Recruiting Subordinates

On the second day after settling on Hachinosu Island, Li Yuan had just planned to head out and find a place to train when he discovered that the doorway had already been blocked by a large crowd of pirates.

"Li Yuan cadre, please let me join your fleet!!"

"Decapitation Sword Master, I'm willing to follow you into battle!"

"Please take me in as your subordinate!!!"

"I'm willing—"

"."

The several hundred pirates at the door immediately erupted into cheers when they saw Li Yuan step outside, all shouting that they wanted to join his crew.

Every cadre of the Rocks Pirates established their own fleet and recruited subordinates. It could be said that every cadre was a towering pillar of the Rocks Pirates.

Of course, that excluded Whitebeard, who did not like recruiting subordinates, and Charlotte Linlin, whom no pirates had joined. The other cadres all commanded quite a few pirates and fleets.

As a new cadre, Li Yuan had displayed extraordinary potential, so naturally many pirates wanted to join his ranks.

"Good grief. You never know until you look, and once you do, it's shocking!"

Li Yuan had long anticipated that pirates would come to pledge themselves to him.

But what he had not expected was that, after sweeping them with his Observation Haki, he found that sixty percent of the several hundred pirates harbored ill intent toward him.

There was no need to think about it. Some of these pirates were spies planted by other Rocks Pirates cadres, while others were infiltrators from the Marines or the World Government. Some were simply pirates who already bore him ill will.

Li Yuan could only be speechless. He had thought these pirates had all come to join him sincerely.

"Ha ha ha ha, excellent. Choosing to join me is a very wise decision."

"But I don't take just anyone. You, you, and you lot, step forward. I like the look of you today, so I'll take you in. The rest of you can go back where you came from."

Among the pirates who had come to join him, Li Yuan selected fifty who held no hostility toward him and accepted them.

He would not be an oddball like Whitebeard. Since he had joined the Rocks Pirates, he had to act the part.

Besides, having more subordinates was not a bad thing. At the very least, he would have plenty of cannon fodder and people to use in the future, so he would not need to handle everything himself.

"What about me? Why wasn't I chosen?"

"Decapitation Sword Master, I want to join too!!"

"Me too, me too!!"

"."

When the remaining several hundred saw that Li Yuan had chosen only fifty people, they were deeply dissatisfied. They had come to join him with "sincerity," yet he had shut them out. That was simply unreasonable.

Thus, the pirates began making a loud commotion.

"Hmph!!!!"

Seeing this, Li Yuan gave a cold snort. His Longsword instantly left its sheath, and a fifty-meter slash swept through the crowd.

"Sshhk, sshhk, sshhk!!!"

The twenty-odd people at the front who had been making the biggest fuss all had their heads severed by Li Yuan's slash. Blood spurted forth, and the stench of gore spread through the air.

In an instant, the noisy scene fell completely silent.

"Anyone who has an objection to what I did can come find out whether my blade is sharp enough!"

Li Yuan coldly swept his gaze over the speechless pirates. Even without using Conqueror's Haki, he had still intimidated them.

Only now did they remember that this was the ruthless Decapitation Sword Master who had beheaded more than a thousand pirates, one sword stroke at a time, within a quarter of an hour.

Though he usually appeared calm and easygoing, he was actually a slaughter-crazed demon.

After Li Yuan made an example of them, the once-noisy pirates all hurried away, afraid that they would be beheaded by a single slash.

"You fifty were chosen by me. Since you have joined me, work hard. Follow me, and you won't be disappointed."

"Also, choose a captain among yourselves later. Once you've chosen one, come find me at the southernmost shore of Hachinosu Island."

Li Yuan said this to the fifty pirates who had joined him.

He gave them a rough assessment. These pirates were not especially strong, but they were decent enough, roughly between the ranks of Marine Headquarters lieutenant and Colonel.

This was also his first batch of subordinates.

After saying a few words, Li Yuan left and allowed them to act on their own.

He did not have that much time to manage his subordinates. The best method was to choose a captain and let them manage themselves.

"Ha ha ha, my name is Zet Mari. I intend to be captain. Anyone who disagrees, step forward and fight me. Whoever can defeat me, I'll submit to him!"

After Li Yuan left, Zet Mari stepped out from among the fifty.

"Hmph, we all joined the Decapitation Sword Master. Why should you be captain? I refuse to accept that. I challenge you."

"I refuse too. I should be the captain!"

"Count me in. I believe I have the strength to be captain!"

"."

Zet Mari's words drew objections from the other pirates, who all wanted to challenge him for the captain's position.

"Ha ha ha, then come on. Will you face me one at a time or all together? No matter what kind of challenge it is, I'll take it."

"Hmph, I alone can defeat you. Why would I need anyone else's help?"

"That's right, that's right. We'll go one at a time. It wouldn't be fair if we all attacked together!"

"."

After a round of contests, Mari won without any surprise.

He was a cut above the other pirates in strength, and he had mastered Armament Haki. The other pirates were no match for him.

In the end, Mari became captain, commanding the forty-nine pirates who had submitted to Li Yuan.

"Alright, from now on, I'm your captain. We all answer to Decapitation Sword Master Li Yuan!!"

After defeating all those who refused to accept him, Mari said excitedly.

When Mari led the forty-nine subordinates to the shore Li Yuan had mentioned, they saw a scene that made them question their lives.

The Decapitation Sword Master they had submitted to was actually being continuously beaten by a group of people wielding weapons. No matter how they looked at it, it seemed like a scene where he was being brutalized.

"Looks like Kano and the others are a little too weak. They can barely break through my physical defense."

After Tempering his skin with Haki, his external defense had grown increasingly powerful. Even when Kano and the others attacked with all their strength, they could only barely break his skin.

This rate of impact seriously hindered the efficiency of using Haki to temper his skin.

"You lot, stop standing around. Replace them and use your strongest methods to hit me!"

Li Yuan glanced at Mari and the others as they approached.

"Boss, my name is Zet Mari. I'm the captain of this team."

Upon hearing Li Yuan's words, Mari immediately ran over with the others.