The Rocket Team Pirates' underwater combat power consisted only of the Fish-Man squad and the Gyarados submarine, and all Pokémon—including the Gyarados submarine—were under Meowth's Science Squad.
So the Fish Giant Big Pan-led Fish-Man squad ranked only slightly higher than the one-man Guard Squad aboard the ship.
On land, their usefulness wasn't particularly strong. But once underwater, it became their home turf. Most of what they did amounted to ship-drilling tactics—methods that might seem somewhat underhanded in the eyes of true powerhouses.
Whether a method looks respectable or not doesn't matter.
What matters is whether it works.
That was Vane's instruction to the Fish-Men. On a planet where more than eighty percent of the world is ocean, a race born several times stronger than ordinary humans, with absolute underwater dominance, ending up in such a miserable position was honestly absurd.
In a sense, Fish-Men care too much about "fame." Every time they fought, they chose to do it on land. In the entire storyline, the few ship-drilling scenes were practically all handled by Arlong's crew.
Later, as the power scale kept escalating and everyone could unleash world-destroying techniques, even the sea itself stopped being truly safe.
With its hull breached, the Old Drunk drifted in place, spinning helplessly.
Boom!
The Thunder Fortress approached, and the Fish-Men leapt up from beneath the sea onto the deck.
Fish Giant Big Pan's massive body crashed down onto the deck, stomping a hole straight through it.
"Ship Elbow Strike!"
Burgess immediately locked onto Fish Giant Big Pan, who wielded a massive trident.
Boom!
Big Pan held the trident horizontally and blocked Burgess's attack head-on.
His Giant bloodline granted him tremendous strength, enough to withstand Burgess's charge. More importantly, Burgess was still in his growth phase and not yet particularly strong.
If it were the Burgess of the future, even the shockwave from his elbow strike alone could have blasted Big Pan dozens of meters away—without even making direct contact.
Before the two could separate, Dice leapt down from the Thunder Fortress and smashed a punch straight into Burgess's face.
Dice and Burgess were remarkably alike in many ways.
Both were former gladiators.
Both had thick, muscular upper bodies and short, sturdy legs.
Even their names ended with "s."
"You're Nation-Slayer Vane?"
Knocked to the ground, Burgess flipped back up. The force of that punch had been immense—strong enough that, in his mind, only a captain could hit that hard.
"I'm just a combatant. You can't even begin to imagine how powerful our captain is."
No need to imagine—Vane had already leapt aboard.
"Great captain of the Rocket Team Pirates, please forgive our foolish actions! I'm willing to raise your flag and become your subordinate!"
Their captain, Old Drunk, didn't hesitate in the slightest. He slid dramatically to Vane's feet, the pose rivaling that of a soccer player celebrating a goal.
"You a Devil Fruit user?"
"N-No."
"Then you're pretty strong."
"Compared to your crew, I'm nothing."
"Then get out of my sight."
Vane delivered a light kick, sending Old Drunk rolling aside.
The kick wouldn't kill him, but it was enough to knock him unconscious.
"Burgess? A fighter?"
Burgess would become the First Ship Captain and helmsman of the Blackbeard Pirates in the future.
He was one of the original core officers Blackbeard recruited after leaving the Whitebeard Pirates. Burgess's defining trait was brute strength—an elbow swing alone could unleash a shockwave capable of slicing through buildings along a street.
He once competed with Luffy's second brother, Sabo, for the Flame-Flame Fruit in Dressrosa, but ultimately lost.
Later, Blackbeard likely used the Dark-Dark Fruit to steal a Paramecia-type Strong-Strong Fruit for him—just as the name suggests, granting immense physical power.
It was somewhat like the More-More Fruit—the multiplier fruit—though inferior. The multiplier fruit enhances speed, strength, and even object size across the board, while the Strong-Strong Fruit boosts only strength.
Still, the Strong-Strong Fruit paired perfectly with Burgess's brute-force fighting style.
"That's right! It's your Burgess!"
When Burgess first appeared, he looked older, but in reality, he might not even be older than Robin.
"Aren't you a fighter? Why get mixed up in pirate business?"
Before joining Blackbeard, Burgess's bounty was only 20 million—a very low figure. Clearly, for a long time, he had simply been a fighter without real pirate activity.
Otherwise, with his strength back then, he couldn't possibly have had such a low 20 million Belly bounty. And with Blackbeard's standards, he wouldn't have recruited someone weak.
"Old Drunk said you've got a lot of money, and you're famous. If I beat you, I'd get rich and make a huge name for myself!"
That checked out. Whether Burgess truly cared about money aside, he definitely loved the spotlight. Back in Dressrosa, he had been ridiculously showy.
Vane: "So now? Am I rich?"
"Kuahahaha! I don't know if you're rich—but you're definitely strong!"
If even the captain's subordinates were on par with him, then how terrifying must the captain himself be?
Vane drew his Cursed Sword, and Burgess's heart jumped into his throat. He might be straightforward, but he wasn't suicidal.
Fortunately, he quickly realized Vane wasn't targeting him.
Vane strode to the ship's railing. On that side floated the third vessel—half-destroyed by the Lightning Projector. The surviving pirates were scrambling to extinguish the flames.
Whoosh—
White Frostfall!
Clang!
A massive frost-white flying slash burst forth.
The already shattered ship was cleaved straight down the middle.
The good news: the cold extinguished the fire.
The bad news: the ship was split in two and began sinking for good.
"Ha…!"
Burgess stared at the sinking vessel, his throat tight as if stuffed with a rat—utterly speechless.
For the first time, the vastness of the sea truly unfolded before this young man.
"Stop being a low-level pirate. Join my crew, Burgess."
Vane sheathed his sword and extended the invitation.
"With pleasure! I'd be honored to join your crew!"
Snapping back to his senses, Burgess responded with enthusiasm. Only by joining a crew like this could he grow stronger.
Vane was very satisfied. He had always been strengthening his crew's future potential. At minimum, his goal was the level of a Yonko.
And one of the key factors in reaching—or surpassing—that level would be high-ranking officers.
Burgess would become Blackbeard's First Ship Captain in the future. He might not be the strongest under Blackbeard, but he certainly wouldn't be weaker than Jack the Drought.
With Burgess joining, Vane would now have gathered three potential top officers under his command.
Bonez. Dice. Burgess…
And their attributes overlapped a bit too—every one of them a tough, thick-skinned brute.
Whatever.
Three top officers still weren't enough to satisfy him.
He'd just keep recruiting.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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