"Linlin, aren't we your new companions and family?"
Houka decisively strengthened their bond, hoping to replace the false affection the human trafficker Mother Carmel had shown her.
Only if Linlin's bond with Carmel changed would she have a chance of absorbing Carmel in reverse someday.
Otherwise, Mother Carmel would influence and replace her.
Of course, Houka admitted that he and Carmel were both bad people.
"That's wonderful, Houka! You've gone from being my good friend to my new family!"
Charlotte Linlin smiled happily at Houka. For the moment, her longing for Mother Carmel had turned into joy at having a new family.
Newgate listened as Houka slowly 'sweet-talked' Charlotte Linlin.
Still, having new companions and family really was something to look forward to.
Houka, you're so calculating. I hope I can become your real family.
Newgate knew Houka's feelings weren't entirely pure, but he still held on to a little hope.
At least Houka was much better than Rocks, Shiki, Xiong, and those bastards.
The three of them soon stormed a bar on Elysium Island.
Newgate opened with a punch, and the violent shockwave reduced the entire bar to ruins.
As the pirates and Cipher Pol Aigis Zero agents inside panicked, an Anti-Gravity Field spread across the area.
All the rubble and people were forcibly lifted into the air, leaving them fully exposed to the three of them.
"Wororororo! Houka and Newgate make a pretty good team."
Across the island, Rocks had taken over the Ochoku Pirates' stronghold. When he saw the ruins and rocks blotting out the sky, he burst into laughter.
The spectacle really was over the top!
"I see them!"
"Heavenly Fire!"
Charlotte Linlin spotted the two masked Cipher Pol agents in white suits and immediately fired a blast of flames at them.
"Damn it! We've been exposed!"
"The plan's failed! Ochoku is dead! Black is dead!"
The two Cipher Pol Aigis Zero agents panicked. They quickly broke free of Houka's anti-gravity power and fled frantically through the air with Geppo.
But Linlin's lightning and fire attacks, along with Newgate's shockwaves, forced them back.
"Ten-Direction Gravity: Chibaku Tensei!"
Houka clasped his hands together and unleashed gravity from every direction, crushing the two Cipher Pol Aigis Zero agents, a large number of pirates, and countless ruins and rocks into a gigantic stone sphere.
"Kehahaha! Houka's Gravity Ability is even flashier than my Float-Float Ability!"
"I'll have a go, too!"
"Earth Control: Lion's Might!"
Golden Lion Shiki flew down and slapped the ground. His Float-Float Fruit Ability surged into action, lifting countless clumps of earth that formed into two enormous lions and charged toward the pirates!
"Monsters! They're all monsters!"
The pirates on Elysium Island were so terrified by the power Houka and Shiki wielded over everything that they nearly wet themselves.
"So you can use it as a seal, too!"
Seeing Houka use gravity to seal and suppress the pirates, Golden Lion Shiki decided to experiment and imitate him, developing a technique of his own.
His earthen lions swept across the ground, sealing a large number of pirates inside rock and dirt and turning them into a towering pillar.
Screaming pirates were embedded all over it.
"Bastards!"
Silver Axe Xiong stared at the enormous sphere in the sky and the towering stone pillar, his eyes filled with envy and jealousy.
Houka and Shiki had stolen all the attention again!
He wanted a powerful Devil Fruit Ability more and more.
"That's terrifying! Great Demon Lord Houka and Golden Lion Shiki are terrifying!"
"So these are the Rocks Pirates' strongest officers!"
"Is that a meteorite?!"
Countless pirates were scared out of their wits. Even the crews that had already escaped to sea stared in shock at the floating meteorite and towering pillar on the island.
What a sight!
If Rocks only recruited the strong, they would've wanted to join the Rocks Pirates, too.
They wondered when the Rocks Pirates would start recruiting affiliated crews.
If Rocks so much as opened his mouth, they'd rush to become his subordinates!
Houka and the others quickly dealt with the two Cipher Pol Aigis Zero agents.
With Newgate and Linlin's help, Houka successfully devoured the two formidable elite Cipher Pol Aigis Zero agents.
"What an intoxicating power!"
Houka once again felt strength surging through him. He didn't spare the Ochoku Pirates or any of Ochoku's affiliated crews, harvesting a good supply of blood-based powers.
That would give him plenty of strength to create his next blood servant.
Better safe than sorry!
Houka really was becoming more and more like a vampire demon.
At Rocks's call, the Planetary Devastation meteorite Houka had created was dropped onto the Ochoku Pirates' stronghold, becoming a new landmark.
It looked a little like the enormous Skull Castle on Hachinosu.
Along with the pillar Shiki had left behind, the massacre on Elysium Island had created a new attraction: number ten.
"Boom! Boom!"
With two slashes, Rocks used his Cannonball Sword Technique to blast a pair of 'eyes' into Houka's Planetary Devastation. A huge flag bearing the Rocks Pirates' emblem was planted atop the dome.
The entire Rocks Pirates crew climbed up onto the eyes and looked down over Elysium Island.
"Wororororo! Let's make this island our first base!"
"What Pirate Patriarch? He was nothing but trash!"
Rocks spread his arms, as if embracing the whole world.
"Kehahaha! This sphere doesn't look good! Watch me give it an artistic makeover!"
Golden Lion Shiki used his Float-Float Fruit Ability to reshape Houka's Planetary Devastation into a skull.
There was no denying that Golden Lion Shiki's Float-Float Fruit Ability was more versatile than the Island-Island Fruit Ability.
"Hey, Rocks, what's the point of claiming territory? Let's hurry through the West Blue and then head to the North Blue!"
Silver Axe Xiong wasn't interested in territory right now. He just wanted to find a powerful Devil Fruit Ability as soon as possible.
"Wororororo! With territory, strong people will keep coming to join us!"
"Houka, what do you think?"
Rocks laughed heartily. After killing the Pirate Patriarch Ochoku today, the Rocks Pirates were sure to make a name for themselves.
Perhaps the Rocks Pirates could begin their rise to prominence by recruiting affiliated crews.
Of course, not just any Tom, Dick, or Harry could become an affiliated crew of the Rocks Pirates!
Only the truly strong could become members of the Rocks Pirates!
Only the strongest among the strong could join the Rocks Pirates and become true top officers.
"I'm not Fang Yuan. How else would I look at it? I'm standing here looking at it."
"You're the captain. You can decide these things yourself!"
Houka shrugged. He needed to properly absorb what he'd gained this time: a Pirate Patriarch, three elite Cipher Pol Aigis Zero agents, and the blood of countless elite pirates.
That would be enough to bring about a true transformation in Houka!
Awakening Haki was just around the corner!
"Then let's use this newfound fame to stay on Elysium Island and recruit for a month before heading to the West Blue!"
Rocks's eyes gleamed with ambition. He wanted to see whether any great pirates from the New World would come pledge themselves to him.
If no one came, they'd go and seize them one by one later!