The news of the Rocks Pirates' explosive growth was like a giant boulder dropped into the sea, sending ripples of unease across the world that lingered for weeks.
But for the crew of the Oro Jackson, life seemed to return to its usual rhythm. Their days were a simple three-part symphony of navigation, training, and feasting.
On this particular day, the sea was calm and the sun was warm, as if the ocean itself were dozing under the clear blue sky.
"Fleet spotted ahead!" Dolinger's voice suddenly shouted from the crow's nest, shattering the peace.
The leisurely atmosphere on deck vanished in an instant. In a matter of seconds, every crew member was at their battle station, weapons at the ready.
Kyle squinted, his eyes tracing the line of massive ships cutting through the waves on the horizon. The vessels were all different shapes and sizes, but they shared a fierce, intimidating aura. The flag flying from their masts was the same ferocious skull that had been making headlines in the recent newspapers.
It was the Rocks Pirates.
The fleet didn't try to surround them, nor did they open fire. The lead ship, a colossal vessel, simply sailed forward until it came to a stop a hundred meters from the Oro Jackson.
Standing at the front of their deck was a familiar face: the Golden Lion, Shiki. Beside him stood a tall woman with long, flowing pink hair, who was impatiently stuffing a huge piece of cake into her mouth. Next to her was a silent man encased in full-body armor and carrying a massive silver axe, and another man dressed in flamboyant clothes with two swords at his waist.
Golden Lion Shiki, Charlotte Linlin, Silver Axe, and Captain John—each one was a legend whose bounty poster alone was enough to send a chill down a Marine's spine.
"Gyahahaha! Roger, long time no see!" Shiki spread his arms, his posture as arrogant as ever, as if he hadn't been the one fleeing for his life the last time they met. "Looks like your little ship hasn't fallen apart yet."
Roger leaned on his sword, a wide grin on his face. "Shiki. Your head still looks like a pineapple. What's the matter, didn't you learn your lesson last time? Did you have to bring friends to get your revenge?"
"Mamamama..." Charlotte Linlin swallowed the last bite of her cake, licking her lips as her greedy eyes swept over Roger's ship. "Stop wasting time with pointless chatter, Shiki!"
Shiki ignored her, his condescending gaze locked on Roger. "Roger, our captain, Rocks, has taken an interest in you. He appreciates your strength and has decided to offer you a chance. Join us, and become a cornerstone of his plan to rule the world!"
The entire deck fell silent.
"Pfft—" Roger looked as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world. He tried to hold it in for a second before bursting into an earth-shaking laugh. "Kuhahaha! Me? Be someone's subordinate? Don't make me laugh! I didn't set sail to take orders from anyone!"
The smile on Shiki's face vanished, replaced by a dark, stormy expression. "So, that's a refusal?"
"What do you think?" Roger lifted his sword, Ace, from his shoulder, its tip aimed directly at his rival.
"Then you leave us no choice!"
Before his words had even finished echoing across the water, Shiki drew his twin blades, Oto and Kogarashi. The sea beneath him surged upwards, forming two gigantic lion heads that roared as they lunged at the Oro Jackson.
"You want a fight? You'll get one!" Roger laughed loudly as his figure vanished. In the next instant, he reappeared in mid-air, his sword Ace crackling with the black and red lightning of Conqueror's Haki as he brought it down on Shiki's blades.
"God Avoidance!"
BOOM!
The sky itself seemed to crack as black and red lightning exploded from the point of impact. A terrifying shockwave slammed into the sea, pressing a massive crater into the surface of the water.
"Alright, boys! Let's go!" Jabba roared, hoisting his battle-axe and leaping towards the enemy ship to confront the silent Silver Axe.
Rayleigh drew his own sword, his figure becoming a blur as he skimmed across the sea to intercept Captain John just as he was about to draw his weapons. Their blades met in a flurry of sparks, their movements too fast to follow.
And standing before Kyle was a future Emperor of the Sea, Charlotte Linlin.
"Mamamama, you think a little brat like you can stand in my way?" Linlin's left hand ignited with a ball of soul-fire, while her right hand grasped a crackling thundercloud.
Kyle stared at the woman in front of him. She was tall and imposing, but her figure was still relatively well-proportioned. He had prepared himself for this, but a single, frantic thought was scrolling through his mind. This is Charlotte Linlin? The future Big Mom? Where is the mountain-sized monster from the wanted posters? Did she have a growth spurt later in life or something?
"Boy, what are you spacing out for?!" Linlin roared, furious that he seemed distracted. The soul-fire in her left hand coalesced into the living fireball, Prometheus, who shot towards him.
"Sorry, I was just pondering the mysteries of biology," Kyle replied, snapping back to attention. He aimed his right hand at the incoming fireball and unleashed a focused, invisible wave of infrared energy. "Heatwave Breath!"
The two scorching forces collided, creating a ripple of heat that distorted the very air between them.
"Thundercloud! Divine Punishment!" Linlin waved her right hand, and the thundercloud, Zeus, unleashed a thick bolt of lightning directly at Kyle.
Instead of retreating, Kyle stepped forward, releasing a powerful electromagnetic wave from his palm that met the lightning head-on. The two energies crackled and fought against each other with a piercing shriek before canceling each other out.
