“Go out to sea.
You can use my name if you want.
Let the world know that the Quincy exist.”
“Yes, my lord!”
The pirates who had just received their new powers immediately lit up with excitement.
Wasn’t he basically telling them to go cause trouble?
That was easy.
Burning, killing, looting, wrecking things, committing crimes…
Perfectly within their comfort zone.
Hua Ye watched another group of newly converted Quincy enthusiastically board their ship and set sail, his expression barely changing.
He was standing near the coast, where countless vessels were anchored.
Every ship flew a skull-and-crossbones flag, and most had exaggerated, vicious designs perfectly suited to pirate tastes.
Before long, one pirate ship pulled away from the harbor, turned its bow toward the open sea, and began sailing off.
Hua Ye noticed something else.
The ship’s flag had been replaced.
The old Jolly Roger—a skull clutching a long leg bone—was gone.
In its place flew a silver five-pointed star.
The five-pointed star.
A symbol of the Quincy.
Beyond the coast stretched an endless expanse of ocean.
Compared to it, even a large ship looked pitifully small.
Hua Ye stopped watching and turned back toward the island.
Since he had come to this world, doing absolutely nothing would be a waste.
For now, he would simply make the name of the Quincy resound across the seas.
The more attention they attracted, the more people he could convert.
And the more Quincy he created, the larger his faction would become.
Of course, these ordinary small fry wouldn’t have much influence on battles between true monsters unless their numbers became enormous—large enough for quantity to create a qualitative change.
That was exactly what Hua Ye was working toward now.
It was also a method of strengthening himself.
If he encountered someone with genuine talent or a particularly suitable ability, he could recruit that person as a real subordinate instead of disposable manpower.
As for what he would do in the distant future…
There was no rush.
Hua Ye walked back into Hachinosu while thinking.
He had fought Rocks and Kaido already, yet he still wasn’t entirely sure where his current strength stood on these seas.
His exchange with Rocks had been exactly that—an exchange.
They traded a handful of moves.
Rocks obviously hadn’t fought seriously.
Kaido, meanwhile, had been unexpectedly weak.
Probably because he was still too young.
That fight didn’t tell Hua Ye much either.
The Quincy system had arrived in this world and seemed to have integrated with it perfectly.
It didn’t feel inherently superior or inferior to Haki or the other existing power systems.
It simply stood beside them as another path.
Hua Ye could also feel his power continuously growing.
And he now understood why his body had regressed into that of a child immediately after transmigrating.
Yhwach was the same.
If he did not continuously take the lives and souls of others, his body would deteriorate and eventually return to the helpless state of his birth—a baby unable to see or hear.
Hua Ye was doing fine for now.
After his first reclamation of distributed power, the total amount hadn’t been particularly large, but his body had still matured significantly.
He needed to keep acting, keep expanding, and gradually gain complete control over everything belonging to Yhwach.
“Yo!
If it isn’t Brother Hua Ye!”
The voice pulled Hua Ye from his thoughts.
He looked up and saw a man standing near the corner ahead.
The man’s long hair looked greasy and damp.
His ears were pointed, his face unusually shaped, and his thick neck supported a wide mouth from which an unnaturally long tongue protruded.
“Ochoku.
The Pirate Guru.”
Hua Ye called him by name.
“Come on, don’t call me ‘Guru’!
What kind of ridiculous title is that?!” Ochoku waved his hands dramatically.
“More importantly…
Hua Ye, interested in working together?”
“You want to work with a Government spy?
Aren’t you worried someone will come after you for that?” Hua Ye asked in a strange tone.
“Hehehe…”
Ochoku’s expression immediately became awkward.
Back at Shakky’s tavern, after Shakky fainted, Hua Ye had made that tactless remark about what would happen if she were kidnapped.
Everyone had gotten angry.
Ochoku had joined the pile-on and suggested that Hua Ye couldn’t be trusted and might even be an undercover agent sent by the World Government.
Now Hua Ye was obviously mocking him by bringing it up again.
“Nobody took that seriously, right?
Fine, fine.
I apologize, Hua Ye.
We’re all brothers here!” Ochoku spread his hands.
“What do you want?”
Hua Ye had no interest in wasting time bantering with him.
Privately, he was already considering when would be the best time to kill the man.
“Let’s form an alliance.
