Ron stared at Rocks’s retreating figure.
The wind blew past his forehead, lifting a few scattered strands of his dark hair, but it could not extinguish the fiery glow quietly rising in his eyes.
Perhaps…
fate simply won’t allow me to grow safely and comfortably!
If that’s the case…
then on this thorn-covered path, I will split the thorns with my blade, water the soil with blood, and carve out a path through sheer slaughter!
Suddenly, the corners of Ron’s mouth curled upward into a smile.
Without hesitation, he stepped forward and followed behind.
Walking ahead, Rocks seemed to notice the figure trailing him.
Without breaking his stride, he burst into loud laughter.
“Hahahahahahaha…”
“My name is Rocks D.
Xebec.
You can call me Captain, or you can call me Boss.
Of course, if you don’t like either, you can just call me by my name, ‘Rocks.'”
“I’m Ron.”
“I’ll remember that, Ron.” Rocks turned half his face, a glimmer of approval flashing in his eyes.
“Starting now, you are the second apprentice of my Rocks Pirates.”
“The second?”
“Yeah.
The one before you is named Kaido.
A young man with a lot of potential.”
“You don’t care about my strength?” Ron shifted the topic and asked, mostly because joining the Rocks Pirates had gone far too smoothly.
“Wahahahaha~ I’ve always been a good judge of people.”
Whether facing Roger or himself, Rocks had seen no trace of fear in Ron’s eyes.
Usually, people with such a mindset never turned out too bad.
“Where are we heading next?” Ron asked about their travel plans.
“Now that business is done, of course we’re heading back,” Rocks replied.
This trip was meant for Roger.
Unfortunately, things did not go as planned; Roger refused to cooperate no matter what.
In the end, Rocks did not force the issue.
After all, those with different paths could not walk together.
At the island’s harbor, clouds gathered and the wind stirred.
Ink-black storm clouds rolled across the sky, while the sea surged with violent waves that broke into pure white spray.
A massive, magnificent ship rested quietly by the pier.
Across the deck, figures sat, stood, or lay around—every one of them wild and untamed.
The pirate flag had a black fanged pattern tearing across it, flapping in the fierce wind like the beat of war drums.
This was the most stacked, most absurd, and most terrifying pirate lineup in history.
There was the future “Strongest Man” and one of the Four Emperors: Whitebeard, Edward Newgate.
The future “Strongest Creature” and one of the Four Emperors: Kaido.
The future Four Emperor: Charlotte Linlin.
And the legendary pirate: “Golden Lion” Shiki.
…and many more…
Names that were more than enough to give Marine Headquarters sleepless nights were scattered casually across the exact same deck.
“Rocks still isn’t back.
He couldn’t have been taken out by Roger, could he?” Ochoku leaned against the ship’s railing, holding a fragrant, roasted leg of lamb firmly in his rough hand.
He tore off a huge chunk of meat with his teeth, raised a bottle of fine liquor with his left hand, and took a deep swig of the strong drink.
“Jihahahaha!” Hearing this, Golden Lion up on the mast laughed toward the sky.
“If that’s the case, then I, Shiki, will reluctantly take over the crew of the Rocks Pirates!
From now on, you all have to call me Captain!”
Linlin sat on the opposite railing holding a fruit cake.
Popping a piece of fruit into her mouth, she mocked him, “Stop daydreaming, Shiki!
Even if Rocks is dead, it’s my turn to take over.”
“Hehehe~” Stussy leaned within the shadows of the cabin door, the corner of her lips curving up.
“Any of you can be captain if you want, but Rocks’s treasure belongs to me, Stussy.”
“You?
Stussy?
What a joke!
Rocks and I are like blood brothers.
His treasure should naturally go to me,” Captain John argued back.
In his eyes, anyone could be captain, but whoever tried to take his treasure was looking for a fight.
On the deck, Kaido sat cross-legged against the wall with a giant spiked club beside him.
In front of him was a plate of steamed buns.
He stuffed one into his mouth, chewing happily while thinking to himself, ‘These guys really have too much free time.’
Kaido’s current goal was very simple.
He knew that with his current strength, he wouldn’t gain any real benefits on a ship full of “villains.” Therefore, he was always looking for a Devil Fruit that could make him stronger.
Especially after seeing Whitebeard use the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, that desire grew even stronger.
Whitebeard sat on the roof of the ship, taking in the sea breeze and occasionally sipping fine wine.
As for their bickering, he did not join in, had no interest, and was even…
slightly disgusted.
What were these guys thinking every single day?
What kind of crew members spent their days hoping their captain would drop dead?
Wait…
that actually made sense.
After all, no one on this ship truly viewed Rocks as their “boss.” He was simply a “partner” who was strong enough and generous enough.
And they were nothing more than villains sharing the same ship for the time being.
Silver Axe leaned over the railing, spotted two figures walking over from not too far away, and spoke up slowly: “Stop daydreaming, everyone.
Rocks is back.”
Hearing this, the crew didn’t react much.
They were only joking around earlier anyway; no one truly believed Rocks would lose to Roger.
As Rocks’s figure drew closer, they also clearly saw Ron following behind him, and almost everyone began looking him up and down.
“Hey, Rocks, did you win that guy behind you from Roger’s ship?” Linlin licked the cream off her finger and asked with a grin.
In the pirate world, there was a game called the Davy Back Fight.
It was a contest where pirate crews competed across various events—a brutal game where they plundered crewmates and flags from each other.
In a Davy Back Fight, any crew member chosen by the winner had to immediately become a subordinate of the winning captain.
On the Rocks Pirates, quite a few crew members were won by Rocks through this exact method.
“No.” Rocks waved his hand and gave a light laugh.
“This is a brat who was rejected by Roger because his reputation was too bad.
But…
I, Rocks, don’t mind it at all.”
“His reputation was too bad?”
Everyone froze for a moment.