The next moment, he moved his right foot, stepped on the sea surface, and instantly, his whole body burst out, flying dozens of meters in the blink of an eye...
Compared to the first half of the Grand Line, the second half, the New World, was more dangerous. The geomagnetism, celestial phenomena, sea currents, and air currents were all chaotic. To navigate here, one had to rely on a special three-needle Log Pose.
The three needles would point in different directions at the same time. Normal people would choose the most stable one and navigate according to the direction it pointed.
But there were also exceptions, such as Monkey D. Luffy twelve years later, who deliberately chose the direction where the needle fluctuated the most.
Vladimir certainly didn't have the leisure to do this. It wasn't that he was afraid of danger, but that he was currently in a forced transformation period and it wasn't suitable to run around. He first had to find a relatively calm island to land on and get through the transformation period.
Therefore, he chose the direction where the needle was the most stable.
After running on the sea for about four or five hours, Vladimir finally landed on an island.
After landing on the island, Vladimir didn't do anything else. He first found a restaurant to eat and replenish his physical strength.
Ordering a lot of delicious food, Vladimir asked the waiter, "What island is this?"
He had roughly observed it when he came. This port city was quite large, and the port was full of pirate ships, at least dozens of them. Therefore, Vladimir was very curious that the Navy didn't care.
"This is 'Mystoria,' one of the three starting islands in the New World." The waiter was stunned for a moment, and then answered calmly.
He worked here and had seen many pirates, so he wasn't afraid at all.
"The three starting islands..." Vladimir raised his eyebrows and asked again.
The waiter wasn't impatient and briefly explained.
The so-called three starting islands were the three islands that the Log Pose pointed to first after entering the New World.
They were "Lodestar Island," "Mystoria Island," and the most dangerous "Raijin Island."
As for "Punk Hazard," which Vladimir was familiar with, it was a hidden island that wasn't captured by the Log Pose.
There were many such islands in the New World. They didn't have a magnetic field, or rather, the magnetic field wouldn't be captured by the Log Pose under normal circumstances.
"I see." Vladimir nodded and didn't ask anything more.
Seeing this, the waiter turned to leave.
While waiting for the food to be served, Vladimir heard many people talking in the restaurant.
Basically, those sitting were pirates, and only a few were from the island.
"Boss, I took a walk around the town just now and heard an interesting piece of news."
"Where is the gold buried?"
"No, no, it's the 'Welcome Party.' It seems to be inviting all the newly arrived pirates to participate. The person who wins first place will be given the title of 'Newcomer King,' and at the same time, they can make a wish to the organizer."
"Oh? Anything goes?" The burly man with a goatee, probably the captain, immediately showed an interested expression.
"I don't know about that, but this 'Welcome Party' has been held for seven sessions and is held four times a year. This is the eighth session."
The pirate who was gathering information suddenly lowered his voice and said, "The first Newcomer King is the current Shichibukai, Donquixote Doflamingo!"
"What?" The captain was shocked, "What about the other six?"
"I don't know about the other six Newcomer Kings, but the most famous is Doflamingo. I heard that he will also appear this time, not to participate, but as a guest."
"Interesting!" A fierce light flashed in the eyes of the burly man with a goatee, "This is an opportunity... to kill Doflamingo and take his Shichibukai seat!"
At the same time, Vladimir also showed a curious look.
"Interesting, I actually heard the name of the Shichibukai. It's really easy to get." He murmured in his heart, but his face remained unchanged.
He had wanted to find Doflamingo before, but he didn't know the other party's whereabouts. Now that he heard this news, he immediately made a decision.
After that, Vladimir ate while quietly listening to the rest of the conversation.
This restaurant had good business. The hall was basically full, and there were at least four pirate crews present. Therefore, Vladimir obtained a lot of useful information.
For example, where to register for the "Welcome Party."
Anyway, he was idle, so Vladimir prepared to participate. If possible, he would take the title of Newcomer King. He wanted to see if the organizer could fulfill his requirements, such as giving him a few Devil Fruits.
After eating a hearty meal and replenishing his strength, Vladimir paid the bill and left.
Leaving the restaurant, he randomly asked a passerby and learned the location of the registration office.
Soon, Vladimir arrived at the place, which was a parade ground with a ring in the center and the registration point at the entrance.
There were many people registering. Multiple people from one pirate crew were registering, and it seemed that everyone wanted to try.
Basically, they were pirates who had just entered the New World and were very interested in this kind of competition.
Before long, it was Vladimir's turn.
Sitting behind the registration table, a skinny-faced man raised his eyebrows and asked in a lazy tone, "Name?"
Vladimir was stunned and thought for a moment before smiling, "I'm called Nine."
"Nine?" The registrar was also stunned and muttered, "Another one registering with a fake name, not even daring to report his real name, what are you even participating for?"
Even so, he still registered Vladimir.
"Origin?"
"Hmm?"
"Which pirate crew are you from? Or what other force..." The man said impatiently.
"Well, I'm a lone wolf." Vladimir didn't choose to report Phantom's name.
"Then what's the bounty?" The registrar was speechless.
"0."
"The bounty is zero!?"
This time, the registrar exploded, "Are you looking for death?"
"What do you mean?" Vladimir asked back.
"Don't think that just because it's a 'Welcome Party' means that it's really welcoming newcomers. The people who can participate are at least pirates with bounties of 50 million or more, and there are many with over 100 million. If someone like you goes up there, you won't even know how you died!"
The registrar shook his head, looking contemptuous, "With your build, I advise you to leave quickly."
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