He trusted his abilities too much, but he couldn't accept surrendering so quickly, leading to a conflicted mindset.
This guy, in essence, was still unconvinced. He certainly didn't think Hawkins had much loyalty, especially after joining just a few hours ago. Sage had the Supreme King aptitude, to put it simply, he had a kingly aura, but the opponent wasn't an idiot, nor a weakling, and wouldn't want to join his Pirates like in Demon Valley Town.
"Ah..."
Sage suddenly thought of something, glanced at Hawkins, and curled the corner of his mouth.
He remembered.
Hawkins had allied with someone two years later to try and challenge Red Hair, but ended up encountering Kaido, and joined Kaido's pirates after foreseeing his death through divination.
But later, he started feeling unbalanced because, unlike him, none of the pirates who joined at the same time surrendered.
Drake?
That guy was originally part of the Navy, so there was no surrender—he was there as a spy.
So the most unbalanced was Hawkins himself, which is why he sought out Drake for answers before his death, only to become the Joker himself.
But this situation won't happen now; he hasn't even reached Shampodi before being intercepted by him.
Under these circumstances, his inner imbalance would be much less.
And listening to Sage's words, Hawkins remained silent.
Afraid of death...
He wasn't afraid of death.
He just didn't want to die meaninglessly.
Death is the ultimate punishment for a person. Whether it's humiliation or glory, once you're dead, it's all gone.
Although Sage is an enemy, even if he's boarded the ship, Sage is still the target he wants to challenge.
"A one in ten thousand chance is still a chance..."
Hawkins looked at Sage, "Aren't you afraid that I'll challenge you again with all you've told me?"
"Hohohohoho!"
Sage laughed out loud, gave Hawkins a hard slap on the back, making him stagger and causing some of the wine in his hand to spill.
"I'm not afraid of a challenge!"
He downed the wine in his glass in a single gulp, his expression fierce, "Hawkins, I give you the chance to challenge me; if you win, you can do whatever you want. But before that, you need to serve me!"
Loyalty?
Being promoted to a high-ranking officer by him, Sage cared about these things, but for now, there's no need to scrutinize loyalty or not. For now, not betraying is enough.
As for the future...
As time passes, with territory and a big estate, he won't have a choice!
If not absolutely strong, what right does Sage have to be the landlord!
Pirates have no legal theory, filled with the ambitious!
In Sage's eyes, strength is his law, his lineage!
To dominate others, it can only rely on that!
"Let's start by challenging something else!"
Sage poured himself a full glass of wine again, raised it towards Hawkins, "Let's challenge drinking!"
"Your chance of success is 90%, failure is 10%..."
Hawkins raised his glass, clinked it against Sage's, and said, "My success rate is 10%, but I want to try even that chance."
A tiny chance is still a chance...
He wanted to know if Sage's confidence in his strength came from this.
And then...
"Cannot drink any more!"
Under the deep night, Sage looked at the drunkards lying all around, stood up laughing, "Lily, get a fishing rod, I want to try that 0.01% chance!"
One in ten thousand?
That's still a chance!
What Hawkins didn't know was how delighted Sage was when he heard this.
Because in his impression, as someone who has bad luck in everything, he never succeeds.
Otherwise, why would he switch so many professions?
Now someone is telling him there's actually a chance of success, just a small one...
A small chance is better than none!
He will definitely catch it!
The next day, in the afternoon.
The Death Star sailing the high seas, at this moment, saw the outline of an island ahead and was heading towards its destination.
In the meeting room on the third floor, Pearl diligently moved chairs, allowing the officers to take their seats.
Besides the three high-ranking officers and Gin, the only other person seated was the newly joined Hawkins.
The drinking challenge last night, he obviously lost, having been drunk on the floor until noon. After lunch, he hadn't rested long before being called to the meeting.
As for Sage...
His face was gloomy as he came up the stairs from the second floor, glanced at them, and said, "You're all here, huh..."
"What's the matter with him?" Renedia asked Marika sitting next to her.
"Aha, it seems he tried fishing again late last night but caught nothing," Marika chuckled.
"Shut up! What do you mean 'caught nothing'? At night, the fish are obviously sleeping; choose a good time next time, and I'll definitely catch one!"
Sage rolled his eyes and sat on the head chair, "Lily."
Lily nodded, "We've already seen Anu Country, now let's discuss the specific plan."
Having Pearl pull over a blackboard, he pinned the map on it. They naturally had a map of Anu Country.
Sage specified that he wanted to rob Anu Country, so Doflamingo naturally passed the information to him, along with a map of Anu Country. It was an island with a mountain in the center, surrounded by flat land, but in the middle was an uplifted mountain, and atop it was the castle of the Anu Kingdom's King.
"We need to land first and then use the cursed gold coin's curse to guide us to our destination, to see if there's gold there, which is our primary goal. Secondly..."
Lily stood up, pointing at a town sign in the southeast position on the map, "White Harbor, the closest location to our sailing, and the only port town in Anu Country. Likewise, this is a bustling town with many purchasing stones and staying here, so there are quite a few industries worth robbing. But this is the last step."
As a kingdom with a single-trade product, it naturally needs external goods to enrich it, and a port is naturally essential, as well as the most prosperous place.
Speaking of which, her finger pointed towards the castle marked at the center, "Our secondary objective is to rob the Royal Palace first, then advance southeast from the castle, and finally rob White Harbor. Once done, we'll leave."
If the port is robbed first, it would easily attract the Navy, which would mean they can't advance into the island's inland. After all, sailing relies on ships, and if the ships get attacked, that's not good.
So the port is the last to be robbed; once done, they can set sail.
"A very good plan."
Hawkins also figured out the vital points here, nodding, "I'm interested in the so-called curse of Anu Country."
He learned about the cursed gold coin after waking up.
To Hawkins, things like curses, zombies, and such... he's quite interested in and wants to see them.
"Old Hawkins, calculate where to put the ship where the chance of being discovered by the Navy is smallest." Sage said.
Hawkins's primary function is much stronger than his combat power.
Sage didn't even have to say it; he had already started divining when Lily mentioned the plan.
The moment Sage's words fell, he attached the last card on the straw, saying, "Northeast direction, 5% chance of being discovered by the Navy, 95% chance of successfully hiding."
Without divination, Sage also understood the ship should be placed there.
The Death Star now isn't suitable for heading to the port; they have to wait until they rob the port, then operate together. This way, they can carry out the robbery with maximum efficiency and convenience without being hunted by the Navy.
Because this island... has a Navy Base, and it's right beside White Harbor.
Having the Death Star hide in the northeast direction is due to its proximity to the Calm Belt, where the Navy wouldn't patrol.
Nonetheless, divining a bit of probability made Sage feel better.
"Let's do it this way!"
Sage laughed, "Leave half the crew to watch the ship; the rest follow me, then wait for the signal, and let the ones staying back head to White Harbor to meet us!"