The next day
The bombshell news that the Rocks Pirates had added three new Executives was already rocking the world.
Yet the follow-up reports of the Conqueror's Haki clash and Bolo Gram's enlistment hadn't spread; every spy and journalist on site had been knocked out cold.
What left jaws on the floor wasn't that the three pirate captains—Contraband King Ganzi, Four-Armed Gun King Kiel Bastard, and scientific bandit Baccarat Stussy—had joined the Rocks Pirates.
It was the newest photo of Fang Huo that was setting the seas ablaze.
Fang Huo's "Moon Goddess" photo-shoot once again became the hottest seller on the Grand Line.
The press discovered that any paper graced with a Fang Huo photo was guaranteed to sell out.
To boost sales, the sly papers slipped different Fang Huo pin-ups into copies of the same day's issue.
That single edition ended up flying off the stands dozens of times over.
Countless young women turned collecting Fang Huo photos into the latest craze.
The shots of the "moon rising over the sea" phenomenon eclipsed even his Sesshomaru and Vampire sets in popularity.
Even the Female Celestial Dragons on Holy Land Mary Geoise were whipped into a frenzy again.
More of them joined the covert bounty hunt, raising the price on Fang Huo's head.
To these self-styled gods' descendants, only they were worthy of a once-in-a-millennium beauty like Kozuki Fang Huo.
—When the gull-delivered papers reached Paradise Island, the pirates who'd been knocked out finally stirred under the glaring morning sun.
They opened their eyes to a Skull Castle laced with cracks and the ruins left by a Conqueror's rampage.
"What the hell happened here?"
"Did the Rocks Pirates implode?"
"Did Rocks throw down with the Executives?"
—As more pirates came to, the island grew livelier by the minute.
Those who'd been blasted five kilometres from Skull Castle by Rocks' Haki nursed fresh wounds all over.
They'd just tasted the terror of the world's worst pirate.
Inside the meteor-cratered Skull Eye stronghold…
Golden Lion Shiki and Whitebeard Newgate were both swathed head-to-toe in white bandages.
With Shiki too injured to float the rubble back and Fang Huo busy stabilising his Conqueror's Haki, no one was fixing the castle.
So the HQ stayed a ruin for the time being.
Newcomer Bolo Gram was already explaining to the waking crew how he'd come aboard.
After the Guyue Club, Ganzi's smuggling fleet and Bolo Gram's own Bolo Pirates had been accepted as subsidiary crews.
They now sailed under the Rocks flag, free to terrorise the New World in the crew's name.
Several other outfits that had performed well yesterday were likewise granted affiliate status.
Their Captains, however, weren't quite strong enough to earn a spot in the main roster—yet.
If they kept pushing themselves, a place in the core crew could still be theirs.
—The worst-injured Golden Lion Shiki watched Charlotte Linlin scarf meat, fully recovered, and envy burned in his eyes.
The iron balloon's defence and Soul-Soul Fruit healing were insane.
Even Newgate was already drinking and eating through his bandages, while Shiki lay there like a mummy.
"Golden Cat, we all took the same slash from Rocks—look at Linlin and Newgate, then look at yourself…
Your body's even weaker than Fang Huo's."
Silver Axe couldn't resist mocking Shiki; he'd never accepted how the upstart had scored the Float-Float Fruit and awakened Conqueror's Haki.
"I awakened Conqueror's Haki."
Golden Lion Shiki gave Fierce a cool glance, pride and disdain curling his lip.
"I still say you're the weakest of us!"
Silver Axe's face darkened, his trembling hand sloshing the drink in his cup.
"I. Awakened. Conqueror's. Haki."
Shiki arched a brow, still unfazed by the taunts.
"You—!"
Silver Axe crushed the cup, itching to bury his axe in the cocky bastard.
"I've awakened Conqueror's Haki."
That's the gap between us."
Even if I can't match Fang Huo, Newgate or Linlin, I'm still stronger than you."
Want to catch up? Awaken Conqueror's Haki first."
Shiki had felt stifled being outshone by Newgate and Linlin, but Silver Axe's presence reminded him—he was still a one-in-a-million genius.
"…
Silver Axe panted, seething.
"I will awaken it…"
He forced his rage down, lecturing himself not to fall for Shiki's bait.
One day, when his own Conqueror's Haki bloomed…
He swore he'd smash that smug face in.
"Heh, I'll be waiting."
In far better spirits, Golden Lion Shiki slipped back into his usual cocky grin.
—Elsewhere, Sanbel was in Fang Huo's room, helping his idol sort the sacks of love letters from across the seas.
Stussy acted like an old friend, pitching in to organise the mail.
Fang Huo was training his Conqueror's Haki under Rocks and had no time for her.
With nothing better to do, Stussy planned to weave herself into his life.
How could these cheap women's letters compare to a great beauty like her?
While Sanbel's back was turned, she quietly tore up a stack of confessions.
Especially those from famous starlets and powerful female pirates.
A little sabotage to monopolise Fang Huo? Fair game.
Right now only she and Charlotte Linlin were women on the Executive roster.
Big Fatty Girl Linlin wasn't even worth considering as a rival.
Therefore Fang Huo had to be hers alone.
The thought that the man even the Celestial Dragons couldn't claim would soon be her private property…
Stussy trembled with excitement.
The Supreme Great Succubus who'd captivated the world—she'd be the first to taste the forbidden fruit.
—Among the pirates now on Paradise Island…
Newcomers Ganzi and Kiel Bastard had replaced Shiki and Fierce as the new measuring sticks.
They also announced Bolo Gram's enlistment in the Rocks Pirates.
Kiel Bastard eagerly spread word that under Overlord Rocks stood four kings.
Below the mightiest overlord, Great Demon Venerable Kozuki Fang Huo, Whitebeard Edward Newgate, Golden Lion Shiki, and iron balloon Charlotte Linlin—all wielders of Conqueror's Haki—were hailed as kings.
This revelation only cemented the Rocks Pirates' status as the world's strongest pirate armada.