"With Kaido absent, I'm the strongest here. Who agrees? Who objects?" Luo Xia stood with the mammoth ivory resting on his shoulder, his domineering gaze sweeping across the crowd.
As his words fell, the Beast Pirates—still reeling from the shock of All-Star Drought Calamity Jack's crushing defeat—widened their eyes in unison. Some even flushed red with anger on the spot.
Agree? Who would agree?!
He was just a newcomer who had barely joined the crew!
If he had merely tried to lord it over them, that would have been one thing. But to brazenly claim he wanted to be the Beast Pirates' vice-captain?
For one thing, the Beast Pirates didn't even have a vice-captain position. And even if they did, it was absolutely not something a fresh recruit could aspire to.
In the hearts of every Beast Pirate, there was only one person qualified to be the crew's second-in-command—King the Conflagration!!!
This was the shared conviction of everyone present, though none dared voice it aloud.
Even the most rebellious among them wouldn't dare speak out recklessly at this moment.
The reason was simple—Luo Xia was far too intimidating right now.
Many of them had initially shared Jack's view, believing Luo Xia was nothing more than a heavily armored turtle with little offensive capability.
But Luo Xia had ruthlessly proven them wrong, defeating Jack in just two or three moves and leaving him grievously injured, unable to fight.
Jack was one of their crew's All-Stars, his strength surpassed only by Captain Kaido and the other two All-Stars.
Yet even someone as powerful as Jack had been utterly helpless against Luo Xia. The sheer terror of that realization was overwhelming.
To the Beast Pirates, Luo Xia's figure, standing there with the mammoth ivory on his shoulder, was no different from a demon god.
"Since no one's speaking, I'll take that as agreement," Luo Xia said, his gaze sweeping across the silent Skull Hall.
Hearing this, the Beast Pirates grew visibly anxious, wanting to object but too afraid to be the first to speak up.
Just then—
"This farce ends here."
A commanding voice rang out from the second floor of the hall.
A man clad in black armor, with wings sprouting from his back, stood there.
The leader of the Three Disasters—King the Conflagration!!!
"Oooohhh—!!!"
"Lord King!"
"Hahaha, Lord King is here!"
"Lord King, please punish this arrogant fool!"
"That man severely injured Lord Jack and even claimed he wants to be our vice-captain!"
The Beast Pirates erupted in excitement, as if they had found their pillar of support, eagerly awaiting King's intervention.
Yet King paid no heed to their cries. His eyes remained fixed on Luo Xia in the crater.
"If your goal was to establish your dominance, you've already succeeded," King said coldly.
Luo Xia neither confirmed nor denied it. Initially, he had only wanted to use Jack as a whetstone to temper his Armor Dragon Slayer Magic.
But when Jack had taunted him, Luo Xia had retaliated without mercy.
Establishing his authority had indeed been part of his intention.
Among the Four Emperors' crews, the Beast Pirates were the most quintessential pirate group.
The Whitebeard Pirates were like a father playing house with his sons.
The Big Mom Pirates were a family business bound by blood ties.
The Red Hair Pirates, inheriting Roger's will, were purely an adventure crew.
Only the Beast Pirates adhered to the purest law of the jungle—survival of the fittest.
In this crew, status is earned through strength—whoever has the strongest fists holds the most authority.
Take Page One, for example. Half a year ago, he was just a nobody in the crew, constantly bullied by the higher-ups.
But after he stole the Ancient Spinosaurs Power, his status skyrocketed instantly. Even ordinary pirates had to address him as "sir" now.
That was the deterrence of power!!!
The fastest way to establish oneself in the Beasts Pirates was to demonstrate strength—to intimidate everyone with absolute force.
Sure, these people might look all defiant and rebellious now, but once they thought it through later, they'd come around.
Of course, if Luo Xia were to forcefully suppress the man they considered the second-in-command, they might come to their senses immediately.
"King, care for a little spar?" Luo Xia grinned, his entire being radiating wild energy.
At his words, many of the Beasts Pirates perked up. Right now, what they wanted most was to see someone put this arrogant newcomer in his place.
If King the Conflagration made a move, it would definitely happen!!!
Hopeful gazes turned toward King the Conflagration.
Yet, King acted as if he hadn't noticed, speaking calmly instead. "Get Jack to treatment now. We'll settle the rest after Kaido wakes up."
With that, King turned and left, disappearing from sight.
"Ah well, no rush!" Luo Xia shook his head.
Rather than using King to assert dominance, he'd much rather have a pure, straightforward fight with him.
He wanted to test the so-called invincible defense of the Lunarian Race and see how their innate flames tasted.
But King clearly wasn't some hotheaded fool like Jack, who could be provoked with a single taunt. He'd have to wait for another opportunity in the future.
Tap, tap!
Luo Xia strolled past, carrying the ivory tusks on his shoulder. The crowd automatically parted wherever he walked.
"Y-you… what else do you want?" Page One asked nervously.
Ulti, meanwhile, was all bluster. "Waaah! I didn't lose last night! Just wait till I recover—"
"Idiot sis, shut up! Didn't you see even Jack got beaten to a pulp? How many hits do you think your tiny body can take?" Page One hurriedly covered his sister's mouth.
"Here, it's yours." Luo Xia casually tossed the 450-million-berry ivory tusks to Ulti.
"Huh~?"
Ulti, who had been about to snap at her stupid little brother, froze, her eyes lighting up.
"For me?"
"A reward for your performance last night." Luo Xia nodded.
Ulti was the first to earn his recognition, so giving her a little reward wasn't a big deal. Besides, the tusks weren't much use to him anyway.
If he ever wanted them again in the future, he could just go take another pair from Jack.
"You're such a nice guy! I've wanted these for ages!" Ulti cheered.
"Idiot sis, don't get bought over so easily!" Page One groaned.
"P-P, that's the third time today you've called me an idiot." Ulti entered her furious big-sister mode.
Luo Xia's gaze then shifted, and with just one look, Black Maria's delicate frame trembled.
"Lord Luo Xia, this humble woman is just a weakling who's no good at fighting. But if my lord has… other needs, you're welcome to seek me out." Black Maria smiled seductively.
"Heh, fine then. Get me a room."
Luo Xia didn't push further, but that didn't mean he bought Black Maria's nonsense.
A weakling?
No good at fighting?
Which member of the Tobi Roppo was anything less than formidable?
Luo Xia still vividly remembered the scene of this woman wearing knuckle dusters and brawling with Robin.
...
...
Oni Island, back mountain, inside a cave.
"Mmm~ So delicious~ It's absolutely amazing~"
Yamato, who had woken up from hunger, happily pounced on the pile of salmon scattered across the ground and began devouring them with gusto.
"Luo Xia really is a good person, leaving me so much food..." As she said this, Yamato suddenly froze.
She noticed Luo Xia's eight-character message scrawled on the cave wall: "Eat well. Next time again."
"Nooo~" the girl wailed.
...
...
That night.
Skull Hall, Oni Island.
"Urorororo! Listen up, men! Let me formally introduce our new comrade Luo Xia, whom I brought back from overseas! I believe you've all witnessed his strength already!"
Kaido of the Beasts laughed heartily as he spoke.
"Luo Xia, I've heard about what happened during the day. It's still too early for you to become my right-hand man, but..." Kaido's tone shifted, "you do have what it takes to become one of the candidates for vice-captain of the Beasts Pirates!"