Three months had already passed. The remnants of the former World Government had been completely wiped out, and the once lofty Celestial Dragons had become the rats everyone wanted to beat in the street. Still, holding fast to principles of humanity, their crimes were publicly tried and judged. As for those Celestial Dragons with no real crimes—like some innocent children—they were spared. After all, not every last one of them deserved to die.
In their place, a new United Government was formed by all the nations, abolishing hereditary monarchy altogether. Kings were now elected by the people of each nation, with the United Government overseeing the fairness and transparency of these elections. The Navy was made independent of the United Government, tasked with supervising both the government and the individual countries. At the same time, the United Government and all nations were also granted the authority to oversee the Navy in return.
This created a unique three-pronged system—United Government, National Governments, and Navy—each checking and balancing the others. Pirates who had helped overthrow the World Government had their former crimes erased. However, from that day forward, any acts of violence or crime would result in complete naval pursuit.
And what about that coveted title of "Pirate King"? It was rebranded as "Adventurer King."
The newly formed United Government not only didn't stop people from sailing out to seek treasure, they encouraged it. But now, it wasn't pirate crews that roamed the seas, but adventure parties. Every major location offered supply hubs and support systems. An Adventurer Association was even formed to assess party achievements and rate the strength of their crews. Figures like Whitebeard, Roger, and Shiki, thanks to their overwhelming power and vast networks, became the only three adventure parties with ratings surpassing one billion points. The Red Count, despite his individual strength rivaling any of the others, was only ranked 65th—because he was a party of one.
Any adventure party that reached the final destination would be awarded the official title of Adventurer King, a cash prize of 10 billion, and a mysterious treasure buried at the end of the journey.
On that note—since Roger had already reached the final destination once—he got to be the first Adventurer King and claimed the 10 billion prize. Basically, he got rich for free.
And so, the Great Pirate Era never began—instead, the Great Adventure Era was officially launched. Countless people took to the seas, chasing Roger's legacy and the hidden treasures left behind.
Meanwhile, in the world of the slimes...
"Ahhh~ now this is the life," Rimuru sighed contentedly, lying atop Ranga while enjoying an ice cream. "All that fighting and killing? Totally not for me."
Ranga's tail swished back and forth like an electric fan, sending cool breezes over them. He lapped away at a giant cup of shaved ice, frosty mist escaping from his mouth as he did.
"…But seriously though," Rimuru muttered, glancing sideways at the row of freeloaders nearby—Roger, Whitebeard, Garp, Sengoku, even Kong—all of them lounging in chairs, snacking and sipping on cold drinks like it was some kind of tropical vacation.
"This is my house, you know? Did any of you ask before coming here?" Rimuru groaned, massaging his temples.
"Gurararara!" Whitebeard laughed heartily after taking a swig of his chilled drink. "Don't be so stingy! We're all guildmates now, aren't we? As the guildmaster, isn't it your job to organize get-togethers like this?"
"…Heh," Rimuru gave a cold little chuckle. "Sorry to disappoint, but I must be the most incompetent guildmaster alive. You moochers are eating my food, sleeping in my house, and spending my allowance. And you have the nerve to say that with a straight face?"
"Ahem ahem ahem." Whitebeard blushed and quickly downed more of the cold drink—which, of course, was bought with Rimuru's allowance money.
"Don't take it so seriously!" Garp laughed boisterously. "Next time we'll just invite Kuzan and Sakazuki over too. They can make us ice cream and barbecue!"
Rimuru (=_=!) could only stare at him, speechless. Truly, when it came to outlandish ideas, Garp was in a league of his own. Even Rimuru, the Great Demon Lord, had to admit defeat in imagination.
Far away, back in the pirate world, both Kuzan and Sakazuki sneezed simultaneously. "Weird," they thought. "Am I catching a cold? …Why does it suddenly feel so cold down my spine?"
Sengoku, sitting beside Garp, looked like he wanted to slap the old man into another dimension. This was what the Navy had to show the world?
"But hey, old man Whitebeard," Rimuru asked with interest, "what ever happened to Blackbeard?"
"Got kicked out of my crew," Whitebeard replied, his expression dimming with sadness before he shook it off and straightened up. "That kind of guy isn't fit to be called my son. He can't bear my name."
Garp patted Whitebeard's leg. "Alright now. Ace is still doing fine, isn't he? I didn't even do anything to Sakazuki—just beat him up a few dozen times. So cheer up!"
Everyone present: (=_=!!)
"A few dozen times"?! That's your idea of restraint?! Garp, you're a menace.
"Forget it!" Whitebeard said with a carefree laugh. "It's all in the past now. I've moved on."
"That's the spirit!" Garp grinned like a fool and pulled out a weird bottle of liquor. The drink inside was multicolored—shimmering like a rainbow. Garp uncorked it and started guzzling straight from the bottle. "No use worrying about the past! Let's just enjoy this peaceful life!"
"…Wait." Rimuru narrowed his eyes. "That bottle… Where did you get it?"
"Oh, I found it under your bed," Garp said with zero shame. "Didn't think you'd be hiding such good stuff. But you're still a kid, right? Leave the drinking to us grown-ups!"
"You absolute bastard!" Rimuru's face turned red with fury. "You can't just—! And that's not even wine!" He paused as his face took on a very strange expression.
"…It's not?" Garp blinked, confused.
"No. That's a bottle of slime juice I made when I was bored, squeezing the extract from all sorts of differently colored slimes. Took me forever to fill just that one bottle. And you drank it. How does it taste?"
Rimuru's voice was low and even, but a chill ran down everyone's spine.
Garp's face instantly turned purple. "Slime… juice…? You…"
Before he could finish, a horrific flavor surged through his brain like a nuclear explosion. He didn't even have time to react—his body went stiff, foam gushed from his mouth, and he collapsed flat on the ground.
That bottle… contained the juice of acid slimes, poison slimes, golden slimes, and dozens more—representing almost the entire known slime species.
Frankly, it was a miracle anyone could drink that and survive.
But then again… Garp wasn't just anyone.
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