"Golden Lion" Shiki unloaded nearly every move in his arsenal onto Wang Zhi, showing the world his strength and talent.
Right now, he was barely any weaker than the "Pirate Patriarch"!
In less than two years, he would definitely surpass Wang Zhi and become a legendary Great Pirate that even Wang Zhi would have to look up to!
"Jihahaha!! That was satisfying!"
"The next whetstone is all yours!"
"Golden Lion" Shiki had even shattered the two ordinary longswords in his hands; only after losing both blades did he step back, content.
Though Newgate wasn't keen on joining this tag-team battle, since Fang Huo had prepared this stepping stone for everyone...
He would reluctantly put on a show!
He couldn't let Fang Huo's goodwill go to waste.
As "Golden Lion" Shiki flew off, "Whitebeard" Newgate hoisted Murakumogiri, leapt from the Saber of Xebec, and slashed straight at Wang Zhi.
Seeing the massive arc Newgate's naginata cut through the air, Wang Zhi knew how monstrous the man's strength was.
It was even scarier than Charlotte Linlin earlier.
"Aaaah!!!"
"You bastards fight dirty!!"
Wang Zhi's composure cracked; he could only grit his teeth and unleash one hundred and twenty percent of his power, punching back.
Boom!!!
In an instant, the shockwave from fist meeting blade erupted outward, sending countless watching pirates tumbling in the gale.
All of Paradise Island shook like a magnitude-ten earthquake; fissures spider-webbed across the land.
Every pirate present was scared witless by that single blow.
What kind of monster was this!!
"Ugh—"
For the first time, Wang Zhi coughed up blood, his pupils quivering at Newgate's raw strength and Tremor-Tremor ability!
Why was this rookie so overwhelmingly strong!
"'Patriarch' Wang Zhi's been sent flying! He's coughing blood!"
"'Whitebeard' Newgate is incredible!!"
Elite pirates everywhere screamed as if witnessing the impossible.
"So this is Newgate's true power!"
Seeing Newgate bloody Wang Zhi in one strike, both "Silver Axe" and the "Golden Lion" were stunned.
"Silver Axe" Fierce, in particular, burned with desire for a mighty Devil Fruit!
He was convinced it was the Tremor-Tremor Fruit that made Newgate so formidable.
"Captain Rocks! I submit! I surrender unconditionally to the Rocks Pirates!"
Wang Zhi no longer dreamed of becoming the crew's second-in-command, of being the First Mate.
Otherwise, before Vice-Captain Fang Huo even acted, he'd be killed by "Whitebeard" Newgate—number three in the pecking order!
"Boring."
Whitebeard had no interest in a foe who'd lost the will to fight; after one move, he called it quits and returned to his crew.
Yet that single strike turned him into an idol for hordes of pirates.
Shattering an island with one blow—what overwhelming might!
"Worororo! Fang Huo, what do you think?"
Rocks grinned at Fang Huo while looking at the battered, pleading Wang Zhi.
He'd already lost interest in the so-called "Pirate Patriarch."
In fact, when Fang Huo had probed "Black Flag" Black earlier, Rocks had already marked the man he wanted to recruit.
He wondered what Fang Huo had uncovered.
He really hoped "Black Flag" Black checked out.
Otherwise, after offing Wang Zhi, they'd have to kill "Black Flag" Black too.
"What do I think? It's him or me."
Riding his sword through the air, Fang Huo hovered like a god above Wang Zhi, looking down on the sly, cringing "Pirate Patriarch."
"Vice-Captain Fang Huo, I surrender! I want to join the Rocks Pirates—from now on, we're crewmates."
Wang Zhi stuck out his long tongue in a fawning smile, while inside he itched to slaughter every Rocks officer who'd trampled him.
He had agreed to cooperate with the World Government not only to survive Rocks's game but also to seize the whole crew for himself.
Yet this tag-team beating now made him want to kill every bastard who'd stepped on his face.
"I'd like to borrow something of yours, Captain Wang Zhi—hope you'll oblige!"
Fang Huo smiled at the battered Wang Zhi; surviving the gauntlet of Newgate, Shiki, and Linlin was already impressive.
After all, each of them was a monster and a prodigy of this era.
Even while young, their strength was terrifying.
Talent can let geniuses reach heights ordinary people can't touch, effort be damned.
A tiger becomes king in a few years; a turtle needs decades just to be a turtle.
"Take whatever you want, Vice-Captain Fang Huo—from now on, what's the Wang Zhi Pirates' is the Rocks Pirates'."
Wang Zhi humbled himself, masquerading as a harmless grass snake.
"I want your life, Captain."
With a flick of his right hand, the Seven-Star Sword flew from beneath his feet into his grasp.
Green light flared along the blade, and the crescent mark on Fang Huo's forehead blazed with icy blue-white radiance.
"What!!"
Wang Zhi was shocked—he had abased himself this much, yet the Rocks Pirates still wanted him dead?!
"Ninefold Heaven Lock – Crescent Moon Strike!"
A gravity field heavy as Mount Tai pinned Wang Zhi in place, ten thousand heavenly chains locking his body into sudden rigor.
A piercing blue-green crescent blade, carrying terrifying sharpness, slashed toward the frozen smile on Wang Zhi's face.
"No!!!"
Wang Zhi screamed in terror; if not for that damned tag-team, if not for Newgate's devastating blow, he'd never fear some punk kid like Fang Huo.
Under the dread of death, Wang Zhi wildly erupted with Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki, breaking Fang Huo's gravity suppression and blocking the lethal slash!
Boom!
Wang Zhi barely parried; deep, bone-revealing wounds split his Armament-blackened arms.
Fang Huo dissolved into a blood-shadow, reappearing behind Wang Zhi.
The long Seven-Star Sword drove straight through Wang Zhi's heart!
"The 'Great Demon Venerable' killed the Patriarch!!!"
The Wang Zhi Pirates went mad; they never dreamed Fang Huo would actually slay Wang Zhi!
Weren't the Rocks Pirates recruiting powerhouses!
"Why! Why!!"
Still pinned by the gravity field, Wang Zhi clutched the blade protruding from his chest, eyes filled with rage and terror, blood dripping from his mouth.
"No reason—just felt like eating you."
Fang Huo licked his lips, baring sharp fangs as a swarm of Blood Shadow Bats burst forth and engulfed Wang Zhi.
Countless bats tore at him, gorging on his blood.
"No!"
"Rocks!"
"I'll be your dog! Call off your man!"
Wang Zhi watched in horror as the bats devoured him alive.
"Black Flag" Black, watching, felt a chill pierce his heart at the sight of those blood-shadows.
Weren't they eerily similar to the blood-shadow that had ambushed him earlier?
"Jihahaha!! And you say you're not the 'Great Demon Venerable'!! You're a demon through and through!!"
"Golden Lion" Shiki howled with laughter at Fang Huo's savage feast.
It looked like this "Prophet" Fang Huo wasn't as benevolent as he'd thought.
His principles and bottom line weren't that high after all.
Which meant Shiki's chances of recruiting Fang Huo later had just gone way up.