"Is anyone going to help me unload this shit or not!?" Mayando yelled as both Rocks and Zeff pretended not to hear.
It had been a month since the Davy Back fight that switched the captain of the Cook Pirates into the chef of the newly formed Rocks pirates, and a series of small jobs had gained them enough berries to acquire a new ship, The Fancy.
Though he planned to immediately change the name, Rocks had to admit that the sturdy vessel was one that would work well for him in the New World. Not that he was ready to venture back there yet though, as his crew's arrival in Spider Miles placed them firmly in the North Blue.
"Why are we here, Rocks?" Zeff asked as he continued to ignore Mayando's whining as the pair entered the nearest bar. Despite the maze of narrow streets packed tightly with dozens of buildings that made up the main town, the port of Spider Miles was essentially its own isolated beach town, and the line of taverns were perfect for the crew to relieve the stress of their recent journey.
"Can it, Zeff," Rocks said gruffly as he shoulder checked the door to the bar open. "We need a break after that last raid. My Haki still hasn't fully recovered and the three of us can barely even be considered a crew. We're lucky that we got off of Jay Island with Mayo's head attached to his body," he grumbled as the pair walked through the crowded bar.
The clientele was rough, which was to be expected for a town unable to pay their Heavenly Tribute. Every inch of it was overrun by bandits or random pirates looking to loot whatever they could from the helpless townsfolk, and the bar they found themselves in was filled with them.
"I just don't see the benefit in bouncing around the Grand Line like this. If we're targeting the World Government, then you know as well as I do that the big fish to fry are up in the New World," Zeff said as the pair pulled up seats at the bar. The octopus fishman bartender walked up to them polishing a glass with one of his many arms, and Rocks threw down an unnecessarily large sack of Berries onto the counter.
"As much of the mid shelf stuff as you have. I'm not made of money but I want this to actually do something to me," he said as the bartender nodded in what appeared to be complete understanding before turning around to grab several bottles from the middle shelf. "Now that's a professional. To answer your question though, one of my old crewmates told me about some kid he met when he was on the run from bounty hunters. Apparently he can use Conquerers Haki and he's not even 18 yet, so he could be a good recruit to have for the long term for us," Rocks said, his eyes widening in excitement as the beverages were placed in front of him.
"I know it's important, but why are we recruiting people solely based on that?" Zeff asked as he uncorked one of the many bottles presented in front of him. "You don't know anything about the people on that list of yours other than that they all have been seen using Conqueurers, but if they aren't loyal or don't want to work with us, we shouldn't have them on the crew no matter what they can do," he said before taking a long swig.
"I-" Rocks began to say before he was cut off by the sound of the bar's front door swinging open. The ruckus it caused was so loud that every patron turned to look toward it simultaneously, and a terrified, slim pirate with an obvious limp came panting through the doorway.
"EVERYONE, GET OFF THE ISLAND. GERMA 66 HAS JUST ARRIVED!" He shouted before collapsing to the ground as blood poured out from a massive wound on his back.