“Now then.
Let’s talk about you opening fire on me, Buggy the Clown.”
Rocks paid no attention to Buggy’s expression.
His own smile was wide and completely unrestrained.
Boom.
His Conqueror’s Haki flared again, pressing directly down onto Buggy.
Just as it was with his Observation Haki, Rocks had awakened Conqueror’s Haki after eating the Mythical Zoan, Black-Winged Hollow Demon fruit.
Both Shinigami and Hollows in Bleach could exert their spiritual pressure to overwhelm opponents.
In this world, that overwhelming spiritual pressure manifested as Conqueror’s Haki.
That said, it wasn’t out of the question that Rocks had always had the natural aptitude for Conqueror’s Haki on his own.
The Hollow inside him may simply have let him access it sooner.
“I…
you…
I…”
Feeling the Conqueror’s Haki bearing down at close range, Buggy hadn’t passed out, but sweat was already running freely down his face.
Conqueror’s Haki.
And controlled Conqueror’s Haki at that.
This person looked like he was barely in his teens.
And he could already direct it at will?
Where had this monster come from?
Buggy had gone completely limp, slumped on the deck like a wet cloth, whether from the Haki’s pressure or from pure fear at being confronted.
“It’s a m-misunderstanding!
I had no idea you were on that ship!
I thought it was bounty hunters again, so I just…
I was just…”
Buggy had worked out very quickly that this was not someone he could afford to antagonize.
Possessing Conqueror’s Haki and being able to control it were two entirely different things.
Someone with controlled Conqueror’s Haki was in a completely different category of opponent.
Against someone like this, his odds were not good.
The only option was to fold, get on the ground, and beg for forgiveness.
As for carrying himself like a member of the Roger Pirates should.
His life was worth more than his pride, and that was the end of it.
“Who said I’m not a bounty hunter?”
Rocks looked at Buggy with mild exasperation.
Whatever he’d expected from a former Roger Pirates member, it hadn’t been this.
The corner of his mouth pulled into a cold smile, Conqueror’s Haki continuing to press down as he looked at Buggy from above.
“I’m broke.
And the fastest way to make money is to bring in pirates with bounties on their heads.”
“Your head is worth ten million Berries.
That covers my food expenses for a good while.”
Setting sail was one thing.
Rocks had never intended to become a pirate.
He was out here to eat enough to live, to deal with the Hollow inside him, and to become the world’s greatest swordsman.
Piracy wasn’t part of the plan.
What he did need was enough Berries to actually feed himself.
The solution: work as a bounty hunter for now.
Bring in one reasonably valuable pirate and the food situation was covered for a stretch.
He’d figure out the longer-term finances later.
Once he reached the Grand Line, a trip to Skypiea would sort it out.
The place was reportedly drowning in gold.
“W-wait!
Hold on!!”
Buggy panicked.
He was actually a bounty hunter?
A bounty hunter with that kind of strength.
Did he want to destroy the East Blue entirely?
“I have Berries!
I have lots of it!
I’ll give you all of it, every last coin, just please let me go!”
Under the genuine threat to his life, Buggy’s voice climbed to a rapid tumble of words.
Tears and snot ran freely down his face as he begged.
“I’ve got elderly parents depending on me and kids to raise!
The only reason I became a pirate was because I had no other choice!
Life just pushed me into it and I…”
“Save it.”
Rocks cut through the rambling with perfect calm.
“If I kill you, everything on your ship is still mine, and I can still collect your bounty afterward.”
“I…”
Buggy felt something inside him go numb.
Nothing was getting through to this person.
How had he managed to run into a monster like this.
He didn’t want to die.
A former member of the Roger Pirates couldn’t go out like this, pathetic and helpless on his own deck.
He still had a whole world of treasure to find.
He absolutely was not dying here.
He wouldn’t go down like this.
If I can distract him and wait for an opening to strike, I’ll take it.
He doesn’t know about my ability.
One good hit and I might be able to turn this around.
Buggy’s thoughts went to a dark, ugly place.
His Devil Fruit ability was not publicly known.
That was his hidden card.
One clean sneak attack.
It might be enough.
“Your hostile intent is very clear to my Observation Haki, Buggy.”
Rocks’s Observation Haki was not ordinary.
It could read intent directly.
The moment Buggy’s hostility spiked, Rocks had already moved.
Not a punch.
A kick.
Boom.
One foot came down into Buggy’s chest, combining the Dick-Style’s force technique with a coating of Armament Haki.
Crack.
The stomp landed with tremendous force.
Buggy felt something massive travel through his chest, followed by the faint sound of his own sternum giving way.
Blood surged up and out of his mouth.
The deck beneath Buggy cratered under the force.
Cracks ran outward through the planking.
Observation Haki…
Armament Haki…
this person can already use all three types at a basic level…
Buggy’s eyes were bulging, shot through with red.
The pain had twisted his face completely.
Inside, he was horrified and terrified in equal measure.
All three Haki types.
Is this actually the East Blue?
I’m the most unlucky person alive.
Of all the people to run into out here…
That was the last thought that crossed Buggy’s mind before his vision went dark and he lost consciousness.
Holding out against Conqueror’s Haki without blacking out had already been his limit.
Taking a hit that severe on top of it was simply more than he had left.
Rocks stood over the unconscious Buggy and was quiet for a moment.
“I knew he was weak, but not that weak.
Couldn’t take even one hit.”
He clicked his tongue.
The man had been a crewmember on the Roger Pirates’ ship.
How had he ended up this pathetic?
His Conqueror’s Haki luck hadn’t even triggered.
Rocks cracked his knuckles and thought aloud: “Can’t kill him yet though.
I’ll need him to show me the way.”
He had no particular feelings about Buggy, good or bad.
Familiar face, stranger in practice.
The man still had his uses, and there was no rush to finish things here.
He wasn’t going anywhere.
“All done?”
Kuina had boarded the ship behind him.
She looked around at the pirates strewn unconscious in every direction, then walked toward Rocks at an easy pace.
“Was that your Devil Fruit ability?
You dealt with all of them without throwing a single punch?”
The unconscious ones had no injuries.
They hadn’t been beaten into submission.
“It wasn’t the fruit.”
Rocks shook his head.
“That’s Conqueror’s Haki.
Weak-willed people can’t stay standing in front of me.
Very effective against ordinary grunts.”
“Conqueror’s Haki.”
Curiosity moved through Kuina’s eyes.
“Haki is something everyone has, isn’t it?
Can I learn it?”
She knew Haki existed.
She just hadn’t trained in it yet.
But a power like that was absolutely something she wanted.