Mok clasped his fists and circled around the pirates on the ship.
Seeing such a polite East Blue overlord, the pirates' tense faces gradually softened, their serious expressions easing; even Captain Krieg, who was originally annoyed by being stopped, looked less displeased.
Although this guy's speech was a bit clumsy and formal—not like a typical pirate—there was no denying that this new East Blue overlord gave everyone face.
"The sky has no rising sun, but with a heart of courage, the vast sea is boundless; freely and recklessly, we pirates pursue freedom. Now that all the heroes of East Blue are here, let us drink together!"
At that moment, Mok finally finished speaking, subtly hiding his palms covered in writing, the cold sweat on his forehead easing somewhat.
The boss was a cultured man; all these words were formal and literary, and he had to memorize them.
Of course—
Though a bit awkward, these words still impressed the pirates.
As the boss said, most pirates lack education, but Mok was a cultured man. Just a few words from him frightened this group easily.
Didn't you notice? Even Captain Krieg was silent now.
But there were more important matters at hand.
Mok's expression hardened, and with another grand wave of his hand, he shouted passionately, "Someone! Bring the wine! I want to drink with all the great heroes of East Blue here."
After he finished,
Seeing how much respect Captain Mok's pirate crew showed, everyone smiled.
Though the new East Blue overlord's speech was a bit odd just now, didn't that just show how much Captain Mok valued them?
Meanwhile.
As soon as the words "[Serve the wine]" were spoken,
At this moment, everyone in the lower deck cabin of the Mok pirate ship began to take action.
"Hurry, hurry! Bring up the prepared tangerine wine."
"Remember, one bowl per person. Only the captain and their officers on the ship can drink. The rest of the low-level crew are not allowed; we didn't prepare that much wine."
"Right, right, the poison—quickly pour it in. They all must drink it!" Nami, temporarily in charge of logistics, stood with hands on her hips, constantly ordering people to bring up the wine.
"If anything goes wrong later, everyone's salary gets deducted!"
"Yes, Big Sister Nami!"
The crew responded loudly.
There's no doubt, Nami was very suitable for managing logistics. Everything was proceeding orderly under her command.
"By the way, is the poison you prepared effective? There are so many pirates; it can't fail."
After watching everyone carry out their tasks, Nami turned with some worry to look at Chacher.
"If it's not reliable, then don't use so much. As long as the Krieg Pirates are around, we won't suffer losses."
"Don't worry. This is poison from the Grand Line. I specifically asked Baroque Works to purchase it." Chacher said confidently.
"It's a colorless, tasteless poison. I heard Baroque Works is currently using this poison in the Grand Line to fish for pirates, and it works quite well."
"Poison from the Grand Line? That's good." Hearing Chacher's assurance, Nami felt much more at ease and asked curiously, "So what do we do next?"
At that moment, Chacher's eyes narrowed slightly as he said, "Next... tell Robin's side it's time to close the net."
...
"Today, you and I meet here by fate!" Mok scanned the surrounding pirates with a serious look.
"In the entire East Blue, the only ones I admire are the heroes gathered here! But the one I value most is you alone..."
His gaze landed on the captain wearing golden armor, "Captain Krieg! Former overlord of East Blue!"
His eyes narrowed.
"Since you and I are the only ones worthy of being called the overlords of the East Blue, and since fate has brought us together here, why not have a contest? You and I will attack from two sides and see who gets into the Marine 16th Branch first and takes the head of their base commander."
Boss, what kind of nonsense is this?
Did he just insult himself in his own writing?
Mok looked at the text in his hand, holding back the sweat forming in his heart. Still calm on the surface, he said casually, "Since this grand event was initiated by me, Mok, the frontal attack will be led by the Mok Pirates. We'll strike head-on, while your Krieg Pirates can attack from the rear."
As he spoke, he spread his arms wide and let out a unique laugh.
"Wa hahaha~! And I, your boss, sincerely invite all the great pirates of the East Blue aboard this ship to join me. Let's see who's the real overlord of the East Blue!"
