"Hey, this guy's interesting. Did the captain recruit him?" Bartley said.
Even Jack beside him looked slightly surprised at Bratt.
"Zoan-type Honey Badger Fruit user. Just an idiot who doesn't know how small he is." Katakuri said lightly.
"Hah! Your grandpa here is a wolverine—what's 'small' or 'big' supposed to mean?" Bratt didn't take Katakuri's words as an insult at all—he was proud.
"Interesting. Good material. If you're interested, come to my First Division," Jack said.
"Get lost. You're too ugly—I couldn't eat with that face across the table." Brat said with disgust.
"You—!" Jack was instantly angered.
"Hahaha! He said you're too ugly!" Bartley cackled.
"Hmph." Jack snorted coldly, releasing a terrifying murderous aura.
But Brat wasn't scared at all—he glared right back.
"Looks like everyone's here."
Rosinante walked into the hall.
"Captain!"
"Your Majesty!"
"Captain's here!"
Everyone except Doflamingo and Katakuri greeted him immediately.
"Sit. You all know the situation already—our Third Division Captain, Burs, had his head taken. That's why I called you back." Rosinante said calmly.
Hearing this, Jack and the others' expressions grew heavy.
"Captain, do you know who did it?" Raelmann asked.
"Yeah, just say the word, Captain. I'll take a team and smash them into paste!" Jack growled.
"Burs was our brother. This revenge has to be taken," Hemmie added.
"When you live this life, I value three things—loyalty, righteousness, and trust. Burs served me loyally. He carried out every order without complaint. He never betrayed me or the Gray Nation—that's loyalty. Now he's dead, beheaded—so I have to avenge him. That's righteousness." Rosinante said in a quiet but firm voice.
"I gathered you all not because the enemy is dangerous—though they are—but because I couldn't handle this alone. You've all been brothers with Burs for years. If something happened and I didn't inform you… that wouldn't sit right with me. I know pulling you back from your territories and spoils is inconvenient. You're not mad, right?"
"How could we be? If you didn't call us, that would've made us angry," Hemmie said.
"A pirate settles grudges first. Land and spoils can wait," Raelmann agreed.
"I knew you wouldn't blame me—but your subordinates might. Our crew's gotten big; we have all types now. Make sure to calm them down when you return—we don't want people thinking we're running scared," Rosinante added.
"Just tell us who the enemy is," Jack said.
"Golden Lion Shiki—Burs's old captain." Rosinante said.
The name hit the room like thunder. Even though Raelmann and the others braced themselves, they still couldn't help reacting.
In Roger's era, three great pirate crews dominated the New World:
Roger Pirates, Whitebeard Pirates, and the Flying Pirates.
Roger, despite becoming Pirate King, commanded only a medium-sized crew of a few dozen.
Whitebeard, uninterested in conquest and only seeking family, also wasn't large back then.
But Golden Lion Shiki's Flying Pirates—they were the true giants of the age.
A massive airborne fleet ruling most of the New World.
Shiki was known as the Admiral of the Pirate Armada… a true monster.
Raelmann and Hemmie had witnessed his overwhelming power firsthand.
Doflamingo had heard from Trebol how they once escaped the New World because of one glance from Shiki.
Shiki was a mountain casting a shadow over their generation—an idol for many.
The atmosphere in the hall grew suffocating.
"Golden Lion? Silver Lion? Who cares? We'll just beat him up." Brat said casually.
To him, the only thing he feared in the world was a pitch-black room.
As long as it wasn't that, nothing frightened him.
"Exactly. He's just an old man with one foot in the coffin. With our Gray Nation's strength, even Whitebeard isn't someone we'd avoid. Shiki lost his legs escaping Impel Down. Why fear a half-crippled relic? Let's send this legend into his grave." Jack sneered.
"Mother said Shiki's power has been declining ever since Ed War. He's no longer the Golden Lion whose glare could make seas tremble," Katakuri said calmly.
"Strong or not, the Gray Nation won't be bullied. A pirate crew that doesn't avenge its own isn't worthy of existing," Raelmann added.
"Whether we fight was never the question. The moment Burs died, this war became unavoidable. If we can't avenge a division commander, the Gray Nation might as well disband—we'd save ourselves the embarrassment. The real question now is how to wipe out Shiki and his entire Flying Pirate Fleet in one stroke." Rosinante said.
Excitement and pride lit up everyone's faces.
With a captain this fearless, joining the Gray Nation felt like the best choice they ever made.
Not every captain dared to go to war with someone like Shiki—especially for the sake of a subordinate.
But Rosinante did.
And that made their unity stronger than ever.
"Captain, do you know where Shiki is now?" Raelmann asked.
Ever since Shiki escaped Impel Down, he'd vanished. Without his location, the war couldn't even begin.
"Enel." Rosinante said.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Enel raised a hand, and a virtual screen formed before everyone.