Chapter 10: Rocks Instantly Defeats Newgate[1]
As Rocks' domineering voice rang out, even though Newgate had already expected it, hearing the result still made him feel deeply uncomfortable.
Uharu, bruised and battered from the slam, acted dead with his face buried in the dirt, even scraping a bit of soil up to cover both sides of his face.
He no longer had the courage to meet Newgate's eyes.
"Even if Captain Uharu has already lost me, I still want to challenge you as a combatant of the Whale Pirates!"
"If I win, I'll win myself back. If I lose, then from today onward I'll willingly become your crewmate."
"Are you willing to accept this game?!"
Newgate refused to let others control his future like this. He stared coldly at Rocks.
He wanted to fight destiny with his own fists.
"Wororororo! You've got guts. As expected of the fated top officer of the Rocks Pirates!"
"I accept!"
"You still choose the event and the rules. I'll make you lose so completely you can't complain!"
Rocks laughed broadly, already sensing Newgate's astonishing spirit.
This guy had the qualities of a king.
Maybe this eighteen-year-old young giant, Edward Newgate, would awaken Conqueror's Haki even faster than Akane.
Akane's mind was still too cluttered.
Too much focus was placed on Devil Fruits.
That wasn't good for awakening the three types of Haki.
Looks like Akane needed more "discipline."
More daily beatdowns to squeeze out Akane's potential.
Rocks couldn't even imagine what Akane would become one day with nine Devil Fruit abilities and all three types of Haki.
Of course, with that many abilities and also having to train three types of Haki, could Akane really master it all?
A person's energy was limited. It was hard to be excellent at everything.
Knowing a little about everything often meant being mediocre at everything.
...
"Just fighting! Let me see how strong the world's most evil pirate really is!"
Edward Newgate activated his Tremor-Tremor Fruit, and a transparent glowing sphere formed around his fist.
At this time, Newgate still hadn't obtained the Supreme Grade Blade Murakumogiri.
His fists and the Tremor-Tremor power were his strongest methods of attack.
"Wororororo! So it really is the Tremor-Tremor power, hailed as the Paramecia with the greatest destructive force!"
"Let's see how much of that power you can actually bring out!"
Rocks laughed wildly. As a descendant of the Davy clan, just like Teach in the future, he had long memorized the Devil Fruit encyclopedia and knew a great deal about most Devil Fruit abilities.
Just as Akane had foreseen, Edward Newgate truly possessed this terrifying Tremor-Tremor power.
Rocks simply didn't understand why Akane didn't covet the Tremor-Tremor power and instead wanted the Magnet-Magnet power.
Was it really only because Captain John would betray the Rocks Pirates in the future, and that was why Akane targeted the Magnet-Magnet power?
Looks like Akane still had some principles and decency, and hadn't been treating Rocks as nothing but muscle.
At least Akane was thinking a bit about the crew's growth.
...
"Tremor Sky!"
"Hell—Cannon Roar!"
Newgate attacked first, hurling a震荡拳, while Rocks swung a saber with one hand and unleashed the terrifying shockwave of his Cannon Roar sword technique.
Boom!!!
The tremor wave and the shockwave sword energy collided violently.
In an instant, the ground split, the sea surface overturned, and the impact airwaves expanded outward in rings at extreme speed...
The terrifying destruction made Babel and Sanbel stare with their eyes wide.
This destructive power was absurd!
Uharu had assumed Newgate had already surpassed him, but he never imagined Newgate had become this strong.
So Newgate had been hiding most of his fighting strength!
He suddenly felt envy and jealousy toward the Devil Fruit Newgate had eaten by chance.
In just a few short years, Newgate had completely surpassed him and become countless times stronger.
"Ugh—!"
Edward Newgate was still too young. He was no match for Rocks.
After only one or two seconds of deadlock,
Newgate was blasted away by Rocks' Cannon Roar sword technique and spat out a massive mouthful of blood.
His young giant body flew hundreds of meters, gouging a deep trench into the ground.
It was even more outrageous than Roger instantly dropping Kozuki Oden with a single Divine Departure.
"Rocks is always brutal!"
Akane complained. After being beaten badly by Rocks these days, Akane understood that deeply.
This brute would hit even kids like Loki hard, and would even viciously stab Loki with long blades without a shred of mercy.
Newgate's eyes were filled with shock and disbelief.
Rocks' strength was far beyond his imagination!
"Wororororo! Not bad. You can take one of my moves. You're way stronger than that stinking brat Akane!"
Rocks was extremely satisfied with Newgate's power and ability, and immediately approved of this new member.
"Heh. Why drag me into it? And who was it that met Imu and only dared to talk tough before running away?"
Akane didn't like being singled out and muttered back.
"Brat, you want to taste my Supreme Elbow Strike again?!"
Rocks glared viciously at Akane.
Does he not need dignity?
Why bring that up!
...
Faced with Rocks' elbow warning, Akane decisively shut up.
That Supreme Elbow Strike truly hurt.
It was probably dozens of times worse than Garp's Fist of Love.
It didn't just carry Armament Haki—it even used Conqueror's coating.
This brute always struck that hard, with no restraint at all.
Ignoring Rocks' mocking gaze, Akane flew over to Newgate and used gravity to lift the injured Newgate into the air.
"Hey, you okay? This captain always hits that hard. He even kills Navy admirals—this is just normal for him."
"From now on, we're partners."
"If you're willing to call me big brother, then from now on we're family!"
Akane spoke casually, taking the initiative to raise Newgate's goodwill.
Since Newgate wasn't going to be killed to seize the Tremor-Tremor power, becoming good friends and true partners with someone as loyal as Newgate seemed like a good choice.
After all, Newgate valued loyalty and bonds.
"You little brat want to be my big brother? No chance!"
Newgate coughed up blood and spoke with irritation.
But his attitude toward Akane had clearly softened.
Partner, family—those were exactly what he had always wanted.
"This is Fish-Man Island medicine."
Akane handed Newgate some medicine. With Newgate's huge body, calling Akane "big brother" really would feel awkward.
"Thanks."
Newgate didn't refuse. This kid who could "command" Rocks was strange enough to make Newgate curious.
"Is that your ability?"
Newgate felt himself floating as if weightless. The sensation was oddly comfortable.
"Paramecia: gravity power. A pretty good Paramecia."
Akane smiled faintly. The gravity power Akane developed was more refined, with many practical everyday techniques.
[1](https://onepiece.fandom.com/wiki/Rocks_D._Xebec)