Target Ochoku

The next day.

The news that the "Steel Balloon" Charlotte Linlin had joined the Rocks Pirates made the front page of the newspapers.

This most heinous pirate crew had gained yet another powerful executive!

The atmosphere across the entire New World grew increasingly oppressive!

The pressure exerted by the Rocks Pirates on all other pirate crews surged.

With Streusen now on board as an official chef, Rocks did not hesitate to kick the sailors and handymen off the Sword of Xebec.

His ship had no need for the weak!

Sambel, that little brother, instantly transitioned into the roles of helmsman and sailor, becoming a low-level crew member just like Streusen.

Fortunately, Streusen's bounty was even lower than Sambel's current one.

Thus, Streusen remained the lowest-ranking member on the ship.

[Gourmet Knight Streusen, Bounty: 177,000,000 Berries.]

Even this was only a bounty Streusen had managed to scrape together by trailing behind Charlotte Linlin.

Streusen rarely made a move.

Yet, his true strength was likely far beyond this bounty.

His Paramecia-type Cook-Cook Fruit ability had already been developed to an impressive level.

He could turn any non-living matter into food.

He could now effortlessly transform an entire pirate ship into a soft, fluffy cake.

"Wahahaha! Delicious! I've never eaten anything this good in my life!"

Even Rocks was conquered by Streusen's culinary skills, gorging himself on the food.

The meals he had eaten before were practically mud in comparison.

Streusen, the future head chef, possessed superb culinary skills that went beyond simply using his Cook-Cook Fruit to manifest food.

"I am glad you enjoy it, Captain Rocks!"

"Vice-Captain, this is the meal I prepared specifically according to your requests."

Streusen was extremely respectful toward Rocks, but he was even more servile toward Houka, acting almost like a sycophantic servant as he presented plate after plate of Chinese-style dishes to him.

This left everyone quite puzzled!

How had Houka managed to tame this guy into being so obedient?

Golden Lion Shiki felt a bit disgruntled; it was he and Houka who had beaten Streusen to a pulp together, after all.

Why wasn't Streusen as respectful to him as he was to Houka?

Could it be a matter of the Vice-Captain position?

Was Streusen really that pragmatic? He only fawned over Rocks, the captain, and Houka, the pseudo-vice-captain.

Even Charlotte Linlin felt a bit jealous; why was her personal chef serving Houka like a lackey?

"This is bad, Sambel. This short human is trying to steal our spot as Vice-Captain Houka's number one fan."

Babel considered himself to have already latched onto Houka's coattails, but this short man was even more shameless in his groveling.

This human chef had no shame; he was actually engaging in such cutthroat competition!

"The Vice-Captain shouldn't like such sycophancy. He says we are true partners and encourages us to grow stronger and become great figures who can stand on our own."

Sambel also felt a sense of disgust toward the fawning Streusen, but he wasn't worried that the wise and brilliant Vice-Captain would be swayed by such things.

In his heart, Houka was the all-knowing Prophet!

Houka looked at the respectful Streusen; it seemed his Seven-Star Sword had been somewhat effective, successfully influencing this cunning and treacherous little man.

If that was the case, handling Charlotte Linlin would be even simpler.

"Houka, how much longer must we be together before you will provide a prophecy for me?"

Since boarding the ship, Charlotte Linlin had asked Houka this no fewer than fifty times, but Houka had yet to give her an accurate timeframe.

He claimed it depended on his mood and a flash of inspiration.

This left Linlin feeling quite dissatisfied!

But now that her chef had been snatched away by Houka, and she couldn't defeat Rocks, she had no choice but to remain on the Rocks Pirates' ship.

"If you keep asking every single day like this, it will take even longer!"

Houka was not about to indulge Charlotte Linlin, who was currently in the midst of her transformation from a large girl into a great beauty.

"Hmph~"

Charlotte Linlin felt a bit aggrieved; both Rocks and Houka were suppressing her, and it was an unpleasant feeling.

Even the "obedient" Streusen had stopped listening.

"Let's just take a trip to the North Blue!"

Silver Axe Xiong still couldn't let go of his obsession with finding a Devil Fruit in the North Blue.

Houka, Newgate, Shiki, and Linlin were all powerful Devil Fruit users, and he needed a powerful ability of his own.

Otherwise, he would have no chance of defeating those bastards!

"Once we deal with that Pirate Patriarch, we're heading to the West Blue to find the mafia boss Malone!"

Rocks glanced at Silver Axe indifferently and rejected the proposal to go to the North Blue once again; he needed to return to his old home at God Valley in the West Blue to see if there were any unexpected developments.

And while he was at it, he would secretly deliver something back there.

"Hmph!"

"Then let me have a fight with Ochoku first!"

Silver Axe Xiong spoke up in annoyance; he desperately wanted to prove his strength and increase his bounty.

"Just make sure you don't get killed!"

Rocks gave a cruel smile. Xiong couldn't even beat Linlin, so there was a high probability he couldn't beat the man known as the Pirate Patriarch, Ochoku, either.

However, it was the perfect opportunity to let this Pirate Patriarch test the strength of his subordinates.

He wanted Houka, Newgate, Shiki, and Linlin to all rise to fame by stepping over Ochoku's reputation.

Let the world see the might of the strongest pirate crew.

In that way, Ochoku would have died for a worthy cause!

From now on, the New World would only have the Pirate Overlord Rocks, not the Pirate Patriarch Ochoku.

"He can't even handle a Black Flag Black who popped up out of nowhere; I think this Ochoku is nothing special!"

Silver Axe didn't believe Ochoku could take him down. That Pirate Patriarch was notorious for being greedy and lecherous—how strong could a man like that really be?

"This Black Flag Black appeared as suddenly as Rocks did; there wasn't a shred of intelligence on him before."

"I'll test his strength myself when the time comes to see if I can force out his true capabilities."

Houka looked at the latest underworld intelligence, his expression turning quite serious.

If he really was a CP agent, he would surely use techniques like the Six Powers to save his life when pushed to the brink.

"Wahahaha, heroes of the four seas are as numerous as carp crossing a river; it's nothing strange for someone to pop up suddenly."

Rocks had much more interest in a character like Black Flag Black than in Ochoku, the "fated traitor."

And then there was that Bolo Gram.

He wanted to recruit more powerhouses outside of the prophecies to truly change the future.

In his heart, he actually detested destiny and fate to the extreme; he was going to shatter this damned fate!

New World, Elysium Island.

Ochoku looked at the newspaper and saw that the Rocks Pirates had recruited yet another monster executive.

He had a feeling that Rocks would be coming for him soon.

After all, his nickname, "Pirate Patriarch," was indeed very flamboyant.

A domineering monster like Rocks would certainly not let him be.

Fortunately, he had already reached some agreements with the World Government.

Joining the Rocks Pirates wouldn't be impossible for now!

When the time came for the Rocks Pirates to conquer a vast territory, he would find a way to coordinate with the World Government to kill Rocks.

Then, he could seize or even inherit everything the Rocks Pirates owned!

The more Ochoku thought about it, the more excited he became, his long tongue dancing happily in the air.

Rocks, this fierce dragon crossing the river, was destined to end up working for him, the local snake.

At a secret base on the island.

Two CP0 agents and Black Flag Black received the latest intelligence that the Rocks Pirates' Flying Warship was approaching Elysium Island.

"The big fish has entered the net!"

"One day, we will avenge the tragic death of Admiral Walker!"

The three CP0 agents seemed to have already seen the day Rocks would be brought to justice.