On this deserted island, blood was flowing like a river.
This was no exaggeration; it was a straightforward, realistic description, much like serious realist literature.
There were tens of thousands of pirate corpses—not exactly piled up like mountains, but truly scattered all over the place.
The freely flowing blood had gathered into streams; this island, once only covered with stones, now had small rivers running through it—a rather grim but remarkable sight.
Only the victors still had the right to stand.
The survivors of the battlefield of Asura!
In the truest sense, those who did not fight could not survive!
Ian looked down on them.
There were ten pirate crews in total, with more than ten thousand people combined.
To be honest, this was a bit exaggerated; on average, each pirate crew had over a thousand members.
Pirate crews of this scale were rare on the seas. Most crews only had dozens of members; a crew with hundreds was already considered large.
Of course, not every one of these ten crews had such numbers.
In fact, the large numbers were entirely due to three of the surviving crews being exceptionally massive.
The largest pirate crew had over five thousand members—it was essentially a fleet of its own.
The other two each had around three thousand members.
Together, these three crews numbered nearly twelve thousand.
It was thanks to these overwhelming numbers that they survived, even though the captains and officers were not necessarily stronger.
The remaining seven pirate crews combined barely had over a thousand members.
The smallest crew was led by a tall, lean swordsman—an elite pirate crew with only about twenty members.
At this moment, more than thirteen thousand people quietly looked up at the sky, gazing at Ian above.
Ian flapped his wings, slowly lowering his altitude.
"You did very well. Without a doubt, you all qualify to join the Beasts Pirates."
"Hooray!"
Sasaki, who had returned to his human form, excitedly raised his fist.
"Oh!!"
The long-armed tribe's boxer struck a classic pose, flexing his biceps, making his muscles bulge even more.
"This is obvious! I'm the strongest among all of you here!"
"The strongest?"
All eyes immediately turned toward him.
The slender swordsman's hand rested on the hilt of the rapier at his waist.
Sasaki twisted his neck irritably, itching to punch this guy right away.
"Well then, introduce yourselves."
Ian chuckled softly.
To be honest, apart from Sasaki, he didn't recognize anyone else since the others never appeared in the original story.
The long-armed boxer proudly raised his head and shouted,
"My name is Flock! Captain of the Boxer Pirates! From the Long-Armed Tribe, bounty 270 million berries!"
Sasaki was annoyed at being interrupted, quickly speaking up,
"I'm Sasaki! A single-horned fish-man! A user of the Ancient-Zoan Dragon-Dragon Fruit with the Triceratops form! Captain of the Triceratops Pirates! Bounty 96 million berries!"
Flock smirked and gave Sasaki a disdainful look.
Sasaki gave a forced smile.
Just because your bounty is higher doesn't mean you're better.
When Lord Ian took down the Golden Lion Shiki, his bounty was much lower than his!
The tall, thin swordsman spoke coldly, "Durin, captain of the Fencing Pirates, bounty 230 million Beli."
The twin pirates each said one line, "Jonathan is the older brother, Joshua is the younger. We are captains of the Good Brothers Pirates. Our bounties are 95 million Beli and 94 million Beli respectively."
Ian carefully studied them.
Older brother Jonathan wielded a giant sword, while Joshua carried a huge shield on his back. Their appearances were almost identical, and even their expressions and tones showed no difference — like clones. Honestly, it was a little creepy.
The other pirate captains introduced themselves one by one.
It had to be said, surviving through a battle royale with tens of thousands of participants meant these pirates were all quite skilled.
Among the eleven captains of the ten pirate crews, Sasaki and the Jonathan brothers had the lowest bounties — only these three had bounties under 100 million.
The other eight all had bounties over 100 million, with Durin and Flock exceeding 200 million.
Any one of them had the strength to serve as a high ranking officers under an Emperor.
Even among the top Shinuichi of the Beasts Pirates, there were few who could match the likes of Flock, Durin, Sasaki, Jonathan, and Joshua.
Ian was quite satisfied.
Counting these over ten thousand pirates, the number of pirates he could directly command was nearly thirty thousand — truly worthy of the Emperor's reputation.
"Very well."
Ian looked down at the pirates.
"From today onward, you are my subordinates. I will lend you my name and the flag of the Beasts Pirates, so you can roam freely across the seas of this world!"
"I will grant you wealth and power, giving you everything you desire!"
Excitement appeared on everyone's faces — this was exactly what they longed for!
"So," Ian's voice thundered like a storm, "You must pledge your loyalty to me. Any act of rebellion will only bring ruin!"
"Now, kneel and swear your loyalty."
A fierce aura suddenly pressed down.
The entire island was shaking constantly.
Whether they were the pirate captains or the pirates under their command, everyone felt their bodies weaken, and they involuntarily dropped to their knees.
"Oh! Oh!! Oh!!!"
Though Sasaki's face was pale, he shouted excitedly, looking up, "This kind of power!! Lord Ian! The invincible power of the world—that's exactly why I follow you!!"
"That's right!"
Flock's eyes also shone brightly, "Only a man like this deserves our loyalty!"
"Lord Ian," Durin's tone was calm, but his eyes were fiery, "is the man destined to become Pirate King!"
"Lord Ian!"
The pirate captains screamed and shouted, "Let us follow you!"
Ian's lips curled into a slight smile.
People in this world were often so straightforward.
Once they decided something, they wouldn't turn back without hitting a wall.
"Yamato!"
Ian called out.
"Coming, coming!"
While Hancock gnawed her teeth in jealousy, Yamato cheerfully sprang over, lightly landing on Ian's head, holding a fruit in her hand.
The surface of the fruit had spiral patterns—it was a Devil Fruit.
Ian looked down at the boxer Flock, "Flock, you did well."
"I know better than anyone how you performed just now. Without a doubt, you were the best among all of them."
Excitement instantly appeared on the long-handed boxer's face, and naturally he said, "Of course! Lord Ian, I am the strongest!"
"Lord Ian!"
Sasaki felt very dissatisfied, "You say this guy performed the best?"
Not only him, but Durin and the Jonathan brothers were also unconvinced.
"Of course it's him," Ian didn't say anything, but Yamato on his head casually said, "He may not have killed the most, but he took down the most officers. No matter how you look at it, he's much stronger than you guys."
The girl was surprised, "Are you saying you still doubt Ian's judgment?"
"Of course not!"
Sasaki quickly shook his head. "How could I ever doubt Lord Ian? It's just—just—"
"Just unwilling to accept it, right, Sasaki?"
Ian said with a smile.
"Yes, Lord Ian!"
Sasaki answered honestly.
"Then prove it to me later."
Ian smiled. "There will be plenty of opportunities in the future."
"Yes!"
Sasaki felt recognized, and his chest instantly puffed up with pride.
Flock just sneered coldly, not knowing how naive and foolish he was.
I'll show you what true strength means!
"Then, take it, Flock."
Ian said, "This is the reward we agreed on."
Above, Yamato immediately threw the fruit he was holding down.
Flock reached out happily to catch it, then without hesitation took a big bite.
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