Chapter 46 / Chapter 47

Belo Betty shrugged and said casually, "If we're in town, it can't be a Devil Fruit. A new recruit must be joining."

"Baccarat, you're amazing! Every time I hear that, I get excited. Horo, horo, horo!"

Perona floated over to Baccarat, anticipation lighting up her small face.

Reiju approached with graceful steps. She nodded and smiled. "Baccarat's Devil Fruit Ability really is powerful."

"With her around, and Chris's strength on top of that, anything we do is bound to succeed."

On the deck.

"The Captain's shown up again! I hope this recruit likes a fight. I've been waiting to become First Division Commander! Wahahaha!"

Burgess threw both arms into the air, his face alight with excitement.

Doc Q coughed. "As long as he isn't like Trafalgar Law, I can accept anyone else."

Lafitte twirled his cane, as polite as ever.

"Law just isn't interested in being a Division Commander. With his strength, he could easily lead the Second Squad if he wanted to."

Law held his Demonic Sword Kikoku and said coldly, "We still don't have enough people. Once we've got six or seven candidates, we can settle it with one fight."

Honey Queen glanced at them, speechless. "Every time good fortune comes our way, all you think about is another Division Commander Challenge. Is it really that fun?"

"Men admire strength. They like settling things with their fists."

Reiju looked at Honey Queen and smiled. "That's true of all men. You can't really blame them."

She actually approved of the Ship's Rules Chris had established.

With his overwhelming strength, Chris kept everyone aboard in line and gave them a fair way to compete.

That was bound to make the crew grow stronger quickly.

It was an excellent approach!

"Let's go!"

Chris wasted no more words. He leaped down and landed in Callet Town.

Pato did not follow Chris this time. He jumped straight onto Bepo's shoulder.

The two animals had been calling each other brothers lately and had become inseparable.

Soon, everyone had reached the shore and headed into town...

Inside town, on a certain street.

It was a bustling stretch lined with all kinds of shops: cosmetics stores, clothing stores...

At the end of the street, vendors had set up stalls selling trinkets, seafood, and a dazzling assortment of other goods.

One stall bore a sign that read "Fortunes Told."

"Excuse me, how many Beli for a reading?"

A passerby looked at the stall owner and asked out of curiosity.

Hawkins toyed with his cards and answered calmly, "That depends on the person."

"There's nothing remarkable about you, so I won't predict your future."

The passerby froze, struggling to make sense of that.

What did he mean? Was money not enough to get a reading?

Just then, a vendor at a neighboring stall burst out laughing. "This young man's a strange one. He didn't set up shop to make money. It's just a hobby for him."

"He's always been like that. We're used to it, and there's nothing we can do."

The other vendors laughed too, their laughter tinged with mockery.

They had known Hawkins for some time. He always acted aloof and cold, and he never spoke to them.

He often offended customers during readings. The man behaved like a fool.

They were embarrassed to be associated with him!

"What a nutcase."

After hearing the vendors, the passerby muttered a curse and walked away.

Hawkins ignored everything around him. Head lowered, he continued playing with his cards.

Then a clamor of footsteps approached, accompanied by voices.

"Is that him?"

Honey Queen looked at the man before her. She knitted her brows and shook her head. "Strange eyebrows, and his eyes and nose are unusual too. How should I put it?"

"There's something off about him. He looks gloomy and gives me the creeps."

Belo Betty took a drag on her cigarette, composed as ever. "Looks don't matter. Strength does."

Perona hovered in the air, her little face scrunched up. "He's ugly. I don't like him."

Reiju touched her delicate chin and began to analyze him.

"He certainly looks like a fortune-teller. Could his ability be predicting the future?"

"If it is, that would be impressive."

Burgess shrugged, sounding disappointed. "There goes my chance. One look at this guy and you can tell he's not much of a fighter."

Lafitte adjusted his top hat and said gently, "If Baccarat chose him, he can't be weak."

Law frowned. "There's something unsettling about him."

