Oden looked up at the drizzling rain falling from the sky, knowing that Pain had arrived on the island.
Thinking that the troublesome problem finally had someone to take over, he couldn't help but feel a sense of relief, a relieved smile appearing on his face.
"Shiki..."
"The person who can make decisions for the cooperation you mentioned has arrived. If he thinks there's no problem, then I have no problem, heh haha..."
Oden said with a relaxed smile.
"Ah?..."
"Someone who can make decisions?..."
"Who is it?..."
"Seriously... you and I have been gone for so many years, and now we're both old. Besides Roger, is there anyone else you would pledge allegiance to?"
"How ridiculous..."
"Gyahahah..."
The Golden Lion asked with a hint of mockery.
"Whether he's worth pledging allegiance to, I'm not sure yet, but my dream relies on him to be realized.
Who knows, your hope for revenge might also be gambled on him. How about it, want to try joining the organization?" Oden continued to tempt the Golden Lion.
"Is that so?..."
"It seems the person you're pledging allegiance to is quite extraordinary?..."
"In that case, let's meet him first and see what's special about this person you speak of. I'm really looking forward to it."
"Gyahahahahaha..."
In the Golden Lion's opinion, Oden had once served as the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates and had fought him as a crew member of Roger, possessing great strength.
Such a person would surely be very proud, and it would be rare for anyone to catch Oden's eye.
Furthermore, Oden carried a great secret; if this organization wasn't reliable, Oden would certainly not entrust himself to join it.
Given this, it was better to first see what kind of person it was.
As the Golden Lion's laughter faded, a young man in an eccentric outfit, similar to Oden's, appeared in his sight, rapidly approaching.
In a few bounds, he had already arrived beside Oden.
As Pain's figure landed, before he could even ask, Oden complained to Pain, "Pain, you've finally arrived!
This is an old acquaintance of mine, his name is Shiki, codenamed 'Golden Lion'..."
"I tried to invite him to join the organization, but he cruelly refused, which is a pity... However, Shiki greatly resents the World Government.
Shiki wants to cooperate with me and help me avenge Roger..."
"Oh dear..."
"I've joined the organization now, so I can't make decisions on this matter.
Since you're here, you handle it." Oden briefly introduced the Golden Lion to Pain, then, as if passing the buck, threw the issue of the Golden Lion's cooperation to Pain.
He then introduced Pain to the Golden Lion, "Shiki, this is Pain, the leader of our organization.
Isn't he handsome, dashing, charming, elegant, and promising?... I was captivated by these qualities of his..."
"Heh hahaha..."
"Aren't you going to cooperate with me? You should ask my leader directly.
If the leader agrees, then I have absolutely no problem..." Oden introduced Pain to the Golden Lion with a sly smile.
"Kid... are you the leader of your organization?... You're really young... Yes... being young is truly good..."
"How about it?... How about we overthrow the World Government together? I've been looking forward to it for a long time!?..."
"Gyahahahahaha..."
The Golden Lion asked, crossing his arms and laughing wildly.
From Oden's introduction, Pain had already understood Oden's concerns and difficulties, fully grasping his attitude.
Upon hearing the Golden Lion's arrogant words, Pain calmly said to the Golden Lion, "There is only one way to cooperate with us, and that is to join my organization.
No matter who it is, there are no exceptions..."
"Gyahahahahaha..."
"Kid..."
"How many years has it been since I've seen such an arrogant young man like you?... Arrogance requires capital and a price!
Have you prepared these things?..."
"How about this..."
"Let me weigh how much capital your arrogance truly holds, how about it?" The Golden Lion seemed provoked by Pain's unrestrained arrogance, asking with a slightly challenging tone, and adopting a fighting stance, as if he would immediately start a battle if Pain agreed.
"Stop your Floating Island... It's not necessarily a must for you and I to fight... We seem to have the same enemies...
If you really want to fight, then wait until I handle some matters.
There are some Marine small fry harassing my ship over there, and I need to take Oden back to deal with them... We can discuss our matters later..."
