"The Golden Lion Pirates?"
"Devil's Island?"
Different from the concerns of the other crew members, Fang Yi was a bit surprised. What was this Devil's Island that had been destroyed? Why were the others so shocked after learning that the Golden Lion Pirates had destroyed that small island?
The Golden Lion Pirates, also known as the Flying Pirates, were led by Shiki the Golden Lion, a former senior cadre of the Rocks Pirates. Like Whitebeard, after the fall of the Rocks Pirates, he formed his own pirate crew.
However, unlike Whitebeard, Shiki shared the same ambition as his former captain, Rocks - the ambition to control the world.
So his pirate crew developed and grew more rapidly than the Whitebeard Pirates. According to the news in the newspapers, they now had a small pirate fleet of nearly ten pirate ships.
"Shiki, that guy... He's no pushover! It seems the Navy is gonna have a headache this time!" Jappa said with a light laugh.
"Ah, forget it. It ain't got much to do with us, anyway. Let the Navy deal with Shiki! By the way, Xiao Yi, didn't you say last time that you found some clues about the historical texts?" After Roger, the captain of the Roger Pirates, finished his food and put down the plate, he looked at Fang Yi and asked.
"Yes, Captain!" Fang Yi nodded and said, "Although the World Government seems to have imposed a strict blockade on ancient scripts, I still found some clues in some documents, and that is Wano Country!"
"Wano Country?" Everyone was stunned and asked in surprise.
Although rumors about Wano Country had always spread across the sea, no one knew the exact coordinates of Wano Country, and no one had ever seen a samurai from Wano Country. So gradually, Wano Country had become a legend.
But the Roger Pirates were different. When they saved Shanks and Buggy, they had really seen people from Wano Country.
"That's right. It's very likely that these ancient scripts are recorded in isolationist Wano Country! They're not a member state of the World Government. They've never had contact with the outside world and have always kept themselves isolated. So, there might be clues about ancient scripts there!" Fang Yi nodded and replied.
He didn't dare to reveal too much, so he could only use this way to remind Captain Roger.
Sure enough, after hearing Fang Yi's words, Roger fell into deep thought. The Wano samurai had said something to Roger alone before he died. Although Fang Yi didn't think it was related to the ancient scripts, it should give Roger some inspiration.
"So, does it mean that our future goal should shift from the historical texts to Wano Country?" Taro, the combatant, shrugged and said with a smile.
Everyone looked at Roger. He was the captain, and only he could decide the direction of the Oro Jackson.
"No... We'll continue to search for the historical texts!" Roger grinned and said.
"Huh?"
Everyone was a bit confused. Fang Yi had clearly found a clue. Why did Roger abandon this easier clue and continue to search for the illusory historical texts?
Fang Yi just smiled faintly. Captain Roger had made the same choice as him because this was the best option.
Wano Country, which seemed like a clear - cut target, was actually as elusive as a dream. So far, no one had ever discovered the location of Wano Country, so they simply didn't know where to start.
However, it was different with the historical texts. They had already found quite a few, and they also had many clues in hand, which allowed them to continue searching for them in an organized manner.
In Fang Yi's opinion, searching for Wano Country and the historical texts was not contradictory.
One was a task with a clear purpose. The other was Wano Country, which seemed simple but its location was completely unknown. Naturally, the best choice was to continue searching for the historical texts while collecting any information about Wano Country.
Moreover, they hadn't deciphered any of the historical texts yet and had no idea what was written on them. To find the final island, they might have to collect all the historical texts.
So starting to collect the historical texts now could be seen as making preparations for the future.
Although Fang Yi knew that the clues to the final island were only on the four red road - poneglyphs, collecting historical texts could earn him a significant amount of points, so he naturally wanted to collect more.
Now that they had decided to continue searching for the historical texts, the Oro Jackson continued to move forward in the original direction.
Meanwhile, in the Country of Endless War.
"Barrett, I am now officially promoting you to the rank of general. I hope you can continue to show your strength in the subsequent battles and help us achieve the final victory!" Douglas Gray, the unit commander, said with a loving smile to Barrett, who was only fourteen years old.
"Yes, boss!" The burly Barrett was also overjoyed because the unit commander had promised that if he continued to perform outstandingly in the final battle, he would be given true freedom, which meant leaving this battlefield.
Barrett was an orphan. He was born in this war - torn country called the Country of Endless War, where there were daily battles. After his birth, he was abandoned by his parents and then adopted by the unit he was in now.
During his childhood, he served as a junior soldier under the unit commander Douglas Gray. His main tasks on the battlefield were to be the first to step on mines or charge forward with bombs in hand. The one who made the greatest military achievements on the battlefield would be awarded a medal. Barrett, who had known only weapons since childhood, was extremely eager to get one, but only one person could receive the medal.
