"Once this is done, I'll give you five hundred million Berries, Vic," Rocks said calmly.
Whitebeard and Patri Vic would receive a total of 1.5 billion Berries. That was no small sum. Rocks was being extremely generous this time.
He had sent the two of them to kill Byrnndi World as a show of force.
He was the captain of the Rocks Pirates. A captain's dignity would not tolerate anyone challenging him.
Money didn't matter much to him. What he wanted was the highest authority in the world—to become its overlord.
1.5 billion Berries was nothing compared to his wealth.
If paying 1.5 billion Berries could make Patri Vic and Whitebeard more loyal, then it was worth it.
"Captain Rocks, let me go. I only want six hundred million Berries. I'll bring back Byrnndi World's corpse," Charlotte Linlin chimed in.
After all, if the Rocks Pirates disbanded in the future, Berries would be crucial.
Only with enough Berries could they develop their own pirate crews on a large scale.
They had joined the Rocks Pirates for different reasons, but in the end, their goal was still to make money.
She would never pass up an opportunity to make a fortune.
"I've already made my decision. You don't need to say anything else." Rocks calmly surveyed them all and spoke in an even tone.
"Let's go, Vic."
Whitebeard smiled and patted Patri Vic on the shoulder.
Rocks assigned them a support ship and a navigator.
The many officers aboard watched Patri Vic and Whitebeard leave with envy and jealousy.
In their eyes, that 1.5 billion Berries was already as good as theirs.
Patri Vic and the others first went to the coating station in the New World. Then they sailed down to Fish-Man Island, ten thousand meters beneath the sea.
"Fish-Men living ten thousand meters underwater are worth a lot," the navigator said, greedily licking his lips as he gazed at Fish-Man Island.
"Our target isn't the Fish-Men." Whitebeard shot him a cold look.
"Right, right." The navigator gave an awkward laugh and steered the ship upward.
Soon, they had left Fish-Man Island and arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago.
Just as it had been described in the original story, the place was vast and bustling.
"Let's look into Byrnndi World's whereabouts first," Patri Vic suggested.
They only knew that Byrnndi World had come to the first half of the Grand Line. They had no idea where he had gone after that.
"Good timing. I'm a little hungry, too."
Whitebeard agreed, then turned to the navigator behind him. "Keep an eye on our ship."
"Yes, yes." The navigator was hungry, too, but he didn't dare disobey the officer Whitebeard.
The Sabaody Archipelago covered an enormous area.
They arrived at Area 4, which was mainly a sightseeing district with specialty shops and the like.
There were also plenty of taverns.
They headed to one of the more luxurious taverns on the Sabaody Archipelago.
They didn't care about the cost, since they hadn't brought any money.
The tavern was doing good business, with plenty of customers. Inside, Patri Vic thought he recognized someone's familiar silhouette.
He walked over and sat beside the pirate. A closer look made his pupils contract sharply.
Well, would you look at that—it was Roger!
He wore a straw hat and a red coat, and sported two curled mustaches.
"Hahaha..."
Roger had been talking with his crewmates when he turned and noticed Patri Vic sitting beside him.
Roger paused, then seemed to realize something. Somewhat surprised, he asked, "Patri Vic of the Rocks Pirates?"
As an officer of the Rocks Pirates, Patri Vic's bounty had risen to five hundred million Berries over the past year.
Roger was a famous pirate in the first half of the Grand Line, so he naturally knew quite a bit about the Rocks Pirates in the New World.
He had carefully studied the wanted posters of every officer in the Rocks Pirates.
There was no way he could mistake him.
The man sitting beside him was indeed Patri Vic, an officer of the Rocks Pirates.
"R-Rocks?" The people in the tavern grew alarmed at the name.
Though Rocks was a pirate in the New World, his name carried tremendous weight.
Even pirates in the first half of the Grand Line knew it.
After all, he had openly defied the World Government, attacked its Affiliated Nations, and even killed a Navy Admiral despite the Marines' siege.
Everything pointed to Rocks being terrifyingly powerful.
And if Rocks was that formidable, the pirates who sailed under him were certainly no ordinary crew.
"Is he an officer of the Rocks Pirates?"
Rayleigh and Gaban, seated beside Roger, instantly drew their weapons and stood. Their expressions were grave as they watched Patri Vic, ready to fight at any moment.
"Put your weapons away. You're nowhere near his level," Roger warned them.
He didn't want their actions to provoke Patri Vic.
In his mind, the officers of the Rocks Pirates were all powerful pirates who were lawless and utterly vicious.
Rayleigh and Gaban were indeed strong, but they were probably still far below the officers of the Rocks Pirates.
"Do you know them, Vic?" Whitebeard came over to Patri Vic and asked, casting a cool glance at Roger.
Whitebeard paid little attention to news from the first half of the Grand Line, so he didn't recognize Roger.
Patri Vic knew Roger because he was the Pirate King in the original story.
"I don't," Patri Vic replied with a slight shake of his head.
This was the first time he had met Roger in this world. Wouldn't it be strange if he claimed to know him?
"Edward, an officer of the Rocks Pirates!" Gaban exclaimed, staring at the towering man beside them.
Whitebeard's bounty had now reached 1.5 billion Berries, nearly three times Patri Vic's.
When the tavern's patrons learned that two officers of the Rocks Pirates had arrived, they all fled. The tavern owner didn't dare stay, either.
In a short while, only the Roger Pirates, Whitebeard, and Patri Vic remained in the tavern.
"What do the Rocks Pirates want with me?" Roger asked with an unhurried smile.
"We're not here to fight. We just want to ask you something." Patri Vic rested his face on one hand and spoke calmly.
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