"Wororororo! If you've earned his approval, this guy must have quite a reputation in the future."
When Houka said they could give him a try, but didn't mention that Bolo Gram was an officer in the Rocks Pirates,
Rocks knew the man must have made quite a name for himself to appear in the future Houka had foreseen.
"This guy and Newgate have some history in the future."
Houka shrugged. Bolo Gram was one of the great pirates who took part in the God Valley War.
He'd even fought Silver Axe and Ganzi, battling them for treasure and Devil Fruits.
Maybe Marco's Mythical Zoan Phoenix Fruit had been one of his spoils.
Marco was already seven years old when the God Valley War took place.
Bolo Gram claimed to be Whitebeard's fan and had even tried to recruit Whitebeard Newgate.
Houka just didn't know when Bolo Gram would die in battle and entrust his son, Marco, to Whitebeard Newgate.
In the world of pirates, entrusting your children to a friend was hardly unusual.
Hanafusa, a Shichibukai in the original timeline, had also entrusted his children, Ulti and Page One, to Kaido of the Beasts.
The Pirate King Roger had entrusted his own child to his rival and friend, Iron Fist Garp.
"Is he my friend in the future?"
Newgate smiled and picked up Bolo Gram's wanted poster, committing the pineapple-headed man's face to memory.
"Hey, Rocks! You're the captain. How can you believe everything Houka says?"
Silver Axe Xiong saw that Houka had become the center of attention for the entire crew, and immediately grew displeased.
Rocks's tremendous strength had won Xiong over completely.
But he wasn't convinced by Houka, who was all talk.
At least, Houka hadn't beaten him into submission.
He didn't want a vice-captain beneath Rocks weighing down on him, too.
"Shihahaha! Then challenge Chief of Staff Houka."
Golden Lion Shiki immediately stoked the flames again. He wanted to see Houka's true strength, too.
He already knew that Houka had the Gravity Ability.
But not long ago, he'd discovered that Houka could also summon Blood Shadow Bats, which had drained a number of pirates dry.
That was when he'd realized that the mild-mannered chief of staff was far from simple.
"Wororororo! I agree. You should beat Houka up."
Rocks put down the wanted poster in his hand and joined in.
He'd never truly gone all out against Houka. This was a perfect chance to have a newcomer push Houka to his limits.
Rocks didn't believe Houka had no trump cards.
That cunning brat was definitely hiding a lot of strength.
"I challenge you, Houka!"
"If I win, you have to forbid everyone from calling you vice-captain!"
With Rocks and Shiki egging him on, Silver Axe Xiong directly threw down the gauntlet.
If the Rocks Pirates valued strength above all, as Rocks said,
then there shouldn't be a vice-captain on board!
Below Rocks, every officer should let his strength speak for itself.
"Tsk, tsk. I must look weaker than Sambel. You rookies all think I'm just a fortune-teller who's good with words."
Houka saw that Rocks, Shiki, and the others were all eager to watch the show. Even Newgate and Babel had never truly witnessed his strength.
They wanted to know how well he could fight, too.
"Vice-captain, you'll always be my vice-captain!"
Honest Sambel immediately declared his unwavering support.
Babel's expression shifted at the words. He inwardly cried out that Sambel had beaten him to it.
"Houka, you know I consider you my vice-captain, too."
Babel promptly threw in his lot with Houka. He wasn't as unruly as Newgate and Shiki; he knew how to stick close to the strongest allies!
Aside from the invincible Rocks, the crew's other pillar was the peerless mind of Houka.
"Hmph!"
Silver Axe Xiong snorted disdainfully. Those Fish-Men were such spineless cowards. No wonder pirates and slave traders pushed Fish-Man Island around.
But Xiong didn't dare say that aloud. He was afraid Sambel and Babel would risk their lives to fight him.
"They may accept you as vice-captain, but I don't."
"I bet Newgate and Shiki don't accept you either!"
Xiong wasn't convinced by Houka, but didn't want to completely offend him, so he dragged Newgate and Shiki—who were just watching—into it.
The fact that the two of them hadn't said anything proved it, didn't it?
Hearing Xiong play dirty and try to drive a wedge between them, Shiki's expression shifted, while Newgate's gaze turned cold. He was even more displeased with Xiong.
His friendship with Houka was no business of Xiong's!
"Hahaha! I'm not a golden Beli. I don't need everyone to approve of me or like me!"
"But I'm not too happy about you trying to drive a wedge between us."
"Let's see how strong you really are, Yakuza Killer!"
The smile slowly faded from Houka's face as he looked at the young Xiong.
These guys hadn't even reached their prime, yet they were already this arrogant.
These reckless fools really had to be beaten into submission!
Houka slowly drew the Seven-Star Sword. A surge of evil, savage energy burst forth.
"It's out! Lord Houka's Seven-Star Sword!"
"Get away! Don't look at the Seven-Star Sword!"
The Rocks Pirates' sailors and deckhands hurriedly hid, afraid the demonic sword would control them again.
The Seven-Star Sword was an evil blade Captain Rocks and Chief of Staff Houka had found together, before any of the other officers had joined the ship.
"Shihahahaha! What an evil sword!"
Golden Lion Shiki immediately unleashed his Haki, focusing his mind as he stared directly at the evil double-edged blade glowing with an eerie green light.
"Are we sure this isn't one of the Supreme Grade Swords? It's so wicked every time it's drawn!"
Newgate's expression grew serious as well. The first time he'd seen the Seven-Star Sword, its evil power had nearly affected him.
"Bwahahaha! Xiong, looks like you really angered the vice-captain. He usually just uses his Gravity Ability!"
Babel burst out laughing, his face full of amused anticipation.
"The vice-captain is so strong!"
Little stars appeared in Sambel's eyes. Vice-Captain Houka was not only smart but incredibly powerful, too!
"Watch closely, everyone!"
"This sword is going to look cool!"
A pair of demonic bat wings sprouted from Houka's back, and the crescent mark on his forehead glowed a deep blue.
"Seven-Star Gravity Slash: Getsuga Tensho!"
Houka's eyes narrowed. A four-colored sword wave of purple, red, green, and blue roared toward Silver Axe Xiong in an instant.
"How is that possible?!"
Silver Axe Xiong stared at the terrifying slash, his pupils shrinking beneath his sunglasses.
Cold sweat ran down Silver Axe Xiong's forehead as an immense pressure bore down on him.
At the last moment, he dodged with all his might, not daring to take Houka's slash head-on!
"BOOM!!!!"
A terrifying sword wave shot out from the island's central town, cleaved through the island, and carved a trench more than a thousand meters long into the sea.
A sword scar, over ten meters deep, stretched across the island all the way to the shore.
Even the buildings and ground on either side of the scar were crushed by the terrifying gravity and sword pressure, and sank several meters.
"Gulp."
Silver Axe Xiong stared at the outrageous scar and trench, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.
How could Houka's slender frame unleash such incredible power?!
The next moment, a terrifying gravity pressed down on him again, and an eerie force invaded his mind...