Fish-Man Island, ten thousand meters below the surface!
On the dimly lit Fish-Man District.
On the rundown streets, Rocks was taking out fish-men one punch at a time, taking down quite a few of the strong ones.
The boss of Fish-Man District in this era was the catfish fish-man, Barbel.
His hair billowed like flames.
Under Rocks's overwhelming force, Barbel was thoroughly beaten into submission and forced to join the Rocks Pirates.
At this moment, Ignis was floating outside the battlefield. All his other soul worms had returned to his soul.
The Moonlight Gu had transformed into the faint blue crescent moon mark on Ignis's forehead.
The Gravity Gu had become the purple tiger-shaped tattoo on his arm.
Furthermore, under the power of the Moonlight Fruit, Ignis's black hair could also turn silver.
This silver hair, combined with the crescent mark, gave him a hint of Sesshōmaru's cold-blooded demeanor.
Ignis floated in the air, watching Rocks display his might, and finally fixed his gaze on a young fish-man figure.
'Didn't this guy look a bit like Sunbell, the fish-man from the Roger Pirates?'
'To be an elite crew member of the Roger Pirates, his strength must be decent, right?'
'Barbel, Sunbell... interesting, interesting.'
'Pirating crew members starts now!'
"Hey, are you called Sunbell? How would you like to follow your boss, Barbel, and live on the surface, basking in real sunlight?"
"See that guy over there? That's the worst pirate with a bounty of 3.8 Billion Berries, the world's strongest pirate. He even took down a Marine Admiral before!"
Ignis pulled out Rocks's wanted poster and used it directly as a big recruitment sign.
"What! 3.8 Billion Berries?"
"He took down an Admiral?"
Ignis's shouting immediately stirred up a commotion and heated discussion on Fish-Man District.
Back in Ryugu Kingdom, when the king and Prince Neptune heard that the worst pirate Rocks had entered Fish-Man Island, they were blocked inside the palace by their ministers and not allowed to go out.
Ignis's tactic of using Rocks's reputation had an immediate effect.
A considerable number of fish-man strongmen, yearning for sunlight and freedom, wanted to join the Rocks Pirates.
However, apart from Barbel, Rocks didn't think much of the weakling fish-men.
Even Sunbell, whom Ignis personally recruited, seemed a bit weak in Rocks's eyes, unqualified to come aboard.
But in the end, due to Ignis's insistence, Rocks allowed Sunbell to join.
And so, Barbel and Sunbell of Fish-Man District officially became members under Rocks's command.
Led by the two of them, Ignis and Rocks arrived at the Sea Forest and saw the two Poneglyphs, one red and one gray.
"Ignis, do we really have to take this Road Poneglyph? Can't we just make a rubbing?"
Hearing Ignis wanted to take the Road Poneglyph, Rocks found it a bit troublesome.
He didn't want this big stone sitting on his Xebec's Sword.
"..."
"Forget it, forget it. If you won't take it, we won't. We'll just make several rubbings!"
Since the captain was unwilling, Ignis had to temporarily abandon the idea.
In the future, when he had the Castle-Cast Fruit ability for storage, he could come back for it.
Rocks and Ignis, who weren't short of money, took the two broke fish-men from Fish-Man District, Barbel and Sunbell, and enjoyed themselves for a few days on Fish-Man Island, spending money lavishly.
Only then did they reluctantly leave Fish-Man Island.
With countless fish-men punks from Fish-Man District seeing them off, the Rocks Pirates left the deep sea and headed for the New World.
Not long after, the Xebec's Sword burst through the surface.
The first to cheer was the young fish-man, Sunbell. This was truly his first time leaving Fish-Man Island.
Barbel, the boss of Fish-Man District, had secretly gone to see the Sabaody Archipelago once.
"I'm going to make a name for myself in the future and become a great pirate that terrifies the World Government!"
Barbel shouted excitedly. He also wanted to become a big shot like Rocks.
Even if he couldn't kill a Marine Admiral, he should at least be able to exchange dozens of blows with one!
"Vohahaha! This is a good start!"
"Ignis, where to next!!"
"Let's see which of those destined executives is closest and recruit them first!"
Rocks started flipping through a large stack of wanted posters, checking which of the fated strongmen were currently making a living in the first half of the New World.
"Can Vice Captain Ignis really see the future?"
Under Ignis's persuasion, Sunbell had genuinely started calling him Vice Captain.
"Sunbell, I've told you, Ignis is not the Vice Captain. There is no Vice Captain on my ship. Whoever is stronger gets a larger share of the loot."
Rocks glared at the sly Ignis. How dare he fool the new guy!
"Captain Rocks, but even you ask for Ignis's opinion."
Although Barbel didn't call Ignis Vice Captain, seeing Rocks's attitude, wasn't Ignis essentially the ship's second-in-command?
Besides, this future-predicting ability was so powerful and mysterious!
"Hmph! There's no Vice Captain on this ship, anyway!"
Rocks snorted lightly, but he didn't deny Ignis's importance.
"Hehe, even if I'm not the Vice Captain, call me the Great Strategist!"
Ignis gave Sunbell an approving look. This kind of authority could be established subtly over time.
"Next, we go find that Whale pirate crew! That guy Edward Newgate, that "Whale" Vaghar, can't handle him."
"Lucky for us, they're operating right here in the first half of the New World!"
"Of course, we also need to gather information on Trans Town."
"Captain Rocks, the plan is set. Please issue the orders!"
Ignis spoke boldly, but in the end, he made sure to give Captain Rocks his due respect.
"Vohahaha! Then charge! Let's go grab our next partner!"
Rocks shouted excitedly, and everyone on board cheered.
....
Under Rocks's overwhelming strength, the dreadful weather of the New World was no problem at all.
No Eternal Log Pose? Then steal one!
No information? Then buy it from the underworld!
With a clear objective, Rocks and his crew quickly located the White Whale Pirates, who were plundering treasure in the first half of the New World.
"Vohahaha! Vaghar the Whale! Let's have a Davy Back Fight, pirate to pirate!"
The moment the two pirate crews met, Rocks sensed the powerful aura of Edward Newgate.
This guy was definitely stronger than his captain, Vaghar the Whale.
This year, Edward Newgate was only 18 years old. His iconic white beard hadn't grown yet.
At this moment, his blonde hair was wrapped in a headscarf, and he wore a simple sleeveless vest, revealing his knotted muscles.
As he sensed Rocks's terrifying aura, he was equally shocked.
He had never encountered such a powerful monster before!
"The worst pirate! Rocks!!"
When Vaghar saw Rocks, he was instantly scared out of his wits.
What had he done to deserve the attention of the strongest pirate with a bounty of 3,811,540,000 Berries!
"Lord Rocks, do you want treasure, my Jolly Roger, or even me? Please don't kill me!"
Vaghar the Whale, dressed in full pirate captain regalia, immediately surrendered, not daring to fight Rocks at all.
Besides, joining Rocks's command didn't seem so bad.
"Vohahaha! You want to be my subordinate? You're way too weak!"
"If I want something, I'll take it myself!"
Rocks licked his lips with his huge tongue and fixed his gaze on the strongest pirate on the Whale pirate crew, Edward Newgate!
Newgate was startled by Rocks's intense stare.
'Could this worst pirate, who had killed a Marine Admiral, be targeting me?'