After being taught a lesson by Kuro, this is exactly what he was thinking!

His childhood experiences and past battles resurfaced in his mind.

That golden slash almost killed him, but it also broke his demonic spell.

Anyone who tries to make a living on the high seas is bound to die.

To make a living on the cruel sea and to earn a reputation, one must be willing to risk life and death; only in this way can one truly survive on this vast ocean.

Otherwise, even if he became a great pirate, he might still have an accident one day because of his fear of death.

But now William has come to a realization; Kuro's blow made him see things clearly.

He had witnessed the power of that strike and fully understood the true cruelty of the sea. Although he was no longer afraid of death, who would want to die?

They're all liars!

Using the title of some fifth emperor to attract attention is misleading. If someone actually believes that defeating this so-called fifth emperor, or even achieving a draw or narrow defeat, will allow them to dominate the seas, then they'll be no different from the 'fifth emperor,' becoming a candidate for the title of 'sea emperor.'

William had this idea before, but then he realized he was wrong because the power Kuro displayed was overwhelming.

He had heard that Kuro had fought Blackbeard at the G-3 fortress, inflicting heavy losses on Blackbeard.

Blackbeard is a standard Yonko, and this caused him heavy losses, but Blackbeard himself remained unharmed. This means that the true fighting strength of a Yonko is similar to that of Kuro.

These people are the true top-tier combat power!

The rest are all traps!

William didn't hate Kuro for almost killing him with one blow; on the contrary, he was somewhat grateful. That blow brought him to his senses; otherwise, given his previous rate of arrogance, he probably would have turned around and gone after Shanks or Blackbeard.

If he were to actually encounter one of the Four Emperors, he would probably be in deep trouble.

If Kuro were here, seeing William's mindset right now, he would only say three words—Supernova.

This is the typical supernova mentality: invincible in the first half, with few rivals in the new world, then becoming arrogant and challenging even greater opponents, only to be defeated by truly strong individuals.

Without exception, this is the case.

Elmira looked at William and asked, "What do we do next, William?"

"How to do it..."

William looked up at the sky and said, "It's always good to be cautious. We won't give up on the New World, but this place isn't suitable for building a large operation. Let's go back..."

"Where to?" Montblanc was stunned. They were already in the New World; how could they go back?

Do you think the navy would let them get away with this?

"Shichibukai!"

William said fiercely, "Then I'll become a Shichibukai. That Kuro invited me, saying that if I survive, I'll report to him. I'll seize this opportunity!"

The Seven Warlords of the Sea are also great pirates!

William used to feel that he was at odds with the Navy and wanted to defeat Clow and break free from the demonic barrier. But once he put Clow aside, William realized that becoming a Shichibukai was actually the best choice.

A great pirate has power and protection.

Although the rules for the new Shichibukai under Kuro's command are different, it is still the Shichibukai, a place where one can fulfill their dreams.

That position is the most suitable for me!

"But before that, we need to do one thing first..."

...

Two months later.

Headquarters.

“Mr. Kuro.”

Kro walked in carrying two boxes. "There are things for you here, things from Shells Town in the East Sea."

"Something from the East China Sea?"

Kuro glanced at the two boxes. "Someone from Shells Town is sending me things? How come they sent them all the way to headquarters... Open them."

"It seems to have been sent by sea express, via that snail. I just happened to be passing by and picked it up."

Kro released the two wooden crates, and with a flick of his fingers, he easily lifted the board of one of the crates. But as soon as he saw it, he immediately stood up, frowned, and his eyes were filled with coldness.

“Mr. Kuro, this is a provocation.” Kuro looked up, his face grim and dark.

Kuro scanned the box and saw that it contained human heads that had been carefully preserved to prevent them from rotting!

There was a cloth underneath the head.

“What kind of cloth is that?” he asked.

Kuro casually pulled the cloth from under the man's head, and with a flick of his wrist, revealed what looked like a pirate flag.

This startled him. He looked over, unsure, and asked, "The X-Bone Pirates?"

Then, he looked at the head again and carefully examined it before he could see the clues.

“Mr. Kuro, this seems to be the captain of the ‘X-Bone Pirates,’ with a bounty of 460 million Berries,” Kuro said.

As he spoke, he suddenly thought of something and pulled off the cloths that were placed under the heads one by one, revealing one pirate flag after another.

Kuro recognized all these pirate flags; they came from various great pirate crews in the New World. Here, every head was a captain, and every captain's bounty exceeded 300 million Berries.

The captain's head is here; that represents those pirate crews...

"Oh? This is a nice gift. What about that box?" Kuro smiled, and after seeing the head, his gaze fell on another box.

Snap!

With a flick of his finger, Chloe lifted the wooden board, revealing a series of small boxes wrapped in hay inside.

Cigar box.

They were all exquisitely crafted items, exactly the same as the cigar box Kuro had received last time.

The box was full of them; judging by the quantity, there were probably about twenty boxes.

A smile appeared on Kuro's lips. With a flick of his finger, a box flew into the air and landed in front of him. The box was opened, revealing a cigar with gold and white engravings.

Kuro lit his cigar, took a puff, and exhaled a plume of smoke that shot straight forward like steam. He smiled with satisfaction, "That's the taste. You've finally figured it out, William."

"Cigars, huh..."

Kuro pushed up his glasses and looked at the heads again. "And these are the heads of famous pirates. Mr. Kuro, are you trying to seize the position of Shichibukai?"

"There's nothing wrong with it."

Kuro smiled and said, "His strength is not bad, and he hasn't done anything out of line. Now he's making a statement. We can give him the position of Shichibukai. Kuro, go get a messenger bat. He should be in a fairly conspicuous place right now. You can find him easily and have him come to headquarters."

"Yes, Mr. Kuro, I'll go and confirm the location right away."

Kro nodded and left first.

Kuro took another comfortable puff of his cigar and nodded. "This tastes just right. From now on, William will be my sole supplier. He doesn't need to manage the supply chain; having him supply me directly shouldn't be too much trouble. Hmm..."

He stood up, flicked his fingers again, and separated most of them, walking straight towards Kizaru's office.