#49 The Strength of the Vice Captain

"Captain, Captain, I gotta ask, just how strong is our Vice Captain?"

"I just ate the Behemoth Fruit, so in my beast form, my attack and defense should be way stronger."

"But today, the Vice Captain hit me with what looked like a normal punch, and I'm still not recovered…"

"He didn't even use Haki! This doesn't make any sense! Did I eat a fake Behemoth Fruit?"

Burgess kept glancing at Carlo, who was sitting across from him, but he didn't dare look him in the eye. Instead, he leaned in close to Blackbeard to ask about his strength.

Are you kidding me? I'm sitting right here, and you go ask Teach?

Fine, ask if you must, but at least don't let me hear it! Carlo thought the whole scene was absurd. He'd never seen someone be so complimentary in such a roundabout way.

Even though Carlo was right in front of him, Burgess seemed to be trying to avoid direct confrontation. This made the whole thing look pretty ridiculous, and a few people nearby started laughing.

It was clear: Burgess was really scared of getting beaten up again!

But he wasn't exaggerating. The punches Carlo had given him today seemed playful, but only Burgess knew how much they hurt.

Even now, he could feel a faint pain in his swollen face.

"Heh heh, the Vice Captain doesn't need Haki to beat you up, does he?" Doc Q coughed and looked at Carlo with a smile, then started mocking Burgess.

There was no stopping Doc Q. Today, he had managed to offend almost everyone on the ship. When he spoke, everyone felt the need to retort.

"Exactly," Lafitte chimed in from the other side, also teasing Burgess.

But then, he turned to Blackbeard and Carlo, clearly interested in the topic and very curious.

"Since we've got time, let's chat, Captains."

"How did you form the pirate crew? And why target the Celestial Dragons? Most people wouldn't dare think of something so crazy!"

Everyone already knew about Blackbeard's terrifying power and Carlo's insane plan.

But now, what interested them the most was Carlo's unknown strength and their past adventures.

The feast had reached its peak with several shocking revelations. Everyone was getting drunk and emboldened, making it the perfect time to satisfy their curiosity!

When they heard Lafitte's questions about Carlo's strength and past, the Seven Snake Sisters immediately perked up and leaned in closer.

They usually avoided men. Most of the women from Amazon Lily had never seen a man and were scared by the stories spread in their homeland.

But now, having traveled with their queen and seen some men, they realized men weren't as scary as they'd thought. They were just normal people.

Now, hearing the crew discuss Carlo's strength and past, their curiosity was piqued.

Who wouldn't want to know more about this man who dared to kill Celestial Dragons, come up with such a terrifying plan, and who had made their queen act so strangely?

Even the Empress seemed entirely focused on him, her eyes practically turning into hearts. This was not normal!

Though they didn't know why the Empress was acting this way, they figured she wouldn't notice their curiosity, so they took the chance to satisfy their interest.

"Most people? Zehahaha, do we look like most people?" Blackbeard laughed at Lafitte's confusion.

He had nothing to hide from his crew. They already knew everything, so there was no need for secrets.

"To be honest, I don't even know the Vice Captain's true strength."

"No one has ever made him go all out. But one thing's for sure, he's incredibly strong!"

"I even wonder if I'm still a match for him now…"

As Blackbeard spoke, he kept glancing at Carlo beside him, genuinely curious about the strength of his best partner.

Too mysterious!

"You know, this guy doesn't even have a Devil Fruit power! Zehahaha, if he really gets the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, his strength will be even more terrifying!"

"Having such a powerful Vice Captain makes me proud! Zehahaha, one day, I'll surpass Shanks!"

???

Boasting about me is one thing, but why compare me to Red-Hair? Isn't the Captain supposed to be you? Stop comparing me to the Four Emperors!

Listening to Blackbeard's boasting, Carlo almost choked on his drink. It was ridiculous!

Even during a casual conversation, Blackbeard couldn't forget his obsession with Red-Hair Shanks…

"What…?! The Vice Captain doesn't have a Devil Fruit power?"

"We've all eaten top-tier Devil Fruits, and he doesn't even care about them?"

"And without any powers, he's this terrifying?"

"This is insane!"

Burgess was stunned. And so were Lafitte and the others.

They had recruited many top-tier Devil Fruit users, yet their Vice Captain didn't even have a Devil Fruit ability. And he was aiming for the power of the world's strongest man!

Once he got the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, with his Conqueror's Haki and his incredible physical strength, all the advantages would be concentrated in one person!

Just thinking about it sent chills down everyone's spine…

"Wiihahaha, what a beast! I can't wait to see the Vice Captain go all out!"

A simple feast, just sitting around and chatting, hadn't even lasted an hour, yet everyone's minds had been blown several times!

Burgess had turned into a little fanboy on the spot. Excitedly, he dared to compliment Carlo to his face, laughing incessantly and praising him endlessly.

He felt more and more impressed by their Vice Captain. With everyone on this team, there was no room for him to act arrogantly. Both the Captain and Vice Captain were ridiculously strong, and the new recruits were no slouches either.

Even though he had eaten the Bimomu Fruit, he'd better stay in line!

"Go all out? Then at least bring a big shot or a so-called Emperor over here, right?"

"Otherwise, there's nobody worthy of me going all out against!"

Just then, Carlo's casual words reached everyone's ears.