Fish-Man Island, ten thousand meters beneath the sea!
On the dim streets of Fish-Man District.
On the rundown streets, Rocks knocked Fish-Men down one after another, defeating many powerful fighters.
The boss of Fish-Man District in this era was Babel, a Catfish Fish-Man.
His hair billowed like flames.
Under Rocks's overwhelming strength, Babel was thoroughly beaten into submission and forced to join the Rocks Pirates.
At that moment, Houka floated outside the battlefield, while all the other Soul Insects had returned to his soul.
The Moonlight Gu had transformed into the pale blue crescent-moon mark on Houka's forehead.
The Gravity Gu had become a purple tiger-shaped tattoo on his arm.
And thanks to the Moon-Moon Fruit's power, Houka could also turn his black hair silver.
With the silver hair and crescent-moon mark, he had a bit of Sesshomaru's cold aura.
Floating in the air, Houka watched Rocks display his power, then turned his gaze to a young Fish-Man.
Why did he look so much like Sambel, the Fish-Man from the Roger Pirates?
To become an elite member of the Roger Pirates, he had to be pretty strong!
Babel, Sambel—how interesting!
Time to poach some talent!
"Hey, are you Sambel? Want to live on the surface with your boss Babel and bask in the real sunlight?"
"See that guy? He's the most evil pirate, the World's Strongest Pirate, with a bounty of 3,811,540,000 Beli. He even took down a Marine Admiral!"
Houka pulled out Rocks's wanted poster and used it as a major selling point in his recruitment pitch.
"What! 3,811,540,000 Beli?"
"He took down a Marine Admiral?"
Houka's shouting immediately set off a commotion throughout Fish-Man District.
When the king of the Ryugu Kingdom and Prince Neptune heard that the most evil pirate, Rocks, had entered Fish-Man Island, the two ministers kept them confined to the palace and wouldn't let them go out.
Houka's use of Rocks's name worked at once.
Quite a few Fish-Man fighters who longed for sunlight and freedom wanted to join the Rocks Pirates.
However, aside from Babel, Rocks wasn't interested in the weak Fish-Men.
Even Sambel, whom Houka had personally recruited, seemed too weak to Rocks and didn't qualify to come aboard.
In the end, though, Rocks allowed Sambel to join at Houka's insistence.
And so, Babel and Sambel of Fish-Man District officially became members of Rocks's crew.
With the two Fish-Men leading the way, Houka and Rocks arrived at the Sea Forest, where they saw the red and gray Poneglyphs.
"Houka, do we really have to take this Road Poneglyph with us? Why not just make a rubbing?"
Rocks thought the Road Poneglyph would be a nuisance if they took it with them.
He didn't want that huge rock taking up space aboard his Sword of Xebec.
"..."
"Forget it, then. We'll leave it here. Just make a few more rubbings!"
Since the captain didn't want to take it, Houka had to set aside the idea for now.
Once he had the Castle-Castle Fruit's power to store things, he could come back for it.
Rocks and Houka, who were hardly short of money, spent several carefree days on Fish-Man Island with Babel and Sambel, the two penniless ruffians from Fish-Man District, showering money around.
At last, they left Fish-Man Island, reluctant to go.
With countless Fish-Man thugs from Fish-Man District cheering them off, the Rocks Pirates left the deep sea and headed for the New World.
Not long after, the Sword of Xebec burst through the surface.
Sambel was the first to cheer. The young Fish-Man really had never left Fish-Man Island before.
Babel, the boss of Fish-Man District, had once secretly visited the Sabaody Archipelago.
"I'm going to make something of myself! I'll become a great pirate who makes the World Government tremble!"
Babel shouted excitedly. He wanted to become a big shot like Rocks.
He didn't have to be able to take down a Marine Admiral. At the very least, he wanted to trade blows with one for dozens of moves!
"Wahahahaha! That's a fine place to start!"
"Houka, where are we going next?"
"Let's see who's closest to being brought into the fold!"
Rocks picked up a thick stack of wanted posters and looked for the future officers who were still scraping by in the first half of the New World.
"Can Vice Captain Houka really see the future?"
After Houka's tall tales, Sambel really had started calling him Vice Captain.
"Sambel, I've told you, Houka isn't the vice captain. There's no vice captain on my ship. Whoever's stronger gets a bigger share of the spoils."
Rocks glared at the sly Houka, who was trying to fool the new recruit.
"Captain Rocks, but even you ask Houka what he thinks."
Babel hadn't called Houka vice captain, but seeing Rocks's attitude, wasn't Houka basically the second-in-command?
And the ability to predict the future was so powerful! So mysterious!
"Hmph! There's still no vice captain on this ship!"
Rocks snorted, but he didn't deny how important Houka was.
"Heh heh, if I'm not the vice captain, then call me the chief strategist!"
Houka gave Sambel an approving look. Authority could be established little by little, without anyone even noticing.
"Next, we'll find that Whale Pirates crew! Edward Newgate is someone I can handle, but Whale Uhale is out of his depth."
"They're already in the first half of the New World, too!"
"Of course, we also need to look into Sleepy Town."
"Captain Rocks, the plan is ready. Give the order!"
Houka spoke casually, but in the end, he still gave Captain Rocks the respect he was due.
"Wahahaha! Then let's charge in and claim our next crewmate!"
Rocks shouted excitedly, and everyone aboard cheered.
With Rocks's formidable strength, the New World's harsh weather was no problem.
If they didn't have an Eternal Pose, they'd take one!
If they didn't have information, they'd buy it from the Underground Dark World!
With a clear goal in mind, Rocks and his crew soon found the White Whale Pirates, who were plundering treasure in the first half of the New World.
"Wahahahaha! Whale Uhale, how about a Davy Back Fight between our pirate crews?"
The moment the two pirate crews met, Rocks sensed Edward Newgate's powerful presence.
That guy was definitely stronger than Whale Uhale, the captain.
Edward Newgate was only eighteen that year, and his trademark white mustache had yet to grow in.
His blond hair was wrapped in a headscarf, and he wore a simple vest that revealed his heavily muscled frame.
He felt Rocks's terrifying presence and was just as shocked.
He had never encountered a monster this powerful!
"The most evil pirate! Rocks!"
The moment Uhale recognized Rocks, he was scared out of his wits.
What had he done to deserve a visit from the strongest pirate, whose bounty was 3,811,540,000 Beli?
"Lord Rocks, you can have the treasure or the Jolly Roger—or even me. Just please don't kill me!"
Whale Uhale, dressed in a pirate captain's outfit, surrendered on the spot. He didn't dare fight Rocks.
Besides, joining Rocks's crew didn't sound like such a bad idea.
"Wahahahaha! You think you could become my subordinate? You're too weak!"
"I take what I want with my own hands!"
Rocks stuck out his tongue and licked his lips, then fixed his gaze on the strongest pirate in the Whale Pirates, Edward Newgate!
Newgate was startled by Rocks's burning gaze.
Was the most evil pirate, the man who had taken down a Marine Admiral, after him?