Hachinosu is huge.
Everybody has their own territory, their own men, their own businesses.
With this many people here, nobody can eat the whole pie alone.”
Ochoku spread both arms grandly as he spoke.
“If one person takes an extra share, someone else gets less.
Charlotte Linlin, Shiki, Marlon…
all of them have their own forces.”
“Everybody is secretly building up strength.
Nobody actually plans to follow Rocks forever, right?”
“That lunatic wants to annihilate the Marines and eventually attack the Holy Land!
That’s insane!
What’s wrong with just having plenty of alcohol to drink and money to count?”
“On paper, we’re all members of the Rocks Pirates.
With Rocks above us, this place remains stable for now.”
“But in reality, everyone depends on themselves.
Rocks could drop dead tomorrow and it wouldn’t change how any of us live.”
“And why should it be strange for us to think like that?
We’re pirates.
At the end of the day, everyone just wants a little more on their plate each day.”
Ochoku spoke passionately and without hiding anything.
It was obvious that this was how he had always viewed the Rocks Pirates.
Hua Ye remained calm.
Nothing Ochoku said surprised him because Hua Ye already knew what kind of man he was.
“So what exactly do you want to do?” Hua Ye asked.
“I told you.
An alliance.” Ochoku’s voice became more persuasive.
“Rocks thinks highly of you, doesn’t he?
If you want, you could carve out some territory and become one of the rulers of this island.”
“I see.
So you want to use me to make yourself money.”
Hua Ye deliberately made a show of understanding.
“Not use you.
Cooperate!”
Ochoku raised one hand with all five fingers spread.
“I’ll help you establish your position and stabilize your territory.
We split the profits fifty-fifty.
Sound good?
What kind of pirate doesn’t want to make money?”
“Specifically?”
Hua Ye seemed interested now and asked how the plan would actually work.
Ochoku smiled.
A cruel expression appeared naturally on his strange face.
“We kill people, obviously.
If you’re poor, is there any faster way to get rich than robbing someone who already has money?”
“I accidentally injured Kaido earlier,” Hua Ye said suddenly.
“Is he really that close to Charlotte Linlin?”
Ochoku’s grin widened.
“Those two?
How should I put it…
They’re close enough to trust each other while sleeping in the same bed.
You tell me whether that’s a good relationship.”
“If they’re willing to bare everything to each other, I’d say they’re close.” Hua Ye nodded.
“Exactly.
Even among us, some people are much closer than others.
Everyone else?
Just crewmates on the surface.” Ochoku shrugged.
“That’s why forming alliances is perfectly normal.”
“Makes sense.”
Hua Ye nodded again.
“Quit saying it makes sense and tell me what you think!” Ochoku was starting to lose patience.
“If you agree, come to my place right now and we’ll work out the details!”
Hua Ye fell silent for a moment.
Then the corner of his mouth slowly rose.
He looked directly at Ochoku and spoke at an unhurried pace.
“I refuse.”
What?!
Ochoku froze.
His expression darkened visibly as he stared at Hua Ye.
“What the hell do you mean?
I’ve shown plenty of sincerity!
Don’t forget—you only arrived here recently!”
The moment he finished speaking, a realization struck him.
There was a very good chance Hua Ye had never been interested from the beginning.
He hadn’t listened to the proposal and then decided to reject it.
If that was the case, why hadn’t Hua Ye simply refused immediately?
Why wait until Ochoku finished everything and made him think he was about to agree?
Surely this bastard hadn’t listened to the entire pitch just because he was bored and wanted to laugh at him.
“Well…”
Hua Ye drawled lazily.
“I wanted to let you finish.
Then, right when you thought I was going to agree, I’d refuse.
I figured your expression would be amusing.”
“YOU MOTHERFUCKER!” Ochoku exploded.
“Your speech was persuasive enough, but you’re too ugly.
Move.”
Hua Ye stopped wasting words on him and continued walking deeper into the island.
The two passed shoulder to shoulder.
Ochoku clenched his fist.
In the end, he did nothing.
Only after Hua Ye had walked far away did Ochoku slowly loosen his hand.
He glared viciously at Hua Ye’s back and shouted,
“Hua Ye!
You’ll regret this!”
Hua Ye didn’t turn around.
‘Ochoku, you’re going to die.’
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