"That stupid kid. He shouldn't think he's close to John. That guy can chat with anyone."
Flame Flower fumed.
She was also a blonde beauty, known alongside Stussy and Linlin as the three beautiful female pirates of the Rocks Pirates.
But after the God Valley Incident ended, her desire for adventure had dwindled further and further.
"He doesn't seem to get along with you all that well."
Shakky's remark left Flame Flower looking ashen.
True.
She was the one person he couldn't chat with.
"Hachinosu, huh? That's Wang Zhi's territory now. His ability is best suited to holding down a territory."
Shakky watched the Black Pearl sail away.
She paced toward the palace.
"I never thought the Navy would sink this far, even covering up things they actually did."
"If Stussy hadn't told us, we'd have had to wait a few more days for the intelligence."
"The Dragon Emperor Pirates actually withstood a Buster Call carried out personally by an Admiral."
Flame Flower hadn't expected that the apprentice pirate who once trailed behind everyone would become a great pirate in the blink of an eye.
"But he'll still have some trouble going to Hachinosu. Silver Axe seems to have struck a deal with Wang Zhi."
Faced with the concerns of her captain, the former queen,
Shakky merely smiled and said softly,
"The last time he faced Sengoku, it probably wasn't as easy for him as facing Zephyr was this time."
"And next time? What will he be like then?"
"Strong people have never stopped emerging. How long did it take Rocks to go from looking down on Roger, to wanting to recruit him, to being defeated?"
Well...
Flame Flower had no answer.
The great waves of the times could carry a ship along, but how long it could sail still