A Battle of Equal Crushing

"Fear will only make you lose faster!"

A ghostly green longsword, imbued with evil power, appeared before Silver Axe Xiong, its flickering blade aura carrying a razor-sharp cutting sensation.

"Damn it!"

Influenced by the Seven-Star Sword, Xiong lost his composure, his temper flaring instantly.

He swung his giant axe wildly, intent on blasting Houka away.

"Gravity Blade: Fierce Tiger!"

A purple, tiger-shaped sword aura slammed Xiong, along with his axe, into a giant pit dozens of meters deep.

"Ugh!"

Silver Axe Xiong spat out a mouthful of blood. This gravity-based sword aura made him feel as if he were facing Rocks' cannon-hammer sword techniques, leaving him completely unable to resist.

"The blood of the young is truly vigorous; you seem to love spitting it out!"

Houka's expression remained cold as he unleashed a massive swarm of Blood Shadow Bats, engulfing Silver Axe Xiong.

The blood of such a powerhouse could not be wasted!

"Hey, hey, hey, Houka, that's enough!"

"How are you even more ruthless than I am?"

Sensing that Silver Axe Xiong's aura was rapidly fading, Rocks quickly spoke up to offer a reminder.

He didn't want this newly recruited cadre to be finished off by his own crew.

"Challenges come with a price!"

Houka intensified the gravity suppression and the blood-draining attacks of the Blood Shadow Bats, even pushing the Seven-Star Sword to nearly fully invade Xiong's consciousness.

Only when the man had completely lost the ability to resist did Houka disperse all his abilities, drifting back to his seat with ease to sip his red wine in satisfaction.

This nonchalant victory perfectly showcased what it meant to be elegant!

"Shiki, drag that guy back."

Rocks gave the order to Shiki before returning to the banquet himself.

Shiki's gaze toward Houka had completely changed; this strategist-type chief advisor possessed strength far beyond his imagination!

He knew for certain that he could not defeat this prophet right now!

"Not bad! Houka, you've actually developed such powerful moves."

Rocks flashed a satisfied smile at Houka. This "weakling" Cadre 001 finally possessed the strength to protect himself.

"However, if I possessed the Seven-Star Sword and three Devil Fruit abilities, I could unleash slashes dozens of times stronger than yours!"

"Therefore, your physique still has plenty of room for growth!"

Rocks didn't forget to admonish Houka, lest this cunning brat's tail grow too high.

Still, at Houka's current rate of growth, he was indeed qualified to serve as vice-captain.

Even Rocks couldn't imagine how strong Houka would be in his complete form once he possessed nine Devil Fruit abilities.

"I know; to deal with those old monsters, this is still far from enough!"

Houka had no intention of being arrogant. He hadn't even awakened the three types of Haki yet, and his physique had not fully transformed.

He still needed to work hard in the future!

"You're actually this strong?! And you still have the nerve to say you're weak, helpless, and pitiful?"

Newgate looked at the island-splitting sword mark Houka had carved out, his face full of shock.

"Am I not weak? Every time we arm-wrestle, I can't beat you! I was almost crippled by you!"

Houka looked at Newgate, answering with righteous indignation. His strength and physique were far inferior to those of Rocks and Newgate.

"Bastard! Rocks was right; you prophets are the most cunning!"

Newgate was speechless at Houka's way of shifting the concept to play the victim.

"Vice-captain, I knew you possessed both wisdom and strength!"

Babel had firmly decided on the two pillars of the ship; whenever Rocks was hands-off, he would steadfastly follow in Houka's footsteps.

"The vice-captain is so strong!"

Sambel admired Houka, the "good-natured" vice-captain, even more; from now on, he would definitely follow Houka's orders.

Soon, Shiki returned, dragging a pale-faced Xiong.

At this moment, Xiong was covered in bat bite marks, as if he had been drained dry.

What hit Xiong even harder was that he hadn't even touched the hem of Houka's clothes before being beaten into total submission by a full combo of techniques.

The terrifying slashes, gravity suppression, blood-sucking bats, and evil mental erosion—each one was impossible for him to handle.

The combination of these abilities was a hundred times more disgusting than Shiki's Float-Float Fruit ability.

"Tsk tsk, how miserable, Xiong!"

"First beaten black and blue by Rocks, then bullied by Houka..."

Golden Lion Shiki began to gloat. It was fortunate he hadn't challenged Houka yet; otherwise, the one being humiliated would be him.

He was still the clever one, using just a few words to goad Yakuza Assassin Xiong into going up there and losing face so spectacularly.

"This time, I was caught off guard. Next time, I will definitely defeat you!"

Xiong was still somewhat unconvinced. As a newcomer who had just boarded the ship, how was he to know that this bastard Houka possessed so many abilities, not to mention an evil cursed sword?

Once he figured out everything about Houka, he would challenge him again!

"You're welcome. It just so happens I can feed my Vampire Bat."

Houka felt the lifespan and strength feeding back from his Vampire Ability, and his smile never faded.

During the war at God Valley, aside from Captain John and Ganzi, Silver Axe Xiong and Golden Lion Shiki were the ones who led the push to break up the crew.

Houka didn't mind teaching them a lesson and breaking them in properly.

They were young now, and Houka was young too.

Houka did not believe his own growth rate would be inferior to these cadres.

By the time Silver Axe and Golden Lion reached their peak strength, Houka would be even stronger!

"Bastard!!"

Covered in wounds, Silver Axe gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath, temporarily submitting to Houka's strength.

"Wahahaha, it looks like after today, your wanted posters will be updated!"

"Newgate, Sambel, if you two don't put on a good show, your bounties will likely be a cut below theirs."

Rocks looked at the ruined pirate island and the countless pirates lying on the ground, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

Their Rocks Pirates ought to possess this level of destructive power!

"Captain, I will do my best!"

Sambel responded earnestly at once; from now on, whenever they encountered other pirate crews on the sea, he would be the first to charge forward.

"Who cares about those numbers!"

Newgate looked completely indifferent. If it weren't for the need to send money back to Sphinx Island, he wouldn't even want to fight these guys for loot.

"I hope you can still think that way after your bounty is surpassed by Sambel!"

"Lads! Set sail!"

"We're going to go grab a Supreme Grade Sword for Newgate!"

Rocks let out a hearty laugh. Even he hoisted a massive bag of gold and treasure as spoils of war, heading back toward the Sword of Xebec.

Golden Lion Shiki also slung two bags of treasure over his shoulders, floating in the air.

He liked the feeling of carrying treasure on his back.

Newgate, Babel, and Sambel all laughed as they hoisted their own bags of treasure, all in high spirits.

Only Houka flicked his fingers, causing the remaining treasure and supplies to float up and follow him, along with the injured Silver Axe.

Facing Houka's assistance, Silver Axe accepted the use of his ability with an expressionless face.

His feelings of resentment weakened by a notch.

As the Flying Warship of the Rocks Pirates departed, the underlings on the pirate island finally emerged in terror.

They stared at the two terrifying slashes left behind by Rocks and Houka, each of them trembling with fear.

Especially Houka's slash, which had sliced half the island clean open.

How could this brat, with a bounty of only 80 million Berries, be so strong?

Even the renowned Yakuza Assassin Xiong, with a bounty as high as 300 million, had been crushed by Houka!

Could it be that another monster like Charlotte Linlin had been born?

They felt that every member of the Rocks Pirates was a monster, with several of them no weaker than Charlotte Linlin!

Their bounties would likely all reach around 500 million Berries!