Hawkins had decided on his goal, but there was one problem: he had no ties to the Beasts Pirates. The "Super Rookie" reputation still carried weight in the first half of the sea, but in the New World, there were far too many such people.
Relying solely on the bounty of a Super Rookie, it would be easy enough to join them, but that didn't align with Hawkins's thinking.
If you likened the Beasts Pirates to a corporation, they were long past the scrappy startup phase. They boasted a large number of high-level officers, and even their second-generation officers, whom they had raised themselves, were now fully grown.
Aside from the initial group of elders, who had come from various sea areas, the younger officers had almost all been raised from within the Beasts Pirates—trusted officers personally raised by them. For an outsider to break into the upper ranks now was markedly more difficult than it had been over twenty years ago.
To reach a certain standing, one had to offer something they valued.
If you had neither ability nor potential, you could only serve as a grunt.
While Drake was still agonizing over how to get the Beasts Pirates to notice him, Hawkins had already found his opportunity.
"Demon Conquering Phase."
Hawkins's body began to swell, gradually transforming into a giant, grotesque scarecrow. Five massive nails were embedded between its fingers as it swung toward the pirates before it.
"Huh? Is this the 'trouble' you were talking about? Looks like it's already been handled."
Queen held a small folding fan and pretended to fan himself. Normally he wouldn't have bothered coming here; after all, he was also a guest of Fishman Island.
Both Jinbe and Tiger were more than capable of handling things here; it was just that this situation was unusual. The Beasts Pirates' flag had barely been raised before someone started stirring up trouble, and it would be a disgrace if the Beasts Pirates didn't show their face.
Moreover, Queen had volunteered to come here to ensure his own safety.
Now that Kaido was well into his drinks, Yamato could stay by Arceus's side to avoid risk, but he couldn't. Who knew if the drunk Kaido might whimsically start swinging his weapon and drag him in as a sparring partner?
Although the mermaids' dancing was lovely, and under normal circumstances he might have joined in, Kaido's excitement from the Summit War hadn't faded yet; there was no telling what could go wrong. Staying alive and comfortable was more important.
When Queen arrived on the scene, he saw Hawkins, transformed into a scarecrow, pummeling those pirates. As a member of the Worst Generation, Hawkins certainly had considerable skill, and his bizarre Devil Fruit ability left many opponents helpless.
But facing Queen, Hawkins's power could be twisted against him. Queen could drain his stamina without physically harming him, and once he was too weak to use his Devil Fruit, dispatch him at leisure.
"Don't worry, I'm here! Anyone daring to break our rules will learn the price to pay. Now let me see who dares to make trouble on our turf."
Queen pushed aside the Neptune Army soldiers and strode forward, all the while comforting the frightened young Merfolk.
Beautiful things are always a delight to behold, and the Merfolk race had fully maxed out their beauty talent. With the exception of a few African catfish, Merfolk always attract the attention of most people.
"Here he is—Queen the Plague, the super=monster with a 3.2 billion Berry bounty!"
Some of the Four Emperors didn't even have bounties that high. Queen had received that number back in Year 1520. Although within the Beasts Pirates' upper echelon his status was as low as could be, in the outside world he had reached heights that ordinary people couldn't touch.
"They're doomed. Those guys are definitely toast."
"Need I say more? They couldn't even defeat Hakwins the Magician. But it looks like the nail-browed here might be in luck. If he can raise the Beasts Pirates' flag, he can strut through the New World as he pleases."
The nearby humans whispered among themselves, speculating on what might happen next, while Queen approached Hawkins.
"Hey kid, did you do all this?"
"Yes. They were trying to kidnap the people here."
"Interesting. So kid, tell me, what do you want? You're not going to say you just felt like playing the hero on a whim, are you?"
"I want a chance. A chance to prove myself further."
With no wasted words, Hawkins laid out his purpose plainly.
"Hawkins. From North Blue. Bounty: 249 million Berry."
Queen pulled out his intel book and quickly found Hawkins's information; he did keep an eye on outstanding rookies.
"Clever fellow. Keep your crew in line. You'll follow us for now, but if you think you're joining our ranks, it's not that simple."
Trying to rely on something like this to skyrocket to success is impossible. At most, Hawkins just chatted with the interviewer for five extra minutes outside the company building, making himself slightly more familiar than others. Whether he could join or get promoted would still depend on going through a series of evaluations.
Hawkins had no objections to this arrangement. Then Queen tossed the rule-breaking pirates into the sea, leaving them to fend for themselves in the deep sea.
As he was about to head back to the banquet, he spotted a strange ship that looked like a sweet.
"Perospero? What are you doing here, you long-tongued ba*tard?"
"You fatso, show some respect! Do you know what you're saying?"
"Huh? Of course I know. But you're a weakling with only a 700 million Berry bounty. What makes you think you can act arrogant before me?"
"Fuu!"
Perospero took several deep breaths to calm himself down. His relationship with Queen has always been poor. Although they were each responsible for their pirate crew's business dealings, mutual taunting was inevitable whenever the two of them had to communicate.
But times had changed. His bounty was only 700 million, while Queen's had shot up to 3.2 billion, leaving him at a disadvantage in their verbal sparring.
Glancing at the pirate flag flying at the entrance, Perospero's expression darkened.
He wasn't here on vacation; he'd been ordered by Charlotte Linlin to bring Fishman Island under her control.
She had long coveted the island's sweets. Previously, Whitebeard's status had made any move impossible. Now that word of Whitebeard's death had arrived, she'd naturally taken action.
Perospero had arrived swiftly, but he hadn't expected the Beasts Pirates to move even faster.
"I'm here to purchase sweets; what are you doing here?"
Perospero stifled his anger and didn't mention that he'd come to seize territory. He'd spotted Genesis nearby; given Queen's rank, he had no qualification to travel by that ship. The Beasts Pirates surely had far more terrifying people here.
Those weren't people he could provoke, nor was he authorized to make decisions for Charlotte Linlin. So he offered another reason.
But upon hearing Perospero's reason, a sinister smile spread across Queen's face.
"Too bad, I call the shots for external trade here now."
"..."
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