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Chapter 38: Promotion to Cadre! The Abandoned Pawn
At this moment.
Most of the Rocks Pirates had already gathered.
They excitedly discussed the results of this plundering operation.
Among the most frequently mentioned topics
Was undoubtedly the recent feat that shook the entire New World: slaying a Celestial Dragon.
"I never thought Lotte and Whitebeard would get so lucky—running into a rare Celestial Dragon and actually killing him."
"Their bounties are definitely going to skyrocket again!"
"Hmph! If it were us, we could've done it too. Celestial Dragons are just trash anyway."
"Come on—Celestial Dragons may be trash, but CP0 isn't easy to deal with."
The pirates chattered animatedly.
In this Heavenly Tribute plundering operation,
They had naturally clashed with CP0 members. Those guys were quite capable.
If not for the cadres,
This operation would likely have suffered heavy casualties.
Rocks lounged on an extravagant chair looted from some affiliated nation, laughing heartily as he read the report of Lotte slaying a Celestial Dragon.
"Jie hahahaha! Those two really gave me a surprise!"
"When Lotte gets back, promote him to cadre."
"It's been a long time since I've seen such an interesting kid."
As the words fell,
The entire Rocks Pirates fell silent.
Many members looked toward Rocks, eyes widening in unison.
Did they hear correctly?!
The captain was promoting Tree Demon Lotte to cadre?!
Tree Demon Lotte had only joined the ship a few months ago!
There had been cases of people becoming cadres in just a few months,
But those were all already famous great pirates in the New World.
For someone like Lotte—
Rising from obscurity to cadre status in mere months—
This was unprecedented in the Rocks Pirates' history!
Moreover, if they remembered correctly, Lotte wasn't even twenty yet—he would become the youngest cadre in the crew!
The crew collectively sucked in cold breaths.
If Lotte continued growing at this rate, he would be an absolute monster!
Kaido stood beside Charlotte Linlin, hearing Rocks' announcement.
His expression turned unnatural.
Though he had mentally prepared himself, he still clenched his fist involuntarily.
Tree Demon Lotte!
One day, Kaido would surpass that guy!
Silver Axe's face also darkened. He had thought that even with Lotte's genius talent, becoming a cadre would take at least another half year.
He never expected them to encounter a Celestial Dragon.
And even less expected
That Rocks would directly promote the kid to cadre—completely ruining the plans he had been brewing!
Thinking this,
Silver Axe snorted coldly in his heart.
Rocks' orders were absolute—there was no retracting them.
So for now, he had no intention of causing trouble,
But the resentment in his eyes grew even thicker.
Tree Demon Lotte was just a brat—what qualifications did he have to stand equal with him?!
Rocks glanced toward Silver Axe and shook his head slightly.
Silver Axe really was regressing with age.
Since becoming a cadre on his ship, Silver Axe's strength had barely improved.
Instead, he had become obsessed with the privileges of being a cadre.
Whenever a new cadre appeared, it meant less power for the existing ones—so Silver Axe's resentment was understandable.
But in Rocks' view,
The current Silver Axe had completely lost his value.
Even among all the cadres, Silver Axe ranked in the lower-middle tier.
The resources freed up could be better used to promote other talented pirates.
It was time to deal with him.
Rocks withdrew his gaze and stopped paying attention to Silver Axe.
In his mind, Silver Axe was already a dead man walking.
He looked up and scanned the ship, frowning slightly.
"Why haven't Whitebeard and the others arrived yet? This is the rendezvous time."
"It's hard to believe those two would be late."
Logically,
Whitebeard's ship should have arrived by now.
But for some reason, there was no sign of them.
Had something happened?
Thinking this, Rocks frowned.
He wasn't particularly concerned about the Heavenly Tribute—after all, the Rocks Pirates already had immense wealth. One more batch wouldn't make much difference.
The reason he launched this operation
Was simply to retaliate against Marine Headquarters' previous move.
But if Whitebeard and Tree Demon Lotte were lost,
It would have a massive impact on his plans!
Just as Rocks began to worry,
A crew member on the deck suddenly shouted loudly.
"Captain! We've spotted Whitebeard-sama and Lotte-sama's ship!"
Hearing this,
Rocks' eyes lit up as he looked into the distance.
Releasing his top-tier Observation Haki, he indeed sensed the approaching ship.
Feeling the familiar auras aboard,
A slight smile curled on Rocks' lips.
As long as Whitebeard and Lotte were safe, his plan could proceed smoothly.
At that moment,
Lotte and Whitebeard, arriving from afar, looked somewhat helpless.
Because of the earlier battle with Night Leopard, they had been forced to take a detour.
They had rushed at full speed
And barely made it to the rendezvous on time.
Rocks saw the two approaching and smiled, but quickly returned to his serious demeanor, asking gravely.
"You two are quite late. What happened?"
Whitebeard gripped Murakumogiri.
Looking toward Rocks, he smiled slightly.
"Gurararara! We ran into that old guy Night Leopard!"
"If not for him blocking us, Lotte and I wouldn't have had to take such a long detour."
As the words fell,
The entire Rocks Pirates crew's eyes widened.
In these seas, if there was one name most infamous among Admirals,
It was none other than Admiral Night Leopard—one of Marine Headquarters' current strongest forces!
Lotte and Whitebeard had actually been attacked by an Admiral?!
And they returned safely!
Rocks narrowed his eyes upon hearing this.
Before forming the Rocks Pirates, he had clashed with Night Leopard as well. Though not as strong as him, the man was no weakling.
It seemed both Lotte and Whitebeard had made significant progress!
Rocks looked at Lotte and smiled.
"From today onward, you're a cadre on this ship!"
"When we get back, go to my treasury and pick whatever you want."
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