"What right does that brat Houka have to be vice captain of the world's strongest pirate crew?!"
"Let me be the second-in-command!"
Ochoku thought that as the Pirate Patriarch, he was far better than those so-called Great Demon Lords, Whitebeard, Golden Lion Shiki, and Steel Balloon.
Given his standing and reputation, it would be Rocks's honor to make him vice captain of the Rocks Pirates.
He hoped Rocks would kick Houka out without a fuss.
That brat Houka ought to know his place and offer up the position himself.
Watching the Flying Warship in the sky, Ochoku felt that being vice captain of the Rocks Pirates might not be such a bad deal after all.
But if he got the chance, he would definitely help the World Government kill Rocks.
He had never been one to settle for playing second fiddle.
Most importantly, if he killed Rocks, he could inherit everything the Rocks Pirates had.
Maybe he would even have a chance to become captain of the world's strongest pirate crew.
As the Flying Warship drew closer, Ochoku unleashed his presence without restraint.
He was declaring his territory, but also showing off his strength to prove that even if he couldn't beat Rocks, he was strong enough to become the Rocks Pirates' second-in-command.
Aboard the Sword of Xebec.
"Wahaha! Is he showing off his strength?"
Rocks sensed the Pirate Patriarch's Conqueror's Haki.
But the will behind the so-called Pirate Patriarch's Conqueror's Haki wasn't even as strong as Shiki's or Linlin's, let alone Newgate's.
People like him, who'd dominated the New World simply because they'd gone to sea a few years earlier, would be surpassed sooner or later.
"Rocks! You can't make a move!"
"He's our prey!"
Silver Axe Xiong, Golden Lion Shiki, and the others all started shouting.
They all saw Pirate Patriarch Ochoku as a stepping stone to fame.
If they could take him down, their reputations would soar in an instant!
Ochoku, the Pirate Patriarch who ruled over his own territory, had a bounty of 757 million Beli.
In this era, that was already an enormous bounty!
"My bounty is lower than yours! I'll go first!"
Silver Axe Xiong said, full of bravado, as though it were only natural.
His logic was simple: being weaker gave him the right.
Otherwise, were they supposed to start with the strongest?
Golden Lion and Whitebeard were left speechless by Silver Axe's earnest argument.
Soon, they settled on a challenge order, starting with the weakest.
Streusen knew he couldn't beat Ochoku, so they started with Sambel instead, placing Silver Axe after Babel.
Sambel also thought he couldn't beat Ochoku, but he was determined to become a Fish-Man hero and feared no fight.
Ochoku had hoped to face the most evil pirate, Rocks, in a battle that would shock the world, then use the opportunity to join the Rocks Pirates.
Instead, a burly Fish-Man dropped down from the Flying Warship.
"Ochoku! Tidal Knight Sambel is here to challenge you!"
Sambel shot straight at Ochoku like a cannonball, without wasting a word!
"Damn it! Rocks, are you looking down on me, the Pirate Patriarch?"
"You sent out just one subordinate!"
Ochoku felt terribly insulted. Even if Rocks had sent out Houka or Newgate, senior officers with bounties over 600 million, he wouldn't have been so angry.
But Rocks had sent out a Fish-Man with a bounty of just over 300 million. He was clearly looking down on the Pirate Patriarch.
Ochoku's face darkened. Armament Haki instantly coated his right fist, and his eyes turned as venomous as a snake's.
"Get lost, you nobody!"
Ochoku's Armament Haki-coated fist collided violently with Sambel's Sea Knight Trident.
"What incredible strength! But it's not enough!"
Furious, Ochoku unleashed even stronger Haki and punched the young Sambel flying.
But in the next moment, an even larger Fish-Man came crashing at him.
"Sambel, watch closely!"
"Abyssal Titan Babel is taking you on!"
Babel, who stood over ten meters tall, drove his fist into Ochoku.
Ochoku barely managed to block it. The ground within hundreds of meters of him shattered under the impact.
"So strong!"
That brute strength was even greater than a Giant's. Ochoku hadn't expected Babel, a Fish-Man with a bounty of 388 million, to leave him in such a sorry state.
"Bwahahaha! You don't even seem as strong as Newgate!"
"And you dare call yourself the Pirate Patriarch!"
After landing a hit, Babel immediately got cocky. He'd thought the renowned Ochoku might be even stronger than Vice Captain Houka and Newgate.
But it seemed he was only so-so!
"Damn you!"
"You've made me angry!!"
Ochoku roared in fury, his long tongue spraying a shower of saliva.
"Gross!"
"Fish-Man Karate: Saliva Impact Bullet!"
The power surging through Babel's hand turned the saliva into bullets and sent them flying straight at Ochoku.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Ochoku didn't knock Babel out in one punch, the way he'd sent Sambel flying.
The many pirates on Elysium Island stared in disbelief.
After all, Babel was near the bottom of the Rocks Pirates, somewhere in the lower-middle ranks.
And yet he could actually hold his own against Pirate Patriarch Ochoku?
How strong were the officers above Babel, then?
Something's not right!
According to the intel, Rocks personally defeated Whitebeard, Golden Lion, Silver Axe, and Steel Balloon.
Why hasn't Rocks made a move this time?
Black Flag Black, watching from among the pirates, suddenly felt uneasy.
He looked up at the Flying Warship in the sky.
How could he get Rocks's attention and join the Rocks Pirates?
"Kyahahaha! This Ochoku doesn't seem all that impressive!"
Golden Lion Shiki floated in the air, watching Ochoku and Babel's battle. He immediately felt that Ochoku's bounty was a bit inflated.
But as a regional overlord and captain, he posed a greater threat to the World Government, so of course his bounty was higher than those of crew officers like them!
Besides, Ochoku had been entrenched in the New World for years, giving his bounty plenty of time to rise.
"I have a sixty percent chance of beating him!"
Newgate held the Supreme Grade Sword Murakumogiri in one hand and looked down at the battle, estimating the difference between his strength and Ochoku's.
He'd been fighting Rocks, the strongest pirate, a lot lately, and his strength had soared.
Now he even had the confidence to beat Houka.
Recently, Houka had been focusing all his efforts on his Devil Fruit powers, while his weak physique had held back his growth.
Rocks had teased Houka about his wimpy physique more than once.
But as the crew's chief strategist and prophet, Houka didn't need to be strong.
They would protect him from now on!
At that moment, Houka was flying on the Seven-Star Sword, hovering gracefully in the sky as he observed the situation below.
He was looking to see if there were any familiar faces he could recruit to the Rocks Pirates.
He was also keeping an eye out for the Teleport-Teleport Fruit user Silver Axe had mentioned.
He soon spotted a figure in black standing unusually straight.
The man seemed out of place among the pirates around him, and his posture even looked a little like a Marine's.