"The World Government has once again been defeated by pirates. Is this a sign of the world's decay, or the navy's decline?"
"The Pirate Alliance has achieved a great victory, with the new weapon developed by the Infinite Pirates destroying over a hundred warships in a single strike. What kind of weapon is this?"
"The world's strongest man, Li Yuan, has once again demonstrated his power, killing enemies with a single sword strike. What kind of sword is this? Is there truly no one in this world who can withstand his blade?"
"With the defeat of the World Government, the South Sea has completely fallen. Will the South Sea become like the New World, a pirate domain that the navy cannot enter and the World Government cannot touch?"
"..."
The day after the Pirate Alliance's victory, Morgans immediately published a series of newspapers.
With images and even videos surfacing, people around the world had no choice but to believe it was true: the Pirate Alliance had indeed defeated the World Government once again, which suffered heavy losses and fled in defeat.
"Damn the World Government! They have abandoned us, the many member states of the South Sea. All those years of Celestial Tribute have been for nothing!"
"I think we should quickly submit to the pirates. After all, they don't rule our countries; we just need to pay them like we did with the Celestial Tribute before."
"Exactly! For us member states, it doesn't matter who we pay the Celestial Tribute to. Now that the pirates rule the South Sea, we can pay them, and if the World Government regains control of the South Sea in the future, we can pay them then."
"Damn it! If I had known, I would have surrendered sooner and saved my palace from being destroyed by those pirates!"
"..."
The many member states in the South Sea held a meeting via Den Den Mushi. After each shared their grievances, they began to tacitly cooperate with the pirates' rule over the South Sea.
After all, the South Sea was simply too vast, with a population too numerous to count. The pirates could not possibly govern all the kings, so it was sufficient for the kings to express their submission while the pirates collected protection fees.
Following this meeting, the large pirate crews discovered that their efforts to occupy territories seemed much easier. Many kingdoms had already raised pirate flags in anticipation of their arrival, which put the pirates in a good mood and diminished their desire to kill to establish authority.
Of course, this did not include the Infinite Pirates. Every kingdom and territory occupied by the Infinite Pirates was completely taken over and handed over to their trained personnel for management.
As a result, the territories occupied by the Infinite Pirates saw the most bloodshed. Those who did not submit to the Infinite Pirates, as well as the hidden agents of the World Government and spies from other factions, were all ruthlessly eliminated by the Infinite Pirates.
At the beginning of their territorial conquests, they needed to stabilize their hold with the most brutal methods and the fastest speed, allowing for gradual development afterward.
"The pirates have won again. In this global war, it seems that only we, the Revolutionary Army, have lost!"
Dragon looked at the newspaper in his hand and the intelligence provided by the Revolutionary Army from around the world. Analyzing the information led him to an unbearable conclusion.
All over the world, powerful kingdoms had risen amidst the chaos caused by the Pirate Alliance's attack on the South Sea. Those strong kingdoms expanded their territories, and ambitious individuals seized vast profits. The Quicksand Guild eliminated the Hunter Guild as a rival and also swept away the navy's presence in the Four Seas. It seemed that every major faction he knew of had emerged victorious alongside the pirates against the World Government.
Only the Revolutionary Army, which was confronting Mary Geoise on the Red Line, had suffered a devastating defeat at the hands of the combined assault of the Five Elders, leading to the near-total annihilation of the Revolutionary Army.
"Top-tier combat power is the biggest reason for our Revolutionary Army's defeat. We simply could not withstand the combined onslaught of the Five Elders. If only someone could have stood against the Five Elders, the Revolutionary Army might not have fallen!"
Dragon clearly understood that the Revolutionary Army's greatest weakness lay in its lack of top-tier combat power. If the higher-ups of the Revolutionary Army could have withstood the Five Elders, they might not have lost!
"Whether through recruitment or training, we must ensure we have sufficient top-tier combat power for the next battle!"
"Additionally, we need to strengthen our ties with the Infinite Pirates to recover the Revolutionary Army's significant losses in the shortest time possible."
Dragon quickly established the future development direction for the Revolutionary Army.
After the many pirates finished their banquet on Golden Lion's Floating Island, they left directly. There were still many territories in the South Sea that had not been occupied, and they were filled with golden treasures waiting for them to collect.
They had long coveted the Celestial Tribute that the World Government received every year. Now, they could finally replace the World Government and collect the annual Celestial Tribute themselves, filling them with a sense of accomplishment.
With such a vast territory, as long as they could hold onto it, even collecting the Celestial Tribute annually would yield them unimaginable wealth they had never dared to dream of! The Infinite Pirates also left the battlefield, with the Hades Pluto ship sailing to a nearby kingdom already occupied by the Infinite Pirates for resupply.
Li Yuan accompanied his food-loving daughter, Akame, to stroll through the most prosperous street of this kingdom. However, as they walked, Akame completely ignored Li Yuan and dashed towards the delicious food stalls.
"What a glutton!"
Watching Akame rush towards food with the same reckless enthusiasm she had as a child, Li Yuan could only shake his head helplessly.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Li Yuan noticed a little girl around eight or nine years old. In his eyes, this little girl was very different.
So much so that Li Yuan followed her closely.
Baccarat was unaware that a strange uncle was following her. She happily skipped along the street in her beloved outfit.
"The pastries are so delicious!"
Baccarat casually pulled out some Beli from her small pouch to buy pastries, eating as she walked.
As she walked, a person ahead accidentally dropped a stack of Beli from their pocket without realizing it and continued on their way, leaving the stack of Beli on the ground unnoticed by passersby.
When Baccarat walked nearby, she noticed the Beli on the ground and naturally bent down to pick it up.
Baccarat was not surprised at all; in fact, she was quite accustomed to it. After placing the Beli in her small pouch, she continued on her way nonchalantly. Li Yuan observed that even a pickpocket nearby had not targeted Baccarat, the little girl.
Not only that, but Li Yuan also saw Baccarat pick up quite a few items along the way. Although they were not valuable, they were indeed things she could take for free.
This was simply the luck of a champion!
At least Li Yuan had never picked up Beli or diamonds from the ground in all his years!
After a while, Baccarat approached a crowded area and walked right in. In the crowd, she casually touched the bodies of three people.
Then Li Yuan saw one of those three people slip on a banana peel and injure his leg, another slip on a watermelon peel and faint, and the last one walk into a wall, causing a brick to fall from the wall and hit him on the head, knocking him out.
"Isn't this the ability of the Luck-Luck Fruit?"
Seeing this scene, Li Yuan finally confirmed what was different about this little girl. This was indeed Baccarat's Luck-Luck Fruit ability from the original story! It allowed her to absorb the luck of others to enhance her own luck, while those whose luck was absorbed experienced terrible misfortune, even choking on water, while the lucky recipient became invincible, finding gold at every turn.
After Baccarat touched a dozen people, she squeezed out of the dense crowd.
Her round, bright eyes curiously surveyed her surroundings. When she spotted Li Yuan not far away, her eyes lit up, and she immediately ran over.
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