"With you..." Hancock's beautiful eyes suddenly lit up. "Luo Chen, are you asking me to elope with you?"
Luo Chen's mouth twitched. She could connect anything to romance.
'Moreover, the current Hancock is still somewhat ignorant about love. She hasn't been enlightened by Granny Nyon yet. I wonder how proactive she'll become after she understands it.'
Luo Chen nodded helplessly. "Think about it first. Go back and communicate with your citizens. If there are no problems, move the entire country to the New World."
He didn't correct Hancock's words. 'Elope, then elope. In any case, he was set on having Hancock. She was powerful and stunningly beautiful. Whether as a subordinate or as a woman, she was outstanding.'
Luo Chen pondered for a moment and said, "I'll send you back to Kuja Island first."
"You have seven days, Hancock. Discuss it with your citizens. If there are no issues, pack your things, and the whole country will move."
"I still have a few things to do, so I won't stay on Kuja Island to accompany you."
'The safety of Kuja Island is one thing. Additionally, I need to go to Water 7 to officially build a pirate ship. Although Wood Style can also build ships, it can only create a rough outline, barely able to float. Luo Chen didn't understand the various functions and designs of a ship, so he naturally couldn't create them using Wood Style.'
'He was about to enter the New World. He had also recruited most of the personnel he needed. To form a pirate crew, he was just missing a ship.'
'Becoming one of the Four Emperors in the New World was something Luo Chen had planned long ago. With the power and forces he had currently shown, the World Government would most likely not provoke him lightly. He could usher in a period of stable development.'
"Build a ship, and then come up with a name for the pirate crew."
'What should I call it?'
Luo Chen was not at all confident in his naming abilities. The more difficult he found something, the more likely he was to procrastinate. Therefore, he hadn't thought about it at all until now.
'Speaking of which, since my reputation has been reversed, does that mean I don't have to be a pirate?' Luo Chen couldn't help but think.
The matter of the Marines slandering him had already spread across the seas.
'As long as I don't want to be a pirate, the probability of clearing my name is high. But if I'm not a pirate, I have even less of an idea what to call my faction.'
'The Neo-Marines? Luo Chen had actually considered it. But he was afraid the World Government would get desperate and gather all their forces to besiege and kill him. Currently, Luo Chen still couldn't handle a situation where the World Government went all out with its top-tier forces. If they came, he could only run. This went against Luo Chen's goal of wanting a peaceful life.'
'It's a pity. If I were strong enough, I could really rebuild a Marine force. Right now, those Marines are probably extremely suspicious of the justice they uphold and the current Marine high command. It's not impossible for them to come to my side.'
'I'll stick with a pirate crew for now. Once my physical skills break through another two levels, it should be fine. At that point, I'll be able to instantly defeat Admirals.'
Luo Chen muttered inwardly.
He needed to continue developing for a while.
Imu, the God's Knights, the Five Elders, the mysterious Army, and the Red Hair Pirates with their ambiguous attitude.
These were potential enemies.
They put a lot of pressure on him.
Luo Chen rubbed his chin, pondering inwardly: 'I need to start using the Impure World Reincarnation. I have three things to do in the Grand Line.'
'Relocate Kuja Island.'
'Build a ship at Water 7.'
'And finally, find Gecko Moria.'
'He has a zombie army under his command and has collected the corpses of many powerful individuals. I can use the Impure World Reincarnation technique on these corpses to transform them into my undead army.'
'Shimotsuki Ryuma and the demon Oars are two powerful combatants.'
After the Wood Style clone following the Straw Hat crew dissipated, Luo Chen learned that the Straw Hats had not entered Thriller Bark as in the original story.
This was also the reason why the skeleton, Brook, had not joined the crew.
'After finishing these three things, it's time to enter the New World. I hope I can get it all done in seven days.'
Just as Luo Chen was thinking, Marco flew over from the large ship in the distance.
He brought Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Ace back to the Going Merry.
And the very first moment Sanji saw the Pirate Empress, he froze as if petrified, then his nose burst into a violent spray of blood, and he passed out.
Chopper hurried over to treat him.
Marco looked at Sanji in confusion.
'Why did he faint? Did he get hit by the Marines during the battle?'
He dismissed his wild thoughts, looked at Luo Chen, and said solemnly:
"Thank you very much, Luo Chen."
"Today, you saved Ace, you saved Pops, and you saved all of our lives."
"Pops is badly injured, so I didn't have him come over. I hope you can understand."
Luo Chen heard this and nodded slightly. He didn't care about such formalities.
Marco said: "To express our gratitude, Pops has decided to give you half of the Whitebeard Pirates' wealth and territory."
Luo Chen's eyes lit up, and a smile appeared on his face.
Territory or no territory, it didn't really matter.
He had originally planned to enter the New World, take out the Emperor Big Mom, and seize Totto Land.
After all, her son Cracker had stolen billions of gold from him.
What Luo Chen was really interested in was half of the Whitebeard Pirates' wealth.
Seeing that Luo Chen was very satisfied, Marco breathed a sigh of relief.
It was good that the debt of gratitude could be repaid.
His expression turned serious. "From now on, if you need any help, just ask. The Whitebeard Pirates will be there whenever you call."
Luo Chen nodded, not refusing.
Even though Whitebeard was old and covered in injuries, he was still a powerful deterrent to the Marines and the World Government.
His own forces were newly established; having an ally would put him much more at ease.
After Marco finished relaying their father's message, Ace also spoke up to thank him.
He was extremely polite, bowing deeply several times to express his gratitude to Luo Chen.
Finally, Marco asked if the wooden ships Luo Chen had created could make it back to the New World.
The Whitebeard Pirates were preparing to return.
"They can," Luo Chen smiled.
His Wood Style could last for a long time.
The ships' structures were simple, basically just a horizontal plank enclosed by four vertical planks, but they were very sturdy.
'It's enough to support them on their return to the New World.'
Marco smiled upon hearing this and took his leave:
"In that case, we will head back to the New World first to prepare the wealth and territory."
"When you arrive in the New World, we will hand it all over to you."
With that, Marco handed Luo Chen a Log Pose. "You can come to this island to find us."
After settling everything, he transformed his arms into blue-flamed phoenix wings and left, taking Ace with him.
Soon, Whitebeard's grand fleet and the Moby Dick parted ways with the Going Merry.
They sailed toward the Sabaody Archipelago.
Whitebeard's hearty and powerful laughter carried over:
"Gurararara, Luo Chen, when you get to the New World, I'll treat you to the best sake!"
Luo Chen smiled and called out, "Alright! See you in the New World!"
After the Whitebeard Pirates had gone far, he looked at Luffy.
"Let's part ways here."
"I still need to stay in the Grand Line for a while, so I won't delay your journey."
Hearing this, Luffy was stunned for a moment, then a smile spread across his face.
"Okay! Then we'll see you in the New World, too!"
Zoro nodded.
Carina and Usopp looked at Luo Chen pitifully.
The two of them really wanted to ask him to stay.
Because Luo Chen provided an incredible sense of security.
But they were too embarrassed to say it.
Vivi bit her lip, but still spoke up: "Luo Chen, I want to ask for your help..."
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]