Amid everyone's astonished gazes, Kuzan rose to his feet and bowed politely to those around him. "From this day onward, I'll be like-minded partners with all of you. Please take care of me."
Who among them dared put on airs? They all stood and returned his salute.
A powerhouse like Kuzan was, at this conference table—no, even within the entire Alliance—the strongest person beneath Alliance Leader Uchiha Hiko. Who would dare act high and mighty before him?
Luo, Urouge, Drake, and the others even showed faint traces of wary rejection. After all, after consecutively defeating fleets from the BIGMOM Pirates and the Blackbeard Pirates, Hiko had single-handedly established the Uchiha Hiko Grand Alliance. Even the later-arriving Germa 66 Corps had been promised future control over North Blue's supremacy. Wouldn't veterans like them have an even more boundless future ahead?
With military achievements already in hand, and with the chance to follow Uchiha Hiko into battle across the seas in the future, they would surely win both fame and fortune within the Alliance. Their prospects were infinitely more glorious than when they had been Pirates.
Thus, Luo, Urouge, and Drake had all grown somewhat complacent and self-assured during this period.
But Kuzan's arrival today made them feel an immense sense of crisis.
If a powerhouse like him joined, he would absolutely be qualified to become Hiko's right-hand man. When the Alliance expanded and developed, his contributions would likely surpass theirs with ease.
In that instant, the complacency they had felt for days was completely extinguished. Their somewhat frivolous and arrogant hearts gradually settled, becoming calm, steady, and restrained.
The corner of Hiko's lips lifted almost imperceptibly before he said, "Come on, sit down, all of you. There'll be plenty of chances for you to get acquainted later. I still have news