"Jihahaha! I wonder if he's been taken out yet!"
"Golden Lion" Shiki let out a cruel grin; he knew the smuggler pirate Ganzi was as famous as "Pirate Patriarch" Wang Zhi.
He was far more renowned than this rookie.
Even now, Ganzi's bounty exceeded both his and Silver Axe's!
If Ganzi joined, they would have another powerhouse on their side!
At that thought, "Golden Lion" Shiki felt a bit resentful toward the World Government and the Marines.
After all, they had once eliminated the 757-million-Berry "Pirate Patriarch" Wang Zhi.
He and Wang Zhi were almost evenly matched; even if his bounty hadn't risen to 700 million yet, it should be around 600 million Berries.
That would let his bounty surpass Ganzi's 570 million Berries.
But Shiki's bounty wasn't much lower than Ganzi's—only twenty to thirty million less.
"Golden Lion" Shiki's bounty remained unchanged at 547 million Berries.
"Damn! The Rocks Pirates are getting stronger! I can't stay a background character!"
"Silver Axe" glanced toward the Skull Castle, feeling immense pressure on his shoulders.
And Ganzi was also a powerful Devil Fruit user.
All these guys were Devil Fruit users, which only fueled Silver Axe's craving for a Devil Fruit!
When would they finally head to the North Blue to search for one?
At a harbor on Paradise Island.
Bolo Gram, sporting a pineapple hairstyle, led his subordinates and finally set foot on the island.
From afar, he spotted the lone Silver Axe guarding the pass.
But he felt the guy was nothing special.
Yet Silver Axe's bounty was one or two hundred million Berries higher than his.
Was that the hidden boost from joining the Rocks Pirates?
Silver Axe had ridden with the Rocks Pirates in the war that shattered the Marine Grand Fleet, and rode the fame of slaying "Pirate Patriarch" Wang Zhi, so his bounty skyrocketed.
If Silver Axe went solo, would he dare to strike the Marines? Or strike big pirates like Wang Zhi?
Leading the Bolo Pirates cautiously, avoiding those Great Pirates and strong Marines, his bounty grew slowly.
Bolo Gram had watched Silver Axe in several battles and finally pinned down his own strength level.
He even saw several pirates with bounties similar to his, all seeming weaker than himself.
Was he really that strong?
Bolo Gram began to gain confidence.
But he had no intention of joining the Rocks Pirates as an Executive or becoming a subsidiary crew.
He preferred adventuring with his own comrades.
He came to Paradise Island just to see the world.
Seeing more strong foes helped him clearly gauge his own power.
At that moment...
"I'm such a loser! I shouldn't have been born; I'm a waste!"
"I've let my hometown down; I'm a coward!"
One by one, pirates knelt, cried, and confessed, causing the surrounding pirates to jump back, wary of the man in a cowboy hat.
That guy actually had four hands.
He was a rare four-armed human, nearly extinct like the Three-Eyed Tribe.
"Hey, if you're scared to step up, don't block the way!"
"Four-Armed Gun King" Kiel Bastard tossed his cowboy hat, swaggering in with four pistols at his waist and four white ghosts floating beside him.
It was his ghosts that had just passed through those pirates.
Only the unlucky ones would kneel and beg.
"What a bizarre ability!"
"I wonder if Haki can resist it!"
Bolo Gram kept his subordinates behind him, also eyeing the strange cowboy gunman with caution.
If those ghosts forced people to kneel, the gunman could easily slaughter anyone caught.
"I only came to watch the spectacle, but now joining the Rocks Pirates sounds good!"
Kiel Bastard glanced at the Skull Castle and felt he could climb up and look down on everyone.
He headed straight toward Silver Axe.
If he could match or defeat that guy, he could meet Rocks!
At that moment, Silver Axe flung a pirate Captain away with one hand.
"You don't even qualify to be a subsidiary Captain!"
In a bad mood, Silver Axe used those pirates as his vent.
That Ganzi hadn't died and now appeared above the skull's eye socket.
It meant Ganzi had successfully joined the Rocks Pirates.
"Yo, I want to become an Executive of the Rocks Pirates! Just gotta beat you, right?"
Kiel Bastard pointed both of his right arms at Silver Axe, a faint smile on his face.
"How dare you point at me! Watch out, or I'll chop off your hand!"
"Anyway, you have plenty of hands!"
Silver Axe stared at the four-armed cowboy wearing sunglasses; his eyes behind the lenses turned icy.
The guy actually wanted to become an Executive of the Rocks Pirates!
"What a hothead!"
"Before you joined the Rocks Pirates, your bounty was 300 million Berries; now it's 400 million."
"Honestly, if I'd taken part in the Omaha Sea Battle and the Paradise Island War, my bounty would definitely be higher than yours!"
Kiel Bastard seemed to disregard Silver Axe, thinking he only rode Rocks's fame.
"You're asking for death!!"
Silver Axe erupted in fury and lunged forward.
A low bounty had always been a sore spot, especially being outdone by Shiki.
Seeing the ghosts beside the four-armed cowboy, another Devil Fruit user appeared.
That made Silver Axe even angrier!
"You hotheaded brute!"
Kiel Bastard grinned, firing all four arms at once; two bullets were infused with Negative Hollows.
Two more Negative Hollows surged from his left and right toward Silver Axe.
Silver Axe unleashed powerful Armament Haki, blasting the soft ghosts and even forming an Armament Haki defense.
"Kneel and repent, brute!!"
Kiel Bastard chuckled, his face already showing a victorious smile.
Two normal bullets and two ghost-infused bullets were repelled, but one of the Negative Hollows pierced through Silver Axe's dispersed Armament Haki.
The charging Silver Axe instantly fell to his knees.
"I'm just an unlucky fool abandoned by Lady Luck, never even encountering a Devil Fruit. I'll never catch up to those guys..."
Tears filled Silver Axe's eyes, like an abandoned kitten or puppy, full of despair.
"Tsk tsk, this is a big mess, I'm out!"
Seeing Silver Axe's blunder, Kiel Bastard rushed toward the Skull Castle.
He had to succeed in joining the Rocks Pirates, or else Silver Axe would keep pestering him.
"Jihahaha! You worthless fool! You make me laugh!"
"But you're right, you'll never catch up to us in this life!"
When Silver Axe got hit, "Golden Lion" Shiki didn't help; he just laughed wildly, mocking his old rival.
Soon, the effect of the Negative Hollow faded.
The recovered Silver Axe's face flushed bright red!
A grown man blushing beats all!
"Bastard! I'm going to slaughter you!!"