Chapter 66: The Alliance
Peach Blossom Valley.
In a massive wooden house, Louis and the frail old man sat opposite each other. Six middle-aged men and women dressed in the ancient style of the Flower Country stood behind the old man, their gazes numb as they watched the two.
Uta sat on a window sill several meters high, watching with great interest as Yelena, war hammer in hand, beat up the young Buccaneers below.
Steam rose from the hot tea on the table, and a rich aroma swirled around the two sitting opposite each other.
"How is that little brat Amit doing now?" the frail Buccaneer elder asked after taking a sip of tea.
Louis nodded calmly and replied, "He's doing well. It's just that over the past few decades, he's gradually become less talkative."
"That chatterbox brat... not talkative..." The old man was shocked for a moment, then seemed to realize something, and finally fell silent. After a long while, he sighed softly. "So even you, the uniquely blessed, couldn't escape the World Government's pursuit..."
"Then again... the World Government is too strong..."
Louis remained silent.
It was true. People always said the World Government was corrupt, its rule harsh and tyrannical. But no one could refute its power. Its strongest instrument of violence—the Marines—was filled with powerhouses. Countless Marine soldiers were scattered throughout the Four Seas and the first half of the Grand Line, holding them firmly in their grasp.
Ten intelligence agencies, capable of both combat and espionage, were spread across the world. 99% of the world's whispers could not escape their notice. Many powerful pirate crews had even disintegrated under the covert operations of Cipher Pol. And among the Celestial Dragons at the very top, there were also many powerful individuals, ensuring their privileges would not be shaken.
Most importantly, the being known as Imu was suspected to hold an Ancient Weapon.
This combination of forces created a terrifying existence that drove many to despair. This was also a key reason why it had been able to maintain its high-pressure rule for eight hundred years.
After a brief silence, Louis looked directly into the cloudy eyes of the old man named Hughes Holden and said in a solemn tone, "I have come this time on behalf of the Lunarian race, hoping to form an alliance with the Buccaneer race, to launch a joint counter-attack against the World Government in the future."
As his words fell, a dead silence filled the wooden house. The few middle-aged men and women heard him, their expressions becoming complicated. But they did not interrupt, instead quietly watching the old man, who remained as calm as ever.
The old man raised a trembling hand to refill Louis's tea, then said calmly, "We only have these few people left. Thrown into the sea, we would only make a small splash..." His cloudy eyes swept over Louis's excessively young face. "You don't have many people left either, do you?" he said pointedly. "And more than 70% of them are around your age, right?"
"..."
Louis did not answer the question. Although the proportion of young people in his tribe was not as high as 70%, it was quite close.
The old man read a lot from Louis's face. "We are much the same," he continued. "We've only gradually recovered a small portion of our population in the last decade or so."
"Moreover, I had originally planned to let the name 'Buccaneer' die with me and the generation behind me."
"In that case, why did you tell those children about us..." behind the old man, a sturdy middle-aged man couldn't help but ask.
To this, the old man's eyes fell on the wings on Louis's back. His tone was distant. "Because I saw the purpose of this young man's visit, and I was prepared to accept his invitation..."
Everyone was stunned, including Louis. After hearing the old man's questions, Louis had originally thought he would choose to let his people forget their hatred and become the "Longbo people" they spoke of. But the turn of events was beyond his expectations. Even knowing the current disparity in strength between their sides, the old man still agreed to the request for an alliance.
The old man took in everyone's astonished expressions. He didn't explain much, but instead fell into a memory.
Although he was very old, he still remembered what that little brat had said before he left that day.
"I won't tell my people of your existence. If one day I send someone to find you... that means that person is an existence I am willing to give my life to protect!"
The old man looked at the boy before him, who was dazzling under the sun, exuding a divine aura. For decades, the old man had been wondering: what kind of person could make such an incredibly proud individual willing to risk his life to protect?
And this question was answered the moment he saw Louis.
"It is hope. It is the future!"
Then, the old man turned to face the group of middle-aged men and women. "And you?" he asked. "Are you willing to bet your own lives and the lives of your children?"
The middle-aged men and women heard him and agreed without any hesitation. This was what they had been waiting for. They had been raised under the deliberate cultivation of their elders, for the sole purpose of one day avenging their fallen kin. It wasn't until the elders had passed away one by one, leaving only him, that this last elder had forbidden them from telling the new generation the name "Buccaneer," wanting the name to disappear from the world completely. And now, the elder had changed his mind. Since they already held this ambition, they naturally had no objections.
Then, the old man looked at Louis again. "After you leave here," he said, "you can go and look for the Mink Tribe and the Giant Race. In history, they were also allies of that person, and enemies of the World Government."
"In the past, you might have been able to look for the Three-Eyed Tribe, but there's no need now. Unlike the Lunarians and the Buccaneers, they are truly extinct. I heard the last one was captured by a certain person in the New World. I imagine she wanted to use that person's special ability to read the Poneglyphs. Her fate is likely not a good one."
To this, Louis committed the old man's words to memory. They were all in the New World. When he entered the New World to fight people, he could look for them along the way.
However...
"That person... are you referring to Nika, Joy Boy?" Louis asked with a frown.
This unfamiliar name made the middle-aged men and women fall into thought.
To this, the old man first nodded, then shook his head. Finally, he said with a complex expression, "It's meaningless now. After centuries of fleeing, we have long since stopped believing in and waiting for the Sun God, Nika."
The group of middle-aged men and women were stunned. They then looked at their respected elder with strange expressions. They had originally thought that only their children were being kept in the dark about certain things. They never expected that they themselves had also been kept in the dark by their elders about so many things.
Finally, the old man seemed a bit tired, his tone becoming muffled again. "When the time comes, you contact us, or the commander of the Sanbao Navy."
Leaving these words behind, the old man turned and departed.
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