Undercover Black Flag Black

"Black Flag Black?"

Houka raised an eyebrow; the man's appearance immediately reminded him of the wanted poster he had seen a few days ago.

Houka had originally prepared a series of plans to test this unknown Black Flag Black.

However, the man's stiff, upright posture instantly aroused even greater suspicion in Houka.

Could it be that the undercover agents and spies of this era were all so careless?

Houka thought of the future Marine Rear Admiral who would defect from the Navy, X Drake, one of the Eleven Supernovas of the Worst Generation.

Using a defecting Marine as an undercover agent was truly brainless.

From the moment X Drake joined the Beasts Pirates, Plague Queen and several other Tobi Roppo had never trusted him at all.

Facts had also proven that Drake was indeed an undercover agent.

With this Black Flag Black standing before him in such a rigid, soldier-like stance, it was hard for Houka not to be suspicious!

"Tsk tsk, that posture—your disguise isn't very good. It seems you failed your spy training."

"Besides, instincts don't lie..."

"I wonder if you know the Six Powers..."

As the Grand Staff Officer and Vice Captain of the Rocks Pirates, Houka felt it was his duty to eliminate potential dangers for Rocks.

He quietly split off two Blood Shadow Bats, which circled around and launched a surprise attack on Black Flag Black's back, one after the other.

Black Flag Black, who had been watching the battle, felt the sudden assault and was startled, instinctively using [Kami-e].

His body became as soft as paper, allowing him to dodge the first Blood Shadow Bat's strike.

But he couldn't quite dodge the second, faster Blood Shadow Bat that followed.

Subconsciously, he once again utilized the [Tekkai] he had practiced thousands of times to defend himself.

The Blood Shadow Bat only managed to tear a hole in Black Flag Black's clothes before being shattered by the hardness of his muscles.

"Who's there!!"

Black Flag Black immediately scanned his surroundings with vigilance, especially the ferocious pirates behind him.

Could it be a bounty hunter?

These damn pirates and bounty hunters were none of them easy to deal with.

It seemed that being a great pirate required one to remain in a state of constant vigilance.

High in the air, a cold smirk flickered across Houka's lips.

The dodging skill of Kami-e, followed by the signature use of Tekkai for defense...

"Tekkai, is it..."

Houka almost wanted to laugh. Based solely on the man's posture and the techniques he used by instinct, it was clear that he was a spy and undercover agent for the World Government and Marine Headquarters.

He had originally prepared a whole series of testing schemes.

After all, that reckless brute Rocks insisted on recruiting this Black Flag Black onto the ship.

But now, the result was already painfully obvious.

"The average intelligence and these 'divine' operations and disguises in this world remain as consistently stable as ever..."

Houka stopped observing the cautious Black Flag Black and turned his gaze toward the intense battle between Ochoku and Babel.

Half an hour later, the heavily injured Babel was pushed aside by the eager Silver Axe Xiong.

Silver Axe Xiong charged excitedly toward Ochoku; today, he would use Ochoku's famous name as a stepping stone to rise!

"Rocks!! What is the meaning of this!!"

Exhausted by the gauntlet of battles, Ochoku was furious; he could clearly feel Rocks's contempt.

This completely contradicted his plan to fight Rocks and become the second-in-command.

If he kept fighting these subordinates, his reputation as the Pirate Patriarch would be trampled into the dirt.

"Wahahaha! I just wanted to see how strong you, the 'Pirate Patriarch,' really are, since you dare to call yourself a patriarch!"

Rocks spread his hands and laughed, his face showing a hint of disappointment. This Pirate Patriarch, Ochoku, was indeed a bit weak.

He couldn't even get past his subordinates.

He wasn't qualified to fight him at all.

"Rocks, are you afraid of me, so you're using these bastards to drain my stamina!"

Ochoku punched the mad-dog-like Silver Axe Xiong away and began to taunt Rocks.

"Do you want to die?"

Rocks's smile turned cold; he already wanted to draw his blade and hack this bastard to pieces!

"Rocks! We haven't had our turn yet! You aren't allowed to move!"

Shiki and Whitebeard spoke up in a hurry, fearing that Rocks would step in and instantly kill this stepping stone that they could use to make a name for themselves.

"Houka, you said that as long as I defeat him, you'll be my good friend, right?"

Charlotte Linlin looked up with her chubby, baby-faced features, her eyes brimming with anticipation.

According to what Streusen had told her, as long as she became good friends with Houka, he would surely help her predict the future.

After all, in her mind, good friends were always there to help one another.

That way, she could find Mother Carmel much faster!

"That's right!"

Houka smiled slightly. It wasn't him trying to train Charlotte Linlin anymore; the big girl was now actively trying to curry favor with him.

"Good! I'll definitely beat the crap out of him!"

Charlotte Linlin clenched her fleshy fists, her eyes burning with fighting spirit.

Houka looked at Ochoku, then swept a glance toward Black Flag Black.

He had just considered discussing it with Rocks to turn the two of them into his blood thralls and control them.

But such an evil tactic would likely cause the other executives on the ship to harbor endless wariness toward him.

That would be detrimental to unity and development.

Therefore, Houka prepared to "eat" both the Pirate Patriarch Ochoku and Black Flag Black!

After all, rather than wasting a massive amount of power to convert the two into vampire thralls, it would be better to simply "eat" them, turning them into his own strength to accelerate his body's transformation!

Houka knew that suffering wouldn't make one a master among men, but eating men certainly could!

No matter how many blood thralls he had, they were ultimately external forces; being strong himself was the only true strength!

As the battle between Ochoku and Silver Axe continued, the pirates on Elysium Island were already whispering among themselves.

They hadn't expected the infamous Pirate Patriarch to struggle for so long against a few of Rocks' executives.

Aside from punching Sambel away, Ochoku hadn't even fully defeated Babel.

And now, he had been fighting Silver Axe and Xiong for over half an hour!

Babel and Silver Axe had made a name for themselves in this battle, rising to prominence by stepping on Ochoku's reputation, showing they were on par with the Pirate Patriarch.

Even Sambel had earned a reputation for being thick-skinned and sturdy.

Currently, Ochoku still held the upper hand, but his "Patriarch filter" had been completely shattered.

Not long after, Silver Axe was ultimately unable to defeat Ochoku.

Charlotte Linlin, already riding her thundercloud, had her right fist engulfed in the sun Prometheus, and she fiercely joined the fray.

The entry of this Steel Balloon into the battle directly elevated the scale of the conflict to a new level.

The base of the Ochoku Pirates on Elysium Island was smashed to pieces by Charlotte Linlin's lightning and flames.

Enraged, Ochoku unleashed his full strength to battle Charlotte Linlin.

"Damn it! Still can't beat her!"

Silver Axe, who had been fighting with great satisfaction, was not disappointed; his goal had already been achieved.

He had proven to the world that he was not much weaker than the Pirate Patriarch Ochoku.

If Ochoku wasn't finished off by Rocks and Houka this time, he would sooner or later surpass him and stand on top of him.

"Patriarch Ochoku has been sent flying by Charlotte Linlin!!"

"Are the executives of the Rocks Pirates all this strong?"

"Shiki, Whitebeard, and the Great Demon Lord haven't even stepped onto the field yet!"

"It looks like the Patriarch will be forced to join the Rocks Pirates!"

"The world's strongest pirate crew has been born, a crew of pure villains! Rejoice!"

"They're all stars! Captain Rocks, you're my idol!"

The pirates across all of Elysium Island were in a complete frenzy, and countless pirates began to worship the invincible Rocks Pirates.