The Crew's Awful Relationships (4,000 Words)

In a certain sea of the New World, the Rocks Pirates had now completely shaken off the Navy's pursuit and escaped danger.

"Gyahahaha·······"

When Golden Lion saw Whitebeard bring Patri Vic aboard, he burst into loud laughter.

"Vic, we meet again!!!"

Hearing this, Patri Vic looked over Golden Lion in front of him and nodded, a trace of a smile on his face. "That's right, Mr. Shiki. We meet again."

"Are you joining us now?"

When they had been at the tavern, Patri Vic had refused to join the Rocks Pirates. Now that he had suddenly appeared, Golden Lion wondered if he had changed his mind.

"That···· on whether Captain Rocks agrees. If he doesn't, I'll leave the next time we reach an island." Patri Vic smiled faintly.

He did not particularly care whether he could board the ship. Being accepted was fine, and not being accepted would be even better.

After Patri Vic finished speaking, Rocks, who was standing at the bow, spoke.

"You're the Patri Vic Edward mentioned, right?"

"Mm-hmm."

"You can join as a trainee crew member." Rocks spoke indifferently.

"A trainee crew member?"

Patri Vic was slightly stunned. He had not expected Rocks to agree so readily.

"Congratulations, Vic. Now that you've joined the Rocks Pirates, how about becoming my disciple? I can teach you how to train your Haki." Golden Lion smiled as he asked.

Golden Lion rather admired him. After not seeing Patri Vic for two months, he had discovered that Patri Vic's aura had grown even stronger.

Golden Lion knew that Patri Vic had considerable potential.

"I'll handle teaching him Haki."

Whitebeard placed a hand on Patri Vic's shoulder and swept his gaze around.

His meaning was perfectly clear: Patri Vic was under his protection.

"What's wrong, Edward? Are you afraid I'll harm him?" Golden Lion casually shrugged in response.

He did admire Patri Vic somewhat and even wanted to personally teach him, but Golden Lion also knew that Patri Vic was Whitebeard's man.

He could only set aside his plan to win Patri Vic over.

"Vic, from now on, I'll teach you Haki." Whitebeard patted Patri Vic's shoulder as he spoke.

In the dangerous Rocks Pirates, the best way to protect him was not to guard him personally, but to make him stronger.

"I look forward to your performance aboard the ship, Patri Vic." Rocks glanced at the two of them before leaving.

The fact that Whitebeard protected Patri Vic so fiercely made Rocks somewhat curious about Patri Vic's future performance.

"I'll do my best not to disappoint you, Captain." Patri Vic smiled faintly.

Since he was now with the Rocks Pirates and was one of their crew members, he naturally had to show Rocks some respect.

Patri Vic did not attract much attention aboard the Rocks Pirates, apart from those who had ties to Whitebeard.

Over the next few days, the Rocks Pirates encountered quite a few pirate crews at sea.

But without exception, not a single pirate crew could stand against the Rocks Pirates.

That was because none of the Rocks Pirates' officers were ordinary figures.

During these days, Whitebeard earnestly taught Patri Vic the power of Observation Haki like a master teaching his disciple.

Since he had already learned the basics of Armament Haki, Observation Haki was now of vital importance to him.

Whitebeard did not merely train Patri Vic's Observation Haki. Every day, he also sparred with him.

Patri Vic needed to keep fighting in order to improve his Nintaijutsu and advance his Fire Release.

Only then could he raise the completion rate of Hashirama Senju's character template.

Fire Release and Nintaijutsu both increased Hashirama Senju's character-template completion by 0.1% every time they rose by 1%.

During these days of sparring, everyone aboard the Rocks Pirates assumed that Patri Vic was a Devil Fruit User.

No one knew exactly which Devil Fruit it was.

That was because Patri Vic could not only cover himself in purple steam and release tremendous pressure, but also unleash the power of flames.

These two powers were completely different.

Several more days passed, and the Rocks Pirates encountered a Navy warship at sea.

"It's the Rocks Pirates! Prepare for battle!" the Navy Vice Admiral standing at the bow shouted anxiously.

Because there was no Admiral leading their ship, he was extremely flustered when they encountered the Rocks Pirates.

"Gyahaha... Just a bunch of small fry?" Golden Lion held two Famous Swords and floated in midair, laughing savagely.

There was no doubt that the Rocks Pirates won this battle.

However, Rocks did not kill all the Navy soldiers. Instead, he had them send a message to the Navy and the World Government.

"I, Rocks, will become the overlord of the world. Sooner or later, I'll pull the World Government down from its altar."

Those were Rocks's exact words—arrogant and utterly contemptuous.

The Rocks Pirates had openly challenged the World Government.

Such behavior naturally drew the attention of the Navy and the World Government's higher-ups.

Holy Land Mary Geoise.

A group of leaders from the World Government and the Navy were discussing important matters with grim expressions.

"That accursed Rocks actually dares to openly challenge our World Government." The World Government's leader rested his chin on both hands and spoke coldly, his expression gloomy.

No one had expected Rocks to be so bold. Only two months after founding the Rocks Pirates, he already dared to openly challenge the World Government.

"It's a pity we didn't eliminate them on Hachinosu Island. Finding an opportunity to deal with them in the vast sea will undoubtedly be difficult." The Fleet Admiral crossed his arms over his chest and spoke with a hint of helplessness.

Not to mention whether they could find the pirates' whereabouts, the Rocks Pirates also had Golden Lion aboard, that troublesome man who could make the ship float.

It was impossible to wipe out the entire Rocks Pirates in a short time. They needed to plan carefully.

"We can't allow their forces to continue growing. I have a feeling that they may very well develop into a pirate crew that poses a tremendous threat to us." Navy Admiral Krieg spoke in a deep voice, his expression solemn.

