Joining the Rocks Pirates-A Hostile Welcome Right from the Start

"Captain, do you know the [Most Evil Criminal]?"

Rayleigh, Gaban, and the others gathered around, full of curiosity.

This [Most Evil Criminal] was the pirate who had been making the biggest waves lately.

He had even overshadowed the Rocks Pirates.

He had stolen Heavenly Tribute, killed Celestial Dragons, and escaped after being surrounded by several powerful Admirals. He had drawn the attention of countless pirates, both openly and in secret, inspiring admiration and envy.

Even Rayleigh and Gaban were no exception.

"Hahaha, Rono? He's no Most Evil Criminal. He just has a grudge against the Celestial Dragons."

Roger laughed heartily, dismissing the title the World Government had given Rono.

That was just how the World Government was. They liked to call black white and white black.

But he hadn't expected Rono to join the Rocks Pirates!

That Pirate Crew was extremely brutal, often attacking countries and civilians alike.

But considering that Captain Rocks himself was also at odds with the Celestial Dragons and often went after them, perhaps that was why Rono had joined the Rocks Pirates.

"But you've surpassed me again so quickly. That's really annoying."

Roger looked at Rono's Bounty, which had reached a staggering 1.5 billion, and felt provoked.

His own Bounty was only a little over 800 million. He'd have to work harder.

"Anyway, we can't lose to you. We'll have to give it our all too!"

"Brothers, charge! Let's take down that Devil Pirate Crew with a Bounty of 700 million!"

Roger led his crew toward a large Pirate Crew in the distance.

Meanwhile, on Hachinosu Island in the New World.

This was the wealthiest island in the New World, as well as the Rocks Pirates' base.

Whitebeard and Rono had already landed on Hachinosu.

Their arrival immediately drew a crowd!

"Look, isn't that the First Division Commander, Captain Whitebeard? Has Captain Whitebeard been away lately?"

"I was wondering why we hadn't seen Captain Whitebeard for a few days."

"Eh? There's someone with Captain Whitebeard. Th-that's... who is that?"

"Holy shit, my eyes aren't playing tricks on me, are they? Isn't that the [Most Evil Criminal] Rono, who's been making waves lately?"

"His Bounty is a staggering 1.5 billion. He killed a Celestial Dragon right in front of Kong, Garp, Sengoku, and Zephyr! What's he doing here on Hachinosu?"

"It really is him! Was Captain Whitebeard gone all these days because he went to find Rono?"

"Is this guy going to join the Rocks Pirates too?"

"Does that mean our Rocks Pirates have another Great Pirate joining us?"

The Rocks Pirates' members crowded around, deeply interested in Rono's arrival!

After all, this was the [Most Evil Criminal] who had recently overshadowed the Rocks Pirates!

His Bounty was a staggering 1.5 billion, higher than Captain Whitebeard's.

On the Rocks Pirates' crew, only Rocks himself had a higher Bounty than the Most Evil Criminal.

The pirates looked him up and down, wanting to see if this [Most Evil Criminal] Rono was really as vicious as the newspapers claimed.

After all, the World Government's newspapers had painted Rono as an extremely vicious criminal!

He robbed, killed, and preyed on civilians. Rono's brutality was no less than that of any pirate!

But no matter how they looked at him, Rono didn't seem like a tyrannical pirate who did nothing but evil.

Thump, thump!

The next moment, some of the pirates who had gathered around suddenly rolled their eyes back, lost consciousness, and hit the ground.

Rono was releasing his Conqueror's Haki.

After all, Rono hated having a crowd around him chattering away. He wasn't a monkey in a zoo, so he gave them a little warning.

Nearly half the pirates passed out, while some of those who stayed conscious could barely keep their footing.

They were all underlings. It also showed how the Rocks Pirates differed from other Pirate Crews.

If they had been members of another Pirate Crew, Rono's Top-Tier Conqueror's Haki would probably have left only the Captain and a few core officers standing.

"What powerful Conqueror's Haki! It's completely on par with Captain Whitebeard and Captain Shiki!"

Sure enough, as soon as Rono acted, the pirates who had nearly been knocked off their feet hurriedly backed away, clearing a path for Rono and Whitebeard.

At the same time, they formed a rough assessment of Rono.

In terms of Conqueror's Haki alone, Rono was no weaker than the First Division Commander, Whitebeard, or the Second Division Commander, Golden Lion Shiki!

It seemed the newspapers hadn't made anything up.

"Gurararara, you really aren't afraid to act, are you?" Whitebeard couldn't help laughing at the sight.

"These guys are like annoying grasshoppers. They're so noisy," Rono replied.

"But quite a few of the people you knocked out belong to Golden Lion Shiki's crew, and there are also members of Silver Axe, Ochoku, John, and Charlotte Linlin's crews."

"You've just come aboard, and you've already offended all of them." Whitebeard kindly warned him.

"Isn't that how the Rocks Pirates operate? Why be afraid of offending people?" Rono seemed completely unconcerned.

The Rocks Pirates' members and officers often fought each other, sometimes even to the death.

Offending people was normal. Sometimes someone would hold a grudge against you just because of something you said without thinking.

Rono couldn't be bothered to worry about all that. He'd deal with the bunch who annoyed him first.

"Gurararara, true. I guess I was overthinking it." Whitebeard realized he'd been worrying too much. He had seen Rono's strength for himself.

So what if he'd offended them!

Besides, Golden Lion, Silver Axe, Charlotte, and those others wouldn't fall out with the other officers over a few low-level members.

Just then, a figure approached from the distance.

The aura around him was terrifying. Rono could feel it even from far away!

Rono had never encountered such a terrifying aura before.

It was definitely above Whitebeard's and his own, and above Kong's, Garp's, Sengoku's, and Zephyr's as well!

Only when he drew near did Rono get a clear look at him.

He had an exaggerated red spiked mohawk, and his red cloak snapped in the sea breeze!

Even beneath his loose clothes, his muscles filled them out completely!

He wasn't especially tall, standing around 2.5 meters, but his powerful, suffocating aura of a king made no one dare look down on him!

This was the king of the seas, Rocks D. Xebec!

"Hahahahaha, Rono! Meeting you in person is even better than hearing about you!"

"To be honest, I've been looking forward to your arrival these past few days!"

The moment Rocks saw Rono—and the crewmen sprawled unconscious on the ground—he didn't get angry at all. Instead, he burst into a hearty laugh!

Unlike what Rono had imagined, Rocks wasn't the cold and ruthless type. If anything, he was quite approachable.

If not for the terrifying aura of a king he exuded, it would be hard to imagine that he was the Captain of the strongest Pirate Crew on these seas!

After all, it was difficult to recruit so many Great Pirates through bloodshed and force alone.

"Go notify Shiki, Charlotte, and John, Ochoku, and the others at once!"

"We're holding a banquet tonight to celebrate Rono joining us!"

Rocks quickly gave the order, and the underlings hurried off to notify Shiki and the others.

That night, Shiki, Charlotte, John, Silver Axe, and the other famous officers arrived one after another.

On the one hand, they were showing respect for Captain Rocks. They had to obey his orders.

On the other hand, they also wanted to see for themselves what the [Most Evil Criminal], who had been making waves lately, was like.