As these senior crew members learned their future epithets one by one, Rocks waited for Fang Huo to "butter him up"—after all, he was the world's worst pirate.
Yet Fang Huo dropped the subject again, cheerfully splitting drinks with the newcomers Shiki and Newgate.
He livened up the whole ship.
Sensing Fang Huo's goodwill, Shiki lowered his guard and arrogance, easing into the new pirate crew—for now.
As for his former subordinates, he'd deliberately left them behind.
"Ahem—Fang Huo, did you forget me?"
"Don't make me do this the hard way!"
Rocks finally barked, glaring daggers at Fang Huo.
He knew Fang Huo was baiting him on purpose, trying to rile him up.
"Oh, Captain, you wanted to know too? I figured you were already happy with 'World's Worst Pirate.'"
"If you want to know, just ask—how would I know if you don't say..."
Fang Huo looked innocent; Rocks clenched his fists in irritation.
Rocks gave a laugh of exasperation—this bastard really needed a beating.
"Your target is the whole world; you want to replace that old monster and become the new King of the World—so calling yourself 'King of the World' fits."
"And of course, in the future, you'll be the undisputed Overlord of the New World!"
Fang Huo quickly floated onto Newgate's shoulder, warily eyeing Rocks, who might swing at any moment.
"Worororo—King of the World! Overlord of the New World!"
"Not bad at all—now that suits my strength!"
Rocks burst into wild laughter, his anger gone in an instant.
"Fang Huo, you said if I want to know, I only need to ask—so tell me where Pluton is, now."
Rocks seemed to remember something, grinning as he stared at Fang Huo.
"Not yet—the timing isn't right."
Fang Huo's face turned grave; he glanced at Shiki—this guy's ambition wasn't small.
Hearing the name Pluton, Shiki's eyes lit up.
This Prophet was even more important than he'd thought!
He had to win Fang Huo over; if he ever broke away from the Rocks Pirates, he'd snatch Fang Huo first.
"Hmph—ask and I'll tell, huh? You just want to trade that tidbit for something better!"
"Which Devil Fruit or which user have you set your sights on now?"
Rocks saw right through him, but as long as Fang Huo stayed aboard, he'd get more intel on the Ancient Weapons sooner or later.
"Heh—Captain knows me best!"
Fang Huo admitted it openly; one day he'd turn every Soul Flame into powerful Soul Gu.
"Shiki! Lead the way—we're off to find 'Gangster Killer' Kyo!"
Rocks shelved thoughts of Pluton for now; he wanted to expand the Rocks Pirates fast.
"Shishishi—right away, Captain!"
"Golden Lion" Shiki turned into an eager lackey, floating into the air to guide the world's worst pirate so he could thrash Kyo.
At the very least, Kyo shouldn't get off lighter than he had!
"Shiki, give the Saber of Xebec the Float-Float Fruit's power."
"And once 'Gangster Killer' Kyo joins the Rocks Pirates, he'll be called 'Silver Axe' Kyo!"
Fang Huo couldn't be bothered to keep the Saber of Xebec weightless with his Gravity Fruit.
"No problem!"
Shiki's eyes sparkled; it seemed his Float-Float Fruit still had an edge over Fang Huo's Gravity Fruit.
As Shiki activated his power, the Saber of Xebec lifted permanently into the sky.
Fang Huo added a burst of Traverse-Gravity, sending the pirate ship shooting forward.
"Worororo—now that's a real sky-ship!"
Rocks stood at the prow, delighted with his crew's strength and abilities.
"So we can stay airborne all the time?"
Fish-Men Babel and Sunbell never imagined they'd become sky pirates.
Life at sea was turning out wilder than their wildest dreams.
"Joining the Rocks Pirates sure beats staying with the Whale Pirates!"
Newgate leaned on the rail, savoring the rush of wind and freedom.
"Never thought Gravity powers could pair so well with Float powers!"
Watching the speeding Flying Battleship, Shiki was stunned by Fang Huo's ability again.
He wanted Fang Huo's help even more now!
He and the Prophet-gravity user were a perfect combo.
"Hey, quit looking at me like that—I'm not into men!"
"And careful, Rocks might kill you for it."
Fang Huo shot "Golden Lion" Shiki a warning.
"..."
Shiki sneaked a glance at Rocks, forcibly tamping down his ambition and desire.
Until Rocks fell, he had no chance of leaving the Rocks Pirates.
With powerful Observation Haki—even the kind that hears the Voice of All Things—Rocks had long since sensed Shiki's little schemes.
But he wasn't worried in the least that Shiki could steal Fang Huo away.
After all, when Fang Huo first handed over the roster, he'd already flagged Shiki's arrogance and the possible betrayal of Wang Zhi and John.
Rocks, however, was confident he could keep them all in line.
Of course, if Fang Huo really wanted to snatch Captain John's Magnet-Magnet Fruit, Rocks wouldn't stand in his way.
—While the Flying Battleship Saber of Xebec raced on—
on an island in these waters,
a burly man with a giant axe on his back and X-shaped shades grabbed a pirate by the head and flung him aside.
"Shiki!!!"
"Damn Float-Float Fruit!"
"Gangster Killer" Kyo cursed at the vanishing Flying Battleship, fury blazing in his eyes.
He'd hunted "Gangster" Shiki for months, only to be led around like a dog on a leash.
He itched to hack Shiki into mincemeat!
That arrogant yakuza warrior had pushed him past his limit!
Soon the island erupted in commotion again.
"The sky-ship's coming back!!"
Telescopes in hand, pirates yelled toward the sky.
"Shiki! I'm going to butcher you this time!"
Kyo, who'd just sat down for a drink, burst out of the bar and stared up at the Flying Battleship.
Without hesitation, he gripped his giant axe and began to charge up.
He'd cleave Shiki's flying ship right out of the air!
Aboard the Flying Battleship,
Rocks stood at the prow, overlooking the island below.
"Worororo—my fifth crewman, here I come!"
Wild grin on his face, Rocks was about to land and test the new recruit's strength.
But a Heaven-Splitting Axe Blast tore up from the island first, ferocious and violent.
Seeing that axe-shaped slash, Shiki on deck gave a wicked grin.
He'd known Kyo wouldn't be able to resist!
Let the fool see the monster strength of Rocks, the world's worst pirate!
"Worororo—nice slash!"
With a laugh, Rocks drew his sword one-handed and answered with a titanic cannon-blast of a sword wave...