Hearing so many people discuss him, Hawkins stopped playing with his cards. He slowly raised his head and looked at the newcomers.

The man in front wore black from head to toe. Calm and steady, he carried himself with a distinctive air.

The others included both men and women, and every one of them looked powerful.

Then the man in black spoke, his face expressionless and his voice even.

"Let me introduce myself. I'm Chris, captain of the Chris Pirates."

"I happened to pass by and thought you were strong enough to join my crew."

Chris looked at Hawkins. "Since you're good at predicting the future, tell me what's about to happen to you."

The others stayed silent and watched Hawkins, waiting for his answer.

Hawkins paid Chris and the others no mind. His hands moved quickly as he shuffled the cards.

"Fight: chance of defeat, 100%!"

Hawkins drew a card, glanced at it, and spoke to himself.

He set it aside and drew another.

"Escape: chance of success, 0%!"

Everyone found his method of predicting the future rather entertaining.

Honey Queen watched Hawkins with curiosity in her beautiful eyes. Smiling slightly, she said, "So that's how he makes his predictions!"

"Still, he seems pretty accurate."

"Is that a magic trick? It looks like fun! Horo, horo, horo..."

Perona's little face lit up with interest. She had always loved anything new and unusual.

Belo Betty exhaled a stream of smoke. "In front of Chris, he has no other choice. His fate was decided the moment we arrived."

Reiju looked at Baccarat, blinked her beautiful eyes, and smiled. "He's very calm. He must be fairly strong."

Baccarat nodded and said gently, "This is my first time seeing a magician, so I don't know much about people like him."

"But since Chris invited him, he certainly can't be too weak."

Burgess had always been blunt. Seeing Hawkins act this way got on his nerves.

"Can't a grown man just make up his mind? What's the point of all this fortune-telling?"

Doc Q gave Burgess a mysterious smile and egged him on. "Why don't you just beat him until he agrees?"

Lafitte twirled his cane, still impeccably polite. "Doc Q, stop trying to stir up trouble within the crew. That's dangerous."

"Besides, if they fought, Burgess might not win."

Law watched Hawkins. The man was strange indeed. Staying this calm meant he had tremendous confidence in his own strength.

Tremendous confidence!

Then Hawkins's steady voice rang out again.

"Defend: chance of evasion, 0%!"

"Join: chance of success, 100%!"

After reciting a long list of predictions, Hawkins put away his cards and said, as calm as ever, "I've seen the future, Captain!"

Honey Queen smoothed her golden hair and said casually, "We knew how this would end."

"Another recruit. The crew's even stronger now." Belo Betty took a drag on her cigarette.

Reiju looked at Chris's back and smiled brightly. "That's good news. Our plan's chances of success keep improving."

"Let's go."

With that, Chris turned and walked away without another word to Hawkins.

Once the group had left, the neighboring vendors hurried to gossip.

"Who were those people? Every last one looked terrifying."

"Who else could they be? Ruthless pirates!"

"That Hawkins kid joined a Pirate Crew? Has he lost his mind?"

"Who cares? Good riddance. I'm sick of looking at him."

"Still, those women pirates were gorgeous!"

"Kang Shun, women pirates are strong. With your scrawny build, they'd wear you out."

"Hahaha..."

Aboard the Chris.

Chris had little to say to Hawkins. After giving him a brief instruction, he went off to train.

Honey Queen and the others did not much like the gloomy man. He had made a poor first impression.

None of them felt like getting to know him, so they followed Chris.

"Welcome to the Chris Pirates. I'm Lafitte, the First Mate."

The introduction rolled off Lafitte's tongue. He continued politely, "Now, let me explain a few things..."

After hearing Lafitte out, Hawkins nodded and said calmly,

"Good rules. If you lack strength, you keep quiet."

Burgess glanced at him and burst out laughing. "So you're entering the Division Commander Challenge?"

"I've waited ages for this day. What do you say, Hawkins? Let's fight!"