"I want his blood!"
Seeing the eager look in Rocks's eyes, Houka had no intention of taking Black on himself.
Still, he reminded Rocks not to beat his prey into pieces.
"Then I'll see just how strong his Rokushiki is!"
Rocks grinned savagely, leapt straight off the Flying Warship, and charged toward Black Flag Black.
"He's here!!"
Black Flag Black was in the middle of slaughtering the Ochoku Pirates' crew when he felt that terrifying, overwhelming presence.
This was the World's Worst Pirate—the man who had taken down Admiral Walker!
When Rocks had invaded Mary Geoise and wrecked the Reverie,
Walker, the Marines' strongest fighter, had become little more than a speed bump for Rocks. He had nearly been killed in an instant.
No one knew just how strong Rocks was!
Whether he could infiltrate the Rocks Pirates depended on his acting.
Black Flag Black cleanly killed a pirate, then watched Rocks charge toward him without changing expression.
Right now, he was supposed to be a defiant rising pirate. He couldn't show too much fear or give himself away.
"Worororo! Black Flag Black, let's see your swordsmanship!"
Rocks slashed at Black, his eyes gleaming with amusement.
"Rocks! Then let me see the power of the World's Strongest Pirate!!"
Black Flag Black fully embraced his defiant-pirate act. Gritting his teeth, he swung his sword with the resolve to die.
But the next moment,
Black Flag Black's long sword was shattered by a single strike from Rocks's Xebec's Sword.
Under the force of Rocks's terrifying Cannonball Sword Technique, Black Flag Black instantly spat blood and was sent flying into the ruins of a building.
Black was horrified. The tearing pain coursing through his body made him feel as if he were already half dead.
Why was this happening?!
Had the Rocks Pirates stopped recruiting?
Why was Rocks hitting him so hard?!
Damn it, was he really going to share Ochoku's fate and die on Elysium Island today?
"Tsk, tsk. You couldn't even block one hit?"
"Back then, Newgate had a bounty of just over 100 million, and Xiong had a bounty of 300 million. They both blocked one of my attacks."
"But your bounty's already 444 million Beli, and you couldn't even take it. You're kind of pathetic."
Rocks appeared atop the ruins, grabbed Black by the head, and hauled him out.
He even took a close look at Black Flag Black's hands.
Just as Houka had said, the calluses on this skilled swordsman's hands weren't quite up to scratch. A few of his fingers, though, were unexpectedly thick.
"Captain Rocks truly is the World's Strongest Pirate. Who in these seas could possibly be your match..."
"I overestimated myself..."
Blood trickled from Black Flag Black's mouth and nose. When he saw that Rocks hadn't killed him right away and was even talking to him, he realized he still had a chance to infiltrate the Rocks Pirates.
He immediately put on a look of defiance mixed with admiration for Rocks.
"Swords aren't your strong suit. Let's see your hand-to-hand skills!"
"Give it everything you've got, or you'll die!"
Rocks grinned viciously and threw Black to the ground.
He planted Xebec's Sword in the ground beside him and waited for Black to attack with his bare hands.
Is this a test to join the crew?
Black Flag Black forced himself to his feet through the pain. According to the intelligence he'd gathered, Golden Lion Shiki, Silver Axe Xiong, and Steel Balloon Charlotte Linlin had all been beaten up by Rocks.
Whether Rocks accepted him depended on how he fared in this test.
But Rokushiki was his specialty. What move should he use against Rocks?
"Captain Rocks, swordsmanship is what I'm good at..."
"If it doesn't meet your standards, I'm sorry."
Black Flag Black didn't dare reveal his Rokushiki, so he could only stick to his 'swordsmanship.'
"Then why not use Rokushiki? Judging by your fingers, you're pretty good at Shigan, aren't you?"
Rocks's next words left Black Flag Black frozen in place.
A wave of utter terror swallowed the Cipher Pol Aigis Zero agent.
He'd been exposed!
How could Rocks, that reckless brute, have such sharp eyes?
No, it was those Blood Shadow Bats testing him earlier!
Damn it! When those Blood Shadow Bats attacked without warning, he'd instinctively used Kami-e to dodge and Tekkai to defend himself.
So he'd been exposed to Houka from the very start.
The Rocks Pirates' vice-captain and chief strategist was terrifying.
With Rocks's overwhelming strength and Houka's peerless intelligence, the World Government was about to face an enemy unlike any it had ever known.
"Worororo! What, scared witless?"
"Houka said your disguise skills were a failure. Looks like you're just as bad at keeping your cool."
Rocks grinned. He was growing more and more disgusted with this Cipher Pol agent. He'd actually been a little impressed by Black Flag Black, the up-and-coming pirate.
But it turned out this had all been part of a scheme against him!
"Captain Rocks, I'm not..."
Terrified of death, Black tried to plead his case.
But Rocks grabbed one of Black's fingers and snapped it off.
"Ah!!"
Black screamed in agony, dropped to his knees, and began to tremble before Rocks.
"You lapdog of the World Government! You'd be better off training your Haki than your Rokushiki!"
"Your strength is just as inadequate as your disguise and your nerve!"
Rocks ignored Black's screams, grabbed him by the shoulder, and crushed it with a sharp crack of breaking bone.
Then Rocks hurled the screaming Black toward the Flying Warship.
"Damn Cipher Pol agent! You wasted so much of my time!"
Rocks was thoroughly annoyed. He'd been thinking of having Black Flag Black take the place of Pirate Patriarch Ochoku aboard the ship.
Now both of them had become Houka's prey.
Rocks pulled Xebec's Sword from the ground and wandered around Elysium Island.
He planned to make the island his first territory. The first order of business was to plant the Rocks Pirates' flag.
Pirate Patriarch Ochoku and Elysium Island were both fairly well known in the New World.
But now they were both going to become stepping stones for the Rocks Pirates!
Aboard the Flying Warship, Xebec's Sword.
Houka flicked his fingers and used his Gravity Ability to catch Black Flag Black, whom Rocks had nearly beaten to death.
"Tsk, tsk. The World Government's tricks really are unimaginative."
Without hesitation, Houka drove the Seven-Star Sword into Black Flag Black's other shoulder.
"Are there any other Cipher Pol agents on this island?"
"I'm sure someone else was supposed to meet up with you, right?"
Houka figured that a few more Marine Vice Admirals and elite Cipher Pol Aigis Zero agents would make things perfect.
"You!!"
Black Flag Black felt as if Houka had seen right through everything. How could this be happening?
"Looks like there really is something to find!"
Houka promptly sent out the Blood Shadow Bats to drain Black Flag Black's blood, then crippled his legs, further weakening his vitality and willpower.
He planned to use the Seven-Star Sword to control Black Flag Black, find out where the other Cipher Pol Aigis Zero agents were hiding, then wipe them all out and turn them into food.
Soon, the Seven-Star Sword invaded the mind of the half-dead Black Flag Black, who revealed the hidden locations of two more Cipher Pol Aigis Zero agents.
"Ahahaha! Newgate, Linlin, come with me and catch some rats!!"
Houka drained Black Flag Black's blood in an instant, then brought Newgate and Linlin, his two bodyguards, along to eliminate the threat and slap the World Government in the face.
And maybe secure himself a little bonus while he was at it!