He had participated in the battle to encircle and suppress the Rocks Pirates on Hachinosu Island. Rocks's strength was enough to contend with him.

Moreover, every officer aboard Rocks's ship possessed extraordinary strength.

They were still very young, after all. If they were allowed to mature, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Increase their bounties and have the Navy pay closer attention to the Rocks Pirates in the New World. If an opportunity arises, eliminate them at all costs."

The battle report from the encirclement of the Rocks Pirates a few days earlier, along with Rocks's current provocation, had caused the World Government and the Navy to take this pirate crew, which had only existed for two months, completely seriously.

····

Several days after the Rocks Pirates clashed with the Navy, new bounty posters were issued.

Rocks Jibeck's bounty: 1.5 billion Berries! (Don't nitpick about the D. The World Government hid it.)

Edward Newgate's bounty: 800 million Berries!

Shiki's bounty: 800 million Berries!

Charlotte Linlin's bounty: 700 million Berries!

Because Rocks had openly provoked the World Government, the bounties of all the officers aboard his ship had increased considerably.

Although Patri Vic had participated in the battle against the Navy, he was not given a bounty.

For Patri Vic, however, this was a good thing. After all, he did not want to attract the attention of the Navy.

Because the bounties of many Rocks Pirates crew members had increased, the Rocks Pirates held a party on an island that night.

Whitebeard dragged Patri Vic along to this gathering as well.

Although Patri Vic disdained sitting with these bloodthirsty pirates, the food and wine at the party were top-notch, so he naturally had no reason to miss it.

Patri Vic sat with a group of trainee crew members and ate voraciously. After all, such delicacies were rare.

Many of the Rocks Pirates' officers gathered together, drinking fine wine and eating roast meat.

Rocks looked at the people beside him and spoke unhurriedly. "In a few days, we're going to attack an Affiliated Nation called Amendos. That country is practically overflowing with wealth."

Rocks had declared several days earlier that he was going to oppose the World Government, so he naturally dared to plan an attack on one of its member states.

To Rocks, being a pirate meant doing whatever he wanted and acting on his desires.

"We're attacking a World Government Member State? We've truly gone to war with the World Government now." Ochoku said as he ate roast meat.

"The World Government is nothing more than that. Are you afraid?" Golden Lion mocked him with a cigar clenched between his teeth.

As officers of the Rocks Pirates, they were all extremely proud and looked down on one another to some degree.

Now that he had a chance to kick someone while they were down, Golden Lion naturally would not let it pass.

"Do you want to fight, Shiki?" Ochoku demanded, his expression hostile.

As another officer of the Rocks Pirates, Ochoku naturally refused to back down when faced with Golden Lion's mockery. He even wanted to fight him.

"Gyahaha... Let me carve a mark into your face, Ochoku." Golden Lion laughed savagely and drew the two Famous Swords at his waist.

"Are they going to fight?"

"I bet ten million Berries on Golden Lion winning. Who else dares to join?" one of the officers asked with a loud laugh as he scanned the people around him.

Betting was their favorite pastime. It made money quickly, but it also led to bankruptcy just as quickly.

"I'll bet one hundred Berries on Ochoku winning, and ten million Berries on Shiki winning."

Although the two were both officers of the Rocks Pirates, there was no doubt that they valued Golden Lion's strength more.

"Damn it, are you looking down on Ochoku? He's an officer as famous as the rest of us! I'll bet five million Berries on Shiki winning!"

"Listen to yourselves. Ochoku's strength isn't inferior to Shiki's, but I'm still betting twenty million Berries on Shiki."

The officers of the Rocks Pirates all bet on Golden Lion's victory. The chips on Golden Lion's side had already reached hundreds of millions.

But Ochoku's side had only one hundred.

"Damn it, you bastards! Are you looking down on me?" Ochoku rose to his feet and shouted angrily.

"It's not that we look down on you. We just think you can't even beat Patri Vic, the trainee crew member who only recently boarded the ship." One of the officers suddenly revealed a cold smile and taunted him.

"What do you mean by that?"

Whitebeard swept a cold gaze over the officer who had spoken.

How had the fight between Golden Lion and Ochoku suddenly dragged Patri Vic into it?

"That kid who has some history with you is definitely no weakling. I reckon even Ochoku isn't his match." Another officer of the Rocks Pirates sneered.

"Are you deliberately looking for trouble?" Whitebeard's expression darkened as he replied coldly.

The person speaking with him was an officer aboard the ship who held a grudge against him.

Their purpose was simple: to kill with a borrowed knife. Although they were dissatisfied with Whitebeard, they did not dare to act rashly.

After all, they were both officers. Not to mention whether they could defeat him, Rocks did not allow them to fight one another.

Since they had nowhere to vent their grudge, they would place their resentment on Patri Vic instead.

However, they would not act personally. They would merely egg Ochoku into attacking.

If a trainee crew member died, Rocks probably would not say much about it.

"That brat is only a trainee crew member. I'll kill him right now." Blinded by anger, Ochoku had no idea what the people around him were really thinking.

"Are you looking to die, Ochoku?" Whitebeard stood up with Murakumogiri in hand and demanded coldly.

"We'll hold Edward back for you. Go challenge that trainee crew member, but be careful not to get yourself killed." Two officers who held grudges against Whitebeard rose to their feet and sneered.

"Do you intend to cause trouble right in front of me?" Rocks, who had remained silent all this time, swept his gaze over everyone, his eyes shining with a cold light.

The officers who had been plotting, along with Ochoku, felt that terrifying gaze and obediently sat back down.

Of course, Patri Vic was currently eating and drinking to his heart's content. He knew nothing about suddenly being made the scapegoat.

Although Ochoku had obediently sat down, he had already developed an inexplicable hatred for Patri Vic.

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