When Ezekiel disembarked from the ship, Fujitora and Zephyr knelt down, and then thousands of soldiers followed suit, all kneeling together.
Unlike the white uniform of the Marine Patrol, the Alabasta Fleet's uniform was black. Given the Patrol's reputation, the contrast between black and white should stand out.
Rayleigh couldn't help but feel awe at the authority Ezekiel commanded on this land. And these people, who had just joined the Royal Fleet, were treated with the same respect as him. With honor.
"Violation of protocol!" Zephyr said through gritted teeth, and Fujitora felt ashamed as well.
Some had not knelt to greet the King, and they now felt awkward.
Fujitora was aware of Ezekiel's departure from Alabasta. After all, Fujitora was Ezekiel's guard. However, Nami did not know. Only now did she learn that the King had been preparing for the upcoming war and had even gone with some purpose to Fish-Man Island, 10,000 meters deep in the sea. Although she still couldn't grasp Ezekiel's true intentions, anyone could understand that it had to be linked to the forthcoming war.
Nami angrily walked out with her hands on her hips and looked at Ezekiel, her eyes slightly moist, unable to tell if she was happy or angry:
"Foolish King, please don't run off again without warning!"
Ezekiel's face softened, and he only said one word:
"Okay."
But in his soul, he had a goal. He could not be defeated. Not just for himself, but for the people who are ready to follow him, risking their lives, the people who believe in him, he must not betray their trust!
The constant sacrifices caused by the cowardice and incompetence of the former King, which almost led to the country's demise and the collapse of faith, were simply terrible and unimaginable.
Now they move forward together because of a shared belief, and they must follow this belief from start to end.
Zephyr recognized Rayleigh—they were old acquaintances, and now the two were no longer at odds.
Since Rayleigh is wanted by the Marine Patrol of the World Government, what does that have to do with the Royal Fleet?
In Ezekiel's standards, not everyone who claims to be a pirate should be declared wanted. A crime pertaining to public disorder must be committed. Only those who have committed evil acts, violating the law, can be deemed as wanted criminals. According to this standard, like the later Luffy and his ilk, are they truly pirates?
More accurately, they are Pirate Hunters!
With decency and lawfulness, they never trouble people, love performing good deeds, and fight the Shichibukai and the Four Emperors. Are you calling them pirates?!
They are marine operatives under the guise of pirates! Admirals of the Marine Patrol aren't as effective as they are in tackling pirates.
This concept has also, to some extent, spread across forums and newspaper headlines. According to this definition, in fact, many pirates are not pirates at all.
Thus, there are currently two lists of wanted individuals on the ocean, but the Royal Fleet's list is electronic, and updates are only reported in news phone headlines.
At this moment, nearly all of Alabasta's combat power is concentrated in Erume, and the eyes of the world are focused here as well. After all, countless reporters risk their lives to rush here within three days. Moreover, there is no longer a concern about the Eternal Pose of Alabasta, making people's movement significantly easier.
In the middle of the distant sea, an airship halted in mid-air.
"You idiot! I need to get to Erume in three days! If you don't get me there, Alabasta won't have a press director!" a man resembling an albatross, dressed in an elegant suit, angrily yelled at Smoker.
He was Big News Morgans.
Initially, he wasn't very interested in Smoker's proposal, but after a call from Ezekiel , and after listening to Ezekiel's incredible ideas on journalism, Morgans was tempted.
In particular, Ezekiel promised to open all rights to the mobile news app for him, not just for showing prerecorded pieces, but for live news broadcasts in real time, which can be seen by 50 million mobile phone users.
For Morgans, wealth and power aren't the most important things. The most important thing is the pursuit of news coverage. He craves big news and burns with the desire to announce to the world all the major events that have occurred in this world. Thus, he lives up to his name "Big News."
"His Majesty already spoke to me on the phone. He said it's too dangerous to travel by airship in bad weather at sea, so let's reach the destination by other methods," Smoker calmly took a drag on his cigar and exhaled smoke.
"Wait again? I've already been waiting for almost three hours!" Morgans was furious, as three hours were enough for their airship to cover hundreds of kilometers!
What method could be faster than the speed of an airship?!
But, of course, there is one.
As soon as Morgans uttered these words, a deep howl suddenly echoed from the depths of the sea, resembling a call from another distant world, heralding its unknown mysteries, and the sea began to bubble as if boiling…
Smoker's cigar fell to the deck, and he peered under the airship.
"What is that?"
Morgans was also shocked but continued filming with the camera in his hand.
As the sea current gradually surged, an incredible monster finally emerged from the depths. It resembled a whale but had terrifying teeth, dark eyes, and countless tentacles. Just one look at it gave people chills and made the hair on their heads stand on end.
What on earth is this?
A Sea King?!!
Do such enormous Sea Kings exist?
"It's the legendary ancient Sea King!" Morgans had deeper knowledge.
Du-du, Ezekiel called Smoker, and looking at the sea monster that resembled an evil god, he answered the call with trepidation.
"Smoker-san, I've sent a messenger; have you encountered it?"
"Your Majesty, let me confirm," Smoker's eyelids blinked wildly, and a bad premonition arose in his heart, "Are you talking about the Sea King?"
Under normal circumstances, people refer to huge sea creatures as Sea Beasts, larger ones as Sea Kings, and there's a more terrifying type usually called ancient Sea Kings.
"Roarrr!!!" A long, drawn-out roar, unlike anything from this world, pierced everything around.
"Oh! It seems you've already encountered it," Ezekiel's laughter came from the other end of the line.
At this moment, the shocked Morgans and Smoker saw the terrifying monster extend a massive tentacle, holding on to... a massive Alabasta flag!
At the same time, a steel cabin resembling a submarine rolled out from the countless tentacles of the gigantic creature.
"So this is... Alabasta's decisive way to challenge the World Government?!" Morgans was still shouting, so excited he couldn't contain himself, and continued taking photographs. "Descendant of the Twenty Kings! Descendant of the Nefertari family, Ezekiel Nefertari, what do you call yourself? God of the Seas? Manipulator of the Sea Kings? Master of Evil Gods?"
From personal intuition, he already knew this was the power of Ezekiel
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