Upon hearing Rocks' words, the captains present didn't hesitate and went straight to recruit the pirates they had their eyes on.
Any pirate capable of sailing to Hive Island had a good sense of self-awareness. The recruitment process went smoothly—none of the pirates dared to refuse an invitation.
After successfully recruiting five subordinates, Lind was quite pleased and immediately appointed them as squad leaders, forming the foundation of his crew.
As for the young Oni boy, he ended up joining under Newgate. It had to be said—that strength and talent came with privileges. This young Oni was allowed to freely choose which captain he would follow.
Naturally, Whitebeard was more appealing to most pirates, so the Oni boy chose him without hesitation.
As for why he never appeared again in the future, Lind figured he was probably specifically targeted and fell during the God Valley battle.
After all, the CP organization had plenty of twisted individuals who loved to eliminate promising but still weak geniuses.
After selecting the core members, it was time to recruit a regular crew. There wasn't much to fuss over—pirates were free to choose which squad they wanted to join.
Since Lind had just formed his squad and didn't yet have any subordinates, many pirates wanted to try their luck with him.
With the other captains' support, Lind ended up recruiting the most people this round.
Out of 300 pirates, nearly 100 joined Lind's squad. Along with the earlier-recruited officers, a basic team was now formed. What remained was training, team synergy, and building a reputation!
"Hoo-hahaha! Now that the captains have made their picks, today's selection is officially over!"
"Fire Flower, arrange a clean up, then let's begin the feast and welcome our new companions!"
Seeing that all the newly chosen pirates had joined their respective squads, Rocks waved his hand grandly and decided to host a banquet in their honor.
"Wahoo! Banquet time!"
With waves of cheers, yet another feast began!
Off to the side, Lind couldn't help but grumble internally—these pirates did love their parties!
Still, it was just internal griping. In truth, Lind rather enjoyed banquets.
Laughing, he went off to bond with his recruits.
The next day, Lind awoke with a hazy head.
Feeling his naked body and noticing the pink hair next to him, his headache worsened.
"As expected, even if I don't get drunk, alcohol still messes with your head!"
Thinking back on the absurdity of the previous night, Lind still found it hard to believe.
Damn, my first time… gone just like that. And the partner was Charlotte Linlin of all people.
Rubbing his temples, Lind tried to see the silver lining. At least he didn't have to take responsibility—just treat it as a one-night stand.
Facing someone like Charlotte Linlin, even if he wanted to be a responsible man, there likely wasn't much he could do.
At best, if it was a one-shot miracle and they had a child, he'd strive to be a good father—one of those divorced types where the child stays with the mom.
For some reason, Lind suddenly thought of that classic line from A Little Reunion:
"Yingzi, open the door—Daddy's here!"
Given Charlotte Linlin's personality in the original story, if she had a child, that kid would probably live under a lot of pressure and need warmth from their father.
"Lind, you're awake?"
A crisp voice snapped Lind out of his wandering thoughts.
"Ah, Linlin, you're awake too!"
After that came an awkward silence. Lind, with no relevant experience, was unsure how to handle the situation.
To be fair, the current Charlotte Linlin did have both the looks and the figure and hadn't been with that many men.
She simply liked having children. She probably only had intimate relations with a few of her previous husbands and then kicked them out after getting pregnant.
There weren't any rumors of her being promiscuous either, which left Lind uncertain of what to say, and lost in thought again.
Having lived in the modern world, Lind decided to just treat the current Charlotte Linlin as a woman with a few past relationships—it wasn't that different.
Caught in his imagination, Lind quickly convinced himself and accepted reality.
"So, how was my thanks? Did you like it?"
Charlotte Linlin hooked her finger under Lind's chin and whispered into his ear.
"Heh… of course I did."
Lind forced a stiff smile—a classic example of benefiting while playing innocent.
Looking at her face, Lind recalled the events of the previous night.
As the banquet neared its end, Lind, with his immense alcohol tolerance, had knocked out all the other squad members and was enjoying his food alone.
Charlotte Linlin noticed he was by himself and came over to ask about her "epigraph."
Lind hadn't thought much of it and simply composed the epigraph for her.
She was delighted upon receiving it.
Generously, she gifted Lind a Devil Fruit and mentioned there were more gifts at her home, asking him to come with her to retrieve them.
Lind had a pretty good idea what those "gifts" really were, but under the influence of alcohol, he didn't mind.
He even used his telekinesis to retrieve a fruit from his treasury—a fruit that could alter body size.
The last time he ate it, his height had shot past six meters—though not quite as tall as Charlotte Linlin, it was close to Newgate's, and the effect lasted 12 hours.
Everything flowed naturally after that. When Charlotte Linlin extended her invitation, Lind ate the fruit, and everything that followed just… happened.
"That was nice, Lind. If you want more, feel free to come find me again!"
Beside him, Charlotte Linlin licked her lips and nibbled Lind's ear, whispering.
Before he could make another move, she got up and dressed herself.
"You probably can't wear your clothes right now, huh? How long until your fruit's effect wears off? Just stay here for now!"
Charlotte Linlin gave Lind a flirtatious look and left the room. As she walked out, she recited the epigraph Lind had written for her:
"The queen swings her blade, waves dance and rise,
Dreams chase the sails, cutting through the tide.
Thunder and fire shake heaven and earth,
Silent in conquest, the sea she defies.
Though peril awaits on the path ahead,
With all the world as foes, she still won't dread.
When Totto Land rises from mist and clouds,
Who dares deny her the king's road now?"
After finishing the poem, she murmured almost inaudibly:
"Thank you, Lind."
Then she strode out, leaving Lind alone in the room, quietly reflecting on life.
That last sentence left Lind wondering: did Charlotte Linlin want his genes, or did she just want to thank him in her way?
"Sigh… this probably won't be the last time. Let's take things one step at a time. Right now, the most important thing is to improve my strength and build my forces."
"Once I'm powerful enough, nothing will be a problem anymore."
Lind lay in bed, waiting for the fruit's effect to wear off while quietly planning his future.
Charlotte Linlin hadn't returned since leaving the room—perhaps to give Lind some time to himself.
Several hours later, the drug's effect finally wore off, and Lind returned to his original size.
"I need to get a proper set of clothes for this. Transforming without preparation is way too awkward."
Muttering to himself, Lind quickly got dressed and used his telekinesis to sneak back to his villa, avoiding everyone.
Once back, he downed two large glasses of water to settle his mind, then sat at his desk and began writing.
"The next two months will be spent training my men and upgrading the Xiaoyao."
"Not sure how good the shipwrights on Hive Island are… guess I'll make do for now. Just need to get it seaworthy. If needed, I can go to a place like Water 7 later for a full upgrade."