The chaos in the Four Seas and the first half of the Grand Line could not affect the New World at all.
After all, the New World was the true source of chaos.
Turning our attention back to Hachinosu.
The island was still in the midst of revelry.
The entire island was immersed in a joyful atmosphere.
Countless bottles of alcohol were consumed.
Massive amounts of Sea King meat, either grilled or boiled, were served at the tables of the adults.
At a time like this, no other reckless pirates would dare to cause trouble for them.
Wait, that might not be entirely true.
In the central hall, all the executives were now present.
They drank heavily and feasted on large portions of meat.
So far, the banquet on the island had lasted for an entire day.
And by the looks of it, there were no plans to stop anytime soon.
Gulp, gulp, gulp~
From the main seat, Rocks downed an entire bottle of Celestial Tribute Wine in one go and let out a long sigh.
After taking a moment to recover, he finally spoke.
"Alright, the revelry has gone on long enough."
"Now, let's move on to the main event."
At these words, everyone instantly perked up.
The main course of the banquet was finally about to be served.
Brian, seated in the first position to the left below Rocks, sobered up immediately.
He looked at Rocks with great anticipation.
Is it finally time to divide the spoils? I've been looking forward to this for a long time.
It had been over four days since the executives returned to Hachinosu.
For the first three days, Rocks was nowhere to be found on the island, and no one knew where he had gone.
They had no choice but to patiently await Rocks' return.
During this time, each of them had also managed to see their latest bounty posters.
Some were excited, some were joyful, and some were dissatisfied.
Everyone's happiness was not the same.
Brian and Linlin were very satisfied with their progress.
Especially Brian, who didn't show it on his face.
But after seeing his latest bounty poster, he and the Beast Girl Legion had celebrated wildly at his private villa for a full day.
By the end of that day, everyone from top to bottom was completely exhausted.
Even Griffin, a Beast Girl with Admiral Candidate Level strength, was no exception.
Afterward, the entire group replenished their energy with large quantities of Sea King meat before recovering.
To this day, Brian still savored the memory of that wild celebration.
It was fantastic—next time, they would do it again.
Brian remained silent, lost in recollection, confident in his own abilities.
The increase in his bounty gave Brian a deeper understanding of his own strength.
Especially since, at such a moment, he had surpassed Whitebeard, Shiki, and Linlin.
To climb to the second-highest bounty in the Rocks Pirates.
If someone had told him this two months ago, he wouldn't have even dared to imagine it.
Even though he had been confident in his strength back then, he wouldn't have been so arrogant.
After all, those were Whitebeard, Shiki, and even Charlotte Linlin.
All of them were destined to be the helmsmen of the next era of pirates.
Even if he were to surpass them, it should have taken at least a few more years of growth.
Of course, surpassing them in bounty didn't mean Brian could absolutely overpower them in terms of strength.
At the very least, Brian still felt somewhat apprehensive about facing Whitebeard at present.
He was another one of those abnormal monsters.
The greatest advantage of having the second-highest bounty was that it gave him a stronger claim to authority.
Within the Rocks Pirates, and even in the broader moral framework of the pirate world.
This was still very important for Brian, who would rise among the heroes a year later.
"Ahem~"
"First things first, let's raise our glasses together to congratulate Brian, Newgate, Shiki, and Linlin."
"Congratulations to our four senior executives for achieving new heights in their bounties."
Clap clap clap clap~
"Oh~~~~"
"The executives are truly amazing."
"That's right, that's right, the executives are all my idols."
"Ahhh, Lord Brian, I want to have your children."
"Lady Linlin, look over here, I'm your fan, I'm willing to have your children too."
...
The surrounding pirates began to howl like ghosts.
They cheered loudly, raising their glasses in celebration.
The stronger the executives on the ship, the more safely they could weather every wave in the New World.
Wait, something strange slipped in.
Have children with Linlin?
Brian looked up and saw a sleazy, short pirate staring at Linlin with starry eyes.
Good grief, with your build, Linlin could crush you just by sitting on you.
What are you thinking, kid?
Go home, just go home, kid.
The entire place was in a frenzy, except for one corner.
The corner where Silver Axe, Wang Zhi, and John were gathered had a completely different atmosphere.
The more others celebrated, the more obvious the low pressure around them became.
Behind them, their close followers could barely stand their ground,
forced to take several steps back to avoid being overwhelmed by the aura of these bosses.
Especially Silver Axe, whose face was as dark as storm clouds, glaring at Brian with intense hatred.
Every time he looked at Brian, he felt a phantom pain in his right hand.
Even though his right hand had healed, he had lost his right palm.
Each time Brian's bounty increased, Silver Axe felt as if he were being publicly humiliated all over again.
Even though no one present was paying him any attention.
Silver Axe just couldn't shake the discomfort.
It couldn't be helped—after all, when he first provoked Brian, he had used Brian's lack of a bounty as an excuse.
But then, how long had it been since Brian joined the crew?
In less than a month, his bounty had skyrocketed twice.
He had leapt to become the top pirate on the ship, second only to Captain Rocks in bounty.
The immense psychological gap was driving Silver Axe insane.
He kept questioning himself—had he made a mistake by stepping forward back then?
But he quickly shook his head in denial.
No, he hadn't been wrong.
As an executive, he had acted for the sake of the Rocks Pirates' development.
He believed Captain Rocks would understand his good intentions.
Yes, absolutely, he would understand.
As long as this man disappeared, everything could return to how it was before.
If you don't erupt in silence, you'll become twisted in silence.
Clearly, after this period of constant torment and self-torment,
Silver Axe had become twisted!
He chose to attribute all his suffering to Brian's arrival.
As long as Brian vanished, he felt everything would go back to the way it was.
Back then, he was still a pivotal executive in the Rocks Pirates.
Not like now, where he was despised and avoided by everyone on the pirate ship.
Aside from a few loyal former executives, almost no one on the entire ship was willing to approach him anymore.
Including his former allies, John and Wang Zhi.
Otherwise, perhaps he wouldn't have become as twisted as he was now.
Brian naturally noticed Silver Axe's hateful gaze.
But he paid it no mind, simply making a decision in his heart.
"This trash must be eliminated when the opportunity arises."
"He's more trouble than he's worth. I can't let his hatred endanger me and the Beast Girl Legion."
Having sensed the danger, Brian's first thought was to eliminate him.
The animosity between him and Silver Axe had reached an irreconcilable point.
Then he would kill him.
Once Silver Axe was dead, everything would be over!