Chapter Summaries

Ares trained by smashing into a mountain on Alabara, determined to make his body the world's strongest sword. Meanwhile, the Rocks Pirates landed on the island to plunder it, and Rocks D. Zebek spoke of expanding his crew and claiming more territory.

• Villagers complained that Ares's relentless training was shaking the island and threatening to destroy its mountains.
• Ares repeatedly charged into a cliff until he brought down the mountain, then decided his training no longer strengthened him enough.
• Ares vowed to forge a blade beyond the Twelve Supreme Grade Swords with his own body and declared himself the world's strongest and hardest sword.
• Golden Lion Shiki, Whitebeard Newgate, Charlotte Linlin, and the other Rocks Pirates arrived at Alabara to plunder it.
• Rocks D. Zebek said he wanted to draw out his crew's hidden strength, recruit more powerful fighters, and gain more territory.

Rocks declared his ambition to conquer the New World as the Rocks Pirates looted a village. When Ares arrived dragging a gigantic tiger, the pirates recognized him as a powerful fighter and Rocks considered whether he might join them.

• Rocks announced that he intended to seize the New World and become king of all pirates, while Captain John praised his growing power.
• Shiki the Golden Lion and the other Rocks Pirates ransacked the village, killing and terrorizing its residents while collecting treasure.
• Rocks arrived with Captain John, praised the haul, and told the pirates to follow their usual rules for dividing it.
• The pirates spotted Ares dragging a huge tiger and reacted with shock, while Shiki, Whitebeard Newgate, Charlotte Linlin, and Captain John took interest in his strength.
• Rocks watched Ares with interest as an elderly villager called on him to stop the pirates.

Ares asked Rocks D. Zebek how to forge himself into the world’s sharpest and hardest blade, and Rocks said that constant battle was the way. Ares challenged Rocks to fight, drawing laughter and interest from the Rocks Pirates.

• An old man begged Ares to save his village from the Rocks Pirates, but the pirates mocked him.
• Ares asked Rocks D. Zebek how to forge a person into the sharpest and hardest blade in the world.
• Whitebeard Newgate and Shiki the Golden Lion reacted with interest, while Linlin openly admired Ares’s physique.
• Rocks told Ares that constant battles and tempering could make him an indestructible blade.
• Ares accepted Rocks’s answer and challenged him to fight, startling and amusing the pirates.

Kaido stepped in to stop Ares from challenging Rocks and struck him with a powerful punch. Ares flew dozens of meters into the dirt, leaving the onlookers laughing while Shiki the Golden Lion and Whitebeard watched with interest.

• Silver Axe and Ochoku doubted that Ares could match Linlin, though Ochoku acknowledged his potential.
• Kaido stepped forward and offered to be Ares’s opponent, and Rocks agreed to let him test Ares’s strength.
• Kaido told Ares he would teach him a lesson and threw a heavy punch.
• Ares was sent flying by Kaido’s punch and crashed to the ground as the pirates laughed at him.
• Shiki the Golden Lion and Whitebeard exchanged intrigued looks.

Ares survived Kaido’s punch without injury and studied its technique, impressing the Rocks Pirates and drawing Whitebeard and Golden Lion into a wager over the fight. Ares faced Kaido again and declared that Kaido’s punch still was not strong enough.

• Streusen, Linlin, Whitebeard, and Golden Lion reacted with interest as Ares emerged from the smoke after Kaido’s punch.
• Ares explained that Kaido’s punch had made his body tremble and analyzed its force as a way to train himself.
• The Rocks Pirates were stunned that Ares had taken Kaido’s punch without injury, and Kaido began treating him as a serious opponent.
• Whitebeard bet one hundred million Berries on Ares, while Golden Lion wagered on Kaido.
• Ares stopped in front of Kaido and told him that his punch still was not strong enough.

Ares defeated Kaido with a single punch, impressing the Rocks Pirates and drawing the attention of Whitebeard and Golden Lion. Rocks praised Ares as a promising talent, while Golden Lion decided he wanted the boy in his Division.

• Kaido angrily attacked Ares with his spiked club, but Ares leaped onto it and struck Kaido in the face, knocking him down with one punch.
• Ares said Kaido's technique had made his punch stronger, while the pirates stared in shock at Kaido's defeat.
• Rocks praised Ares's reflexes, strength, and will, and laughed at the prospect of recruiting him as a future officer.
• Whitebeard celebrated winning a hundred million Berries from Golden Lion, who reluctantly admitted defeat and declared that he wanted Ares in his Division.

Ares challenged Rocks after defeating Kaido, eager to grow stronger through battle. Rocks sent him flying with one punch, then declared that Ares would join the Rocks Pirates as a full-fledged crew member.

• Ares ignored Kaido and demanded a fight with Rocks, while the surrounding pirates gathered to watch.
• Rocks agreed to fight Ares on the condition that Ares would join the Rocks Pirates if he lost.
• Ares charged Rocks with a powerful punch, but Rocks stopped it with one blow and sent him flying hundreds of meters.
• Rocks told Captain John to take Ares back to the ship and announced that Ares was joining as a full-fledged crew member.

