This time, Whitebeard didn't recite a poetic epithet on Hive Island like Shiki had.
He simply released a hint of his aura along with Lind, then stepped onto Hive Island and walked toward Rocks and the others.
"Hoo-hahaha! I thought Newgate would be like Shiki. A few days ago, he and Lind recited a rather impressive poem in front of Sengoku!"
"Hahaha, and that's why he's the captain of the First Division. Way more composed than a certain someone!"
Seeing Whitebeard, a few people were reminded of Shiki's flamboyant entrance back on Hive Island and began teasing him.
"Jiehahaha! A pirate should live freely! If I want to say something, I'll say it!"
"That Newgate guy is holding himself back!"
Shiki wasn't bothered at all by the teasing and shot back with a jab at Whitebeard.
"Gurararara! I'm not one for showing off! Last time was just to dampen Sengoku's momentum."
Whitebeard, who had just walked up, retorted without hesitation.
"Hoo-hahaha, as if we don't know what you were thinking!"
"Anyway, enough about that. Today, you're only half the star."
"Lind, you've done a great job this time—gave the Navy a solid slap in the face!"
"You don't need to go by Golden Lion's vice-captain anymore. You'll directly take command of the Seventh Division and start forming your squad. A lot of the newcomers today came specifically for you—they want to join your division!"
Rocks interrupted the banter and turned to Lind to talk about establishing the Seventh Division.
"I'm giving you two months to properly upgrade your Xiaoyao and recruit and train a solid team."
"You're riding high right now—if you go out to sea, you'll draw too much Navy attention. Use these two months to lay low on Hive Island."
"Jiehahaha, that's right. If you need help with anything during this time, just say the word—I won't refuse!"
It was clear that Rocks and the high-ranking members of Hive Island valued Linde greatly. They sincerely wanted him to become one of the Rocks Pirates' division captains.
"Hahaha, thank you, Captain, and thank you all for your support. If you ever need anything from me, I'll give it my all!"
Lind responded quickly to their goodwill with gratitude and a show of loyalty.
"Hoo-hahaha! In that case, let's not wait—today we'll select your first batch of crew members!"
"A bunch of new pirates just arrived. They haven't picked which division to join yet—I'm sure many would be happy to join yours!"
Rocks boldly made the first move to support Lind.
"Hahaha, much appreciated, Captain!"
Lind had no objections—becoming a division captain sooner meant he could start developing his "farming plan" earlier.
"Hoo-hahahaha! Listen up, everyone! To celebrate the victories of our First and new Seventh Division Captains, the Rocks Pirates will be selecting a batch of recruits today to join our divisions!"
"All veteran members, move 10 kilometers away from the harbour. Only those who wish to be considered should remain!"
As soon as Rocks finished speaking, it took only ten minutes for the crowd to visibly split in two.
Seeing the thousands of pirates remaining in the harbour, Rocks nodded with satisfaction and waved his hand:
"Hoo-hahaha! Now, according to the Rocks Pirates' tradition…"
"The final 300 survivors will be allowed to choose which division they want to join—provided the division captain accepts them!"
"Hoo-hahaha! Let the bloodbath begin!"
With that, chaos erupted as the pirates who had stayed behind began fighting one another.
Every pirate who had made it to Hive Island was a veteran killer. In just ten seconds, Linde saw hundreds fall in battle, and he was struck by the fragility of life.
Though it unsettled him, Lind understood clearly who he was now, and he respected the path others chose.
With a blank expression, Lind released his telekinesis, covering the battlefield. Although most of the pirates present weren't as strong as him, their brutal, well-honed combat experience gave Lind a lot to learn from.
Using telekinesis, he could also better assess each pirate's strength in real-time.
Before long, several individuals stood out and caught Lind's attention.
The most striking among them was a six-meter-tall youth with horns on his head—likely of the same Oni race as Kaido.
Lind couldn't help but admire the Oni race's natural advantage—they were probably second only to the Giants in terms of raw fighting potential.
That tall but still youthful Oni was swinging a club with brute force, his Armament Haki barely trained and his technique completely unrefined—yet he still crushed every pirate in his path with sheer power.
"Gurararara! One is a born warrior race. That one in the middle is probably only 14 or 15 and already this strong without formal training!"
"Brother Lind, tempted? I think he'd make a great second-in-command. You're both young geniuses—you'd get along well!"
Whitebeard had also noticed the Oni youth and brought it up with Lind.
"Hahaha, of course, I'm tempted by such a talented recruit—but it still depends on his choice. I'm not one to force people."
"Mama mama mama~ Well said. That little Oni boy does have amazing potential. But who he joins is up to him!"
The other division captains were also interested in the Oni, clearly seeing him as a future powerhouse.
Aside from him, several other pirates showed great strength and potential.
The division captains casually discussed the standouts on the battlefield.
One example was a short but fierce dual-wielding swordsman, slicing from east to west and back again with a pair of watermelon-blade swords, leaving rivers of blood in his wake.
He reminded Lind of a character from a movie in his previous life.
Another was a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user, specifically a Black Cat Fruit user, skilled in gunplay and swordsmanship.
Despite the fruit being Zoan-type, her greatest strength was marksmanship. Her transformation reminded Lind of childhood memories.
There were also other powerful pirates—some with excellent martial arts or swordsmanship, others with powerful Devil Fruits. However, the two mentioned above interested Lind the most.
Though all the pirates here had reached Hive Island through countless battles, in this world, without talent and opportunity, the strength gap only grew over time.
This was evident: within just an hour, the weaker pirates had all fallen, leaving only around 300 survivors.
"Hoo-hahaha! The battle's over—congrats on surviving! From now on, you are members of the Rocks Pirates!"
While Lind was still silently reflecting on life's fragility and fate's unfairness, Rocks decided the fight had gone on long enough and used his Conqueror's Haki to blanket the battlefield and forcefully end the slaughter.
"Hoo-hahaha! Now it's time to choose which captain you'll serve under!"
"Captains, go pick the subordinates who caught your eye!"
Even though hundreds of pirates remained, only a few dozen truly had potential—these were the ones the captains had been quietly allocating among themselves during the battle.
Since Lind had no crew yet, he was given special consideration and awarded five powerful subordinates.
Aside from the Oni prodigy and Black Cat markswoman, there were also two hand-to-hand combat specialists and one swordsman.
All five had already mastered two types of Haki and were ready to serve as Lind's first group of officers.