In a secret room in a tavern on Elysium Island.
"Sir, we've successfully bought off Ochoku!"
"Also, Black will make a name for himself as a pirate in the New World under the alias Black Flag Black!"
A Cipher Pol Aigis Zero squad reported the latest developments to the Transponder Snail on the table.
"Then keep at it! You must successfully join the Rocks Pirates and promptly report all of their movements and objectives."
An elderly voice came from the other end of the Transponder Snail.
This time, they were pursuing two strategies at once: buying off a great pirate and planting a Cipher Pol Aigis Zero undercover agent.
As long as Rocks took the bait with either one, the World Government would be able to plant a spy in the Rocks Pirates.
After that, the Rocks Pirates would no longer be a threat!
A few days later.
On the famous Elysium Island, a pirate named Black Flag Black rose to fame after defeating the captains of seven or eight pirate crews in succession.
Black Flag Black even challenged the master of Elysium Island, the Pirate Patriarch, Ochoku.
The two fought an intense battle on Elysium Island. In the end, neither could gain the upper hand, and the fight ended with Black Flag Black leaving safely.
The widely discussed battle quickly spread throughout the New World.
Another powerful pirate had risen.
Thanks to his evenly matched fight with the Pirate Patriarch, Ochoku, Black Flag Black received his first bounty from the World Government: 444 million Beli.
The newcomer quickly became a hot topic in the newspapers.
Aboard the Sword of Xebec, flying through the sky.
"Houka! Another powerful newcomer! Could he be an officer in the Rocks Pirates?"
"No matter! Whether he is or not, I'm going to recruit him!"
Rocks read the news from the past two days, a confident smile on his face.
He had originally planned to beat the Pirate Patriarch, Ochoku, into submission. But Houka had told him the man would definitely betray them and keep selling information about the Rocks Pirates.
So Rocks had decided to kill Ochoku!
If he couldn't recruit the man who dared call himself the Pirate Patriarch, then he'd kill him and make the Rocks Pirates famous.
Recruiting a big name like the Pirate Patriarch would have been even better for the Rocks Pirates' reputation, but killing him would make them famous too and cement their position as Overlord of the New World.
Besides, Rocks had felt a little regret at the thought of killing Ochoku. But now that another powerful pirate who could take Ochoku's place had appeared, he had even less reason to hold back.
Ochoku probably never imagined that working with the World Government to improve his chances of joining the Rocks Pirates would end up getting him killed sooner!
"Black Flag Black?"
Houka looked at the news about the battle on Elysium Island and the wanted poster bearing Black Flag Black's likeness.
He had never seen this man before.
He was an extra who had never appeared in the story, and Houka had no idea where he had died.
"I never saw anyone by that name in the future I witnessed!"
"He might have died somewhere."
"Of course, we can look into his background. He could be some kind of World Government spy."
Houka spoke calmly. He was very familiar with the tricks of the World Government and Marine Headquarters.
In particular, Houka had recently been keeping an eye on the Walder Pirates, a new crew that was growing rapidly in the Grand Line.
Byrnndi World was already twenty-three this year. Ever since he got the More-More Fruit, he seemed to have grown more and more arrogant. He even dared to call himself the World Destroyer.
He was even more arrogant than the future Iron-Headed Kid.
The Walder Pirates were expanding now. Houka wondered if a spy had already infiltrated them.
"A spy?"
Rocks' good mood instantly faded. Houka had said that he had never seen Black Flag Black in the future.
Either the man had died early, or the future had already changed and he had suddenly appeared.
"Whatever the case, we'll recruit him first!"
"If he's a spy, I'll expose him. I'm sure you'll notice something suspicious too, Houka!"
Rocks didn't want to pass up a promising pirate. Whatever the problem was, he could deal with it after bringing the man aboard.
"Suit yourself!"
Houka shrugged. In the original timeline, Rocks hadn't even caught on to Ochoku being a mole.
Their plans had been leaked time and again, and the Marines had ambushed them repeatedly.
In the end, even their base on Hachinosu had been infiltrated. Malone was killed, and Shakky the Flower of Hachinosu was captured.
Houka suspected that Rocks' Voice of All Things Observation Haki was flawed and incomplete. Maybe it couldn't distinguish good from evil, and could only communicate telepathically with the D Clan.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have asked Roger and Garp to kill him. He would have had Newgate and the others do it instead.
There might have been another reason, too: most of the officers aboard the Rocks Pirates harbored ill will. Rocks didn't care about that, so he had never uncovered Ochoku's betrayal.
"Then it's settled! We'll kill the Pirate Patriarch, Ochoku, and recruit Black Flag Black!"
Rocks made the decision right away. He believed in himself, and he believed in Houka even more.
The Rocks Pirates would one day fight their way to Mary Geoise!
"Rocks! When are we going to the North Blue?"
Silver Axe Xiong really wanted to head to the North Blue in search of the Magma-Magma Fruit and the Glint-Glint Fruit. But Rocks was planning to find Charlotte Linlin, track down the smuggler Ganzi, and deal with Black Flag Black and the others...
He even planned to go to the West Blue to find the mafia boss, Malone...
So when would they have time to go to the North Blue? Xiong didn't want to wait that long.
"Be patient! We should go sometime in the next year or two."
Rocks gave a casual reply. In any case, once they left the New World, he would have to return to his hometown, God Valley, in the West Blue to deliver the treasure and supplies.
"Damn it!!"
Silver Axe Xiong was a little annoyed. He still had to wait so long.
Watching Shiki grow stronger and stronger made him feel increasingly pressured.
Shiki had even more talent than he did, and he also possessed a powerful Devil Fruit ability.
Sooner or later, Shiki would leave him behind!
"Kyahahaha! Just like Houka said, luck is a kind of strength too."
"Blame yourself for not finding a powerful Devil Fruit."
Shiki taunted him, immediately rousing Xiong's anger.
The two of them started their usual bickering and fighting again.
The Rocks Pirates spent a full two and a half months searching these waters before they finally found Charlotte Linlin and Streusen.
The two seemed to be hiding from the Rocks Pirates.
That reminded Rocks of the time he'd spent chasing that bastard Shiki, and his anger flared.
The New Year had already passed, and a new year had begun.
Rocks had been away from home for more than a year.
"So they can fly too!!"
Aboard the Flying Warship, Rocks spotted Charlotte Linlin flying over a thundercloud.
When Streusen saw the Rocks Pirates' Flying Warship approaching, he kept urging Charlotte Linlin to hurry and run.
The Rocks Pirates chased them for another two and a half days before finally intercepting the fleeing pair by force.
As soon as they caught up, the hot-tempered Rocks showed Charlotte Linlin and Streusen what demonic rage looked like.
The supposedly indestructible Steel Balloon was battered and wounded all over in an instant by Rocks.
He didn't care that Charlotte Linlin was only thirteen years old!