Shiki's Recruitment

Pirates usually gathered for only two things: drinking and fighting.

Clearly, the area before the Heaven-Piercing Tower was not a good place for drinking.

The pirates on the outskirts noticed Annus, Lilith, and Shiki approaching. They conscientiously made way for them, tugging at their companions to signal the trio's arrival.

"Move it! Idiots! Can't you see who's here?"

As soon as those words rang out, the pirates turned around one after another, fear flashing through their eyes.

"Annus is back!"

Someone shouted, and the pirates in the inner circle who had not noticed the commotion outside also made way.

Annus strolled forward leisurely as the pirates parted like a tide on both sides. With no pirates blocking his view, the space ahead suddenly opened up.

"Lord Annus, you're back."

The one greeting Annus was a naked giant man with a pair of wings on his back.

The giant's muscles were densely knotted. He appeared to be around forty or fifty years old, and his six-meter-tall body did not have an ounce of excess fat.

"Yale, how many times have I told you... don't take your clothes off in public."

Seeing the giant's appearance, Annus sighed.

"Ah! Sorry, I got too excited during the fight..."

Although he was apologizing, the naked giant did not immediately pick up the monk's trousers from the ground. Instead, he tensed his muscles and struck several bodybuilding poses in succession to show off his strength.

"Even now, I still believe that clothes only defile the purity of the human body!" Yale declared solemnly.

Annus helplessly covered his face.

Like Lilith, the giant named Yale was a Birkan who had left Sky Island with Annus back then.

Before Annus took him under his command, this guy had already been a notorious pervert across Sky Island, never willing to wear clothes.

"Uncle Yale! That's far too rude! How can you expose such an unsightly appearance before Lord Annus?!" Lilith pointed at the giant and berated him.

"Put your pants on already!"

"Jihahahaha! Yale, you're still as amusing as ever!"

Shiki clutched his stomach and laughed, only recovering after quite a while.

The surrounding pirates, however, did not dare laugh.

They had seen just how terrifying the power of this monster who liked stripping during battle was!

Only after Lilith's scolding did Yale reluctantly put on his trousers and fasten his belt.

"Lilith said some fool challenged you just now?"

As Annus asked, his gaze fell on a charred corpse before the Heaven-Piercing Tower.

"This guy?"

"Yes, Lord Annus." Yale hoisted the long-handled warhammer beside him onto his shoulder, revealing the cracked ground. "That guy challenged me just now. He wasn't weak, so I failed to hold back for a moment."

Annus nodded. To receive such an assessment from Yale, that poor fool's strength should have surpassed the average level on Hachinosu.

But... in the end, his confidence in his own strength had turned him into an unlucky bastard who could not even leave behind a name.

There were quite a few people like him.

Countless pirates came to Hachinosu because of the Rocks Pirates' notorious reputation, but not just anyone was qualified to join the Rocks Pirates.

To join the Rocks Pirates, one had to display sufficient strength.

Only by defeating the pirates on the outskirts of Beehive and entering the inner island could one earn an audience with Rocks.

That requirement alone stumped most pirates.

This fool had probably wanted to make a name for himself by defeating Yale and thus win Rocks's favor.

But unfortunately... he had chosen the wrong opponent.

There were not many people on this island capable of defeating Yale.

"I was originally hoping to watch some excitement, but I missed it. Jihahahaha, what rotten luck!" Shiki laughed.

"Since there's nothing to watch, get lost already. I have no intention of entertaining you," Annus said.

"How cold! What kind of person drives away a guest like that?" Shiki looked at him resentfully.

"Why didn't you say that when you dropped a bomb on me?"

"Uh... don't mind it. It was just a joke!"

"Hmph. It had better have been."

Whether it had been a joke or not, Annus did not care. He would settle that score eventually anyway.

"While I'm still in a good mood, get out of my sight. Or are you planning to spar with me again after all this time?" Annus frowned slightly.

Shiki was clinging to him like a stubborn bandage today.

"I don't intend to do that..." Shiki scratched his head, then suddenly lowered his voice. "But I have a deal I'd like to discuss with you."

Annus was slightly taken aback.

He looked around and found that the surrounding pirates had yet to disperse.

"Lilith, deal with this."

Upon receiving the order, Lilith's ears immediately reddened as though they were about to bleed, as if she had been granted some form of satisfaction.

"Yes! Lord Annus!"

"Let's talk inside, Shiki."

"Jihahaha! I knew you'd be interested!"

Annus and Shiki entered the Heaven-Piercing Tower. Bare-chested Yale dragged the challenger's corpse away, leaving only Lilith and the pirates who had come to watch the excitement behind.

As Annus's figure vanished into the shadows of the Heaven-Piercing Tower, the redness at Lilith's ears quickly faded.

When she turned toward the pirates, only arrogance and coldness remained.

"How long are you planning to linger outside Lord Annus's door? Get lost already!"

Her harsh words struck the pirates head-on, yet no one grew angry. The pirates grinned foolishly, as though they were enjoying being treated roughly by Lilith.

"So happy! I got to speak with Lady Lilith today!"

"She's as beautiful as ever! Even when she's angry!"

"She's practically an angel!"

For most pirates, after Shakuyaku's disappearance, Lilith was Hachinosu's last treasure.

If Annus's strength had not been impossible to shake, disputes before the Heaven-Piercing Tower would probably have erupted every day. Countless people would have been willing to risk their lives to claim Lilith.

But unfortunately, Lilith belonged to Annus. Opposing Annus was no longer simply foolish—that was the consensus among the old hands who lingered on Hachinosu.

When there was absolutely no chance of success, no one but an idiot would cling to hope and do such a thing.

The pirates still remembered the miserable ends met by those who had once tried to possess Lilith.

Inside the Heaven-Piercing Tower.

"Speak, Shiki. What deal do you want to make with me? If it doesn't interest me, I won't let you off."

Inside a secret room, Annus and Shiki sat facing each other across a golden table. The sofas were covered in white sheepskin.

"I wouldn't have come looking for you if I wasn't confident!"

Shiki seemed utterly certain that Annus would be interested.

"Annus, you don't intend to stay with the Rocks Pirates for the rest of your life, do you? That guy's plan has made almost no progress so far..."

Not long after Rocks occupied Hachinosu, he had probably revealed his plan to the officers.

To become the king of the world!

The key to that plan was obtaining two legendary Devil Fruits and finding the legendary "Frozen Giant Army."