This is a calm sea.
It lies at the border between Alabasta and Drum Island, with little wind and waves, and a mild, peaceful climate.
Before now, this was a must-pass route for merchant convoys from various countries, and a region that made merchant ship captains' scalps tingle.
Why?
Because this sea is always fair.
For merchant ships, this sea is easy to navigate.
But for pirate ships, this sea is practically their paradise.
If they were lucky, sometimes just sailing around the sea for a bit, the plundered goods and berries could let them live freely for a month or two.
...
But such a "good place" underwent a drastic change not long ago.
The symbolic event of this change was the establishment of the Four Seas Alliance!
With the establishment of the Four Seas Alliance, a fixed route between Alabasta and Drum Island was officially formed.
And this calm stretch of sea became a part of that fixed route.
At first, few pirates actually believed in the so-called "fixed route." They merely saw ships flying the Four Seas Alliance flag sailing around, occasionally issuing verbal warnings to nearby pirate ships.
Pirates who enjoyed robbing passing ships were all desperate outlaws who lived life on the edge. A mere verbal warning naturally couldn't instill fear in them.
Even when a group of pirates was defeated after directly encountering the Four Seas Alliance's flagship at the very beginning, the other pirates didn't pay much attention.
After all, they knew who those fellow pirates had run into.
...
This is what happened at the time—or so the story goes.
The Four Seas Alliance's flagship had just concluded talks on Drum Island, officially establishing a cooperative relationship with the Kingdom of Drum Island. The initial framework for a fixed route was set.
Afterward, the Four Seas Alliance ship sailed back and encountered a group of pirates near the coast of Alabasta.
From a certain perspective, those pirates indeed became famous after this encounter.
Because theoretically, they were the first pirates to attempt to "rob" the Four Seas Alliance!
Of course, in reality, this was also the last time they would engage in the act of "plundering the seas."
Because at that time, two men were on that ship—
[Golden Dawn] Ryan Rowan, and [Desert Crocodile] Crocodile!
Setting aside Alabasta's elite soldiers, these two men alone were forces that absolutely could not be ignored.
[Desert Crocodile] Crocodile—the "Hero" of the Kingdom of Alabasta.
As one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile began hunting pirates around Alabasta and its surrounding areas after obtaining the title of "Warlord of the Sea."
Greenhorn pirates who had just set sail might still think of this as just a rumor, as after all, Warlords of the Sea were still pirates, so why would they hunt their own kind for no reason?
But the reality was indeed like that, and many pirates validated this with their lives.
Therefore, the name [Desert Crocodile] Crocodile became the nightmare of pirates in the vicinity of Alabasta.
If this fearsome man willed it, clearing out the surrounding pirates completely would not be a difficult task!
As for [Golden Dawn] Ryan Rowan.
He was, after all, a man who could have his name etched in history books.
Being able to achieve that was enough to prove he must have had some extraordinary qualities.
Ordinary people couldn't do that.
Even the Marine Vice Admirals whose names resounded like thunder on the seas today might only end up with their name and title recorded on a single page.
But Ryan Rowan, this man etched deep marks in history!
If the World Government hadn't strictly prohibited citizens from engaging in historical research, he surely would have been an unavoidable figure when studying the history of the Warring States period 800 years ago.
In short, for those pirates, a mere three words were enough to describe Rowan and Crocodile—
Very powerful.
They were definitely two people who were very powerful!
Therefore, few pirates dared to risk provoking them.
That's why those pirates became "famous" among their peers.
Not everyone dared to provoke a Warlord of the Sea and an Emperor whose name was recorded in history!
...
If one had to draw a comparison.
It would be like someone knowingly letting their pirate ship "approach" a ship where two Marine Vice Admirals and a Marine Fleet Admiral were seated.
Such individuals shouldn't exist... should they?
They shouldn't exist.
...
Time goes back to not long ago.
Initially, the pirates held a degree of cautious optimism, thinking that as long as they didn't run into [Golden Dawn] Ryan Rowan or [Desert Crocodile], there wouldn't be much of a problem.
Being a pirate isn't a profession that adheres to rules!
But soon, the pirates wandering around found that things seemed a bit off.
The members of this "Four Seas Alliance" seemed a bit too much!
First, there were the Alabasta elite Royal Army, which formed the largest contingent.
The personal army of a sovereign nation, actually escorting ordinary merchant ships?
Isn't that beneath them? What kind of logic is that!
Next, there were those "monsters" on the sea—Fish-Man warriors.
The animosity between Fish-Men and humans is well-known to the world.
Who knows how many benefits the Four Seas Alliance offered to get Fish-Men to personally escort the Four Seas Alliance's merchant ships!
And those Fish-Men didn't have the mark of "slaves"; they were entirely voluntary, even happy to help.
With the protection of these two major groups, small and medium-sized pirate crews didn't dare to target the Four Seas Alliance's merchant ships.
As for the larger pirate crews, they also didn't dare to act rashly.
After brewing for a while, they planned to unite and launch a surprise attack on the Four Seas Alliance, to make a big score.
At the same time, they wanted to prove to the Four Seas Alliance who was the boss in this region.
They couldn't let this suddenly appearing organization get too arrogant!
But just as this pirate alliance was about to act, something "happened."
Because of this incident, overnight, this pirate alliance disbanded on the spot, and some even left the Grand Line.
This incident was the establishment of a g-t Marine Branch in Alabasta!
What did this mean?
It meant that the Marines actually collaborated with the Four Seas Alliance!
Since then, behind the Four Seas Alliance's merchant ships were not just the Alabasta elite Royal Army and Fish-Man warriors.
Behind them was also the Marines!
Which pirate would dare to rob a merchant ship cooperating with the Marines? Are they tired of living?
...
Yes.
They were probably tired of living.
There truly was a group of desperate outlaws among the pirates.
These people had nowhere else to go, so they had become fearless.
Such people were indeed frightening.
Currently, one such group of pirates was wandering this sea.
They were truly "desperate outlaws."
Hunted by fellow pirates, surrounded by Marines, constantly targeted by bounty hunters...
They had "no retreat."
All they could do was pray to make a big score this time, then flee far away and find a remote island to lay low.
And not far from them, a Four Seas Alliance merchant ship was slowly approaching.
At the same time, further in the distance, another Four Seas Alliance ship was also heading this way.
On it flew not only the Four Seas Alliance's flag but also the symbol of the Marines!
At the bow of that ship, a burly man was shouting to the people on deck:
"Don't do anything rash!"
"I'll try to persuade them!"
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