Rocks named Ares an official crew member, prompting Whitebeard, Shiki the Golden Lion, and Linlin to compete over recruiting him. As John escorted Ares, the others realized he had survived Rocks’s punch, while Ares began imitating the technique that had struck him.

• Shiki praised Rocks’s decision to make Ares an official crew member, and Whitebeard asked for Ares to join his Division.
• Shiki challenged Whitebeard for Ares, and the two argued over who would recruit him.
• Linlin declared that she had set her sights on Ares, and Whitebeard and Shiki refused to give him up.
• John cried out when he found Ares standing with only a trace of blood at his mouth, and Streusen, Ochoku, and Silver Axe marveled that he had survived Rocks’s punch.
• As John walked beside him, Ares replayed Rocks’s punch in his mind and began imitating it, frightening John with his ability to learn.

Ares studied and imitated Rocks’s punch after defeating Kaido, impressing the Rocks Pirates with his rapid growth. After agreeing to join the crew, Ares was assigned to follow Ochoku while Whitebeard, Golden Lion, and Linlin argued over him.

• Ares repeatedly imitated Rocks’s punch, and Silver Axe and Captain John marveled at his talent and learning ability.
• Kaido regained consciousness, challenged Ares to another fight, and Linlin stopped him, telling him to accept his loss and grow stronger.
• Linlin declared that Ares was the man she wanted, while Whitebeard and Golden Lion also tried to recruit him into their Divisions.
• Rocks asked Ares to join the Rocks Pirates, and Ares accepted so he could become stronger through battle.
• Whitebeard, Golden Lion, and Linlin argued over Ares, and Rocks ordered them to stop and assigned Ares to follow Ochoku for the time being.

Rocks assigned Ares to Ochoku’s division to balance the crew, then learned from a villager about Ares’s obsessive training and his swordsmith father. As the Rocks Pirates prepared to sail, Kaido vowed to train harder, while Ochoku welcomed Ares aboard and urged him to grow quickly.

• Rocks assigned Ares to Ochoku, and Whitebeard, Golden Lion, and Linlin reacted to losing the chance to recruit him.
• Rocks questioned an old villager, who explained that Ares’s father had been a famous swordsmith and that Ares began extreme training after his father died and a Famous Sword was taken.
• Rocks praised Ares’s potential and ordered the pirates to set sail, while Kaido resolved to undergo hellish training so he could beat Ares next time.
• Ochoku showed Ares the crew’s enormous ship and welcomed him as an official member of the Rocks Pirates.

Ares chose to swim alongside the Rocks Pirates’ ship as a way to train, earning the admiration of the crew and prompting Kaido to begin training harder as well. After five days at sea, the ship reached Hachinosu Island, where a tall woman waited at the port with a bouquet of roses.

• Ares refused Ochoku’s offer to board the ship and jumped into the sea to swim alongside it while training.
• Whitebeard, Golden Lion, Linlin, and Rocks admired Ares’s dedication, while Whitebeard regretted that Ares would not join his division.
• Kaido, inspired by Ares, returned to the ship determined not to lose and began training harder.
• The Rocks Pirates’ ship sailed for five days as Ares swam behind it, stopping only to rest and eat.
• The ship docked at Hachinosu Island, where a tall woman in a leopard-print outfit waited at the port holding roses.

Ares arrived at the Rocks Pirates’ stronghold on Hachinosu Island, where Ochoku gave him a room and showed him the training area. The next morning, Ares headed there and began tempering his body with heavy iron blows.

• Bagin returned to confess her love to Whitebeard, who hid from her while Golden Lion teased him.
• Ares emerged from the sea at Hachinosu, and Ochoku took him to Skull Castle and gave him a room as an official member of the Rocks Pirates.
• Ares asked Ochoku for a place to train and was taken to the training room after changing clothes.
• Before dawn, Ares passed Silver Axe leaving a brothel, then went to the training room and struck his body with a heavy iron bar.

Ares endured brutal self-inflicted training while recalling fragments of a past life and resolving to forge himself into a sword greater than the Twelve Kizuki of the Supreme Great Sword. Ochoku was stunned by Ares's training and pointed him toward Shiki the Golden Lion for swordsmanship.

• As Ares struck his body with an iron rod, pain brought back fleeting memories of a hospital and a life as Li Yang.
• Ares reflected on his father's dying wish and vowed to forge himself into a Famous Sword surpassing the Twelve Kizuki of the Supreme Great Sword.
• Ochoku found Ares training in the castle and watched him repeatedly batter his muscles with the iron rod.
• Ares asked Ochoku how else he could temper himself, and Ochoku named Shiki the Golden Lion as the crew's strongest swordsman.
• Ochoku left to avoid watching the painful training, and Ares decided to ask Shiki for help after he finished.

Ares sought advice from Shiki the Golden Lion on how to forge his body into a blade stronger than a Supreme Great Sword. Shiki explained that Armament Haki could temper a person’s body, leaving Ares eager to learn what it was.

