Whitebeard: This Guy's Really Going All Out

"I also crave battle!"

Ares answered Ochoku excitedly. The earlier fight with Kaido and the Rocks Pirates had given him a slight boost in strength—far faster than his usual mountain-crushing training.

He walked to the shore, leaped up, and with a plop plunged straight into the sea, splashing a spray of water!

Ochoku stared dumbfounded, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. He hurriedly shouted at Ares in the water: "Ares!!"

"What the hell are you jumping into the sea for?!!"

"Come aboard the ship with me!!"

He was deeply astonished by Ares's actions, even wondering if Ares had lost his mind.

Jumping straight into the sea like that!

"No!"

Ares poked his head out of the water, his entire body submerged, and said to Ochoku on the shore: "You all take the ship. I'll swim in the sea and follow along!"

The cool seawater seeped into his skin, giving him a sensation of comfort and freedom.

Watching Ares in the water, Ochoku couldn't help but feel a measure of admiration. He said again: "Ares, if you can't hold on, remember to come aboard anytime!"

This kid Ares was truly a training maniac.

He wouldn't even stay on the ship, choosing instead to swim in the sea—what a "freak" of a creature.

"I understand." Ares replied flatly, then floated on the surface.

Ochoku shook his head, musing to himself: "There's a reason he can become a monster."

"This guy is really ruthless with himself."

He couldn't help but recall the scene earlier when Ares had actively taken Kaido's punch, throwing his own body straight into the line of fire.

A madman!!

Meanwhile, the various division commanders had returned to the shore with their men.

Seeing Ares in the sea, Whitebeard's face showed surprise, and he quickly asked Ochoku: "Ochoku, why is Ares in the water?"

He wasn't the only one curious.

Shiki the Golden Lion, Charlotte Linlin, and the other pirates all turned to Ochoku with looks demanding an explanation.

Ochoku curled his lip and said: "It wasn't me who put him in the sea—he jumped in himself."

"He doesn't want to stay on the ship. He wants to swim in the sea to train himself and follow our voyage!"

As for him, he could never do something like that.

It was too crazy, too much self-torture.

He'd rather go back to his cabin on the ship, take off this heavy armor, and sleep.

Hearing Ochoku's explanation, a glint of admiration flashed in Whitebeard's eyes, and he couldn't help but praise: "No wonder this guy got so strong—he's thinking about training all the time."

"This guy... he really gives it his all!"

The regret and disappointment in Whitebeard's heart grew even more pronounced. If only Ares had joined his division.

He was thirty-two this year. Having lost his family as a child, Whitebeard yearned for kinship.

Seeing a brat like Ares, feelings and thoughts naturally stirred within him.

That thought wasn't: swordplay!

It was a feeling and impulse to make Ares part of his family. As his age crept up, this desire in his heart grew stronger and stronger.

Shiki couldn't help but take a sharp drag on his cigar, the ember flaring bright, and said in admiration: "Ares is only fourteen or fifteen."

"If this guy keeps growing, just how terrifying will he become?"

Ares already had immense talent, and on top of that, he trained and tempered himself so relentlessly.

A normal person's peak was usually around forty or fifty, and Ares still had at least thirty or forty years before reaching that peak.

If Ares kept this up, combined with his terrifying talent and potential, Shiki really couldn't guess just how fearsome this guy's future would be.

"Who cares how fearsome he is! The stronger he gets, the more I like him!!" Linlin licked her bright red lips excitedly.

Watching Ares floating on the sea, his bronze, bulging muscles, Linlin's mind couldn't help but start fantasizing...

A flush spread across her cheeks.

A hint of daze involuntarily surfaced in her eyes.

Though it was just an illusion, it delighted her!

Then Rocks arrived, a smirk curling at the corner of his mouth. He said to Ares in the sea: "Ares, whenever you get tired, just come aboard and rest."

"I'll have someone arrange a cabin for you!"

With that, he stepped onto the gangplank.

The other members of the Rocks Pirates also cast looks of admiration at Ares. This was something they had never seen before.

Having them swim alongside the ship through the sea—probably no one would be willing.

There were all kinds of ferocious beasts in the ocean too, making it a very troublesome affair.

Putting himself in that position, that kid Ares was truly insane and reckless.

Kaido, who arrived later, also witnessed this scene, and his face immediately changed drastically.

His expression shifted between gloom and brightness, and after holding it in for a good while, he finally said heavily, "I won't lose to him!!"

He had originally planned to go back to the ship to rest, but now he intended to return to the ship to train instead!

He gritted his teeth and squeezed out a few words: "Absolutely not!"

Turning around, he stepped onto the ship's ladder.

A bout of internal competition had officially begun.

"Weigh anchor!!"

"Hoist the sails!!"

The massive pirate ship began sailing across the sea, while Ares followed behind this enormous pirate vessel by swimming.

Except for resting and eating, Ares spent all his time in the sea.

Five days passed in the blink of an eye, and Ares's persistence had won over most of the pirates on the ship.

At the port of Hachinosu Island.

Dozens of various ships, large and small, were docked along the vast harbor.

Most belonged to the affiliated pirate crews of the Rocks Pirates, while a small portion were trades run by underground dark forces.

As the island with the highest concentration of pirates in the New World, its underworld was extremely complex.

And Rocks was very lenient with the behavior of these pirate crews, because he believed that only those with strong power could obtain everything!

Women, treasure, fine wine, territory...

As long as you were strong enough and could hold onto it, it was yours!

On this island, dark events like assassinations and robberies were happening all the time.

As the massive pirate ship slowly docked, countless eyes from all over the port turned to watch.

All because of those words: "Rocks Pirates"!

At that moment, standing at the port was an extremely tall woman, at least three or four meters in height.

Her attire was bold and provocative—a tight leopard-print outfit that accentuated every curve of her body.

Protruding in front, curving behind, with ample capital!

Her lips were painted a deep red, and she wore a pair of sunglasses.

In her hands, she held a large bouquet of bright red roses.