“Conqueror’s Haki is an innate quality.
You can’t develop it through training.”
Rocks gave a brief summary of the situation.
“But Observation Haki and Armament Haki can be developed.
I’ll walk you through it when the time comes.”
As a transmigrator, Rocks understood exactly how important Haki was.
Anyone who wanted to become genuinely powerful needed Haki.
There was no way around it.
Whether Kuina had the aptitude for Conqueror’s Haki was hard to say.
But Observation Haki and Armament Haki were present in everyone.
Anyone could develop them with the right work.
How far any individual could take them was a matter of natural talent.
Kuina had beaten Zoro over three thousand times.
That alone was proof enough of her ability.
The idea that she couldn’t develop Haki simply didn’t hold up.
“Then I’ll be counting on you when the time comes.”
Kuina nodded, serious.
Her father could use two types of Haki himself, but had never guided her through developing it.
He had said the timing wasn’t right, that laying the groundwork in swordsmanship mattered more at her current stage.
So she had left it alone.
Kuina looked at the pirates spread across the deck, then looked at Rocks.
“What do we do with them?”
“Use them as guides for now.
We’ll figure out the rest later.”
“Understood.”
Kuina didn’t argue.
Rocks was captain.
Following his lead was her job.
“Tie them all up first.”
“Right.”
Rocks and Kuina got to work, binding every person on the ship with rope.
Then they went through the vessel bow to stern, turning it over completely.
They found a substantial amount of gold and valuables.
Worth around ten million Berries in total.
The Buggy Pirates had built a solid reputation in the East Blue.
Pure pirates in every sense of the word.
Ruthless wasn’t too strong a description.
They had taken plenty from a lot of people.
All of it went to Rocks now.
Food expenses.
His appetite was the problem.
Feeding himself was expensive.
He would also need money down the line to buy a larger and better ship.
The small sailboat they had been sailing was not going to be enough.
“Since you’re awake, why don’t you come over and have a chat, Buggy the Clown.”
People in this world had unusual physical resilience.
Despite the severity of his injuries, Buggy the Clown had come around faster than anyone else on the ship.
Rocks was seated at the center of the deck, unhurried and relaxed.
He looked at Buggy without particular urgency.
“You can’t hide from my Observation Haki.”
“You…
who the hell are you?”
At that, Buggy stopped pretending to be unconscious.
He glared at Rocks through clenched teeth.
“Why did you come after us?”
Rocks let out a short, dismissive laugh.
I’m a bounty hunter.
Am I not supposed to come after pirates?
Should I join up with you instead?”
Buggy opened his mouth and found nothing useful inside it.
What rotten luck.
Of all the people to run into.
“You didn’t just take my head.
So what do you want?”
Being alive meant there was something Rocks needed from him.
Buggy worked that out quickly.
His tone shifted into something warm and cooperative.
“If there’s anything you need from us, just say the word.
I’ll give it everything I have.”
“Good.
You catch on fast.”
Rocks nodded, satisfied.
“I need to get to Cocoyasi Village in the Conomi Islands.
Do you know the way?”
“Cocoyasi Village in the Conomi Islands…”
Buggy had spent enough time in the East Blue to know stretches of it well.
He had helped himself to what the locals on various islands had.
More than once.
He knew the Conomi Islands situation.
His tone went slightly surprised.
“That’s where the Fish-Man pirate crew is based, isn’t it?
You’re going after them?”
Rocks smiled.
“I’m a bounty hunter.
Going after pirates with high bounties is just the job.”
Buggy said nothing.
Internally, he gave the Fish-Man crew a silent three-second moment of mourning.
With a monster like this coming for them, even Fish-Men were going to end up as sashimi.
Then his eyes shifted.
A sycophantic expression spread across his face.
“Of course, of course!
With your strength, those Fish-Men don’t stand a chance!
I, Buggy the Clown, will give everything I have to see you through it!”
“And if you need any help at all, Buggy the Clown will not be found lacking!”
Small wonder he was groveling.
His life was in Rocks’s hands.
If he didn’t make himself useful, he probably wasn’t making it off this deck.
Against that kind of math, a little dignity was a cheap trade.
The priority right now was not getting killed.
As long as he stayed alive, there was still a way out of this.
Buggy’s mind was already working.
Keep this person calm and cooperative.
Wait until they reached the Conomi Islands and this lunatic threw himself at the Fish-Man crew.
That was when the opening would come.
This person didn’t know about his Devil Fruit ability.
The Chop-Chop Fruit could get him clear of any physical restraint.
One good window and he was gone.
“Of course I need your help.
Why else would you still be breathing?”
Rocks was seated like he owned the ship, sipping a bottle of red wine he’d found in the kitchen, looking down at Buggy from above.
His grin was easy and deliberate.
“Take me to the Conomi Islands.
Then you can be the ones to deal with those Fish-Men.”
“Sir, you have to understand.
My bounty is only ten million Berries. Get faster updates on novelping.com.
There is no way I can take on that Fish-Man crew.”
Buggy felt a cold numbness settle in.
What was this?
Setting dogs on each other?
His voice went even lower, careful with every word.
“The leader of that Fish-Man crew has a twenty million Berry bounty.
Twice mine.
How am I supposed to go up against-”
“Go.”
Rocks cut through the protests.
His voice was completely calm.
“Don’t go, and I kill you right now.”
Damn it!
This bastard actually dares threaten me!
Buggy raged internally.
This guy was acting more like a pirate than any pirate Buggy had ever met.
Bang.
Rocks read the hostility through his Observation Haki and snapped his fingers without particular urgency.
A jade-green Cero punched straight through Buggy’s shoulder.
A clean hole opened in the flesh.
“AAAGH…”
Buggy screamed.
A fresh wave of cold sweat broke across his forehead.
The fear inside him had hit its ceiling.
One wrong look and he throws a Cero.
Who exactly is the pirate here?
Rocks took a sip of wine and settled back in his seat, his smile easy and faintly amused.
“I believe you’re up to it.
You’re a Devil Fruit user yourself, after all.
The Chop-Chop Fruit, if I remember correctly.”
“You…
how do you know that?!”
Buggy forgot about his shoulder entirely.
He stared at Rocks with wide eyes.
Someone outside his own crew knew he was a Devil Fruit user?
And could name the fruit exactly.
He had never told anyone.
“I know quite a few things about you.
Like the fact that you used to be on Roger’s-”
“Don’t…
don’t say another word!!”
This wasn’t surprise anymore.
Buggy was genuinely horrified.
The secret he had buried deepest, and this person knew it?
That was impossible.
Only people who had been there could possibly know.
So how?
Who was this person?
Someone bold enough to use the name Rocks, did he have powerful backing?
Someone this young with this kind of strength.
Maybe there was a powerful figure behind him, someone guiding him.
“If you don’t want that secret spread from one end of the sea to the other, you’ll do exactly what I tell you.”
Rocks leaned forward.
The smile he gave Buggy was knowing and deliberate.
“How high do you think your bounty goes the moment your identity gets out?”
“Probably in the hundreds of millions, I’d imagine.
And I’m currently very short on Berries…”