Vice Captain of the Rocks Pirates and a Gift from Rocks

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Caius smiled as well. He accepted the result without complaint.

The timing was perfect. Joining the Rocks Pirates now, and joining as vice captain, would let him establish his position before the crew's true rise began.

"Come aboard, Caius!"

"From today onward, our conquest begins!"

"Jiehahahaha!"

Rocks laughed with obvious satisfaction.

Wang Zhi and the others on the ship had no objection to Rocks appointing a vice captain. More accurately, they did not dare have one.

They had watched the fight from beginning to end. Caius's strength was only a little below Rocks's. That alone made it clear what kind of monster he was.

So when they greeted him now, their enthusiasm was almost excessive.

"Vice Captain! Welcome aboard!"

"We will be counting on your guidance from now on!"

Caius looked at Wang Zhi's attitude and smiled. That was not something a man saw every day.

Strength really did decide everything.

Wang Zhi's power had probably already reached its ceiling. For the next few decades, he would not change much. After the Rocks Pirates eventually fell apart, he would become a famous pirate in his own right, but that was about as far as he would go.

"Glad to be here."

"From now on, let us stand at the summit of the world together."

The pirates around him grew even more excited.

With someone like him as vice captain, their pirate crew would absolutely shock the world.

"Jiehahaha! Well said, Vice Captain!"

"Let us follow Captain Rocks and Vice Captain Caius all the way to the top!"

From the bow, Rocks watched it all with a faint smile. He paid no attention to the crewmen who had died earlier from the shockwaves of his fight with Caius.

In his eyes, those small-time pirates who were not officers were nothing but cannon fodder. They could be replaced whenever he opened recruitment again. Men like that were everywhere.

The Rocks Pirates did not yet have the reputation they would possess a year from now, but they were already known. Trash who wanted to join them would always keep coming.

Only officers were worth his interest.

Those were the people who would help him reach the throne of the world. Everyone else was irrelevant.

And Caius satisfied him deeply.

The young man was barely in his twenties, yet his strength was not much weaker than Rocks's own. He still had vast room to grow, and that golden flame of his could even burn through Armament Haki. Its special nature was obvious.

"Caius!"

"We should exchange blows often in the future."

"Next, we will go invite our next member."

"Jiehahahahaha!"

Rocks's mood was clearly soaring.

"Captain Rocks is mighty!"

"Captain Rocks, lead us to the summit!"

The pirates roared with savage excitement, each voice rough with hunger and ambition.

At that moment, a system chime sounded in Caius's mind.

[System]

Congratulations. The host has successfully joined the Rocks Pirates and stepped into the beginning of an era.

Special reward triggered.

Conqueror's Haki upgraded by one level.

Conqueror's Haki has reached top-tier.

Host, please continue working hard.

Caius paused at the sudden reward.

'So rewards can trigger like this?'

'I thought I could only gain them through daily sign-ins.'

Still, this was good.

His Conqueror's Haki was now on the same level as Rocks's. He still might not win if they fought again, but Rocks would not beat him as cleanly as before.

"System, open my status panel."

[Status]

System: Super Sign-In System

Host: Caius Redgrave

Devil Fruit: Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Red Dragon (95% developed)

Constitution: High

Conqueror's Haki: Top-tier

Armament Haki: High

Observation Haki: High

Swordsmanship: Top-tier

System Evaluation: The host now truly stands at the top of the world. Keep going. The throne of the world will be yours.

Over the past two years, aside from the Conqueror's Haki upgrade he had just received, only his swordsmanship had reached the top. His Devil Fruit development had also improved by a clear margin.

But the pace had slowed.

As for the throne of the world, that was a fresh phrase.

He could take his time with that. There was plenty of time. Once every part of his strength reached its peak, then he could consider it properly.

"My vice captain, what is wrong?"

"You have been standing there in a daze. Is there a problem?"

Rocks asked, faintly puzzled.

Caius snapped back to himself and shook his head.

"Nothing, Captain."

"I only thought of something. It is not a major issue."

That was the only answer he could give.

'What else am I supposed to say? That my ambition is also to become king of the world?'

'No. If I said that now, he would fight through his own injuries just to kill me.'

For the moment, he still had to cover himself.

"Is that so?"

"Then let us stop standing out here. Come inside with me."

"I will give you a gift while we are at it."

"Something prepared specially for your joining my crew."

Rocks spoke with a grin.

Caius's interest stirred at once. He stopped dwelling on the system and followed at an easy pace.

Whatever Rocks planned to give him would not be trash. Even if Caius did not want it, Rocks would never embarrass himself by giving something worthless.

The two entered the room one after the other. Rocks searched for a while, then pulled out a long case.

"Hahahaha. Finally found it."

"I got this thing many years ago and never used it."

"Now that you have joined us, Caius, consider it my gift to you."

"Here. Open it."

Caius accepted the long case, already guessing what might be inside. A faint smile touched his mouth as he reached out and opened it.

Inside lay a pitch-black longsword.

Its surface was impossibly smooth, and its shape was narrow, elegant, and austere, a blade built with the clean lines of an eastern sword.

The moment Caius saw it, his gaze fixed in place.

The blade's aura drew him in as if it had always belonged to him.

He took a deep breath and forced his eyes away.

"Hahahaha. Judging by that look, I gave this sword to the right man."

Rocks laughed, then his tone grew more serious.

"But, Caius, let me make one thing clear. I personally invited you to become vice captain. Under normal circumstances, you would still need to make a contribution to the crew."

"With your strength, though, there are already only a few people in this world who can beat you."

"There is no need to walk through those formalities."

"Besides, I like you."

"I hope that no matter what happens, you will stand firmly behind me."

Even if Rocks had not said it, Caius would not have stabbed him in the back.

Rocks had all kinds of problems. Maybe he was using Caius, maybe he had his own calculations, but none of that mattered.

At their level, those details were secondary. What mattered was what the other man actually did.

"No problem, Captain Rocks."

Caius met his eyes.

"I can promise you this. Until the day you die, I will stand firmly behind you."

Rocks's eyes narrowed.

Young. Talented. Powerful.

And now, it seemed, wildly ambitious.

That was fine. A man without ambition would never reach this height.

As long as Caius did not drive a blade into his back at the critical moment, nothing else mattered.

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