Several days later.
Sicily, the headquarters of the West Blue Mafia.
The arrival of the flying warship Gibeck's Sword shattered the peace of this Mafia stronghold.
Maron, the Mafia boss, never imagined that before he could even charge into the Grand Line and the New World, the world's strongest pirate crew would already be knocking on his door.
The mere thought of the Rocks Pirates sent cold sweat down Maron's forehead.
He felt like a rookie who hadn't even left the starter village, only to find a max-level boss blocking the gate.
Though confident in himself, Maron knew his Mafia was nowhere near qualified to face the Rocks Pirates.
If he could first unite the West Blue underworld, then sail the Grand Line step by step into the New World and grow stronger, perhaps one day he might challenge the Rocks Pirates.
But right now, they weren't even in the same league—they hadn't fully matured yet.
"Boss, I hear Rocks likes to recruit powerful Executives. Maybe the world's strongest pirate has his eye on your strength and influence…"
A Mafia strategist's face was taut with tension; the Rocks Pirates' fearsome reputation now echoed across the globe.
Even the Marines' grand fleets couldn't defeat them, let alone a West Blue underworld outfit.
"But the Pirate Patriarch Wang Zhi of the New World died at their hands."
"Boss, let's evacuate!"
"We'll come back once they leave Sicily."
Another Mafia advisor urged Maron to slip away quietly and avoid meeting the Rocks Pirates.
They couldn't gamble on whether the crew came to recruit or to kill him.
"I'm the damn Mafia boss who nearly rules the West Blue underworld—how could I be scared off my own island?"
Cigar clenched between his teeth, Maron's long face turned grave. After a deep breath, he resolved to face the Rocks Pirates head-on.
—Aboard Gibeck's Sword.
"Looks like Rocks isn't here yet, so let's take Maron first!"
Silver Axe folded his arms and spoke coldly, though he showed no intention of moving himself.
A mere West Blue Mafia boss should be handled by the bottom-rankers—Sanbel, Long Bread, and the new recruits Stussy, Kiel Bastard, and Bolo Gram.
After all, he was still a senior.
His bounty topped theirs; even Babel would fight before his turn came.
"A Mafia boss whose bounty hasn't hit a hundred million? Hardly worth my time."
Four-Armed Gun King Kiel Bastard, shades and cowboy hat in place, spun his four pistols with a cocky grin.
Though a rookie, his bounty exceeded Long Bread's and also Stussy's and Bolo Gram's.
By ship hierarchy, he outranked the three of them.
"If none of you want to move, I'll go first."
Bolo Gram shrugged. Long Bread was the ship's cook, Stussy clung to first mate Fang Huo and carried the title of scientist—neither were fighters.
So the newcomer would have to strike first.
He had already sailed the Grand Line and the New World; a West Blue Mafia boss didn't scare him.
Even if Maron had nearly unified the West Blue underworld.
Most pirates and gangs of the Four Blues couldn't match those in the New World.
Except for certain pirate kingdoms centuries old.
Countries like West Blue's Flower Kingdom and Mulberry Kingdom housed mighty pirates equal to New World Great Pirates.
Normally, New World pirates looked down on Grand Line pirates, who in turn looked down on the Four Blues.
Among the Blues, North Blue and West Blue looked down on South and East Blue.
And beyond that, another pecking order existed: pirates looked down on mountain bandits and Mafia.
—"Gahahaha! Let's see how strong this guy Fang Huo values!"
Golden Lion Shiki watched like it was a show; he couldn't believe a Mafia boss who'd never even been to the Grand Line could be that strong.
Maybe Fang Huo's prophecies weren't infallible.
Fang Huo stayed silent; he'd never thought much of Maron.
This man would be the first Rocks Executive to fall, dying right in the Hachinosu Island headquarters.
A textbook unlucky jinx and bottom-tier candidate.
Over the eight years after Rocks' rampage across Mary Geoise, he recruited six founding officers: Newgate, Shiki, Stussy, Wang Zhi, Ganzi, and Maron.
Who knew whether Maron had left West Blue for the Grand Line and New World when Rocks invited him?
They were arriving so far ahead of schedule that Maron hadn't yet peaked.
Right now, this West Blue Mafia boss's bounty hadn't even broken the hundred million mark.
He couldn't match Long Bread or Stussy.
Kiel Bastard and Bolo Gram each had bounties over two hundred million.
Ganzi, the newest officer, had roamed the New World for years; his current bounty even topped Golden Lion Shiki's and Charlotte Linlin's.
Since the Paradise Island incident that eliminated Pirate Patriarch Wang Zhi, their bounties hadn't been updated.
Shiki already planned to raid several World Government nations to boost his bounty.
Linlin even considered attacking Marine branches to squeeze more intel on Sister Carmelo from the World Government and Marines—and to raise her bounty.
After all, both Shiki and Linlin had sparred with Ganzi and believed themselves stronger; their bounties shouldn't be lower.
"Maybe this guy hasn't matured yet. We can decide whether to recruit him after he fights through the Grand Line and the New World."
Fang Huo felt that rolling out the red carpet in West Blue for Maron was overkill.
Was this Mafia boss really worth the Rocks Pirates' long voyage to West Blue?
Of course, Rocks mainly wanted to visit his West Blue hometown and recruit stronglings along the way.
If Maron's current strength didn't cut it, they could always seek out Patrick Redfield instead.
He wondered whether the future Redfield had met the musician Brook yet and decided to set sail.
"We're already here. Since this Maron appears in the future you foresee, recruiting him a bit early is fine."
"Didn't you say Kyo wasn't supposed to board for another ten years, yet he signed on early?"
Whitebeard Newgate spoke slowly; he enjoyed altering the future, adding uncertainty to Fang Huo's prophecies and fate.
He trusted Fang Huo's power of foresight, but even more he wanted to change everything.
Wasn't Bolo Gram an officer outside Fang Huo's predictions?
Back on Paradise Island, he had deliberately stalled Pineapple Head, hoping to change the future in which the man never joined—
warping Fang Huo's foreseen future was itself a pleasure for Newgate.