The crew fights; the captain thinks up the plan!
Rocks didn't know when it happened, but he'd realized he now trusted Magnus to that degree.
Even though a voice in his heart kept warning him:
You can't keep going like this. If you do, you'll never surpass Magnus.
But right now—
Rocks didn't want to think about any of that.
Fight! Fight! Fight!
That was all he should be thinking!
"Tch. Even if you mutilate yourself, you think you can beat me with your level of strength?"
Having the glass dome over his head shattered left Kurt Saint humiliated.
A mere pirate had forced him to breathe the filthy air of the lower realm!
But Rocks could no longer hear a word Kurt was saying.
He only saw the man's lips move.
Without thinking too much, Rocks stamped the ground and launched with his most familiar opener.
"Soru!"
Without his Devil Fruit, Kurt Saint was no longer invincible in Rocks' eyes. Still, not all of his strength came from his fruit.
"Damn pirate!"
Bang!
Rocks' fist and Kurt's iron staff collided, both wrapped in Armament Haki—neither could overpower the other.
Rocks stepped in place—
And in an instant appeared behind Kurt.
"Stop!"
Kurt shouted on reflex, but Rocks didn't so much as pause, driving a kick into him and booting him away.
"So this is all a so-called god amounts to?"
Rocks laughed, gradually finding his original rhythm.
After mastering Observation Haki,
sound mattered little to a fighter at his level.
That's right—a fighter.
Months ago when Magnus returned, it had already been settled: Rocks had Great Pirate–class strength.
Even in the coming Great Pirate Era,
a pirate with a bounty over 100 million would be called a strong man!
He'd been miserable when Kurt had him under the thumb at first, but once he cracked the fruit's ability—
the situation flipped at once.
"I'm still not strong enough. If I were, I wouldn't need to injure myself to counter a Devil Fruit. Haki alone would be enough!"
Rocks stared at Kurt, eyes blazing.
"The captain was right—Devil Fruits are just flashy tricks."
"Only your own strength really matters!"
He picked up the short blade he'd dropped earlier.
"Demon Slash!"
Rocks looked like a fiend unleashed. He'd taken plenty of hits from Kurt and was already badly hurt—
but in this moment,
it was as if he'd forgotten pain.
"Brat, don't get cocky!"
Kurt's face flushed red. He was a Celestial Dragon, a member of the Holy Knights—how could he lose to a mere pirate?
Rocks, of course, couldn't hear him. He just laughed, and as the fight turned white-hot,
he laughed even louder.
"Ha—ha—ha!!!"
This was it—throwing life and death to the wind!
On the other side—
Seeing the Holy Knight who had just beaten them bloody now being pressed by Rocks, Newgate's spirits soared.
"Big Bro Rocks has the upper hand!"
He'd also seen how Rocks countered Kurt's ability.
So it's hearing, huh…
"I—"
"Newgate, leave this guy to me. Go back up Dean!"
Before Newgate could move, Rocks' voice carried over.
He couldn't hear, but he could tell exactly what Newgate intended to do.
And there was no need.
Without his fruit, this guy in front of him wasn't his match at all!
"Damn, damn, damn!"
Kurt wanted to tear Rocks to pieces, but he found he couldn't. He tried to rely on his "immortality" to suppress him, only to discover Rocks' style perfectly countered his—blocking, tying him up, leaving him looking utterly bedraggled.
In truth,
he couldn't hurt Rocks, and Rocks couldn't hurt him either.
But that was already shame enough.
"Foolish brat, you think this is my full power?"
Kurt shouted, cheeks burning with fury.
"I don't want to take on that ugly form, but I'll issue myself an order—be stronger, be faster!"
As his words fell, Rocks' face changed—Kurt's muscles swelled, his whole frame bulking up by a size.
"When I order myself, the strain on my body is enormous. Unfortunately for you, I'm immortal!"
Kurt grinned hideously.
"Die, brat!"
His staff cut the air with a sonic boom. Against a cur like this who dared defy Celestial Dragon rule, only overwhelming force would do!
Clang!
Staff and blade met again.
But this time,
Rocks' blade failed to stop the blow.
His sword—snapped!
It had only ever been an ordinary short knife, patched and repatched—Rocks usually fought with pure hand-to-hand rather than swordplay.
Fist or blade—it didn't matter much.
But a broken blade meant that no matter what part of his body he fought with,
the result would be the same.
Having strengthened himself by command, Kurt's power now exceeded what Rocks could handle.
Boom!
The staff smashed into Rocks, swatting him like a ragdoll through crowds and rubble.
"Big Bro Rocks!"
Newgate panicked at the sight, abandoning the zombies in front of him and sprinting toward Rocks.
But Kurt had no intention of watching idly.
"Kneel!"
He barked, and Newgate froze in place by sheer force of command.
Bang!
Kurt lashed him with the staff. After self-enhancement, in a head-on clash even a typical 200-million-class pirate might not beat him—let alone Newgate, who hadn't yet reached a solid 100-million level.
He planted Newgate's head under his boot.
"A bunch of lowborn trash making Lord Kurt work this hard!"
He cursed. Members of the Holy Knights weren't idle layabouts; even among Celestial Dragons their status was exalted—they could even judge other Celestial Dragons.
Only the strong qualified to join.
If a 100-million-class pirate could beat him, he might as well resign!
"Never thought an Admiral would defect. These lower-realm vermin truly can't be trusted—it falls to us."
"Damn it… get off me!"
Newgate struggled to rise, but though he was bigger than Kurt, their strength wasn't on the same scale at all.
"Newgate!"
Not far away, seeing Newgate down, Rocks felt a blaze ignite in his chest. As Kurt raised his staff, a power long suppressed finally erupted.
"STOP!!!"
An invisible pressure burst from Rocks, sweeping across the field in an instant. Even Kurt, about to strike, felt his face change as the wave hit him.
"Conqueror's Haki!?"
But his momentary shock passed, and he snorted.
"So what if it's Conqueror's? A Conqueror's Haki that can't even distinguish friend from foe is useless!"
And just as his words fell—
"Oh?"
A cruel chuckle rolled from the sky, and a massive hand dropped down,
grabbing Kurt by the head—
And slammed his face into the ground.
BOOOOOOOOOM!!!
"His doesn't work."
Black-red lightning raced over the entire Sabaody Archipelago.
"So how about mine?"
Magnus appeared before Newgate and Rocks.
"Alright, brats—time to run!"
(End of Chapter)
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