• Ares finished his brutal training and stunned the pirates, then ate a huge meal before heading to find Shiki the Golden Lion.
• Shakky complained to Rocks that Ares’s food costs were enormous, but Rocks insisted the recruit’s potential made the expense worthwhile.
• Ares knocked on Shiki’s door while Shiki hurried Bagin out the back after promising to pay her fifty million Berries.
• Ares asked Shiki how to make a person surpass the Twelve Kizuki, the Supreme Great Swords.
• Shiki said a swordsman could use Haki to temper a blade into a Black Blade and that Armament Haki could make a person’s body strong enough to withstand Famous Swords.
• Ares excitedly asked Shiki what Armament Haki was.

Ares asked Golden Lion Shiki about Armament Haki, but Shiki made him drink rum first. Ares became drunk, drank several bottles, and accidentally sent Shiki crashing through a window and onto the street.

• Golden Lion Shiki invited Ares inside and promised to explain how to cultivate Armament Haki if he drank a bottle of rum.
• Ares drank the rum, discovered its intoxicating effects, and began gulping down more bottles.
• Golden Lion Shiki tried to stop Ares from drinking his treasured liquor, but Ares shoved him aside.
• Golden Lion Shiki crashed through a window and landed in the street, startling the gathered pedestrians.

After getting drunk on Shiki the Golden Lion’s liquor, Ares threw a destructive tantrum in Skull Castle and attacked Shiki. The fight spilled into the street, where Ares stood over Shiki and threatened to kill him.

• Ares’s drunken roar shattered Skull Castle’s windows, prompting Shiki to fly back and stop him before he destroyed the place.
• Shiki used Armament Haki to punch Ares through the room’s wall and buried him under rubble.
• Ares rose from the rubble and punched Shiki in the face, sending him crashing into the street.
• Shiki released Conqueror’s Haki to silence the onlookers, while Ares emerged and accused him of ambushing him.
• Ares called Shiki the Golden-Haired Lion and roared that he was going to die.

After Shiki the Golden Lion knocked the drunken Ares through a building, Ares emerged with his arm transformed into smoking red armor as he unconsciously imitated Armament Haki. The astonished Rocks Pirates watched the strange change, while Charlotte Linlin became infatuated with Ares.

• Shiki coated his fist in Armament Haki and punched Ares through a three-story building.
• Whitebeard teased Shiki, who explained that Ares had gotten drunk after Shiki offered him alcohol.
• Ares emerged from the ruins, dizzy and in pain, and recalled Shiki's powerful punches.
• Ares unconsciously imitated Shiki's Armament Haki, turning his arm vivid red as white smoke rose from it.
• Ochoku, Captain John, and Silver Axe wondered at Ares's smoking arm, while Charlotte Linlin grew excited by his unusual transformation.

Ares remained in a strange, frenzied state as his reddened arm let him fight Golden Lion evenly, shocking the pirates watching. Kaido overcame his despair at Ares’s strength and awakened Conqueror’s Haki, while Golden Lion called for Ares to wake up before he was forced to draw his swords.

• Linlin drooled at the sight of Ares, and the corrosive saliva sent nearby pirates fleeing in fear.
• Ares charged Golden Lion, and their Armament Haki clash shook the town as Golden Lion realized Ares had suddenly grown much stronger.
• Whitebeard and Captain John marveled at Ares’s fight, while Kaido felt his hopes of surpassing him fading.
• Kaido rejected the thought of giving up, declared his ambition to become the strongest, and released Conqueror’s Haki.
• Golden Lion’s arms grew numb from Ares’s strength, and he shouted for Ares to wake up, threatening to draw his swords.

Ares got drunk and fought Golden Lion until Whitebeard's punch sobered him up. Whitebeard and Golden Lion offered to cover the damage, then teased each other as the group headed back.

• Ares drunkenly traded powerful punches with Golden Lion, who called on Whitebeard to help subdue him.
• Whitebeard challenged Ares with a punch that drove him into the ground and cleared his head.
• Ares asked what had happened, and Whitebeard explained that he had gotten drunk.
• Golden Lion complained that Ares had drunk his finest liquor, while Ares awkwardly asked how much he owed for the destruction.
• Whitebeard and Golden Lion offered to cover the costs, and Whitebeard teased Golden Lion about being beaten by Ares.
• Captain John suggested they head back, while Whitebeard and Golden Lion traded threats about each other's hair.

Ares walked with Whitebeard and Golden Lion, drawing admiration from the pirates who saw how easily he had withstood Whitebeard’s punch. Charlotte Linlin tried to find a way to recruit him, Kaido brooded over how to catch up, and Golden Lion began explaining Armament Haki to Ares.

• Ares walked toward Skull Castle with Whitebeard and Golden Lion, while nearby pirates discussed his strength and status in the Rocks Pirates.
• Charlotte Linlin told Streusen to find a way to recruit Ares by appealing to his dream of becoming a Famous Sword.
• Kaido left in frustration, determined to train until he could surpass Ares, but Charlotte Linlin stopped him and offered to help him grow stronger if he satisfied her.
• Whitebeard and Golden Lion traded insults until Ares asked Golden Lion to explain Armament Haki.
• Golden Lion described Armament Haki’s uses, including hardening, emission, touching Logia users, and tempering a sword into a Black Blade, prompting Ares to ask what a Black Blade was.