The moment the words fell—
Everyone froze.
They hadn't expected Captain Mok to be so bold—challenging the Krieg Pirates directly and even planning to charge the Marine base head-on, all while inviting others to be the judge.
But thinking about it…
If he wasn't so arrogant and domineering, would Captain Mok have been given a 50 million bounty by Marine HQ while still in East Blue?
Would he have had the guts to gather all the pirates and declare war on a Marine base like this?
Is this the pride of the East Blue Overlord?
They would attack from all directions—the hardest route from the front taken by the Mok Pirates themselves, the rear left to the Krieg Pirates.
As for the other two directions, farther from the Marine 16th Branch—one would be handed over to the large East Blue pirate crews to raid the wealthier parts of the Conomi Islands, while the slightly poorer villages on the other side would be given to the lesser-known small pirate crews.
It could be said the plan was quite comprehensive—he even considered the no-name pirates.
Truly worthy of being the East Blue Overlord!
As for whether a frontal assault on the Marine base would be dangerous?
Don't be ridiculous!
All the East Blue pirates standing on the Mok Pirates' ship had faint smiles on their faces.
With such strength, how could a mere East Blue Marine branch hope to stop them?
They figured that even without their help, the Krieg Pirates alone could wipe it out completely. So, the outcome of this declaration of war was already set in stone.
As pirates… they were bound to win!
Hearing Mok's words, even Krieg gave him a deep glance, understanding what he meant.
An attack from the rear?
Although taking advantage of the situation like this felt like an insult to him—as someone who claimed to be the overlord of the East Blue—what could he say? Mok was now the true ruler of East Blue.
And he was the one who had invited all these powerful pirates from East Blue.
"In that case, the Krieg Pirates accept this challenge," Krieg snorted coldly. "Just don't let the Krieg Pirates finish the job while you lot are still stuck offshore!"
"Wahahaha~"
A pirate of status must have a unique laugh—those were the boss's words.
Mok let out his own distinct laugh again. "Then I'll be waiting to see it!"
With that—
"Hurry up and bring the wine!"
Mok bellowed loudly with bold enthusiasm, then grabbed the large wine bowl handed to him by one of his crew.
Seeing that everyone else also had their bowls in hand, he nodded subtly in satisfaction and raised his drink high again.
"This is orange wine, a specialty of Cocoyasi Village. Rich in fruit aroma, mellow in flavor, smooth on the palate, with a lingering aftertaste. It cost the Mok Pirates a great price to obtain it."
"Today, at this very moment, I drink it with you all. Please, everyone, drink!"
As Mok's words fell, following the grand entrance of the Krieg Pirates' fleet and Mok's appearance, all the pirates gave due respect to this new ruler of East Blue.
Every one of them raised their golden, orange-scented wine with solemn expressions.
Although they had never heard of the so-called famous wine of Cocoyasi in the East Blue, since even the overlord of the East Blue praised it, they figured it must be due to their own ignorance.
Everyone held their wine bowls with both hands, all wearing serious expressions as they looked at Mock.
"Please!"
The word echoed in unison.
That single word — please — instantly resounded across the entire sea.
At the same time, a rich and gentle orange fragrance spread through the air.
The pirates who weren't invited could only raise their heads, staring longingly at the orange wine glowing faintly gold in the sunlight and sea breeze.
"Damn it, why don't we get any? That's the wine even the East Blue overlord praised!"
"I want to try it too!"
"You guys don't have the status to drink the same wine as our captain. Don't forget, those invited by the East Blue overlord to drink are all major pirates of the East Blue."
"What a stunning celebration this is!"
Cheers, noise, and laughter echoed across the entire sea.
Crash—
In the end, when Mok decisively smashed his wine bowl, all the pirates quieted down again, understanding that the main event was about to begin.
The bloody assault on Navy Branch 16!
"Move out!"
With Moc's shout of "Move out!", all the pirates gathered on the sea began steering their ships according to Captain Mok's plan, slowly sailing toward the Conomi Islands.
This time, the climax of the grand celebration... was about to begin!