How to Forge Yourself into a Blade?

"Pirates?!"

Ares halted mid-step, his expression blank as he looked toward the old man.

Then he shifted his gaze to the group of pirates, almost muttering to himself: "So these are pirates?!"

His eyes and expression showed not the slightest ripple or change.

It was as if he had gone cold, completely devoid of any emotion—if one were to say that aside from his human appearance, his body housed a robot's core, that wouldn't be an overstatement; in fact, it would be fitting.

The old man's plea instantly drew jeers and mockery from many of the pirates present.

"Hahaha... you old fool, even if this guy's strong, we're the Rocks Pirates!!"

"You think one man can save your village from the Rocks Pirates? That's a real knee-slapper!!"

"Tsk tsk tsk... you probably don't get it—the name 'Rocks Pirates' on the sea makes countless people tremble in fear."

"Old man, wake up, stop dreaming. No one can defy the will of the Rocks Pirates."

"·······"

Hundreds of pirates stared at the old man, slumped and defeated on the dusty ground, as if he were an idiot, hurling all sorts of grating, scornful, and mocking words.

They treated his plea for help like pure entertainment.

At that moment, Ares, with a calm expression, fixed his gaze on the most distinctive and conspicuous figure among the crowd—Rocks D. Zebek—and asked a question that caught everyone off guard and left them utterly bewildered.

"Do you know how to forge a person into the sharpest, hardest blade in the world?"

This question instantly left the pirates dumbfounded.

The scene fell silent.

Then erupted into roaring laughter.

"Pfft-hahaha... Did I hear that right?! This kid wants to forge himself into the sharpest, hardest blade?" One pirate doubled over, clutching his stomach with laughter.

"I'm dying of laughter!! This kid's got some wild imagination!!" Another laughed so hard tears streamed from his eyes.

"Never heard of anyone trying to turn themselves into a sword..."

"How ridiculous! How could it possibly work?! How can a human body compare to the hardness of a blade?!"

"Is this guy crazy? I think there's something wrong with his head."

"·······"

Ares's dead-serious question left every pirate present in stitches.

In this world, someone actually asked such a thing.

What else could he be but a fool?

"What an interesting guy... wanting to forge himself into a blade, huh?" Whitebeard grinned, a sharp, captivating glint of keen interest in his piercing eyes.

He thought to himself: This world never lacks madmen—what it lacks are madmen who keep breaking limits.

I wonder if this little one can pull it off?

Whitebeard Newgate even felt a surge of strong anticipation.

"Jahahaha... This is the first time I, Golden Lion, have heard someone ask such a question. But no matter how much you train the human body..."

"it can never rival the Supreme Great Swords of the Twelve Kizuki." Golden Lion couldn't help but laugh heartily. His own blades, Sakura Ten and Withered Tree, were both Great Grade Swords.

He knew all too well how sharp and hard such weapons were.

A man and a sword are different.

The sharpness a sword possesses—the human body can never match it.

"I don't give a damn about what sword or blade..." Linlin's eyes burned as she stared at Ares's bare upper body, his muscles like a bronze-cast Greek sculpture, perfectly chiseled.

They radiated an overwhelming wave of raw masculinity.

She licked her lips with a crimson tongue: "I just want to bear strong, outstanding offspring!!"

"His body is tough—I like it!"

"He's got to be more enduring and powerful than those useless, flashy Giants!"

Her unabashed, scorching gaze lingered on Ares.

Facing the crowd's ridicule, Ares's expression never changed; from start to finish, he didn't even blink.

His eyes remained fixed on Rocks D. Zebek the entire time.

Rocks laughed too—a wild, unrestrained laugh: "Hahaha..."

His deep eyes blazed with astonishing dominance.

And from his mouth, he firmly spat out two words.

"Fight!"

"Fight?!"

A flicker of confusion passed through Ares' eyes as he looked toward Rocks, a hint of seeking understanding in his gaze.

"Indeed!"

Rocks answered with certainty. "Only through constant battle and tempering can one grow stronger."

"Only then can you forge yourself into an indestructible blade!"

There was a glint of appreciation in his eyes.

Though the question the youth before him had asked seemed absurd and unreasonable to ordinary people—

It made him look like a madman.

But sometimes, madmen were the most persistent people in the world.

"Fight...?" Ares murmured to himself.

Then a smile spread across his face, and a startling light burst from his sharply defined black-and-white eyes.

His voice grew hoarse from excitement:

"Then you fight me!"

"I'll fight you!"

A terrifying aura erupted from Ares—wild, savage, brutal, as if he had long lived among beasts, steeped in their ferocity.

And such audacious words and actions from Ares, in the eyes of the Rocks Pirates' crew, could only be—overestimating oneself!!

"Hey hey hey... did my ears just hear that right?! This guy actually dares to challenge Captain Rocks?!"

"Puhahaha... kid, do you even know how strong our captain Rocks is?"

"He's a Great Pirate with a bounty of 3.5 billion—the highest bounty in the world right now!!"

"I've got it now... this guy's a total lunatic!"

"Truly a newborn calf, daring to challenge Captain Rocks... he's got guts!!"

"Kid, don't bite off more than you can chew. Forget the captain—you're no match for anyone else here either!!"

"······"

Ares' challenge to Rocks struck the assembled pirates as both hilarious and surprising.

Indeed...

Only a madman could say and do such things.

"Kurarara... what a gutsy little brat!" Whitebeard Newgate let out a hearty laugh, his eyes carrying even more admiration.

It really reminded him of when he himself had first challenged Rocks.

Shiki the Golden Lion took a long drag from his cigar, then held it between his fingers and chuckled. "Didn't expect there to be such an interesting kid on this island."

"I'm starting to think I'd like him in my division."

Silver Axe, clad in silver armor, looked at Ares with keen interest and asked Ochoku beside him with a grin, "What do you think—could this guy be a monster like Linlin?!"