"I want his blood!"
Seeing Rocks's eager look, Fang Huo had no intention of making a move himself.
Still, he reminded Rocks not to turn his prey into mincemeat.
"Then let's see how strong his Six Powers really are!"
Rocks flashed a savage grin and leapt straight off the flying warship, heading directly for "Black Flag" Black.
"Here he comes!!"
While slaughtering the crew of the Wang Zhi Pirates, "Black Flag" Black felt that terrifying aura.
This was the pirate who had killed Admiral Walker—the world's worst pirate!
Back when Rocks invaded the Holy Land, Mary Geoise, and disrupted the World Conference,
Admiral Walker, the Marines' strongest combat force, had been reduced to little more than a speed bump and was almost instantly crushed by Rocks.
No one knew just how powerful Rocks truly was!
Whether he could infiltrate the Rocks Pirates now depended entirely on his acting skills.
"Black Flag" Black cleanly cut down a pirate and stared expressionlessly at the charging Rocks.
His current role was that of an arrogant, up-and-coming pirate; he couldn't show too much fear or give himself away.
"Wahahaha! 'Black Flag' Black, let's see your swordsmanship!"
Rocks slashed at Black, his eyes gleaming with amusement.
"Rocks! Then let's see the power of the world's strongest pirate!!"
Black fully embraced his role as an arrogant pirate, gritting his teeth and swinging his blade in a do-or-die charge.
But in the next instant—
"Black Flag" Black's longsword was shattered by a single strike from Rocks's sword.
Under Rocks's terrifying, cannon-like sword technique, Black was sent flying in a spray of blood, crashing into the rubble of a building.
Black's heart shook with dread; the searing agony tearing through his body made him feel half-dead.
Why was this happening?!
Had the Rocks Pirates stopped recruiting entirely?
Why were they being so brutal?!
Damn it—was he really going to follow in Wang Zhi's footsteps and die here on Paradise Island?
"Tch, can't even block one hit?"
"Back when Newgate's bounty was just over 100 million and 'Silver Axe' Fierce's was only 300 million, they both managed to take a strike from me."
"Yet you, with a bounty of 444 million Berries now, can't even block one? Pathetic."
Rocks appeared atop the rubble, grabbed Black by the head, and lifted him up.
He even inspected "Black Flag" Black's hands.
Just as Fang Huo had said, this so-called sword master's calluses were subpar—though a few fingers were unexpectedly thick.
"Captain Rocks truly is the world's strongest pirate; who on these seas could stand against you..."
"I overestimated myself..."
Blood trickled from "Black Flag" Black's mouth and nose. Seeing that Rocks hadn't killed him outright and was even talking to him,
he felt he still had a chance to infiltrate the Rocks Pirates.
He quickly put on an expression that was both arrogant and admiring of Rocks.
"Swordplay obviously isn't your forte—show me your hand-to-hand skills!"
"Give it everything you've got, or you'll die!"
Rocks grinned wickedly and tossed Black to the ground.
He thrust his sword into the earth beside him and waited bare-handed for Black's attack.
Is this the admission test?
"Black Flag" Black endured the pain and stood up. According to prior intel, "Golden Lion" Shiki, "Silver Axe" Fierce, and "Iron Balloon" Charlotte Linlin had all been beaten by Rocks.
Whether he could earn Rocks's approval now hinged on this one test.
But his specialty was the Six Powers—which technique should he use to attack Rocks?
"Captain Rocks, swordsmanship is my forte..."
"Sorry it's not to your liking."
"Black Flag" Black dared not expose the Six Powers and could only stick to his "swordsmanship."
"Then why not use the Six Powers? Judging by your fingers, you're pretty good at Finger Pistol, aren't you?"
The next moment, Rocks's words froze "Black Flag" Black on the spot.
Boundless terror completely overwhelmed the CP0 agent.
He'd been exposed!
How could a brute like Rocks possess such sharp powers of observation?
No—those earlier probing attacks by the Blood Shadow Bats!
Damn it! Those sudden strikes had made him instinctively use Paper Art to dodge and Iron Body to defend.
So he'd been in Fang Huo's sights all along.
The Rocks Pirates' First Mate and Chief Strategist was terrifying indeed.
With Rocks's overwhelming strength and Fang Huo's unmatched intellect, the World Government was about to face an unprecedented enemy.
"Wahahaha! Scared stiff already?"
"Fang Huo says you flunked Disguise Class—looks like you failed psychology too."
Rocks's grin widened; he'd actually started to appreciate the up-and-coming pirate, "Black Flag" Black.
Only to discover it was all a setup aimed at him!
"Captain Rocks, I'm not—"
Driven by the fear of death, Black tried to struggle.
But Rocks seized Black's fingers and snapped them clean.
"Aaargh!!"
Black screamed and dropped to his knees, trembling before Rocks.
"World Government lapdog—if you're going to train, train in Haki, not the Six Powers!"
"Besides flunking disguise and psychology, your combat skills flunk too!"
Ignoring Black's screams, Rocks grabbed his shoulder; the sickening crunch of shattering bone rang out.
He hurled the shrieking Black straight toward the flying warship.
"Damn CP agent—wasted so much of my time!"
Rocks was thoroughly annoyed; he'd originally intended for "Black Flag" Black to fill the vacancy left by "Pirate Patriarch" Wang Zhi.
Now both of them had become Fang Huo's prey.
Rocks pulled his sword from the ground and began strolling idly around Paradise Island.
He planned to make the island his first territory and plant the Rocks Pirates' flag right away.
"Pirate Patriarch" Wang Zhi and Paradise Island still carried considerable clout in the New World,
but now they would serve as stepping stones for the Rocks Pirates!
Aboard the flying warship, the Saber of Xebec.
With a flick of his fingers, Fang Huo used his gravity ability to catch the half-crippled "Black Flag" Black.
"Tch, the World Government's playbook is as stale as ever."
Without hesitation, Fang Huo drove the Seven-Star Sword through Black's other shoulder.
"Any other CP agents on this island?"
"I'm sure someone's supposed to liaise with you, right?"
Fang Huo thought it would be perfect if a few elite CP0 agents—Marine Vice-Admiral level or better—showed up.
"You—!!"
"Black Flag" Black felt as if Fang Huo had seen through everything—how could this be?
"Looks like there's more to squeeze!"
Fang Huo promptly unleashed Blood Shadow Bats to devour Black's blood, crippled his legs, and sapped both his vitality and willpower.
He would use the Seven-Star Sword to control "Black Flag" Black, extract the locations of the other CP0 agents, wipe them out in one sweep, and turn them all into food.
Moments later, the half-dead Black, his mind invaded by the sword, revealed the hiding spots of two more CP0 agents.
"Ahahaha—Newgate, Linlin, let's go catch some rats!!"
Fang Huo drained "Black Flag" Black's blood in an instant, then took Newgate and Linlin—his two powerhouse bodyguards—to eliminate the hidden threats and slap the World Government in the face.
And grab a little profit for himself while he was at it!
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