The Child of Calamity, Rocks D. Xebec.
Bounty: 850 million Beli—far higher than the bounty of their Giant Rock Pirates' captain, "Rock" Butler.
Most importantly—
Rocks D. Xebec was a member of the White Wolf Pirates!
Seeing Rocks alone blocking his captain's path, Shiki couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. So this was what a member of the White Wolf Pirates was like?
Butler, on the other hand, was already drenched in sweat.
'What's a White Wolf Pirate doing here—and stepping in for Fishman Island's mermaids of all things?'
He was screaming inside, but surrendering without a fight was out of the question.
"Even if you're a White Wolf Pirate, you're just a brat. Come back in twenty years if you want to stop me!"
Butler roared, stepping forward.
"Rock Armament!"
The entire street of Coral Hill shook violently with his step. He was a Stone-Stone Fruit user, able to merge any rock he touched into his own body for power.
Many called the Stone-Stone Fruit merely a Paramecia, but Butler considered it no less powerful than the strongest Logia Fruits.
Seeing Butler activate his ability, Shiki's expression turned grim.
This was the move that had defeated him.
He was a Float-Float Fruit user, able to make objects float and attack with them.
But before he could use his ability, Butler had merged with the ground, making it impossible for Shiki to lift it.
He'd lost before the fight had even started.
How would a White Wolf crew member handle this?
The answer came in an unforgettable scene.
Rocks simply drew his blade, and before Shiki even realized it, he was standing right in front of Butler.
Butler's pupils shrank as he hastily raised surrounding stone to block—but…
"Useless."
Rocks' blade sliced through the stone like tofu.
"Ordinary rock can't withstand my Haki."
One slash, beheading him.
From start to finish, Rocks had made only a single strike.
The captain Shiki couldn't even scratch had been felled in an instant.
"This is the strength of a White Wolf crew member…"
Shiki's gaze burned with fervor. If even the crew was this strong, then just how powerful was their captain, Magnus?
"Hm?"
Rocks noticed Shiki's stare and the mermaid in his grasp. He lifted his hand, ready to cut him down even from dozens of meters away.
But before he could act—
A nearby fishman suddenly screamed and bolted into the shadows, as if he'd seen a ghost.
He didn't get far before his eyes rolled back and he collapsed, foaming at the mouth.
'Conqueror's Haki?'
Rocks muttered to himself.
Magnus had shown it to him plenty of times—knocking out a single target from kilometers away was just standard procedure for him.
Rocks wondered… did he have Conqueror's Haki too?
The higher you climbed, the slower the gains came.
He was nearing a bottleneck in both Armament and Observation Haki—ready to cross into Internal Destruction and Future Sight, just as Magnus had described.
But Conqueror's Haki… that was different.
It was the power of kings, an innate talent.
If you didn't have the aptitude, no amount of training could awaken it.
Did he have it?
"Well done."
Magnus' voice came from above only after Rocks had finished.
"With your strength now, you could walk all over the first half of the Grand Line. Most pirates wouldn't stand a chance. How's it feel?"
"Average."
Rocks had never considered the first half his real battleground—his target was the New World, and the man who stood atop it… the one in front of him.
"Magnus."
"Hmm?"
"Do I have Conqueror's Haki?"
"Haha, you think you don't?"
Magnus grinned.
"Don't forget what you're aiming for."
Rocks was at the same wall that trapped most non-Fruit users—Internal Destruction in Armament and Future Sight in Observation were the gates.
Master both, and even without a Devil Fruit, you could reach the peak Magnus once stood at.
But to go beyond that… you needed to master Conqueror's Haki infusion.
Did Rocks have it?
Of course.
But under Magnus' pressure, awakening it wouldn't be easy. When he did, though… he'd likely grow to a level even Magnus would notice.
For now, Magnus' focus was on another man.
Golden Lion Shiki.
In the future, he would be one of Pirate King Gol D. Roger's most powerful rivals—pushing Roger to the brink of defeat.
But that was decades from now.
The Shiki before Magnus was a young man with short blond hair, a sausage mouth, and otherwise plain features—older than Newgate but younger than Rocks.
At the moment, Shiki was staring nervously at the man beside Rocks.
White King Magnus.
He'd never expected to meet him like this.
He wanted to challenge Magnus—
But that was something he'd planned to do only after countless adventures, after finding his crew, after building a fleet worthy of the attempt.
Meeting him now was like a rookie hero stumbling out of the starter village only to bump into the final boss.
"Haha, you look a little tense."
Magnus' expression hardened.
"Kid, could you do me a favor and let go?"
"That little mermaid behind you…
She's very scared."
(End of Chapter)
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