I pant as I look at the monster on the ground. I can still hear the roaring of sadness and anger from a distance as the pirates who stayed behind weep at the death of their father, captain, and close friend.
I ignore them and instead walk forward, blocking a group of people coming toward the corpse on the ground.
The group is Blackbeard and his soon-to-be crew. I look them in the eyes and flare my Supreme King Haki. I let the red lightning flaring out of my body, and increased the intensity even more. Blackbeard looks at me with a strained smile and says.
"Oi~ Oi~ We are on the same side here, you know?"
"Same side? Then why are you coming along with people that I know are prisoners from Impel Down?"
He grunts a little, and instead of answering me, he walks forward with his crew. However, before he can take his fourth step, I can feel three powerful men land around me. The admirals are here, and they are looking murderous.
Well, only Sakazuki looks murderous. However, the other two have a very serious expression. Combine it with their bodies full of injury, from what I know, a bullet made of Sea Stone.
"Blackbeard, as one of the Admirals, I strip your status as a Warlord. Your bounty is reactivated. Die, pirate!"
I dash forward, following the three Admirals, and attack Blackbeard and his crew. I appear in front of Jesus Burgess and swing my weapon. He grins at me and greets my attack head-on by swinging his fist.
His fist coated with Armament Haki, but because of my infusion and internal destruction techniques, he grunts in pain as my attack destroys his innards. My attack hit his fist like a freight train, and my technique attacked his innards.
However, he was still standing and attacking me. I grin and release a roar while swinging my weapon. He met all my attacks head-on, and that was his mistake. He has not yet mastered his Armament Haki and doesn't have Supreme King Haki.
His outer body might look good, but by the end of the three-minute mark, he is on the ground, coughing blood and glaring at me with all the hatred he can muster. I look to the side and see the rest of the Blackbeard pirates are worse for wear. The three admirals are also bleeding and have new bruises on their bodies, but they are still standing and able to fight.
"Give it up, Blackbeard. Your execution will be fast and painless."
"Zehahaha! We are not yet defeated, Akainu."
It looks like the fight will start once again. However, before we can move, a strong Supreme King Haki flares up, and the sky turns black from it. I turn around and see a familiar figure walking toward us with a glare that is so murderous that I shudder a little.
Red-Haired Shanks is here, bringing his entire crew with him.
"Let's end the war here. I am here to bring the corpse of my friend and rival to give him a proper burial. Let me do that, and there will be no more bloodshed. However, if you reject this…"
His Supreme King Haki gets stronger and stronger to the point that half of the Vice Admirals fall to the ground, unconscious. As expected of a monster. His Supreme King Haki is stronger than even Whitebeard.
I can see Sakazuki about to attack, but before he can move, someone shouts.
"I will allow it!"
Sengoku stands on the podium and looks Shanks directly in the eyes. Shanks nods his head and walks toward the corpse. He looks at me for a second and picks the corpse from the ground.
He does nothing, but I can feel a pickle of cold needles at the back of my head. It is as if he is warning me or something.
We watch as he carries the massive body with one hand and walks back to his ship alongside the remaining Whitebeard pirates. When they sail away, Sengoku roars once again.
"With this, I declare Victory!"
I ignore the celebration and reunite with my guardians. Our job here is done, and it is time for us to start the foundation in this world.
==| Line Break |==
It takes three days before the Fleet Admiral is willing to see me once again for my reward. One of the Marines leads me to his office and sees him alone with a stack of paper on his table. He looks at me and says,
"Take a seat, Valerian."
"Thank you."
I sit on the sofa and see him searching for something inside his drawer. After a few seconds, he carries a small stack of papers and sits in front of me. He puts down the paper and says.
"These are your rewards, Valerian."
"And what are they? Some kind of documents?"
"It is a document. Documents that come directly from the Five Elders."
I straighten my back at the mention of the Five Elders. I know those five are the people who control the majority of the world. They are the people who rule the world under Imu, the True Ruler of the world.
Receiving documents from them means that something big is written on them.
"I've talked to the Five Elders and recommended the position of Warlord to you. However, they decide it is not enough for you. Instead, they grant you nobility."
"What?"
"Yes. From now on, you are the King of Cozia Island on East Blue."
He takes one paper from the stack, and I can see it is the island's details. From a quick glance, it appears to be an island well-suited for farming and business.
"There was a king who ruled this island. However, after the Germa Kingdom attacked this kingdom and killed all the successors, this island became kingless. Now, you will become one. You and your offspring will be the rulers of this island."
"What about the Germa Kingdom? Will they attack the island once again?"
"No. You don't need to worry about that. The Five Elders already warned them, and if they attack your kingdom, they will be declared renegade and hunted down."
"Right. What about the tax and how it works?"
"We do not complicate the tax system. You need to pay 15% of your TOTAL income from local tax annually. That includes business tax from the merchant staying on your island, regular tax, income tax from the worker, and other things that you want to add. As long as it is tax, you need to put away 15% of the income for the World Government."
"What about business? The one I own."
"10% of your Profit. You can pay them when the taxman arrives on your island."
"Right."
"You can do whatever you want on your territory, but make sure not to do anything that we view as something pirates will do."
So, basically, I am a Vassal Ruler rather than a True King. I am a king, but I need to follow the rules of the World Government. I receive the same privilege as a king back on Earth, but I have a certain line I cannot cross over, or my title will be taken away.
"What about the other documents?"
"These are the documents that say you can raise an army of up to 12,000 soldiers. One of them says that you can build up to 120 Warpships without any limit on merchant ships. The rest are papers about which ships are considered merchant ships and warships."
"Right. That is good to know. A quick question, if I grow a lot of food and sell it in massive quantities, will that be a problem?"
What? There are a lot of magicians back home, and I don't know where to put them. Sending trusted magicians here and training new batches will be helpful for my family.
"Food? If it were only food, there would be no problem. We do not have any rules regarding the selling of food, especially staple foods such as flour, rice, and wheat. However, you need to watch out for your neighbour. There is one kingdom that controls East Blue's food economy."
"Oh, we are not selling it to East Blue. We are selling it to Paradise."
"That will not be a problem. However, are you sure? You either need to go through the Calm Belt or through the Reverse Mountain."
"We will order ships that have sea stone coating. It will be expensive, but it is better than not having proper trade."
"Then you will not have a problem. There are a lot of islands that require food that they cannot grow in Paradise because of the unpredictable weather."
He takes out a piece of paper and writes something. After a second, he gives it to me.
"This is my Den Den Mushi frequency. It is not my private Den Den Mushi, but my assistant will receive your call. Each king can request a convoy to protect their trade route and will receive a discount if they call us directly. Yours will be more expensive because we need to send Sea Stone-coated ships, but it will be cheaper than regular mercenaries."
"Will do. Thank you, Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
"Bah, call me Sengoku. You deserve that much, Valerian."
"Then please call me Vale."