The think tank of the Rocks Pirates, Kurozumi, narrowed his eyes at Ayr and muttered, "If I remember correctly, this guy only set out to sea last year. His name's Ayr… bounty is 100 million berries."
"What? He's only been sailing for a year, and already has a bounty of 100 million?"
"And look at him, there's not a scratch on his body. Not even a drop of blood."
"You mean… he crushed them? Just like that?"
"This guy… he's no joke."
Around the deck, several members of the Rocks Pirates stared at Ayr, murmuring among themselves. More and more eyes were drawn to him. Anyone who could single-handedly wipe out a pirate crew with a 300 million berry captain, and walk away unharmed, wasn't weak. Not even by their standards.
Even among monsters, he stood out.
"…Rocks?"
Ayr raised his brow, glancing at the man standing boldly at the bow of the ship, even without hostility, the sheer pressure rolling off him was suffocating.
He hadn't even seen a draw a blade and it was already hard to imagine such a force would fall in the Valley of the Gods one day.
Just as Ayr had suspected back when he read the manga, the internal structure of the Rocks Pirates was likely heavily fractured.
Had they been fully united from Rocks, to Whitebeard, Golden Lion, Big Mom, Kaido, Silver Axe, John, Ochoku and the rest, then even the combined forces of Rogers and the Marines wouldn't be enough to take them out and at that point ruling the world would just be an inevitability…
"Interested in joining my crew, kid?" Rocks suddenly grinned, arms spread wide. "The Rocks Pirates are the perfect place to let your talents loose."
His ambition was no secret, Rocks sought nothing less than world domination, and to achieve that, he constantly recruited the strongest warriors he could find. If a strong pirate crew appeared on the seas, he sent someone to win them over. His fleet was always growing.
Even if Ayr wasn't impressive just yet, Rocks could see the youth and potential in him. With time, and the right tempering, this boy might become one of the key pillars of his crew.
"Of course," Ayr answered without hesitation.
He had already been considering joining a crew. The appearance of the Rocks Pirates just saved him the trouble of choosing, with so many powerful members and frequent clashes with the Marines, it was the perfect setup to speed up his [Sage Body] progress.
Besides, the Rocks Pirates were fearless. They raided World Government territories, stole forbidden treasures, and left chaos in their wake. And among those riches the Devil Fruits were very things he needed most.
It was the ideal hunting ground.
Joining the Rocks meant faster growth, more opportunities, and a front-row seat to history, as dangerous as that might be.
"What a reckless decision," Kurozumi muttered, glancing toward Muchan. "Captain Rocks hasn't even tested the guy's strength."
"Exactly," Golden Lion grinned. "Captain Rocks, let me spar with him."
"Oh?" Rocks raised an eyebrow. "You want to fight him, Shiki?"
"If we want to know what he's capable of, there's no better way."
"A fair point."
Ayr's reputation had made slight waves, but no one had seen him fight. So now, with Shiki stepping forward, even Rocks seemed intrigued.
"Shiki's going to fight him? Isn't that overkill?"
"Yeah… this guy's strong, but Shiki has a bounty of a billion berries."
The moment Golden Lion volunteered, the crew erupted in chatter, it wasn't about disrespecting Ayr, they just understood what Shiki was. A true genuine monster only second to Rocks himself.
Even Whitebeard frowned slightly, he took a swig from his gourd and said, "That's overkill, Shiki. You don't need to crush him like that."
"Jie ha ha ha… don't worry, Edward I know how to hold back." Golden Lion smirked. "He's the Captains guest, I'm just testing him."
But beneath that smile, Shiki had other thoughts. The crew was strong, very strong, filled with ambitious people with the power to make their dreams reality and that meant the infighting had already begun. Secret alliances were forming. Shiki himself had started gathering his own men, slowly building a faction of his own within the chaos.
If Ayr proved strong enough, he'd try to pull him in. If not… then the boy wasn't worth his time.
"Come up here, kid," Rocks called, gesturing to Ayr.
"A fight with Shiki? That's just what I needed," Ayr muttered to himself, a grin touching his lips.
His [Sage Body] was sitting at 970 points. Just 30 more, and he'd reach the mid-stage, unlocking a wave of strength boosts and system rewards.
[Progress to Sage Body (Mid-Stage): 970/1000]
Those 30 points weren't going to appear by themselves.
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