"Jack, it was really tough on you. You're not good at coaxing kids, right?"
"Actually, Maylo wasn't that serious. She'll probably forget in a few days."
"It's fine. As long as it's resolved, that's what matters."
"You're 27 now, right? There are many beautiful young mermaids on Fishman Island. Won't you consider it?"
"Forget it. Right now, I only want to help Boss Kaido achieve his dream. Strength is the most important thing."
Mandrell's topic made Jack uneasy. He'd rather go out and find a ship to fight than waste time on this kind of matter.
"If you're not interested, then forget it. Get ready, Boss Kaido should personally assign you your Calamity position."
"Alright. See you, Brother Mandrell."
Jack patted the dust off his body and walked toward the stage at the highest point. Queen was already there, prepared.
This time was different from before. Over the past year, Apoo had perfectly blended into his role as a DJ, and his chemistry with Queen had grown better and better. He could even follow along with Queen's lyrics now.
With the support of a professional team, Queen's entertainment career had made great progress, making him value Apoo even more.
At the same time, Hawkins had also earned Queen's recognition. Although his divinations couldn't help Queen prevent the disasters, they could give forewarning and he no longer has to live in constant fear every day. Even if he got beaten up, at least he could mentally prepare himself.
The only one who felt troubled was Hawkins. Queen had only one request for him, to keep improving his divination ability.
As the lights shone down, Jack stepped forward toward the front of the stage, while his underlings were just now coming back to their senses.
"Sheepshead, did you see that?"
Ginrummy rubbed her eyes. The sight of Jack collapsed on the ground almost shattered her worldview.
"I saw it. Captain Jack actually used that kind of method to coax a child…"
Sheepshead's reaction was even more extreme; he slapped himself across the face. Jack had always given him the impression of being a battle maniac who didn't allow anyone to retreat during combat. This led to Jack's Steel Mammoth being a ship easy to earn contributions on, but also the one with the highest fatality rate.
Although Alcremie had already proven that Jack had a trace of gentleness, that gentleness never belonged to them. But today, Maylo once again revealed that side of him.
"Let's just think about how to become stronger. We could never receive that kind of treatment."
"True. But now that Captain Jack has been promoted to a Calamity, he should get some rest, right?"
"No way. Unless it's Boss Kaido's orders, judging from Captain Jack's habits, he'll probably go looking for stronger opponents to fight. We'll likely need to recruit new people again."
Sheepshead's tone was full of certainty. But that was all for later. For today, the only thing they needed to do was party.
"Jack! Jack! Jack!"
"Fourth Calamity! Fourth Calamity!"
Amid the cheers and the guidance of the spotlight, Jack walked to the front of the crowd. Queen also gave up the center position for him.
"Boys! Keep cheering! Our boy Jack has finally reached the position of Calamity through his own efforts! After so many years, the 3 Calamities finally have a new member!"
"Next up is the prize quiz! Let's guess what kind of title the Marines will give our boy Jack!"
At first, Kaido's officers were simply referred to collectively as the Three Calamities. Their bounty titles were actually given by the Marines based on their fighting styles.
King, who liked to use fire, Queen, who specialized in poison gas weapons, and Olga, who hid under illusions, all got their titles for these reasons.
If the Marines hadn't done that, who knows what the situation would be like now.
"Boss Queen! What's the prize?"
"The chance to dance on stage with me!"
The previously excited venue fell into silence because of Queen's words, and it wasn't until Apoo's music kicked in that the atmosphere became lively again. This further increased Queen's satisfaction with Apoo.
"What's with those reactions?! This is a rare opportunity! You better appreciate it! You people who don't understand art!"
After yelling angrily at the crowd below for a bit, Queen handed the microphone to Jack.
"No more nonsense, let's have today's main character say a few words."
"Wait, Brother Queen, there's a speech part too?"
Jack had never imagined that he'd be expected to give a speech at an event like this. To him, this was on the same level of Hell-mission as coaxing a child.
"Of course! You're the first one to be promoted to Calamity, how can you not say something at a time like this?"
Queen forcefully shoved the microphone into Jack's hands. Holding the microphone, Jack hesitated for a long time.
In the end, he only shouted one sentence.
"For Lord Kaido! For Lord Arceus!"
"Ohhh!!!"
"Worororo, that kid Jack is really simple-minded."
Hearing Jack's speech, Kaido laughed as well. But he quickly remembered something else and asked Arceus: "By the way, Yamato hasn't really been back all year, has she? She's not here this time either."
"She's traveling with Robin, letting her broaden her horizons a bit. Nico Robin should be able to improve some of her shortcomings."
"It doesn't matter. I haven't trained with her recently, and she seems to have slacked off quite a bit. When she gets back, she'll find out what a surprise is. I'm going to go encourage Jack; someone with his drive is quite rare."
Kaido also got up and went to the stage, and publicly acknowledged Jack's strength. This sparked another wave of frenzy among the underlings below. Especially Sasaki, who happened to be on Onigashima. As another die-hard fan of Kaido, his eyes were already glowing.
This ceremony officially confirmed Jack's position as a Calamity. Afterward, as per pirate custom, the banquet began. However, Jack left Onigashima after just a few drinks. He went alone to the Udon Quarry.
Now that his Calamity position was confirmed, his next goal was to fight. He wanted to make the Marines change his title.
In order to define the identities of different pirates, the Marines would adjust bounty titles accordingly.
Jack didn't come here to wander around. He came here to recruit some cannon fodder. And also to find a few people of value from among them.
The method was especially simple — these people would be made to take part in missions that were nearly suicidal. Anyone who survived would have their past crimes pardoned, but so far, there hasn't been a single successful case.
Jack's arrival drew the attention of some prisoners. They had no idea what had become of the people Jack had taken away.
After all, if they were honest with themselves, if they could leave this place, they definitely wouldn't come back to visit prison.
But they also knew that this choice was definitely incredibly dangerous.
Among the prisoners working in the mines, there was one person who felt especially excited. That was Drake, who had been forgotten for a whole year, and was digging in the mines the entire time.
He finally saw a faint glimmer of hope.
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