"If you want me to submit, defeat me first!"
Reilman threw a punch at Rossinante, his voice full of arrogance.
Rossinante tilted his head slightly and dodged Reilman's punch, then leaned his body to the side to avoid the follow-up attack. In the next moment, Rossinante's figure faded from Reilman's view.
"What should I say? It seems that my ability is quite effective against you."
Rossinante's voice came from behind Reilman.
Before Rossinante spoke, Reilman hadn't sensed the slightest trace of his presence.
Upon hearing Rossinante's voice, Reilman immediately swung his fist behind him, but once again, there was nothing but empty air. His punch hit nothing.
"Has Reilman weakened? He can't even find His Majesty's shadow!"
Bass laughed.
"Fool, it's not that Reilman has weakened, it's that he simply can't detect His Majesty's position or movement."
Hermie said with a serious expression.
"It's true, the observation haki can't even perceive His Majesty's position or movements."
Bartley said, equally solemn.
Hearing this, Bass's expression changed as well.
Once a person reaches a certain level of strength, their sight can no longer keep up with the speed of a skilled fighter. If you rely only on sight to observe your opponent's attacks, by the time you see the attack, it's already hitting you. That's why, in battles between skilled opponents, observation haki is extremely important.
Without being able to sense the opponent, it's almost like fighting blind.
Thinking of this, Bass and the others' faces turned serious. They quickly thought about how they would deal with such a situation and came to a terrifying conclusion.
"Has his strength increased?"
Jack said with a cautious expression.
Upon hearing Jack's words, everyone turned to him. Among them, only Jack truly knew Rossinante's strength. However, Jack didn't pay attention to them.
"If you're so capable, fight me face-to-face. You want to subdue me, but how can you do that if you keep dodging?"
Reilman sneered, provoking him.
"So, I'm saying, my ability counters you very well."
Rossinante slowly walked out from beside Reilman, still unnoticed by him.
"Hah, Three Thousand Divine Explosions!"
Reilman, startled by Rossinante's sudden appearance, didn't hesitate to throw a full-force punch.
Rossinante calmly placed his hand on Reilman's attacking fist, then twisted his arm and expertly captured him with a joint lock.
"Surprised? Why isn't it exploding?"
Rossinante asked.
Reilman didn't speak, but his eyes were filled with confusion.
"I'm a Silent Fruit user, a Silent Person. I can mute anything I touch, including Devil Fruit abilities. Especially with someone like you, a bomb man, all I need to do is mute your explosion when I touch you."
Rossinante explained.
"Collapse Fist Strike!"
Rossinante's punch landed lightly on Reilman's abdomen, but it sent him flying with a powerful impact.
Reilman felt an incredibly strong force entering his body, stirring his internal organs, causing him to vomit blood. But soon, the Silent Seal muted his injuries.
"This is a warning. Now, make your choice—submit or die?"
Rossinante said coldly.
"The Silent Fruit has such a terrifying ability? How could this be?"
Reilman was more concerned about Rossinante's Devil Fruit, wondering how it could mute the abilities of other Devil Fruit users.
"As the saying goes, there's nothing impossible, only unimaginable. As long as you dare to imagine, Paramecia Devil Fruits have infinite possibilities! Silent only puts abilities into a dormant state temporarily."
Rossinante replied.
"To develop a Devil Fruit to this extent, you're truly a monster. I've learned something in the New World—it's not shameful to bow down to a monster."
Reilman said.
"Then welcome aboard."
Rossinante released his grip.
"So, how about the rest of these people? What's their strength like?"
Rossinante looked at the other pirates Jack had brought back.
"They're all pirate captains with bounties ranging from 100 million to 300 million, and some of them are promising young pirates."
Jack responded.
"So, choose—submit or die. If you submit, I'll mark you with the Silent Seal, and from now on, you're one of us. If you choose death, I'll make it quick."
Rossinante said.
"Submit!"
"It's an honor to serve under you!"
"You tell me to face east, I won't face west. You tell me to kill a chicken, I won't slaughter a cow."
The pirates Jack brought back immediately began to clamour, eager to submit.
These pirates weren't like Roger or Luffy, who had their own ideals and dreams of pursuing something in the sea. They were ruthless marauders, true pirates through and through. To them, submitting to a stronger person was completely natural.
They also understood that with their current strength, they had no chance of fighting the monsters of the New World. Only monsters could fight other monsters, and if they wanted to survive in the New World, they needed to submit to a monster.
Moreover, after being defeated by Jack and the others, they had already been subtly persuaded to surrender. So when Rossinante spoke, they all agreed immediately.
"In that case, I'll grant you near-immortal abilities. The first thing you must do is obey my commands. The second thing is also to obey my commands. The third thing is still to obey my commands."
Rossinante said, not expecting things to go this smoothly.
Rossinante then spent some time marking them with the Silent Seal, before having Binxi take them away. They would now join Binz's Oath Blood Guard.
Once Binz and the others left, only Jack and his four companions, along with Reilman, remained. Due to Reilman's strength, Rossinante had decided to keep him around, as his power would be useful for the upcoming events.
"So, this is done then?"
After hearing about the upcoming confrontation with Big Mom's crew, Bartley asked with confusion.
"How could it be?"
Rossinante rolled his eyes at Bartley.
"If it were someone else, they might hesitate for the sake of their subordinates' lives. If it were Whitebeard, even if we offended him, for the sake of the children, we might let it slide. But Big Mom? Be ready for war at any time!"
Bass sneered.
"But she's Big Mom's second-in-command, her own son. Doesn't Big Mom care about his life?"
Bartley said incredulously.
"That's why she's Big Mom. Everything in the Whole Cake Island is decided by her word. Whether we fight or not is entirely up to her."
Rossinante explained.
After hearing this, except for Jack, Hermie and the others all had grim expressions.
After all, they were facing Big Mom, one of the strongest pirate crews in the New World. Even when the Roger Pirates, Flying Pirates, and Whitebeard Pirates were at their peak, Big Mom was still one of the most fearsome pirates.
Not to mention, with Roger executed and Golden Lion captured, she was now the strongest pirate under Whitebeard.
"What are you afraid of? Are you scared by Big Mom's crew? With the injury sealing ability, we can even drag them to death if we want to."
Jack said coldly.
Upon hearing Jack's words, Bass and the others smiled, recalling the situation with Reilman.
The effect of the Silent Seal had given them immense confidence, and with it, they felt they weren't so afraid of Big Mom anymore.
Seeing everyone's relieved smiles, Rossinante couldn't bring himself to dampen their spirits.
They didn't know that the end of the Silent Seal was death, nor did they understand that the more injuries it silenced, the greater the pressure on them.
The more injuries it silenced, the more stamina it required, and eventually, the Silent Seal would crush them.
If he told them this, it would severely damage their morale, and this wasn't the time for that.
Perhaps after this was all over, he'd find a place for them to rest and improve their strength.