The Yakuza Assassin Xiong, Future Silver Axe

As these executive crew members learned of their future titles one by one, Rocks waited for Houka to speak up and "flatter" him, the strongest pirate in the world.

However, Houka dropped the subject, happily clinking drinks with the newcomers, Shiki and Newgate.

He enlivened the atmosphere on the ship.

Sensing Houka's goodwill, Shiki set aside his wariness and arrogance, temporarily integrating into this new pirate crew.

As for his former subordinates, he had deliberately ignored them.

"Cough, Houka, have you forgotten about me!"

"Don't force me to take action!"

Rocks finally couldn't help but speak roughly, glaring at Houka with ill intent.

He knew this was definitely Houka deliberately "enticing" and "provoking" him, trying to put him in a foul mood.

"Oh, so you wanted to know too, Captain? I thought you were already satisfied with the title of the World's Worst Pirate."

"If you wanted to know, Captain, you should have just asked. If you don't say anything, how am I supposed to know you want to know..."

Houka spoke with an innocent expression, which made Rocks clench his fists in fury.

Rocks let out an angry laugh; this bastard really needed a beating.

"Your goal, Captain, is the entire world. You want to replace that old monster and become the new King of the World, so it would be no problem for you to call yourself the King of the World."

"Of course, in the future, you will be the recognized hegemon of the New World, so you are also called the New World Hegemon!"

Houka hurriedly floated onto Newgate's shoulder, watching Rocks—who looked ready to strike at any moment—with a wary expression.

"Wahahaha, King of the World! New World Hegemon!"

"Not bad, not bad! That is the only thing worthy of my strength!"

Rocks laughed wildly, the rage on his face instantly dissipating.

"Houka, you said if I wanted to know, I should just ask. Then hurry up and tell me the whereabouts of Pluton."

Rocks seemed to have thought of something else, staring at Houka with a smile.

"That won't do! The time isn't right yet!"

Houka's expression immediately turned serious, and he cast a meaningful glance at Shiki; this guy's ambition was not small.

Upon hearing the name Pluton, Shiki's eyes lit up instantly.

This prophet was even more important than he had imagined!

He had to get on Houka's good side. If he ever had the chance to leave the Rocks Pirates in the future, he would definitely have to snatch Houka away.

"Hmph, you say 'just ask if you want to know,' but I see you just want to use this information to trade for something better!"

"Which Devil Fruit or ability user are you eyeing now?"

Rocks seemed to see right through Houka, but as long as Houka was on the ship, he would eventually be able to obtain more intelligence on the Ancient Weapons.

"Hehe, the Captain understands me!"

Houka admitted it quite honestly; sooner or later, he would turn all of his Soul Fire into powerful Soul Gu.

"Shiki! Lead the way, we're going to find that Yakuza Assassin Xiong!"

Rocks temporarily set aside the thought of Pluton, focusing on quickly strengthening the Rocks Pirates.

"Gehahahaha, I'll lead the way for the Captain immediately!"

Golden Lion Shiki instantly turned into a sycophant, floating into the air, eager to guide the strongest pirate, Rocks, over to give Xiong a sound beating.

At the very least, he couldn't be lighter than himself!

"Shiki, imbue the Sword of Xebec with your Float-Float Fruit ability."

"Also, after that Yakuza Assassin Xiong joins the Rocks Pirates, he will be known as Silver Axe Xiong!"

Houka couldn't be bothered to use his Press-Press Fruit ability to maintain the weightlessness of the Sword of Xebec.

"No problem!"

Shiki's eyes brightened, and he felt a surge of confidence; it seemed his Float-Float Fruit ability still had a slight advantage over Houka's Press-Press Fruit ability.

As Shiki activated his ability to make the Sword of Xebec fly permanently, Houka used Horizontal Gravity to give the ship a boost, and the entire pirate vessel surged forward at high speed.

"Wahahahaha! This is a true flying ship!"

Rocks stood at the bow, very satisfied with the strength and abilities of his subordinates.

"So we can just keep flying in the sky?"

Babel and Sambel, the two fish-men, had not expected that they would become pirates of the sky.

Life at sea was truly exciting and incredible.

"Joining the Rocks Pirates is indeed much more satisfying than staying with the Whale Pirates!"

Newgate also gripped the railing, enjoying the thrill and sense of freedom brought by the rushing wind.

"I never expected the Gravity Ability could be combined with the Float-Float Fruit Ability!"

Watching the flying warship soar at high speed, Shiki was once again shocked by Houka's abilities.

This only made him desire to secure Houka as an ally even more!

He believed that he and Houka—a prophet and a gravity user—were the most compatible combination imaginable.

"Hey, don't look at me with such a fanatical gaze; I don't like men!"

"Also, be careful, or Rocks will beat you to death!"

Houka offered a reminder to Golden Lion Shiki, who could no longer hide his ambition.

"..."

Shiki immediately cast a cautious glance at Rocks, suppressing the ambition and desire in his heart.

As long as Rocks had not yet fallen, he had no chance of leaving the Rocks Pirates.

Yet, Rocks, who possessed powerful Observation Haki and even the Voice of All Things Observation Haki, had long since discovered Shiki's little schemes.

He was not the least bit worried that Shiki could lure Houka away.

After all, when Houka first provided the list, he had explicitly pointed out Shiki's unruly nature, as well as the potential betrayal of Ochoku and Captain John.

However, Rocks was unafraid; he had the confidence to keep these guys in check.

Of course, if Houka truly wanted to seize that Magnet-Magnet Fruit ability from Captain John, Rocks would not stop him from taking action.

As the flying warship, the Sword of Xebec, sped forward.

On an island in this sea area.

A burly man carrying a giant axe and wearing X-shaped sunglasses grabbed a pirate who was blocking his path by the head with one hand and flung him away violently.

"Shiki!!!"

"Damn that Float-Float Fruit Ability!"

Yakuza Assassin Xiong cursed as he watched the disappearing flying warship, the anger in his eyes growing heavier.

He had been hunting Shiki the Extreme for months, only to be led around like a fool the entire time.

He wanted nothing more than to hack Shiki into mincemeat!

This arrogant samurai had thoroughly enraged him!

Not long after, the island became rowdy once again.

"The flying warship is flying back!!"

Many pirates shouted as they looked at the sky through their telescopes.

"Shiki! I will definitely slaughter you this time!"

Xiong, who had just sat down to drink, rushed out of the tavern and looked up at the flying warship in the sky.

This time, he didn't hesitate to grip his giant axe and began to charge up his strength.

He was going to cleave Shiki's flying warship right out of the sky with a single blow!

Aboard the flying warship.

Rocks stood on the prow, looking down at the island below.

"Wahahahaha! My fifth subordinate! Here I come!"

A wild smile spread across Rocks' face as he prepared to land and test the strength of this new subordinate.

But unexpectedly, a heaven-cleaving axe aura, carrying a violent energy, erupted from the island first.

Seeing this axe-shaped slash, Shiki on the ship revealed a wicked grin.

He knew his nemesis, Xiong, wouldn't be able to resist attacking!

He would let Xiong, his mortal enemy, witness the monstrous power of Rocks, the most evil pirate in the world!

"Wahahaha, not a bad slash!"

In an instant, Rocks drew his long sword with one hand and, amidst his laughter, slashed down with an exaggerated, cannon-like sword aura...