Passive Ghost, Embarrassed Silver Axe

"Hahaha! I wonder if he's been finished off yet!"

Golden Lion Shiki gave a cruel smile. He knew this smuggling pirate captain, Ganzi, was just as famous as the Pirate Patriarch, Ochoku.

He was far more renowned than a newcomer like himself.

In fact, Ganzi's current bounty was even higher than his and Silver Axe's!

If Ganzi succeeded in joining, there would be yet another powerful figure looming over their heads.

Thinking of this, Golden Lion Shiki felt a twinge of resentment toward the World Government and Marine Headquarters.

They had previously taken down the Pirate Patriarch, Ochoku, who held a bounty of 757 million.

He had fought Ochoku to a near stalemate, so even if his own bounty hadn't risen to 700 million, it should have at least hit 600 million Beli.

That would have allowed his bounty to surpass Ganzi's 570 million Beli.

However, Shiki's current bounty wasn't much lower than Ganzi's, trailing by only twenty or thirty million.

As of now, Golden Lion Shiki's bounty remained at 547 million Beli, having yet to be updated.

"Damn it! The Rocks Pirates are getting stronger and stronger! I absolutely cannot end up as mere background scenery!"

Silver Axe Xiong looked toward Skull Castle, feeling immense pressure weighing down on him.

Furthermore, Ganzi was also a powerful Devil Fruit user.

Every one of these guys was a fruit user, which only stoked Silver Axe's desire for a Devil Fruit of his own!

When on earth would they finally be able to head to the North Blue to hunt for Devil Fruits?

At the port of Elysium Island.

Bolo Gram, sporting a pineapple-shaped head, finally landed on the island with his subordinates.

From a distance, he saw Silver Axe Xiong standing guard alone.

Yet, he felt this guy didn't seem like much.

And yet, Silver Axe Xiong's bounty was a hundred or two hundred million higher than his own.

Was this the invisible boost gained from joining the Rocks Pirates?

Silver Axe Xiong had participated in the war to crush the Marine fleet alongside the Rocks Pirates and had piggybacked on the fame of killing the Pirate Patriarch, Ochoku, which was why his bounty had risen so rapidly.

If Silver Axe had been on his own, would he have dared to strike at the Marines? Would he have dared to challenge great pirates like Ochoku?

Leading the Bolo Pirates, he had been incredibly cautious, dodging those great pirates and Marine powerhouses, which was why his own bounty had grown so slowly.

Bolo Gram observed Silver Axe through several battles, finally determining his own standing in terms of strength.

He especially noticed several pirates with bounties similar to his own who seemed weaker than him.

So, he was actually this strong!

Bolo Gram gradually grew more confident.

However, he had no intention of joining the Rocks Pirates as an officer or becoming an affiliated crew.

He preferred to go on adventures with his own companions.

Coming to Elysium Island this time was just to broaden his horizons.

Only by seeing more powerhouses could he clearly recognize his own strength.

Just then.

"I'm such a piece of trash! I shouldn't have been born, I'm a failure!"

"I've let down my hometown, I'm a coward!"

Pirates began to kneel and weep in repentance one after another, causing the surrounding pirates to jump back in fear, casting wary glances at the man wearing a cowboy hat.

This guy actually possessed four arms.

He was of the rare Four-Armed Tribe, which, like the Three-Eye Tribe, was on the verge of extinction.

"Hey, if you don't have the guts to fight, don't block the road!"

[Four-Armed Gun King] Gier Buster flicked his cowboy hat, making a dashing entrance with four pistols tucked into his waist and four white ghosts floating beside him.

It was precisely his ghosts that had just passed through those pirates.

That was why those poor wretches had been forced to kneel and repent.

"What a bizarre ability!"

"I wonder if Haki can resist it!"

Bolo Gram shielded his subordinates behind him, looking at this eerie cowboy gunman with equal wariness.

If one were to be controlled by those ghosts and forced to their knees, the gunman could easily slaughter anyone who fell victim to the technique.

"I only came to watch the show, but now I'm starting to think joining the Rocks Pirates might not be so bad after all!"

Gier Buster glanced at the Skull Castle, and he felt an urge to climb to its peak and look down upon the masses.

He walked straight toward Silver Axe Xiong.

If I can hold my own against this guy, or even defeat him, will I be able to meet Rocks?

At that moment, Silver Axe Xiong flung a pirate captain away with a single motion.

"You don't even have the qualifications to be an affiliate captain!"

In a foul mood, Silver Axe was using these pirates as his personal punching bags.

Ganzi had not died and had even appeared on the eye of the skull.

That meant Ganzi had successfully joined the Rocks Pirates.

"Yo, I want to become an executive of the Rocks Pirates! Is defeating you all it takes?"

Gier Buster pointed both of his right arms at Silver Axe, a faint smile on his face.

"You dare point at me! Be careful, or I'll chop your hands off!"

"You've got plenty of hands anyway!"

Silver Axe Xiong looked at the four-armed cowboy wearing sunglasses, his gaze turning icy beneath the lenses.

This guy actually wanted to become an executive of the Rocks Pirates!

"How irritable!"

"Before you joined the Rocks Pirates, your bounty was 300 million Beli, and now it's only risen to 400 million."

"Honestly, if I had participated in the Battle of Omaha and the Battle of Elysium Island, my bounty would definitely be higher than yours!"

Gier Buster acted as if he didn't hold Silver Axe in any regard at all, believing that Silver Axe had merely ridden the coattails of the Rocks Pirates' fame.

"You're courting death!!"

Silver Axe Xiong flew into a rage, lunging forward with a sudden burst of speed.

His bounty being too low had always been a sore spot for him, especially after being surpassed by that guy, Golden Lion Shiki.

Now, seeing the ghosts surrounding this four-armed cowboy, he realized this was another Devil Fruit user.

This made Silver Axe even angrier!

"Irritable brute!"

Gier Buster grinned, drawing his guns with all four arms and firing simultaneously; two of the bullets carried Negative Ghosts.

Two more Negative Ghosts charged at Silver Axe from the left and right.

Silver Axe erupted with powerful Armament Haki, intending to blast away these soft, wispy ghosts, even coating his body in Armament Haki for defense.

"Kneel and repent, you brute!!"

Gier Buster chuckled, a look of victory already appearing on his face.

The two bullets and the two ghost-bullets were blasted away by Silver Axe, but one of the Negative Ghosts from the flanks managed to forcibly penetrate his dispersed Armament Haki defense.

Silver Axe, who had been mid-charge, instantly dropped to his knees.

"I'm just a loser abandoned by the Goddess of Luck; I can't even come across a single Devil Fruit. I'll never be able to catch up to those guys in this lifetime..."

Silver Axe's eyes filled with tears, and he looked like an abandoned kitten or puppy, consumed by despair.

"Tsk tsk, big trouble, time for me to slip away!"

Seeing Silver Axe make such a fool of himself, Gier Buster rushed toward the Skull Castle.

He had to successfully join the Rocks Pirates, otherwise, he would likely be harassed by Silver Axe forever.

"Jiehahaha! Xiong, you trash! You're killing me!"

"But you're right about one thing—you'll never catch up to us in this lifetime!"

Seeing Silver Axe fall for the trick, Golden Lion Shiki didn't help; instead, he laughed wantonly, mockingly ridiculing his old rival, Xiong.

A short while later, as the effect of the Negative Ghost wore off.

Upon recovering, Silver Axe's face turned incredibly red!

The blush of a grown man was more intense than anything else!

"Bastard! I'm going to slaughter you!!"