Whitebeard glanced over, then quickly looked away, not particularly concerned.
If Rocks hadn’t suddenly rushed forward, he’d still be sitting on the ship’s roof, sipping wine and enjoying the salty sea breeze.
“Utterly boring.
I’m going back to sleep,” Whitebeard replied casually, pushing Stussy aside as she leaned against him.
He then turned and headed toward the ship’s interior.
Stussy swayed slightly from the push, instinctively tucking a stray strand of golden hair behind her ear.
She lifted her face, watching Whitebeard’s burly figure retreat into the distance, and snorted softly before pursing her lips.
“What a blockhead…”
……
At the port, Ron in his Tailed Beast Transformation lowered his gaze to Kaido.
The moment he opened his mouth, the Tailed Beast Bomb began to take shape.
“Crackle!”
That faint point of light rapidly expanded.
Empowered by the immense strength of the Sage Body, within the blink of an eye, the speck of light transformed into a colossal sphere of energy.
Kaido’s pupils contracted to pinpoints.
Instinctively, he took three quick steps back, his voice strained with tension.
“What the hell?!
You bastard, are you trying to kill me?!”
Wasn’t this supposed to be a spar?
From the looks of it, this newcomer genuinely intended to end his life.
Ron remained silent.
Deeming the moment right, he abruptly fired the Tailed Beast Bomb.
“Whoosh!!”
The Tailed Beast Bomb, brimming with terrifying power, shot forth with a shriek.
Kaido’s face stiffened.
He immediately decided to dodge, but the Tailed Beast Bomb’s sheer size and coverage far exceeded his predicted limits of evasion.
“Bastard!!!” Kaido roared, swiftly enveloping his spiked club with his own Armament Haki.
The next second, he saw a figure appear soundlessly at his side.
“Sigh”
A long, drawn-out sigh, heavy with resignation, drifted softly through the smoke-filled air.
“Kids fighting… so dangerous.
They never know their own strength.”
Before the words faded, Rocks had already drawn his blade.
The resonant hum of the unsheathed sword had yet to dissipate when Conqueror’s Haki roared forth like a black-purple storm, coiling around the entire length of the blade.
Then, his figure vanished completely from the spot.
When he reappeared, he was directly in front of the Tailed Beast Bomb.
“Swish!!”
The longsword, imbued with terrifying force, swept upward from below, cleaving through the air with a sharp, peerless black arc.
Instantly, the blade’s edge collided violently with the surface energy of the Tailed Beast Bomb.
“BOOM!!”
An indescribably terrifying explosion erupted.
A violent shockwave burst forth like a tsunami, spreading in a ring that swept across the surroundings.
Yet, the Tailed Beast Bomb did not detonate.
Instead, at the moment of contact with the blade, it was forcibly diverted by an irresistible, massive gravitational pull, sent hurtling upward into the sky at high speed.
It then traced an arc through the air before plummeting fiercely toward the distant sea.
At the same moment, aboard the Roger Pirates’ ship, which had just set sail.
Having sensed the danger with Observation Haki, several figures rushed out from within the ship.
Immediately, they witnessed a massive energy sphere plunging into the ocean.
“Hiss!!”
A blinding, pale-white light erupted from the depths of the sea.
Then, a muffled explosion echoed all around.
“BOOM!!”
The sea surface abruptly arched upward, and a massive mushroom-shaped wave with edges churning with pale foam surged into the sky.
Roger, Rayleigh, and Gaban almost simultaneously shifted their gazes toward the island.
“Those guys from the Rocks Pirates…
are they fighting someone?” Gaban frowned tightly.
Rayleigh narrowed his eyes, staring in the direction from which the explosion had just risen.
After a moment of contemplation, he spoke slowly, “Judging purely by the power just now, it shouldn’t have come from anyone in the Rocks Pirates.”
Rayleigh was quite familiar with most members of the Rocks Pirates, whether it was their Devil Fruit abilities or their fighting styles.
“Hahahaha.” Roger, however, burst into laughter.
“It seems…
Rocks has run into quite some trouble.”
Rayleigh didn’t join in the laughter but instead shook his head gently.
“It could also cause us a lot of trouble in the future.
After all, given Rocks’ personality, when he encounters a strong opponent, he won’t kill them but will try to recruit them onto his ship.”
Upon hearing this, Gaban immediately nodded, his tone serious.
“Although we don’t have any grudges with the Rocks Pirates, there will come a day when interests are unevenly distributed, and we’ll inevitably stand on opposing sides.”
Roger stopped laughing, his expression gradually turning calm.
His gaze sharp, he looked toward the island and spoke slowly, “A pirate crew without bonds is nothing but a pile of sand destined to collapse.
It’s not the wind that destroys it, but each grain of sand forgetting why it stands beside the others.”
Just as Rayleigh and Gaban were pondering this statement with differing thoughts, Roger threw an arm around each of their shoulders and said cheerfully, “Come on, let’s go back and have a drink.”
At the port.
The remnants of the violent energy gradually dissipated, and the swirling dust slowly settled.
Ron, who had undergone Tailed Beast Transformation, returned to his original form.
“Hey, hey, hey, Rocks, did you see that?
This guy was trying to kill me.” Kaido was fuming.
You told me to spar, and I almost got killed.
If you don’t say something, that’s really not right.
Hearing this, Ron looked surprised.
He could guarantee he absolutely had no such intention—this was pure slander.
“Look, look, that bastard still has a careless expression.” Kaido said angrily.
Ron furrowed his brow.
Seriously, dude, what are you talking about??
“Wahahaha” Rocks sheathed the long sword in his hand and said with a laugh, “Kaido, you’re being too sensitive.
When young people fight, it’s inevitable they might not know how to hold back.”
“Huh?” Kaido froze for a few seconds.
After regaining his composure, he wore an expression of shock.
“What kind of joke is this?
Rocks, I absolutely don’t agree with your take on this.”
Rocks smiled and slowly extended his hand, making a ‘V’ gesture.
Ron was a bit confused.
What kind of move was this?
Did he want the two of them to fight him together?
Hmm~ Very possible.
So this is the Rocks Pirates?
Their way of resolving things is really rough.
“Two, huh” Kaido muttered to himself.
It seemed…
he really had been too sensitive.
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