Kneeling, part eight

"Rogge, don't push me too far," Blackbeard said through gritted teeth.

"I'm not pushing you too far. I just think their talents are wasted following you." Rogge rested his chin on his hand and smiled.

Shiryu and the others exchanged glances. Rogge seemed to have a point.

They had only been allies to begin with. Blackbeard had brought them out of Impel Down and told them about his plan to go to Marine Headquarters and seize Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit.

Why had they gone to the Marineford War after escaping Impel Down? They certainly hadn't wanted to die. That was Marine territory, after all. With both Whitebeard and the Marines there, the risk of never making it out was considerable. They had followed Blackbeard only to take a gamble—to see whether he could succeed.

If he failed, they would disband. Shiryu had mentioned that during the Marineford War.

Now Blackbeard had failed, so why should they stay with him? He was fairly strong, but he no longer had any hope of becoming one of the Four Emperors. Staying with him seemed to mean more hardship. They might as well follow Rogge instead.

Although they hadn't seen Rogge fight Whitebeard during the Marineford War, they had seen him take on all of them alone. They knew something of his strength. Following him would be nothing to be ashamed of.

Besides, the Asura Pirates had money—lots of it. After getting out of Impel Down, they had learned that the Asura Pirates now controlled half the Black Market and had even expanded it several times over. That alone showed that the Asura Pirates certainly weren't short of money.

Which was better: a pirate crew with money, influence, plenty of members, and people who knew how to talk?

Or a penniless, powerless crew of beaten