More than a year had passed since Lind left Hachinosu, and Rocks, his boss in both name and fact, had finally remembered him.
After coming to Oran Island, Lind had been building up his strength independently as the leader of a major force. He had almost forgotten he still had a boss himself.
As a boss, Rocks's hands-off approach suited Lind's interests perfectly, but it also left him rather speechless.
"Hahahaha! Lind, how's life on Oran Island been treating you? I've heard plenty of people say you're the richest man in the New World now."
"You never even think to come back to Hachinosu and see us. Can't bear to leave your life on Oran Island behind?"
Rocks's wild, arrogant voice came through the Den Den Mushi as he teased Lind.
"Hahahaha! Boss, I've just been busy after taking over the Oran Sea! Managing such a huge territory takes a lot of effort!" Lind explained, answering Rocks's teasing without the slightest guilt.
To be fair, he really had been busy lately. Rocks rarely contacted him, and the officers under him handled whatever came up on Hachinosu.
It really had almost made Lind forget he was still a captain under Rocks, and that his actual home base was Hachinosu.
"Hahahaha! Well, whenever you're free from now on, come back to Hachinosu for a visit. Whitebeard and the others haven't stayed away for over a year like you have."
"Don't spend all your time on Oran Island, either. Get out and about more."
"Plenty of people in the New World have forgotten you're a pirate now. Sengoku and Zephyr have been making quite a name for themselves lately!"
"As their rival, you've been keeping far too low a profile!"
"It's time you got moving, too. I contacted you because there's an operation