"Even if the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew stands alone against the entire Navy and World Government, we still need to grow stronger. After all, our numbers are greater. In the future, the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew may disappear, but we—the collective of all pirate crews—must endure."
"Exactly. Ye Yu should be more generous and take fewer resources. If he hoards everything, what will happen to us? We'll still have to face the powerful Navy in the future. If we're weak, we'll be wiped out."
"So, the common folk shouldn't assume that opposing Ye Yu is a bad thing. On the contrary, it's for the greater good."
"Right. He's disrupting the balance of the game. One player exploiting all the best rewards isn't something the others can tolerate."
…
They twisted their words to make themselves sound righteous. If Ye Yu heard them, he would scoff in disdain.
Meanwhile, Xia Ling and the other three vice-captains, along with the Executives, had all reached Level 40, feeling a significant boost in their strength.
"Our power has grown tremendously. Now, we must claim the top spot on the Pirate Crew List."
"Yes, we must become the One King. The title of Four Emperors sounds impressive, but it's still not first place."
"The Captain's bounty alone is 1.8 billion berries—higher than some top-tier pirate crews. So, he alone is equivalent to an elite crew, or even multiple crews. That's why we must take first place. We have to be number one on the Pirate Crew List."
…
They were brimming with confidence, trusting in Ye Yu's strength as well as their own.
Just then, new information about the Pirate Crew List was announced.
"The Pirate Crew Realm will open in three days. Due to injuries sustained during the Bounty List Realm challenge, a three-day recovery period has been granted."
This news eased the tension among the pirate crews, who found it a fair arrangement.
"The Pirate Crew Realm will feature battles between crews. Participating crews will be registered, then randomly matched for crew battles. However, the matchups will be balanced by strength—the two strongest crews won't face each other in the first round."
This reassured the top crews, who had feared an unlucky early encounter with the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew. Such a matchup would have doomed their chances of becoming one of the Four Emperors. But now, they saw their worries were unfounded. They trusted the Pirate Crew Realm would be as fair as the Bounty List Realm, ensuring a true ranking.
The announcement continued.
"Additionally, rewards from the Pirate Crew List will be distributed among crew members based on their individual strength—stronger members receive more, weaker ones receive less."
Everyone agreed this was fair and reasonable.
"If a pirate crew has too many members, it may not be advantageous. Even if they claim the title of One King Pirates, the rewards they receive could be less than those of the second or third-place crews."
This also made sense. With too many members, the rewards would be diluted. A captain of such a crew might end up with less experience than an Executive from the second-place crew.
Still, for the sake of securing first place, this drawback was acceptable. They couldn't have it both ways.
At this moment, Jin Mo and the others frowned slightly.
"We're confident we can take first place, especially since we've chosen to ally. But our numbers are already large."
"Then when the time comes, we'll exclude the weaker crew members. Kick them out beforehand to reduce our numbers significantly."
"No need. The weaker ones don't get much experience share, even if there are many of them, the proportion won't be significant. Moreover, lower-ranked crew members are still important combat forces—though individually weak, their numbers matter. While our target is the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew and we'll face Ye Yu, we can hold him off while keeping the lower-ranked members away from his Conqueror's Haki. Once Ye Yu is dealt with, the lower-ranked members can move in, similar to our previous tactics."
"Right, we can't kick them out. Otherwise, the cost of victory would be too high."
...
The announcement continued.
"In the Pirate Crew Realm, during one-on-one battles, surrender is allowed. Upon surrendering, the participant will exit. Note: Only the Pirate Crew Captain can surrender—only one person has this authority."
This made sense. If too many could surrender, disputes would arise, and immediate withdrawal wouldn't be possible.
"In the Pirate Crew Realm, if a battle poses a fatal risk, there is no automatic exit. Once engaged, failure to withdraw means death."
"Lastly, Pirate Crews can form alliances, merging into a single crew. They don't even need to gather beforehand—once allied, they'll appear together upon entry."
This weighed heavily on many. There was no automatic exit. Even if someone wanted to retreat when facing death, they couldn't—unless the Captain surrendered.
But no crew would surrender just because one member was about to die. Every Pirate Crew understood: this Pirate Crew Realm would be a brutal team battle with inevitable casualties.
The final point made the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew tense and wary. Given their strength, they were likely to be targeted, and multiple powerful crews might unite against them.
"In that case, securing first place will be difficult."
"Right. If the gap is too wide, we'll have to settle for second and surrender."
"But the more alliances form, the less experience each gets. Too many strong fighters splitting rewards for just a title isn't worth it."
"True, but their main goal is to take us down, so plenty will still ally."
...
Ye Yu's gaze turned icy. "Let them ally. They'll lose more than they gain. It's time to further establish our dominance and deterrence."
...
Jin Mo sneered. "This works in our favor. I was worried the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew might back out."
Yang Luo said gravely, "No need to wait until after the Pirate Crew Realm to deal with Ye Yu. We can eliminate him during this event. Even though surrender means exit, I doubt Ye Yu would yield easily. We have a chance to cripple the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew."
Song Ling nodded. "Agreed."
Yang Luo added, "But we'll need to minimize losses. Let's reach out quickly."
"Right. Before, distance was an issue, but now we don't have to worry."
They were pleased and immediately made calls.
Meanwhile, at the Strongest Pirate Crew's base—
Bai Shaohan received the call and understood their intent.
Jin Mo said, "You know why we're contacting you. Let's ally. Ye Yu is too strong—his bounty far surpasses ours. If we don't act now, we won't stand a fair chance at opportunities later."
Bai Shaohan hesitated, not immediately agreeing.
"You've already formed a large alliance. If we join now, we won't get much experience at all. As the Captain, I might even earn less than the tenth-ranked Executive of a Pirate Crew."
"Bai Shaohan, you need to understand—we must give up this experience to gain something greater. By crippling the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew this time, we can force them to yield future opportunities."
Bai Shaohan knew this logic but was still uneasy.
"Are you sure we can take down Ye Yu this time? After all, he can surrender at any moment and exit. Killing him won't be easy."
"Even if it's difficult, Ye Yu won't surrender so easily. And if we only cripple them, we can still gather our alliance after the Mystic Realm ends to finish them off. There's no need to worry about losing both the battle and the reward."
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