Golden Lion Shiki and Silver Axe Xiong had been sent by Rocks to test the strength of the pirates arriving on the island.
Any pirate crew hoping to become an affiliate of the Rocks Pirates needed to have considerable fighting strength.
Their bounties had to start at 200 million Beli.
Only pirates with formidable strength, powerful Devil Fruit abilities, or limitless potential were qualified to join the Rocks Pirates proper.
The user of the Teleport-Teleport Fruit Houka had been searching for still hadn't shown up.
Even Kurozumi Higurashi and her brother hadn't managed to contact Golden Lion Shiki.
Houka was at a loss!
Was getting a fourth Devil Fruit ability really that difficult?
Or did even the God of Fate disapprove of Houka acquiring the Teleport-Teleport Fruit and Barrier, two life-saving abilities?
For now, Houka could only keep developing the Blood Shadow Movement technique from his Vampire Ability, aiming to achieve a sort of pseudo-teleportation!
At the training ground where Rocks beat Houka to a pulp.
"Hey, Rocks! A smuggler pirate named Ganzi wants to see you. He says he wants to supply Elysium Island."
Nautilus Babel brought a little giant dressed in golden armor aboard the Chibaku Tensei Skull.
If Babel hadn't heard Rocks and Houka mention Ganzi before, he definitely wouldn't have brought him to the main base.
At the very least, he would've made Ganzi fight Golden Lion Shiki and Silver Axe Xiong.
"Who?"
"Ganzi?"
"Wahahaha! Houka, someone really did come to us on his own!"
"This is a lot more convenient than searching for them one by one!"
Rocks burst into delighted laughter. They'd wasted plenty of time looking for Shiki and Charlotte Linlin, those two who could fly.
Charlotte Linlin in particular had been avoiding the Rocks Pirates ever since Streusen interfered.
They'd spent months searching for her.
Rocks had nearly been furious enough to burst into flames.
Now, at last, a new officer had come to them of his own accord!
"Hope you manage to bring him around."
Houka panted as he finished his high-pressure training with Rocks. He couldn't be bothered to care how Rocks would beat Ganzi into submission.
After devouring so many powerful people and so much blood, his body had completed its cellular transformation years ahead of schedule.
They said that all the cells in a person's body were replaced every seven years.
Under this world's unusual rules and with its abundant energy, combined with his powerful Devil Fruit abilities, Houka had nearly completed his transformation in just three years since arriving in this world.
Even his bones and internal organs had been strengthened to an astonishing degree.
He could already sense that he had the talent to awaken Armament Haki and Observation Haki.
And he probably had the kingly disposition to awaken Conqueror's Haki, too.
"I had to ask for help with Sambel, Newgate, and Linlin."
"But I still prefer beating Babel, Shiki, and Xiong into submission myself."
Rocks flashed his white teeth, for the moment sparing Houka, the little brat whose secret bounty had dared to surpass his own.
"Hey, hey, hey, Rocks! I'm still right here!"
Hearing Rocks brag about beating him into submission, Babel immediately shouted.
Didn't he have any dignity?
Ganzi's pupils narrowed. He'd come to negotiate a deal with Rocks, not to join the Rocks Pirates.
"Ganzi, what deal? What supplier? Just join the Rocks Pirates!"
"I'll take you out raiding myself!"
"But before you join, I still need to test your strength."
Rocks didn't give Ganzi a chance to speak. His Conqueror's Haki erupted, and he drew Xebec's Sword and slashed at him.
It was his standard greeting for new members!
"Captain Rocks! I'm a smuggler pirate. I came to negotiate a deal..."
Ganzi hadn't expected Rocks to ignore the unspoken rules of the pirate world: don't attack smuggler pirates or News Coo.
Faced with Rocks's terrifying attack, Ganzi had no choice but to fight back with all his might.
Even so, he was sent crashing into the wall in an instant, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
"I know there are rules in the pirate world, but now, my rules are the rules!"
"So, tell me. Are you joining the Rocks Pirates or not?"
Rocks slung his greatsword over his shoulder and strode toward the rubble. He planted a foot on the broken stones, looked down at the badly injured Ganzi, and grinned.
He had no time for rules and sentiment, the way Houka did.
He preferred to let strength do the talking!
"You..."
"..."
"I give in..."
Ganzi wanted to curse out Rocks for being a bastard who didn't follow the rules, but when he saw the murderous look in Rocks's eyes,
he wisely chose to join.
He didn't want to be cut down by that lunatic Rocks.
"Wahahaha! Welcome to the Rocks Pirates!"
Rocks hauled Ganzi to his feet, giving the new member at least a little face.
"Houka, see? Quick and easy!"
Rocks turned to Houka smugly, as if showing off that his way was the best and fastest.
"Sorry about that, Ganzi. Please forgive our reckless captain!"
"But joining the Rocks Pirates will be the best deal you've ever made."
"We'll throw a banquet for you tonight. You'll get to experience what it's like to be an officer in the World's Strongest pirate crew."
Houka flew over to Ganzi and flicked his fingers. The rubble scattered across the ground rose into the air and pressed itself back into the wall.
"Let's hope so."
Ganzi gave a strained laugh, suppressing his anger and displeasure as he forced a smile.
Though Rocks was an unreasonable bastard, the vice captain, Houka, seemed pretty approachable.
Looking at Houka's stunning looks and elegant bearing, Ganzi couldn't help but marvel. No wonder this Supreme Succubus had a secret bounty of 4 billion Beli placed on him by a Celestial Dragon woman!
But when he remembered that Houka had personally killed the Pirate Patriarch Ochoku, Ganzi knew that this handsome, otherworldly man was no simple character.
"Rocks is cruel to his enemies, but he treats his own people pretty well."
Houka lifted Ganzi into the air and carried him toward the treatment area.
Come to think of it, the Rocks Pirates didn't even have a ship's doctor.
Whenever someone got hurt, they had to heal on their own.
But every member of the Rocks Pirates was a monster. As long as they weren't killed on the spot, they could pretty much recover.
"Is that so..."
Ganzi sneaked a glance at Rocks. That bastard had opened with a domineering slash that had nearly killed him on the spot.
What kind of test was that?
If he couldn't withstand one slash from Rocks, would he simply have died, never even getting the chance to join the Rocks Pirates?
"From now on, you'll handle the business on Elysium Island and the officers' procurement. You'll be able to earn even more."
"You'll also have the protection of the Rocks Pirates."
Houka continued talking the smuggler pirate around, so he wouldn't be harboring resentment toward Rocks.
As the chief strategist and vice captain, he really did go out of his way to clean up after that reckless captain, Rocks.
Still, Rocks and Houka made a pretty effective good-cop, bad-cop team.
These arrogant pirates needed Rocks's unmatched strength to beat the defiance out of them.
Only then would they listen to Houka.
The explosive rumbling atop the Chibaku Tensei Skull stirred up another wave of discussion among the pirates below.
"The guy who went up with Lord Babel just now... that was Ganzi, right?"
"Heh. Wonder if Ganzi got killed or if Lord Rocks brought him to heel?"
The pirates all grinned wickedly, while Buckingham Stussy looked a little uneasy.
If she went and joined them herself, would Rocks make her take a slash, too?
With that ridiculous force and destruction, she definitely wouldn't be able to take it. She'd fucking die!