Creak—!
Though small, the town was complete, with everything it ought to have.
This was an ordinary, exceedingly ordinary island in the New World.
Being in the New World, the people here were no strangers to pirates. Having dealt with pirates for a long time, they even exuded warmth when Kong Tai and his group arrived on the island.
They had completely reached the final stage of the Grand Line, with no trace of the Navy here.
Over time, this made the islanders more enthusiastic about Kong Tai and his crew’s identity than about them personally.
They had seen islands that worshipped pirates. Traveling from the beginning of the New World to here, they had witnessed the transition from the initial fear of pirates to the worship and warmth they now displayed.
In essence, it was a process of moving from relative peace towards chaos.
Guided by the villagers, the group arrived outside the island's only tavern.
Gazing at the weathered, pitted signboard, soaked by time and sea breeze, and the polished doorknob, Kong Tai smiled faintly.
It seemed many pirates frequented this place!
Perhaps it was fortune’s favor, or perhaps they were all off vying for the territory of the Four Emperors, but today, only they had come.
Without hesitation, Kong Tai pushed open the door and, with Kuina, stepped into the tavern, their figures swallowed by its dimness.
Three days had passed since they left Egghead Island. Although their small crew had ample food and fresh water on board,
Ah Hua and the other two had developed a habit: no matter where they landed, they would visit the local market and various shops.
Robin, on the other hand, was only interested in history and books, so her essential stop on any island was always a bookstore.
The books on board were already enough to open a library.
Although Brook was the oldest on the ship, his mindset was similar to Ah Hua and the other two. Thus, whenever they docked, he would either be drinking coffee on board, shopping with Ah Hua and the others, or accompanying Robin to the bookstore. Sometimes, he would also go to the tavern with Kong Tai for a drink.
He got along with everyone.
As for Yi Sheng.
Well, as he himself had said, he had boarded Kong Tai’s ship simply to experience different scenery and observe their group.
Since boarding, this guy had truly lived up to his words, speaking very little. He would quietly sit at the bow, brewing and drinking tea, listening to their conversations.
He possessed a detached air, much like a reclusive master.
He also rarely disembarked when they stopped.
In his own words, “Besides gambling, I only have the hobby of drinking tea. So, you don’t need to mind this old man. You young folks do as you please.”
Those were his exact words.
As far as Kong Tai knew, this fellow was only fifty-one years old, at the peak of his strength and prime.
Yet, he seemed so world-weary and indifferent. It could only be said that Mr. Yi Sheng, with his rich experiences and extensive knowledge of the world's complexities, was indeed remarkable.
Indigo, on the other hand, was purely a tech enthusiast. If there was nothing in particular, he wouldn't even disembark unless Kong Tai called him.
Recently, he had even taken a sliver of demonic energy from Kong Tai and was now engrossed in its study, neglecting food and sleep.
Even Bihai only knew about that substance; he couldn't explain it logically. He only knew it was the power of the desires of sentient beings.
As for its origin, it was similar to faith power; only the gods who had passed down through generations might know.
And for him, a materialist engaged in scientific research, why would he study such an idealistic force?
Indigo’s explanation was that he had nothing else to do, and it was just a way to pass the time.
Kong Tai could only twitch his lips at this explanation and extracted a minuscule strand of demonic energy from the seal containing the demonic energy taken from Bihai, a very weak strand, and gave it to Indigo.
Initially, he was worried that Indigo might be possessed by this sliver of demonic energy.
After all, it was the energy of a fully grown, adult demon. Even a tiny fragment was something Indigo couldn't withstand.
Therefore, even after giving it to Indigo, Kong Tai paid close attention for the first couple of days, repeatedly urging Indigo to be extremely careful during his experiments.
However, after two days, he no longer worried.
This was because he discovered that this sliver of demonic energy, which he had extracted, seemed to have become a mere research subject in front of Indigo, like an inanimate object.
Furthermore, during the experiments, Indigo had, using some unknown element, managed to erode it bit by bit.
Although it was only a small erosion, it proved that Indigo hadn't just impulsively asked for it to research.
It seemed that even idealistic forces, when manifested in reality, could be eroded by the forces of reality.
This point greatly surprised even Bihai.
In his view, an adult demon had completely surpassed this world.
If one were to use planets as a comparison,
An adult demon would be equivalent to a star, while the world of the Pirate King was merely a planet revolving around that star.
Now, the weak power on the planet was affecting the star, which was quite astonishing.
However, both Kong Tai and Bihai were merely slightly curious about this outcome. Once they knew Indigo was safe, Kong Tai stopped paying attention to him.
Looking at the tavern, which was somewhat quiet with only two or three people drinking in a corner, Kong Tai strode forward, propped himself on the bar counter, and smiled at the middle-aged man behind it, who was wiping glasses, smoking a pipe, and wearing a headband.
“Boss, I seem to smell some good wine. May I have a taste of the wine in that jar in front of you?”
As his voice fell, Kong Tai couldn't help but lick his lips, looking at the clearly freshly sealed wine jar before the boss.
He had smelled the aroma of fine wine when he was outside.
He hadn't expected to smell this kind of wine here.
The last time he had felt this way was when they first set sail, on an island whose name he didn't know, which had been completely annihilated by the sea due to his battle with Shiki.
The jar of wine the burly owner of that tavern had brought out at that time had given him the same feeling as now.
The middle-aged man did not immediately answer Kong Tai but deliberately finished wiping the wine glass before looking up at Kong Tai.
Upon seeing Kong Tai’s somewhat youthful face, a flicker of daze appeared in the boss’s eyes.
“Hmm!”
“So young, this hair color, this eye color.”
As if recalling something, he abruptly turned his head to look at Kuina beside Kong Tai. His pupils showed a trace of fear.
Of course, this fear was deep and difficult for outsiders to detect.
He hadn't expected to meet the recently renowned World’s Strongest here.
Although the two in front of him were not as tall or as burly as he was, and their appearances were even somewhat youthful, even he, who had seen many pirates, involuntarily felt a sense of fear.