Hawkins had decided on his target, but there was a problem: he had no connection to the Hundred Beasts. The title of Super Rookie was powerful in the first half, but in the New World, there were too many people like this.
With the bounty of a Super Rookie, simply joining the other side wouldn't be difficult, but that wasn't in line with Hawkins' thinking.
If the Hundred Beasts were compared to a corporation, they were no longer a ragtag band from the startup phase; they had many high-level officials, and even the second generation of officials they trained themselves had grown up.
Apart from the initial batch of elders from various seas, the young officials were almost all raised within the Hundred Beasts, their homeland, making it increasingly difficult in twenty years for outsiders to enter the higher ranks.
To reach a certain position, one must have something the other side sees.
If there is neither ability nor potential, then one can only become an ordinary grunt.
While Drake was still troubled over how to get the Hundred Beasts to notice him, Hawkins had already found the opportunity.
"Strawman Form."
Hawkins' body began to expand, gradually turning into a hideous giant strawman, with five massive nails embedded between his fingers, swinging toward the pirates in front of him.
...
"Huh? This is the trouble you mentioned? It seems to have been resolved already."
Queen held a small folding fan in his hand, pretending to fan himself. Normally, Queen wouldn't need to come here, since he was also a guest of Fishman Island.
With Jinbe and Tiger having the ability to handle things here, the situation was special this time. The moment the Hundred Beasts' flag was raised, someone caused trouble, and if the Hundred Beasts didn't appear, it would be disgraceful.
Moreover, Queen volunteered to come here for his own safety.
Now that Kaidou was drunk, Yamato could avoid risks by staying close to Arceus, but Queen could not. Who knows if Kaidou, being drunk, might whimsically swing his sword and drag him over as a sparring partner.
The mermaid ladies' dance was beautiful; normally he might join them in dancing, but Kaidou was still in high spirits from the war atop, and who knows what trouble might arise. Living comfortably is more important.
When Queen arrived at the scene, he saw Hawkins in his strawman form thrashing those pirates. As a member of the Worst Generation, he had some skills, and his extremely bizarre abilities left many opponents helpless.
However, against Queen, Hawkins' ability might end up being misused. Queen could completely drain Hawkins' energy without harming him and slowly deal with him when he was unable to use his Fruit Ability.
"Don't worry, Lord Queen is here. If anyone dares to violate our rules, I'll make sure they pay the price.
Now, let me see, who dares to cause trouble on our turf?"
Queen pushed aside the Sea King Army in front and walked forward, comforting the frightened young mermaids along the way.
Beautiful things are always pleasing to the eye, and mermaids as a race max out their points in beauty. Except for the occasional African Catfish Spirit, mermaids tend to attract most people's attention.
"It's here...Plague Disaster Queen, the super monster with a bounty of 3.2 billion Belly..."
Some Four Emperors don't even have a bounty of 3.2 billion Belly. Queen achieved this bounty in 1520, though in Hundred Beasts' upper ranks, Queen's status was considered low; externally, Queen had long reached a height unattainable for ordinary people.
"They're done for, that group is definitely done for."
"Isn't that obvious? They couldn't even defeat Magician Hawkins, but Strawman-forehead seems to have luck on his side, being able to hoist the Hundred Beasts' flag and roam the New World."
The nearby humans were whispering, discussing what might happen next, while Queen had already reached Hawkins.
"Hey, kid, did you do all this?"
"Yes, they wanted to plunder the population here."
"Interesting. So, kid, tell me, what do you want?
You can't just tell me you had a whim to do justice?"
"I want a chance, a chance to demonstrate more of myself."
Without any nonsense, Hawkins indirectly conveyed his purpose.
"Hawkins, from the North Sea, bounty of 249 million Belly."
Pulling out his intelligence booklet, Queen quickly found Hawkins' information. He was still paying attention to outstanding newcomers.
"Smart guy, bring your people and follow us for now, but if you want to join us, it's not that simple."
Achieving success with this kind of thing is impossible; at most, Hawkins had a five-minute chat with the interviewer, more face familiarity than others. Whether he could join or be promoted would require a series of assessments.
Hawkins himself didn't mind this arrangement, and afterwards Queen directly threw those rule-violating pirates into the sea, letting them fend for themselves in the deep.
As he planned to return to continue attending the banquet, he saw a strangely shaped ship resembling a dessert.
...
"Perospero? What are you doing here, you long-tongued man?"
"Fatty, watch your manners. Do you know what you're saying?"
"Huh? I certainly know, but with a bounty of only 700 million Belly, why are you acting so arrogant in front of me?"
"Phew..."
Perospero took several deep breaths, trying to calm his mood. Though they managed business exchanges for the pirate groups, their communication always involved reciprocal insults.
Times have changed, and while his bounty was only 700 million, Queen's has soared to 3.2 billion, placing Perospero at a disadvantage during verbal attacks.
Staring at the pirate flag hung at the entrance, Perospero's expression also turned sour.
He wasn't here for tourism but to follow the orders of Charlotte Linlin to claim Fishman Island as her territory.
She had long been coveting the sweets of Fishman Island, hampered previously by Whitebeard. Now, having received news of Whitebeard's death, she naturally took action.
Perospero had arrived quite swiftly, but unexpectedly, the Hundred Beasts moved even faster.
"I'm here to purchase sweets; why are you here?"
Suppressing his temper, Perospero refrained from stating his intent to seize territory because he spotted the Origin nearby. Given Queen's status, he wasn't qualified to be on that ship, as there were undoubtedly more terrifying individuals from the Hundred Beasts present.
It was beyond his capability or authority to prompt Charlotte Linlin to make such a decision, so he changed his reason.
Listening to Perospero's excuse, a sinister smile appeared on Queen's face.
"How unfortunate, I'm in charge of imports and exports here now."
"...."