With a sigh of emotion, York exhaled deeply, his eyes regaining clarity.
He casually tossed the jar to Kaido, who caught it feeling flattered and surprised, looking at York in amazement.
Then he heard York say, "Do not be blinded by such external possessions. Our ideal is not just superficial eternal life!!"
Everyone present felt a jolt in their hearts, waking up one after another from their anticipation and longing for eternal life.
Next, York picked up a notebook from the table and flipped through it. Finding that the information inside was basically the same as in the original story, he threw it to Olga.
"Your parents love you. The main reason they created Pure Gold was actually for you. If you can't understand, take a good look at the contents recorded in this notebook."
After speaking, York lingered no longer, leading everyone out of the ruins storing the Pure Gold.
Those who followed York into the ruins were all officers; the ordinary pirates remained outside.
Seeing York and the others come out, everyone cast expectant gazes their way.
When they saw Kaido holding a glass jar emitting continuous light, everyone swallowed silently.
With a simple glance, York saw expressions of restless desire on many faces.
Clearly, the loyalty of these subordinates could not yet withstand testing. If they knew the true function of the Pure Gold, sooner or later, a backstabbing incident like the one in the Rocks Pirates would occur.
However...
If used well, this desire might not fail to boost their loyalty to the extreme.
After all, the Pure Gold wasn't just the goose egg in the jar Kaido was holding.
The golden sun atop the head of the Sea King Lanternfish that swallowed them was actually Pure Gold too!!
The diameter of that sun was at least several hundred meters, and its weight had to be measured in tons.
Yet the Pure Gold needed to grant eternal life didn't even require the size of a ring; a few grams at most would suffice.
Thinking of this, York hesitated no longer. Clenching his right fist, he struck the stomach wall directly above his head.
Projected Armament Haki compressed the atmosphere, transforming into a translucent air punch that impacted the stomach wall.
The resilient stomach wall immediately caved in significantly. At the same time, the Lanternfish let out a beastly scream.
York watched the changes in the stomach acid ocean. Seeing that the water hadn't decreased but was increasing, he knew the fish was likely still in the sea, so he threw another punch.
"Roar—!"
The Lanternfish screamed again, its body instinctively beginning to float towards the sea surface.
The members of the Red Flag Pirates returned to the ship via Kaido's Flame Clouds. York threw a third punch.
Splash!!
A huge sound of breaking water could be clearly heard even through the giant Lanternfish's body. Simultaneously, the stomach acid ocean began to flow out rapidly.
York had Kaido release the Flame Clouds, letting the ship fall into the water, and they flew out of the Lanternfish's mouth following the reversing flow of stomach acid.
Finally escaping, every pirate in the Red Flag crew couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief.
After all, the feeling of being inside another organism was truly unpleasant. Even without immediate danger to life, there was always a feeling that death could come at any moment.
Now that they were out, the oppression in their hearts completely dissipated.
However, York wasn't content with just escaping.
Drawing the sword he had picked up on the Sabaody Archipelago earlier, he unleashed a golden flying slash with a backhand swing.
The Lanternfish, having just vomited out foreign objects and still somewhat dazed, immediately had the giant lantern on its head sliced off.
"Kaido!!"
With a sharp shout from York, Kaido understood instantly. His tall and sturdy body immediately transformed into a massive Azure Dragon, soaring upwards.
Fiery red Flame Clouds were released from his dragon claws, successfully catching and lifting the golden sun before it fell into the sea.
The super-giant Lanternfish noticed the lure on its head had been cut off and immediately let out an angry roar.
But York sent dozens more flying slashes its way.
"Lion · Thousand Cut Valley!!" (Shishi Senjin-dani)
Using swordsmanship learned from Shiki, he easily sliced the giant Lanternfish into pieces.
Crimson blood sprayed.
Fortunately, York and the others had been thrown far enough when escaping from the fish's mouth; otherwise, they might have been drenched in a rain of blood.
"Wororororo!"
Kaido reverted to human form and descended from the sky.
"Such a huge sun, don't tell me it's all Pure Gold too?!"
York smiled calmly. "Not entirely. At least on the outside of the Pure Gold, there's a layer of fish meat wrapped around it."
Kaido smacked his lips, and the others couldn't help swallowing their saliva either.
"Such a huge piece. Even with a layer of fish meat wrapped around the outside, this size is a bit too ridiculously large!"
...
No more talk of subsequent laments.
After dealing with the Lanternfish, York and his crew quickly fled the scene to avoid encountering other Sea Kings attracted by the smell of blood, and docked at an uninhabited island under the cover of night.
Then, after some cutting and stripping to remove the fish meat from the surface of the golden sun, the extracted Pure Gold sphere still had a diameter of over 200 meters.
"So much Pure Gold..."
"It's a pity Stussy's Mirror World doesn't have such a large entrance."
"Should we go back to Sky Island first?! Or have Kaido make a special trip to escort it?"
York shook his head slightly.
"No need! We aren't far from the Vodka Kingdom now. You don't think we can't even conquer a mere Vodka Kingdom, do you?"
Hearing this, everyone burst into laughter.
Clearly, they had been a bit overly cautious just now.
Of course, the best place to keep the Pure Gold was still Stussy's Mirror World, but there wasn't a suitable entrance to put it in right now.
Thus, to avoid attracting too much attention, York had Kaido release a large amount of Flame Clouds to wrap up the entire Pure Gold sphere.
Wrapped in Flame Clouds, the light of the Pure Gold was completely concealed.
However, this was somewhat like hiding one's ears while stealing a bell.
A pirate ship sailing at sea with a big fireball on top for no reason—anyone would know there was definitely something wrong.
Fortunately, York's crew was strong enough, and none of the pirates they encountered were their match.
Several days later.
The Red Flag finally arrived in the waters near the Vodka Kingdom.
York wasted no words, waving his hand and pointing forward.
"Lads!!"
"My order to you is—"
"Kill all the nobles on that island ahead!!"
"Aside from the nobles! Kill only those who resist!!"
"This is an absolute order!!"
"If anyone dares to disobey! I will finish you off with my own hands!!"
Hearing this, the Red Flag pirates responded loudly in unison.
"Oooooh!!"
After the trials of war during this period, their obedience to York's orders was already very high.
Next was to use a real national-level battlefield for further careful selection.
Eliminate those who don't obey orders; only those who remain are the elite.
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