"Captain, I'm on my way!"
Hearing Li Yuan's words, Hermes excitedly rushed forward.
However, aside from Hermes, the emotionally oblivious beast king, the other officers felt an eerie familiarity with the scene.
Li Yuan had often pointed things out to them with that same smile, and the results had been quite good. They had all, to varying degrees, recognized their shortcomings and the direction to grow stronger under Li Yuan's guidance. Yet, the process was terrifying to recall; the fear of facing death had left them shivering.
"Captain, we're coming too!"
But since Li Yuan had already spoken, no matter how scared they were, they could only brace themselves and charge forward. If anyone hesitated, the consequences would likely be worse! "Good, good, you all come along!"
Seeing his crew so motivated, Li Yuan was very pleased.
Next, Li Yuan took on all the officers of the Infinite Pirates by himself. He utilized his speed advantage and a kite-flying tactic, swinging his slashes as if they required no stamina.
Each slash hit an officer, and almost none could withstand Li Yuan's strikes unscathed.
Previously, it had been Barrett bleeding in battle; now, it was the many officers bleeding together, resisting wave after wave of slashes until their bodies could no longer bear it and they fainted, marking the end!
The next day, news of Barrett's promotion to vice-captain of the Infinite Pirates spread throughout the crew.
Now, the Infinite Pirates were under the spotlight of the entire world. The news they released quickly reached every pirate in the New World, and within a day, it was likely that hardly any force in the world would be unaware of this matter.
"The Infinite Pirates actually have a vice-captain position? I heard it's a rank above the core officers. If Barrett can sit in that position, does that mean his strength has undergone a qualitative leap?"
"Of course! I heard that to become a core officer of the Infinite Pirates, one must survive Li Yuan's full-powered sword strike, and the conditions to become a vice-captain are even more terrifying—one must endure under Li Yuan's sword for six hours without dying!"
"Wow, the conditions are that harsh? That's the world's strongest man and the world's number one swordsman we're talking about! Surviving his full-powered strike is already difficult, let alone enduring for six hours!"
"I heard Barrett fought with Kaido and they ended in a draw. It seems the newly emerged great pirate Kaido is not to be underestimated, especially since he fought to a standstill with the vice-captain of the Infinite Pirates, Barrett!"
"…"
Once the news broke, pirates in the New World began to discuss it fervently, especially in bars where pirates loved to chat and boast.
Barrett had just made the headlines, becoming the subject of their discussions.
"Hahaha, that kid Barrett actually became the vice-captain of the Infinite Pirates! Then Reinhardt, we should establish a vice-captain position in our Flying Pirates too, and you will take it! We can't let the Infinite Pirates steal all the glory!"
Upon seeing the newspaper, Golden Lion immediately arranged for his right-hand man Reinhardt to take on the vice-captain role.
Golden Lion had already decided that whenever the Infinite Pirates made a statement, the Flying Pirates would not fall behind and would follow suit.
Moreover, he planned to occasionally release news to let the world know about the existence of the Flying Pirates, ensuring they frequently appeared in global news reports, effectively boosting their reputation and making more new pirates aware of the Flying Pirates. When they arrived in the New World, they might choose to ally with the Flying Pirates.
"Captain, I understand!"
Reinhardt felt somewhat speechless upon hearing Golden Lion's words. It seemed like their captain was specifically keeping an eye on Li Yuan. Whatever new and exciting things Li Yuan had, the Flying Pirates had to follow suit.
"Gulalala, a vice-captain? Isn't that something the Roger Pirates had on their ship? Now Li Yuan has also created a vice-captain position!"
"In that case, my Whitebeard Pirates should have one too!"
"Marco, you'll be the vice-captain of the Whitebeard Pirates. You're the eldest and often have to manage the others!"
After reading the newspaper, Whitebeard took a deep breath, and his anger flared up, adding a vice-captain position to many of the captains in the Whitebeard Pirates.
"Don't worry, old man, I'll take good care of them!"
Hearing his father say he would promote him, Marco was naturally very pleased.
"Mommy, mommy, I want everything Li Yuan has, and I want even more of what he doesn't have!"
"Katakuri, from now on, you are the vice-captain of our pirate crew! You need to take care of your brothers and sisters!"
Charlotte Linlin declared loudly.
Thus, after the Infinite Pirates announced Barrett's promotion to vice-captain, many of the major pirate crews in the New World quickly followed suit with their own announcements.
The news they released was about their own members being promoted to vice-captain, and importantly, they all claimed that the vice-captain position required a grueling selection process, asserting that their vice-captains were absolutely not inferior to Barrett!
"These guys are all starting to follow the trend!"
Li Yuan couldn't help but smile wryly upon seeing these reports.
It seemed these guys had nothing better to do than to mimic the Infinite Pirates by establishing vice-captain positions.
"Hehe, dear, you should consider that ever since you killed Saint Mars and gained the title of the world's strongest man, the reputation of the Infinite Pirates has surpassed that of the Flying Pirates."
"Even if the Infinite Pirates don't make a statement, many people subconsciously believe that the Infinite Pirates are the strongest pirate crew in the New World, no, they should say the strongest pirate crew in the world."
"So they don't want the reputation of the Infinite Pirates to continue growing, and they've tacitly decided not to let the news of the Infinite Pirates spread worldwide, shocking the world and gaining even more fame, which is why they're resorting to such tactics to stir things up."
Yadina chuckled softly.
"That's fine, let them make a fuss. I have no intention of changing the current landscape of pirates in the New World, at least not until our children grow up."
Li Yuan nodded.
The reputation of the Infinite Pirates was already sufficient; what was lacking was depth and more powerful top-tier combatants.
Currently, aside from Li Yuan, there were only four top-tier combatants in the Infinite Pirates: three core officers and Barrett. That was too few, far less than the peak period of the Rocks Pirates.
At least until his pirates became top-tier combatants and the current officers were promoted to core officers, they could only compare to the peak period of the Rocks Pirates and truly have the qualifications to challenge the World Government!
"Dear, should we reduce the various promotions of the Infinite Pirates in the future?"
Yadina asked.
Previously, Yadina had inadvertently promoted the various benefits and treatments of the Infinite Pirates, making more people aware of the advantages of joining, indirectly boosting the reputation of the Infinite Pirates.
Now it seemed her husband intended to keep the Infinite Pirates low-key.
"No need, we just need to develop steadily according to the plan we set before."
Li Yuan shook his head.