Pain, uncharacteristically, sought to calm the situation, explaining patiently.
Pain also had concerns and helplessness at the moment; through his strong instincts, he could sense that the Golden Lion before him was very powerful, comparable to Oden.
Although teaming up with Oden could certainly kill the Golden Lion, with Pain's current strength, it would likely be a prolonged battle.
And the ship docked on the coast seemed to still be facing difficulties from the Marine.
Once both sides started fighting, the ship there would surely be controlled by the Marine, and Roux couldn't stop them.
At that time, all the valuable Materials already loaded onto the ship would be lost, which was not what Pain wanted, hence his rare desire to calm things down.
When the Golden Lion heard Pain say this, he couldn't force anything for a while.
After all, the Marine were also his most hated people, and he didn't want the Marine to benefit from a fight here.
"Since that's the situation... then you two go handle it... I also really dislike those Marine small fry..."
"Gyahahahahaha..."
"I'll stop the island here and wait for you.
Come find me after you've dealt with it... These Marine small fry are really a buzzkill..."
"Oh, and..."
"Where is this?..."
"I don't even know where I've floated to?... My subordinates are all idiots too, they don't report the location to me." The Golden Lion said to himself after stating his attitude to Pain.
"This is the East Coast of Alabasta Kingdom... Then Pain and I will go handle things first, we'll be leaving now..."
"See you later... Shiki..."
Oden answered the Golden Lion's soliloquy, leaving the Golden Lion who had fallen back into his self-talk, and turned to leave with Pain.
The Golden Lion's appearance on the East Coast of Alabasta this time was truly unexpected.
Originally, the Golden Lion's ship would float freely in the sky, with no fixed direction, only drifting to a certain place for plunder and resupply when needed.
But this time's appearance wasn't for resupply; it was because the Golden Lion, drunk and hazy at the ship's bow, caused fluctuations in his Float-Float Fruit ability, affecting the island's floating height.
It slowly appeared on the sea surface and drifted all the way to the Alabasta Kingdom.
Alabasta. West Coast. On Pain's ship.
Ever since Roux reported the situation here to Pain via Illusion Body, the feeling of unease grew stronger and stronger.
Roux waited on the ship, somewhat agitated.
Roux knew his current strength; dealing with unknown pirates or ordinary Marine was a sure thing, but encountering a Marine Rear Admiral level person meant he could only flee.
This was also Roux's shortcoming; at least Roux currently couldn't perfectly utilize the 'Flash' Fruit.
Suddenly, many bubbles of various sizes appeared around the ship, as if someone was blowing a large quantity of bubbles with a bubble-blowing toy.
These bubbles added a sense of eeriness to the tranquil night, besides the howling sea wind and the sound of waves gently lapping the shore.
The bubbles were slowly drifting from the sky with the wind, approaching Roux.
In the pitch-black night, only with the aid of the dim Gekko could these colorful bubbles, which would only appear under sunlight, be seen.
Just as the bubbles were about to fall on Roux, he broke free from his agitation and reacted instantly through his own danger perception.
Without time to ponder what was causing his sense of danger, he instantly vanished from the ship in a flash, standing on the beach not far from the ship.
He scanned his surroundings with vigilant eyes in the night, trying to see where the enemies were.
After all, the surroundings were open and unobstructed; if the enemies were nearby, they could still be seen under the dim Gekko.
Before Roux could clearly see where the enemies were, a flash of a blade suddenly appeared behind him, followed by a slash, startling Roux into another flash to a different location.
"Is sneaking around also the Marine's style!?... Can't you avoid disgracing your World Government!... Only cowards who hide in the shadows!..."
Roux's figure reappeared in another location, and upon appearing, he somewhat angrily mocked them, as anyone would be furious after being ambushed twice in a row.
Roux vigilantly stared in the direction of the attack, from which a group of Marine emerged, with the two leading figures being quite conspicuous.
Seeing that these Marine appeared without attacking him again, Roux used the Gekko to examine the two leading figures...
To be continued...