"Damn it… why hasn't Rocks come back yet?"
Kaoru Tsubasa cursed under his breath. His clones were all fueled by his physical energy, and although his stamina was impressive, maintaining a hundred of them at once was far too taxing.
He estimated he could only hold off Garp and Sengoku for another ten minutes before his strength gave out completely.
Under the relentless assault of Kaoru's one hundred shadow clones, Garp and Sengoku could do nothing but defend. No matter how they struck, their fists passed through his illusions.
Ten long minutes later, Kaoru felt his strength drain away.
It's over, he thought grimly.
As the thought crossed his mind, all his clones vanished into mist.
"Whoosh…"
Kaoru gripped his sword and thrust it into the deck to steady himself, half kneeling as he gasped for breath. He didn't even have the strength to stand.
"Boy, looks like your ability only lasts fifteen minutes."
"Die, brat!"
Garp clenched his fists and charged straight at Kaoru.
It's really over this time.
"Garp, enough!"
Even while fighting Zephyr, Newgate had been keeping an eye on Kaoru's side of the battle. When he saw the exhausted young man who had single-handedly held off Garp and Sengoku, he couldn't hide his shock.
But when Kaoru fell to one knee, Newgate gathered the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit into his bisento, Kusanagiri, sending Zephyr flying backward. In the next instant, he leapt between Kaoru and Garp, coating his weapon in Armament Haki to block Garp's incoming punch. The impact threw Garp back several steps.
"Thanks… Newgate," Kaoru said weakly.
"Gurarara! Don't mention it, kid. Stay back and let me handle this."
"Newgate, you're getting cocky," Zephyr growled, stepping up beside Garp and Sengoku. "You think you can take on the three of us alone?"
"Gurarara… Let's find out."
Newgate poured the full might of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit into Kusanagiri and swung. The very air shattered like glass.
Waves erupted around them, the sea itself roaring in protest.
"Newgate, you idiot! You'll sink us both—devil fruit users can't swim!" Zephyr shouted in disbelief.
"Gurarara! I'm done playing with you."
Laughing, Newgate scooped Kaoru into his arms and turned away.
"Wait, kid—what's your name?" Garp called out as they retreated.
"Kaoru… Kaoru Tsubasa," he managed to say.
"Kaoru Tsubasa, huh? I'll remember that!"
Newgate leapt back onto Rocks' ship and shouted toward the Golden Lion. "Shiki!"
"I got it!" Shiki replied.
Using his Float-Float Fruit powers, Shiki raised the massive ship high into the sky. The surviving members of the Rocks Pirates, recognizing Newgate's signal, quickly returned to the vessel. The rest—mere cannon fodder—were left behind.
"Wahahahahahaha!"
Rocks soared into the air, a young man slung over his shoulder. Even from a distance, Kaoru could see who it was—Kaido, though still young and far from the monstrous emperor he would one day become.
"Let's move out, Shiki!" Rocks barked.
"Understood!"
Kaoru leaned against the wall of the deck as Newgate set him down. He insisted he was fine—just exhausted—and didn't need to rest below deck. His gaze drifted toward Kaido, who stood silently near Rocks. The future Emperor of Beasts had yet to eat the Fish-Fish Fruit and was just an unusually burly youth for now.
Meanwhile, aboard the Navy flagship…
"Did Rocks escape?"
A towering man with white, spiked hair and a Marine Marshal's coat frowned. This was Commander-in-Chief Kong.
"Yes," Sengoku replied grimly. "After Rocks fled into Winter Island, Garp and I were delayed by a boy."
"A boy?"
"If that brat hadn't used those strange powers, I'd have killed him with one punch," Garp said, picking his nose casually.
"Garp, you idiot!" Sengoku snapped, furious.
He wasn't angry about the casualties—those were expected in a battle with the Rocks Pirates—but at the fact that Garp had gone off chasing Kaoru, giving Rocks the chance to escape.
Kong cut them off sharply. "Enough. Our priority now is to stop Rocks. His next target might be the God Valley."
Sengoku's eyes widened. "God Valley? You think he's going after the Celestial Dragons?"
"I'm afraid so," Kong said. "After all, Rocks carries the D name."
Sengoku froze. "Wait… that boy we fought—he was a D too, wasn't he?"
"Oh, that kid?" Garp nodded. "Yeah, Kaoru Tsubasa. Said his full name was Kaoru D. Tsubasa."
"Then he'll get a bounty too," Kong said firmly. "Start him off at one million berries—he's one of Rocks' crew."
The next day — aboard the Rocks Pirates' ship
"Hey, Kaoru!"
Kaoru was training when Newgate called out to him, waving a newspaper.
"What's up, Newgate?" he asked, curious.
"Take a look at this," Newgate said, handing him the paper.
Kaoru scanned the front page:
Captain of the Rocks Pirates: Rocks D. Xebec — Bounty: 5.5 billion berriesCrew Member: Whitebeard Edward Newgate — 2.8 billionCrew Member: Big Mom Charlotte Linlin — 2.6 billionCrew Member: Golden Lion Shiki — 2.6 billionCrew Member: Captain John — 1.9 billionCrew Member: Wang Zhi — 1.8 billionCrew Member: Silver Axe — 1.6 billionCrew Member: Flame Flower — 1.5 billion
"Congratulations, Newgate," Kaoru grinned. "Your bounty went up again."
Newgate laughed. "Gurarara! Look at the back, kid."
Kaoru turned the paper over—and froze.
There it was:
Crew Member: Speed Sword Ghost — Kaoru D. Tsubasa — Bounty: 1 million berries
Kaoru's eyes lit up. "My first bounty…"
"Gurarara! Looks like the Navy has acknowledged you, boy," Newgate said with a grin. "You've still got a long way to go, but this is a good start."
Kaoru smiled faintly. A bounty meant recognition—a mark that he had truly entered the world of pirates.
After chatting briefly, he returned to training. Strength was the only thing that mattered in this world, and he refused to fall behind.
As he practiced, a shadow loomed over him.
"You're Kaoru, right?"
Kaoru turned to see Kaido standing there, a spiked mace slung over his shoulder.
"And you must be the kid Rocks brought back yesterday," Kaoru said. He already knew who Kaido was, but it was better to act ignorant. On the Rocks' ship, revealing too much could be dangerous.
"My name's Kaido," the boy said simply. "Fight me."
Kaoru blinked. "You want to fight me? Heh… sure, why not?"
He smiled wryly. The future Beast Emperor wants to spar already…
But then he paused, curiosity flashing in his eyes. "Kaido, do you know what Armament Haki is?"
"Armament what?" Kaido tilted his head, utterly lost.
Kaoru sighed. "As I thought—you've never even heard of it."
He extended his right hand, coating it in glossy black Haki. "This is Armament Haki."
Kaido frowned. "What's it for?"
Kaoru chuckled. "You'll see. Try hitting my hand with your mace."
"You sure?" Kaido hesitated. Despite his fighting spirit, he didn't actually want to hurt Kaoru.
"Go on, it's fine," Kaoru said with a grin.
He couldn't help but laugh. Who would've thought the future Emperor of the Seas would be this hesitant?