Chapter 3: Newcomer Assessment?! Thousand-Person Melee
Time flies like a white colt passing a crevice.
In just one short month, it passed in the blink of an eye.
During this time, Lotte had also relied on his physical techniques to take down several troublemakers who came looking for a fight.
This earned him a small reputation on this pirate island.
On the day the recruitment began,
The massive harbor plaza was already packed with a sea of people.
These were pirates who had come from all over the world for a spot in the Rocks Pirates.
Thousands upon thousands of pirates were all wearing excited expressions at this moment.
As long as they could join the Rocks Pirates,
In the future New World seas, they could basically run rampant and dominate!
Even the current affiliated nations and the Marines
Wouldn't dare provoke the Rocks Pirates lightly!
"Jie hahaha! No matter what, this time I'm definitely becoming a member of the Rocks Pirates!"
"Let those Marines who look down on us see!"
"You? What Lord Rocks needs are only the strong ones!"
"Heh! Poison Snake, you bastard, are you trying to pick a fight?!"
Lotte just quietly stayed in a corner of the plaza.
Calmly opening his attribute panel.
[Name: Lotte] [Age: 17] [Bloodline Ability: Hashirama Cells (Current Mastery: 20%)] [Skills: Wood Release (Current Power Limit: B-rank)] [Inventory: None] [Combat Power: 1500~2000] [Overall Evaluation: Host's current overall strength has surpassed the Marine Headquarters Rear Admiral level. In this New World, he has barely gained a reliable level of power—at the very least, he won't have to worry about being treated as cannon fodder and killed off.]
After a month of tempering,
Lotte had finally successfully boosted his strength quite a bit.
At the very least, on these seas, he now had some self-preservation ability.
His mastery of the Hashirama Cells had risen to 20%.
But the higher it went, the slower the mastery increase became.
If he wanted to reach 100%, it would probably take at least two years.
Lotte knew very well
That Marine Headquarters Rear Admiral sounded impressive, but in the Rocks Pirates, it didn't count for much at all.
In the vast Rocks Pirates,
Whether cadres or certain official members, their strength had long surpassed Rear Admiral level.
Monsters like Whitebeard Edward and Golden Lion Shiki
Probably weren't much weaker than Admirals.
His strength still needed to become much greater to truly matter!
While Lotte was deep in thought,
A pirate suddenly shouted loudly.
"The Rocks Pirates are here! The assessment is about to start!"
"Hahaha! Finally joining the Rocks Pirates! I wonder how many spots there'll be this time!"
"Hmph! No matter what, I have to get in this time!"
The pirates' heated discussions exploded across the plaza.
Lotte also looked up toward the distance and spotted several massive pirate ships flying flags.
Without a doubt, those were the current overlords of the entire New World seas!
Thanks to his superior physique,
Lotte quickly made out the figures on the ships.
Golden Lion Shiki, Whitebeard Edward, Captain John, and various cadres were all gathered.
At the forefront on the ship was Rocks, with his pitch-black long hair.
Rocks looked indifferently at the pirates in the harbor plaza.
To him,
These people were nothing more than mere cannon fodder.
If not for the heavy losses from wiping out an affiliated nation recently, he wouldn't bother recruiting new fodder.
Rocks' gaze casually swept over the noisy pirates.
Whoosh!
The terrifying aura bursting from him instantly silenced the entire massive plaza.
Even from several miles away,
The pressure from Rocks felt like a raging flood and ferocious beast.
It turned into an boundless mountain crushing down on the hearts of the many pirates in the plaza.
They had never imagined
That someone's presence could be this overwhelming!
Was this the terrifying power of the current New World sea overlord, Rocks?!
If they could join under his flag!
They'd definitely become much stronger too!
Amid everyone's rapid breathing, Lotte narrowed his eyes slightly.
As expected of the current hegemon of the entire New World seas.
Just this level of Conqueror's Haki had already reached the top tier.
"Splash—!"
The pirate ships broke through the waves and arrived at the harbor.
The pirates on board—famous throughout the New World—
Glanced at the crowd in the plaza and started chatting with smiles.
"As expected, a huge crowd gathered again. Maybe a few good seedlings this time."
"Jie hahaha! That would be quite delightful!"
"I wonder how many of these guys will still be alive."
Their faces carried bloodthirsty grins, clearly accustomed to this kind of spectacle.
To the people in the plaza, this assessment determined their fate.
But to the pirates on the ships,
It was nothing more than an extremely grand slaughter show.
Whitebeard Edward stood on the deck, chugging from a sake gourd, frowning as he looked at the pirates.
Honestly, he was already starting to regret joining the Rocks Pirates.
After all, what Whitebeard wanted
Was never gold, silver, treasures, or royal power and wealth.
Just family to adventure with him across these seas!
Whitebeard sighed inwardly.
Fortunately, that guy Rocks had once said that only less than two years remained until achieving his goal.
After those two years,
He could establish his own pirate crew.
"Looks like everyone's mostly here. Let's start the assessment right now."
"If you want to join my pirate crew, you must be prepared to die. Out of you lot, I only need 50."
Rocks grinned bloodthirstily.
This made all the pirates in the plaza's hearts sink.
There were easily over ten thousand pirates here—the success rate was far below one percent.
But since it came from Rocks,
There was no room for defiance.
Whoosh!
The sound of weapons slicing through the air turned the entire plaza into a bloody battlefield.
Lotte was suddenly surrounded by several people.
Guys like him who had gained a bit of fame on the island were definitely targeted first.
"Kid, today we'll send you on your way!"
Several men showed vicious grins, gripping their large swords tightly and swinging without hesitation.
Silver-white blade lights carried immense, heavy force as they descended.
In an instant, they reached above Lotte's head.
Clang!
The sound rang out abruptly.
Brown wooden spikes extended from where Lotte pointed his finger.
In a flash, they pierced straight through several men's hearts!