"A little interesting!" Linlin grinned, drawing the longsword she wore as a captain's hat, Napoleon, and swinging it in a powerful horizontal slash.
Kyle didn't dodge. The moment the blade struck his defensive wave, a circular sonic boom erupted between them, the recoil forcing them both back several steps.
The battle instantly escalated. The clash of Roger and Shiki's Haki was tearing the sky apart. The sword fight between Rayleigh and Captain John was churning the sea into a frenzy. The power struggle between Jabba and Silver Axe made the very deck of the ship groan under the strain.
Kyle's fight with Charlotte Linlin had become a chaotic clash of Devil Fruit abilities. The flames from Prometheus could melt steel, and the lightning from Zeus could split the heavens, but Kyle's Wave-Wave Fruit always seemed to have an answer. With every collision, however, Kyle felt like he was running into a mountain clad in Haki. Charlotte Linlin's natural defense was absurd; her body was like a fortress, and her Armament Haki was as dense as solid steel.
This is ridiculous, Kyle thought as his "Sonic Fist - Blast Punch" landed squarely on her, only managing to push her back half a step. Her durability is off the charts. Fighting her head-on is a losing battle.
"Mamamama... Your powers are interesting, brat, but it's like you're just tickling me!" Linlin sneered, swinging Napoleon. The blade, now wreathed in both fire and lightning, carried the force of a natural disaster with every swing.
Kyle was forced to use "Light Illusion Mirage" to dodge, his figure darting across the deck, leaving a trail of afterimages. Clashing with her is suicide. I need a different opponent.
His gaze swept across the battlefield. An idea sparked in his mind. While clumsily dodging a powerful slash from Linlin, he yelled across the deck, "JABBA!"
Jabba, who was locked in a brutal contest of strength with the "iron can," heard his name. He glanced over and saw Kyle being chased all over the deck by Linlin. He couldn't help but let out a booming laugh. "Ha! Kyle, are you even trying? You can't even handle one woman?"
"Yeah, yeah, you're so tough!" Kyle shot back, not missing a beat. "Why don't you come try it, then? Unless you're afraid you'll throw your back out, old man!"
"Interesting! I'll take her on!" Jabba's fighting spirit was completely ignited. He forced Silver Axe back with a mighty swing and launched himself towards Charlotte Linlin like a cannonball.
"Mamamama... Another one wants to die!" Linlin immediately switched her focus from Kyle and met Jabba's charge with excitement.
BOOM!
The great axe and the elemental longsword collided, unleashing a shockwave several times greater than anything Kyle had produced.
Nice one, Jabba-san! Kyle thought. He seized the opportunity, using a "Sonic Step - Instant" to appear directly in front of Silver Axe. He looked at the man, who was covered from head to toe in thick armor, and a cunning smile spread across his face.
"So, you're the iron can, huh?" Kyle said, stretching his wrists. "Good. I love opening cans."
Silver Axe said nothing. He simply raised his weapon, clearly unimpressed by the seemingly scrawny young man before him. He charged forward, each heavy footstep leaving a deep dent in the wooden deck.
Kyle didn't move. He stood his ground and closed his eyes. An invisible, low-frequency hum began to emanate from him, so quiet it was almost imperceptible beneath the chaos of the battle.
Just as Silver Axe's weapon was about to come crashing down, Kyle slowly raised his hand, palm facing the charging knight.
"Resonance... Collapse!"
There was no explosion, no dazzling flash of light. Only a single, grating crunch.
Silver Axe stopped dead in his tracks. He looked down in disbelief to see a spiderweb of cracks spreading across his proud, custom-made armor. The cracks grew at a visible rate, branching out from his chest plate to his arms and legs, the metal groaning as if in agony.
"How... is this possible?" a hoarse, shocked voice came from beneath the helmet.
"Did you hear it?" Kyle asked, opening his eyes. He gave a sharp snap of his fingers. "...The sound of destruction."
CRACK!
With a final, loud shatter, the sturdy armor all over Silver Axe's body disintegrated, turning into countless fragments that clattered to the deck. The man underneath, now completely exposed, could only stare in utter incomprehension, unable to process how his greatest defense had been so easily destroyed.
Kyle gave his hand a little shake, as if brushing off dust. "Come on, Mr. Can," he said with a grin. "Let's play fair."
The sudden battle had been more of a test of strength than a true fight to the death.
"Gyahahaha! That's enough!" Shiki shouted, forcing Roger back with a slash and disengaging to hover in the air. "Interesting! Roger, you've got some decent fighters on your ship!"
Charlotte Linlin also recalled Prometheus and Zeus, licking her lips as if she was still hungry for more. Jabba and Rayleigh ceased fighting and returned to the Oro Jackson.
"Consider this a greeting," Shiki announced, looking down at them from above. "Rocks is waiting for the world's strongest fighters at Hachinosu. Think about our offer, Roger. Don't be so quick to refuse. The next time we meet, we won't be so friendly!"
With that, the Rocks Pirates' fleet turned and sailed away, leaving as suddenly as they had arrived.
"Kuhahaha!" Roger sheathed his sword and burst into a loud, carefree laugh. "What an interesting bunch of guys!"
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