Starting with helping Zhao Kai ascend the throne in the snow

"So Barrett, you should understand what I mean now, right? Even if you can reach the combat power of Rocks in the future, what can you do? Or rather, what is your dream for the future?" Festa once again posed a soul-searching question to Barrett.

"I...I don't know..." Barrett replied blankly. Festa's words had completely shattered his long-held ambitions and left him utterly without a purpose in life.

From the beginning, his greatest goal has always been to surpass Roger, and even when he was imprisoned in the underwater prison, this belief continued to support him.

But at this moment, he learned from Festa that even if he became a stronger person than Roger, he would still be the same. This made him feel lost and confused. At this moment, his long-held belief collapsed.

“Barrett, if you want to make a name for yourself on the high seas, you can’t do it alone. You need to gain enough partners and support. Even someone as powerful as Rocks or Roger recruited a large number of like-minded subordinates,” Festa continued.

"Then tell me, what should I do?" Barrett's eyes gradually brightened.

“You only have two paths to take now. One is to recruit soldiers and buy ships to expand and build your own power, but that will require a lot of money. The other is to find a powerful force to join and thus realize your ambitions with the help of external forces.” After rambling on for a while, Festa finally revealed his true intention, which was that he wanted to bring Barrett into Shen Qing’s group.

As a newcomer to the faction, Festa is not known for his martial prowess, so the best way for him to establish himself is to find a strong ally so that he can quickly gain a foothold among Shen Qing and others and gain some influence.

Barrett, who is physically strong but simple-minded, is undoubtedly his best helper. As long as he can bring Barrett, a strongman, into Shen Qing's group, his status will rise accordingly.

“Alright, then I’ll recruit soldiers and buy ships to build my own pirate crew.” Barrett instinctively rejected the second option and chose to go it alone without hesitation.

"Huff..." Festa was so angry that his teeth ached from seeing that Barrett's choice was completely contrary to his plan, but he still suppressed his anger and said, "Barrett, do you have any money?"

“With so many merchant ships on the high seas, it’s easy for me to make money. I just need to rob a few.” Barrett said without hesitation.

"Alright, alright, even if you can get enough money, where do you plan to get ships from? Where do you plan to recruit people? Where do you plan to set up your base? And what about the daily expenses of the pirate crew, strategic materials and weapons? How do you plan to handle all of these?" Festa's series of questions dragged Barrett's newly formed fantasy back to the cold reality.

Barrett was already having a headache just hearing about Festa's problems, let alone figuring out how to solve them.

"Stop, Festa, then what do you think I should do?" Barrett rubbed his head, not wanting to worry about it.

When Festa heard Barrett say that, a barely perceptible smile appeared on his lips. Then, pretending to rack his brains, he said, "How about this? I just agreed to join Hawkeye's group. Let me check out their situation first. If it's a good fit, I'll bring you in. If it's not, we'll leave together."

"You mean Hawkeye and the others?" Barrett frowned, clearly resistant. He had a falling out with Hawkeye and the others before, so naturally he didn't want to join them.

"Barrett, how did you see Hawkeye and the others?" Festa, having gone to great lengths to steer the conversation toward Shen Qing and the others, was not about to give up.

“A bunch of scoundrels,” Barrett said with a grim expression.

“Barrett, respecting your opponent is respecting yourself. If you underestimate your opponent, you are likely to fail due to carelessness,” Festa said with a serious expression.

“Hawkeye is very strong, especially his black sword, which is extremely sharp and counters my Fusion Fruit. As for Crocodile and Doflamingo, they can only be considered average strongmen. They can only hold their own against me for a while because of their Devil Fruit abilities. As for Admiral Kuzan, he is very strong, but my Fusion Fruit happens to counter him. If it really comes down to a fight to the death, he is no match for me.” Barrett said seriously under Festa’s solemn gaze.

“That’s not actually what I wanted to ask. Never mind, you wouldn’t understand even if I told you.” Festa shook his head helplessly after hearing Barrett’s analysis. What he really wanted to ask was why Hawkeye and the others, as well as Shen Qing and the others, were acting so mysteriously, as if they were hiding some secret.

"Barrett, here's what we'll do. Write this down and wait for my message to act. After I uncover the secrets of Shen Qing's group, you can decide whether you're willing to join us." Festa successfully persuaded Barrett to become his ally through his persuasive tactics.

-----

Gild Tesoro, as the owner of the entertainment city, had his island recognized by the World Government and become an independent nation under the unified server thanks to the power of money.

"Achoo..." That morning, Tesoro was sitting upright in his golden chair when he suddenly felt a wave of discomfort and sneezed involuntarily.

Just then, a cat-like creature emerged from the ground. It was Mr. Tanaka, Tesoro's confidant who had eaten the Transcendent Fruit and was also the highest-ranking officer of the amusement park's security department.

"Lord Tesoro, what's wrong?" Mr. Tanaka asked respectfully as he appeared.

"I'm fine. By the way, has anything major happened at sea lately?" Tesoro rubbed his nose and asked in a somewhat lazy tone.

After Stella's death, Tesoro became rich and powerful, but he no longer had much ambition and lived a very lazy life.

"Reporting to you, sir, there's been a rumor circulating recently that Glassbarrett wants to kidnap a Celestial Dragon and then challenge a Marine Admiral to a fight," Mr. Tanaka replied.

“Douglas Barrett? That heir known as the devil, interesting. He actually dared to provoke the Celestial Dragons. He's got some nerve.” Tesoro became quite interested in Barrett after hearing Tanaka's words.

He actually hated the Celestial Dragons just as much. It was because of their appearance that he lost Stella and became a slave.