Barrett was very active on the battlefield due to his powerful combat ability. However, just when he was about to succeed, he was betrayed by his comrades. Not only was his medal stolen, but he was also seriously injured and almost died.
His comrades betrayed him simply because Barrett was too powerful. Even the junior soldiers who had grown up in the same environment wanted to harm him.
Barrett took revenge on all the junior soldiers who had betrayed and harmed him, regained the medal, and realized the reasons for his failure: his own carelessness, arrogance, and the weakness of trusting his comrades.
From then on, Barrett no longer trusted anyone and only fought for his own victory.
After that, relying on his own strength, he became a heroic figure on the battlefield and the most powerful young soldier among them. He increasingly felt that only strength could bring him freedom.
But one day, when he was on the verge of death due to hunger and fatigue on the battlefield, he ate a Devil Fruit he found - the Fusion Fruit. From then on, he became even stronger. Until today, even the squadron leader, Douglas Gray, could no longer ignore his existence. Not only did he promote him to shogun, but he also promised to give him true freedom after the war.
After being promoted to shogun, Barrett wiped out all the enemy forces in the final battle. However, what awaited him was not true freedom but betrayal.
For Douglas Gray, who regarded him as a war machine, the war was over, so there was no need for the war machine to exist anymore.
But he underestimated Barrett's strength. Barrett, who had suffered betrayal, was extremely angry. He not only killed Douglas Gray but also destroyed his own country and army, turning the country constantly at war into a complete ruin.
Looking at the place where he once lived, Barrett gave himself a new name before setting sail - Douglas Barrett!
This was to remind himself that there was no such thing as companions or trust. Only by becoming stronger could he truly gain freedom.
So, this 14 - year - old boy set sail alone, looking for opponents who could make him stronger.
A year later, Barrett, who had been wandering at sea in search of battles and remained undefeated, was resting on a small island when he noticed a pirate ship docking.
"Hey~ Captain, there's a small boat here! Could someone have beaten us to it?" Bucky, fully armed, stood at the bow of the pirate ship, looking at the small boat by the shore and saying anxiously.
The reason he was so anxious was that their purpose for coming to this island was to search for treasure.
In the previous battle, they had captured a treasure map from the enemy, so they had rushed all the way here. Now, finding that someone had gotten there first, how could Bucky not be anxious?
"Come on, Bucky! It's just a treasure. We're just passing by anyway. Who cares if someone else gets it?" Fang Yi, who was much taller than Bucky, slapped Bucky on the back and laughed.
"Brother Yi, you can't say that! It was so hard for us to get the treasure map! As pirates, how can we just watch others steal our treasure?" Bucky, with his big red nose, almost got in Fang Yi's face.
As they spent more time together, Bucky finally realized the gap between himself and Fang Yi. So now, like Shanks, he called him "Brother Yi"!
"What you said makes sense, but... we still gotta follow the Captain's and Mr. Rayleigh's orders! And look at that small boat. Even if the other person got the treasure, they wouldn't be able to take it away. What are you so worried about?" Fang Yi pushed Bucky's big face away, saying with a hint of disgust.
"Hehe... Brother Yi, you know Bucky wants to be the first one to find the treasure!"
Shanks, standing nearby, said with a beaming smile.
"Shanks... You bastard!" Bucky, who was fuming, found an outlet for his rage and immediately got into a scuffle with Shanks. Fang Yi just shook his head at the sight of them.
Although it was just a small boat, it could prove that there might indeed be other people on this island besides them. So Fang Yi stood at the bow of the boat and began to scan the whole island.
"Alright, lads... Get ready to set off!" After getting everything in order, Captain Roger gave the order to disembark.
As it was an uninhabited island, they didn't leave anyone to guard the boat. However, Head Chef Yao Yi led several crew members and started preparing the food needed for the banquet not far from the shore.
As a rule, there was bound to be a banquet when Captain Roger came back. So every time they disembarked, he would start preparing the banquet dishes right away.
"Xiaoyi, why didn't you go with the captain and the rest this time?" Yao Yi asked with a smile as he looked at Fang Yi who was helping him.
"I'm not very interested in treasures!" Fang Yi replied with a smile and a shake of his head.
He really wasn't all that interested in treasures. If it was a historical text, he could gain points. Exploring ruins or having adventures would also be great. But this kind of thing of going to dig for treasures really didn't interest him. It was better to help Head Chef Yao Yi here. After finishing, he could have a peaceful sleep on the beach and enjoy this rare leisurely time.