"Huh? Huh!"

Mewon's remarks stunned Baki for a moment before he reacted and exclaimed in surprise.

"You...you want to pledge allegiance to me?" Bucky's hand shot out, pointing at the man, and he exclaimed in surprise, "Really?!"

Mei asked, puzzled, "Is there a problem? Or do you look down on me? Although I know I'm weak and can't compare to you, I'm still a wanted criminal with a bounty of over 100 million!"

"Ah...no!"

Bucky shook his head violently, then withdrew his hand and laughed loudly, "Hahahaha, very good, then you shall bow down to my banner, I'll take you as my underling!"

"That's great, Boss Bucky, I'll follow you for life!" Mayon said excitedly.

"Bucky! Bucky!!"

Just then, Mr. 3 suddenly ran into the tent and said to Bucky in the sky, "A huge golden ship is coming!"

"gold?!"

Bucky's ears twitched. "Gold?! Great! Men, come with me to collect the taxes. Let's let everyone on this route know the name of this great man!"

"Oh!! Boss Bucky, let me lead the charge for you!" Mayon exclaimed excitedly, gripping his broadsword.

"No, that ship is..."

Mr. 3 was about to speak when Bucky flew away, and his newly recruited subordinate rushed out as well, leaving him no chance to continue explaining.

...

"Heh, heh heh, I didn't expect it to be you."

At the port, Bucky rubbed his hands together, a smile on his face, watching Kuro disembark from the ship.

He was excitedly waiting for people to come out at the port, ready to collect commercial taxes, but the closer the ship got, the more familiar it felt to him, as if he had been on this ship before.

But by the time he remembered, he was already down there, and it was too late to run away.

That damned Gardino! He didn't even speak clearly. I thought it was a big fish coming and I was about to collect the first trade tax, but it turned out to be a sea king.

"Oh, Bucky, are you here to greet me personally?"

Kuro, a cigar dangling from his lips, glanced at Buggy, then at the eager swordsman over there, his eyes gleaming with fighting spirit.

"Um, we need to collect taxes..."

Before Mayon could finish speaking, Bucky quickly swooped out and covered his mouth, laughing awkwardly, "It's nothing, it's nothing. He's just a new subordinate of mine who doesn't quite know the rules yet."

Kuro glanced at the swordsman and said, "Kuro."

"yes."

Kro stepped out from behind, glanced at the swordsman, thought for a moment, and said, "It's 'Big Sword' Mayon, with a bounty of 178 million. Hmm... He's done a lot of outrageous things, most famous for destroying towns, and he's even annihilated a naval encirclement."

"oh..."

Kuro nodded and said, "Buggy, you are the Seven Warlords of the Sea, you are meant to fight pirates. Even if you want to recruit subordinates, you have to be careful. Not just anyone can be recruited. Kuro, throw him into the sea."

Whoosh!

In an instant, Krok flashed and appeared directly in front of Mayon. His five fingers, like knives, pierced Mayon's chest, his domineering fingers penetrating deep into his chest and aiming straight for his heart.

puff!

With a thud, blood flowed from Mayon's chest. He stared blankly at the person below, instinctively wanting to raise his broadsword, when he saw Kro pull his arm back, causing a burst of blood to spurt from Mayon's chest, causing him to fall to the ground.

Kro grabbed his legs and dragged the still-breathing body to the port, then casually tossed Mayon into the air.

"Storm Kick!"

The moment he threw it, Kro kicked out a blue slash that cut Mayon's body in half at the waist, sending the two halves falling into the sea.

“It’s all done, Mr. Kuro,” Kuro said, turning his head.

"Hello!!"

Buggy glared at Kuro and pointed at him, saying, "Don't you know that even pirates have a code of honor in this cruel world of pirates?! That's my newly recruited subordinate! Do you know what he did?! Even if he was just recruited, he's still my subordinate! Are you trying to start a war with me?!"

"Of course I know, but I'm in the Navy now. Besides, I just joined, so it doesn't count as joining without drinking the initiation wine."

"Kro said calmly."

He used to be a pirate, and he and Buggy were both in the East Blue, and they had both heard of each other's great names.

But that was in the past. Now he's a Marine, a Vice Admiral, which is much better than being a small-time pirate with a net worth of a little over ten million.

"So, you need to be more careful when recruiting subordinates. Let's not even talk about the kind of prisoners you used to lead in Impel Down, since I wasn't in charge back then. But now that I'm in charge, you'd better be more careful when recruiting subordinates."

Kuro walked over and patted Buggy on the shoulder, saying, "Anyway, we didn't drink the collection wine, so let's just pretend we didn't collect it. It's no big deal, it's not important. But I'm here on your turf, aren't you going to treat me to a meal?"

"Huh?! You killed my men and you expect me to treat you to dinner?!" Bucky roared furiously.

...

Inside a restaurant, Bucky waved his hand arrogantly, "Eat up, it's on me today!"

At the dining table, Kuro, Lida, Crook, and Bucky were gathered together on a table laden with food.

Lida was enjoying her meal, while Kuro was calmly cutting a steak, and Kuro was munching on a cigar with a bottle of fine wine in front of him.

"Hey, what are you doing here, Jin Ni?"

Buggy scrutinized Kuro and said smugly, "So you've come to inspect my base? Well, you're in for a disappointment, because I... only just settled in myself."

“Take a long vacation. After all, my fortress is gone, and you were there,” Kuro said, exhaling a puff of smoke.

Taking a long vacation would be great. You could travel around the first half of the Grand Line, then go back to the East Blue for a trip, and finally go back to Pegasus Island to rest for a while. You could slowly let time wear you down, and it would be best if the chaos in the second half of the New World could subside.

To be honest, Kaido and Linlin's alliance to find One Piece isn't challenging the bottom line of the Navy, but rather the bottom line of the World Government and pirates. Once they find it, these Four Emperors will inevitably clash sooner or later.

Kuro doesn't know what Shanks is thinking, but he certainly won't let Kaido and Linlin get One Piece so easily. As for Teach, that bastard, although he has temporarily disappeared, he will eventually recover with his abilities, provided that Marco doesn't catch him.

Regardless, Teach wouldn't stand idly by and watch Kaido and Linlin obtain Onepeice so easily, although Kuro didn't think Teach had much interest in Onepeice.

His goal is to become like Rocks, possessing absolute power and influence; whether or not there's treasure is not necessarily of interest to him.

Ultimately, the pirates will fall into chaos, and once they obtain the One Piece, Kaido and Big Big Wolf will definitely fight. If the situation gets out of control, the Navy will be the only winner.

When the time comes, the Navy will wipe out the remaining pirates in one fell swoop, restoring peace to the world. Kuro will then be able to fulfill his dream of safety. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

I had absolutely no pressure during my vacation.