The root of the problem, Streusen, was brutally beaten by the visibly displeased Ignis and Shiki.
This little runt was the one who had urged Charlotte Linlin to run away!
"Convinced yet?!"
"Or do you want a Davy Back Fight?!"
Rocks kicked Charlotte Linlin away. With his Conqueror's coating, even this 'Iron Balloon' coughed up large amounts of blood.
Charlotte Linlin's face was full of shock. This was the first time since she went to sea that someone had broken through her defenses.
But she still wasn't convinced!
Her goal was to find Mother Carmel. How could she join someone else's pirate crew!
Charlotte Linlin used her soul power to rapidly heal her injuries, fighting Rocks like a madwoman.
Seeing Charlotte Linlin recover to full strength, Kyo immediately stole Rocks's thunder and engaged in a fierce battle with her.
Rocks was a bit annoyed by Kyo's kill-stealing, but he let them fight it out first.
Silver Axe, having seen Rocks easily overwhelm Charlotte Linlin, only realized how terrifying this 'Iron Balloon' was once he stepped into the ring himself.
His Armament Haki-infused giant axe couldn't even cut through Charlotte Linlin's defenses.
Now, completely enraged by Rocks, Charlotte Linlin had entered her most rage mode.
Her terrifying, twisted voice, laced with Conqueror's Haki, inflicted auditory and mental damage on Kyo.
Even Kyo's renowned immense strength was crushed by Charlotte Linlin.
In less than half an hour, a frenzied Charlotte Linlin had beaten to a pulp.
On the surface, the 500 million bounty Charlotte Linlin and the 400 million bounty Kyo weren't that far apart.
But in actual combat ability, Charlotte Linlin was far superior to Kyo.
Perhaps even Ignis or Newgate in their current states couldn't suppress Charlotte Linlin.
Charlotte Linlin, whose bounty hadn't been updated in over a year, would probably have a bounty of 600 or 700 million by now.
"Embarrassing!!"
Seeing lose to a 13-year-old female pirate, Rocks spat in disgust, drew his sword, and took over the fight.
One slash sent the frenzied Charlotte Linlin flying.
"We surrender! We'll join!!"
As Rocks continued to brutalize Charlotte Linlin, Streusen, beaten black and blue by Ignis and Shiki, finally couldn't take Ignis's threats and torture anymore and screamed.
"Linlin! Stop!"
"There's information about Mother here!"
The cowardly Streusen quickly shouted, trying to stop the frenzied Charlotte Linlin.
He was even more terrified that Ignis also seemed to know something about Mother Carmel.
He didn't want Charlotte Linlin to be killed by Rocks, and he certainly didn't want to be killed by Ignis himself.
For now, they had to join the Rocks Pirates and figure out how to leave later.
Sure enough, upon hearing Streusen's shout, Charlotte Linlin's bloodshot eyes quickly calmed down.
Ignis watched this scene, a meaningful glint in his eyes.
Streusen had now been adventuring with Charlotte Linlin for six or seven years. Ignis wanted to replace Streusen as the person Charlotte Linlin trusted most.
That would be somewhat difficult!
But Ignis had his ways!
The Shichiseiken couldn't control those with the qualities of a king, but couldn't it affect a chef like Streusen?
And Ignis had been developing his Vampire ability to create thralls.
"Don't try any tricks with me!"
Ignis drove the Shichiseiken into Streusen's shoulder, wearing an evil smile.
"We won't! We won't! We genuinely want to join the Rocks Pirates!"
Streusen's face contorted in pain, a faint, almost imperceptible red glow flickering in his terrified eyes.
Driven by fear, whatever Ignis and the others said, Streusen agreed with.
"Do you really have information about Mother?"
Charlotte Linlin looked expectantly towards Streusen and Ignis, even ignoring the dangerous Rocks for a moment.
"What's he doing now?!"
Rocks had wanted to continue beating Charlotte Linlin, but Ignis, after dealing with the little dwarf chef in a few moves, had easily handled the 'Iron Balloon' as well.
"Damn it!!"
Holding his chest, blood at the corner of his mouth, Kyo's eyes behind his cracked sunglasses were full of unwillingness.
'How could there be so many monsters?'
'I'm slowly being surpassed by that bastard Shiki, and now I couldn't even beat a female pirate!'
'This wasn't fair!'
'Monsters like Newgate, Shiki, and Charlotte Linlin not only had heaven-defying talent but had also lucked into incredibly powerful Devil Fruit abilities.'
'Why?!'
'Why did the goddess of fate favor these guys so much?'
...
Charlotte Linlin quickly flew over to Streusen and Ignis, anxiously asking.
"Linlin, trust me. Following them will help us find Mother Carmel faster!"
Streusen braced himself and spoke. He still didn't dare tell the truth, that Mother Carmel and those orphans had been eaten by the monster Charlotte Linlin long ago.
"Really? But you said before we should avoid them. Wouldn't they stop us from finding Mother Carmel?"
Charlotte Linlin's words inadvertently betrayed Streusen.
Instantly, Rocks and Shiki looked at Streusen with murderous intent.
These two had wasted so much of their time. So they really had been deliberately avoiding them!
"That was before I knew about them. Now I've discovered that Vice Captain Ignis has prophetic abilities."
Streusen quickly forced a dry laugh and looked fawningly at Ignis, his eyes full of desire for life.
Now that he had offended hardliners like Rocks, only Ignis, the mysterious Vice Captain who seemed to know certain secrets, could save him.
And instinctively, he felt Ignis could save him, so he immediately ingratiated himself.
"You have prophetic abilities?"
Charlotte Linlin's eyes lit up, looking at Ignis with a new sense of desire.
That meant she could soon get information about Mother Carmel and find her and her friends.
"I can indeed prophesy certain things!"
"The more you interact with me, the more information I can see."
Ignis looked into Charlotte Linlin's eager eyes and smiled meaningfully.
Streusen couldn't handle this super-powered fighter. It was time for him to take over.
"Then I want to follow you!"
Charlotte Linlin spoke without hesitation. After all, she and Streusen had just been running around and plundering, getting no information about Mother Carmel at all.
"Vohahaha! Not follow Ignis! Join the Rocks Pirates!"
Rocks raised an eyebrow. 'This little bastard Ignis was really solidifying his position as the second-in-command, truly becoming the Vice Captain.'
He was the one who kept saying there was no Vice Captain position on the ship, but the other executives had all accepted Ignis as Vice Captain.
Even Silver Axe, who had been full of defiance, was slowly changing.
"Fine, I'll join!"
Charlotte Linlin spoke casually. She would find a way to leave the Rocks Pirates after finding Mother Carmel.
Her goal and dream were to find Mother and create a beautiful country where all races could coexist.