"Is this magic or something? Looks super fun! Harere~ harere~ harere~…"
Perona's little face lit up with excitement. She had always loved new and interesting things.
Betty exhaled a puff of smoke, her voice calm.
"In front of Chris, he doesn't have any other choice. His fate was sealed long ago."
Reiju blinked her beautiful eyes and smiled gently.
"He's a calm one. I think his strength must be pretty impressive."
Baccarat nodded slightly, her voice warm.
"This is actually my first time meeting a magician. I don't know much about people like that."
"But if Chris is willing to extend an invitation, then he must not be weak."
Burgess, always the straightforward type, looked visibly annoyed at Hawkins' demeanor.
"Come on, man. Just be decisive already. What's with all the fortune-telling nonsense?"
Doc Q looked at Burgess with a mysterious smile, fanning the flames.
"How about this—just beat him down until he agrees. Let's see if he dares to say no."
Lafitte, ever the gentleman, twirled his cane and interjected,
"Doc Q, don't always stir the pot. That's dangerous for team unity."
"Honestly, even if they did fight, Burgess might not win," Lafitte added with a polite smile.
Law stared at Hawkins.
This man was eerie—but anyone who could stay this calm must have immense confidence in their strength.
At that moment, Hawkins spoke again, his voice steady and cool.
"Defense... dodge rate: 0%."
…
"Joining... success rate: 100%."
After listing several predictions, Hawkins collected his cards and calmly said,
"I've already seen the future, Captain."
Sweetheart Empress brushed back her golden hair and casually added,
"That outcome was already destined."
"Another new recruit. Our team's getting stronger and stronger."
Betty took another drag from her cigarette and spoke as nonchalantly as ever.
Reiju looked at Chris's back, her smile bright and elegant.
"This is a good thing. The odds of our plan succeeding… keep getting higher."
"Let's go."
Chris turned without another word to Hawkins and walked away.
As the group left, nearby vendors quickly started gossiping.
"Who were those guys? They looked like a bunch of monsters."
"Who else could they be? Definitely pirates!"
"That kid Hawkins actually joined a pirate crew? Has he lost his mind?"
"Whatever, good riddance. I was getting sick of seeing his face anyway."
"Tsk tsk, gotta admit though—those female pirates were really pretty!"
"Conshun, female pirates are all crazy strong. With your skinny build, you'd get drained dry!"
"HAHAHA…"
Back on the Chris Pirate Ship.
As expected, Chris didn't say much to Hawkins. He gave a simple order, then went back to his training.
Sweetheart Empress and the others didn't particularly like Hawkins and his gloomy vibe.
None of them had a good impression of him.
So they didn't bother trying to get to know him. They just followed Chris and left.
"Welcome to the Chris Pirates. I'm Lafitte, the vice-captain."
Lafitte said the words smoothly, with a polite tone.
"Next, I'll brief you on a few things…"
After listening to Lafitte, Hawkins nodded and said in his calm, deep voice,
"Good rules. If you don't have strength, then keep your mouth shut."
Burgess shot him a look and burst out laughing.
"Then that means you're joining the division captain battles!"
"I've been waiting ages for this! What do you say, Hawkins? Wanna throw down?"
Doc Q chuckled darkly.
"I've been waiting too. Can't wait to see who becomes the First Division Captain."
But Hawkins, ever gloomy, wore his usual deadpan expression.
"There are too few people. Let's wait until we enter the Grand Line. We'll fight then."
Hearing that, Burgess blew up.
"Damn it! Every one of you refuses to fight. Are you even men?!"
"Forget it. I'm done asking. Do what you want!"
He stormed off, grumbling.
Doc Q's weathered face still held that eerie smile.
"What a shame. I really wanted to see our crew tear each other apart."
Lafitte twirled his cane and smiled faintly.
"Law's the same. He's also not joining the division captain battles yet."
"Actually, that's fine. Once we have more crew members, we can hold both the vice-captain and division captain battles at the same time."
"As for the captain's seat… well, that goes without saying."
Lafitte planted his cane in front of him, and his usually pale face took on a rare serious expression.
"In the Chris Pirates, there is only one captain—Chris. That is not up for debate."
The more he got to know Chris, the more respect Lafitte had for him.
He was utterly loyal now.
Anyone who dared challenge Chris's authority or disrespect him…
Lafitte would be the first to act.
"Whoever joins a captain's battle… will be cut down."
Law said coldly, then turned to walk away, as cool and aloof as ever.
Hawkins nodded slightly, voice low.
"Combat… defeat rate: 100%."
"I've never encountered a situation like this before."
"Which just goes to show how terrifyingly strong Captain Chris must be."
Lafitte gave a polite smile and spoke like a true gentleman.
"Now then, let's talk about a few other things."
"Our future sailing route… and the next objectives…"
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T/N:
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