"What are you doing!?"
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"Shut up!"
He ignored Rocks, who couldn't even get back up after one slap from him.
Mongge stared intently at the panel before him.
[Ding~ Congratulations on defeating the Overlord of the Sea, Rocks D. Zebek!] [You have achieved an impossible feat.] [You have awakened Observation Haki and mastered the Six Powers. All the injuries you sustained in this battle will be fully healed.] [Your Cellular Activity has increased.]
Observation Haki, the Six Powers—those were things Mongge had mastered long ago. They weren't worth paying any attention to.
His eyes were fixed on the last two lines.
Injuries healed!
Cellular Activity increased!
The healing was easy to understand. But Mongge hadn't sustained a single injury in this battle. Even so, as the words appeared on the system panel, he felt his body grow lighter.
"This is..."
Under Rocks's astonished gaze, Mongge casually picked up the short sword he'd dropped.
Then—
"Hagoku!"
It was a technique he'd learned from the Land of Giants, one that had become difficult to use now that he was old.
But as the short sword fell from Mongge's hand,
the sea before him—
split in two!
Meeting Rocks's astonished gaze, Mongge smiled again.
More freely than he had ever smiled before.
"Pfft... Puhahahahahahaha!"
He understood now. The so-called healing didn't just restore his current injuries; it had also healed every old, hidden injury he'd ever suffered.
After all, he was a pirate!
He lived by the sword, never knowing if he'd see another day. No matter how badly he was hurt, while drifting across the sea, he could only grit his teeth and endure it.
That was why, despite both being old men,
Garp, a Marine, was still hale and hearty, while Whitebeard, a pirate, had tubes sticking out all over his body.
Whitebeard had too many old injuries.
Just like Mongge. Without the system, in a few more years, he might not be much better off than Whitebeard would be in the future.
But now things were different.
All his old injuries were healed!
Though age had inevitably weakened him compared to his prime, he could still manage to use about eighty percent of his strength.
Before this, he'd almost been unable to use Haki at all.
As for the increase in Cellular Activity...
He wasn't a doctor and couldn't draw blood to run tests, so Mongge had no idea what had changed.
Still, it would be nice if he could live a couple of years longer.
After all, nobody complained about living too long, did they?
In a better mood, Mongge found himself looking more kindly on Rocks. He tossed the short sword back to him and smiled at the boy, who was still rooted to the spot after the commotion.
"Want to learn?"
Rocks nodded without thinking.
"Then what should you call me?"
"C-Captain?"
"Now you're getting it."
Mongge stood up and watched the sea slowly close over the cleft he'd carved through it. His gaze lingered on the system panel before him, turning distant.
"What a shame."
Deep down, Mongge felt a sense of regret.
If the system had appeared ten or twenty years earlier, back when he was still in his prime, perhaps he could have used it to make a name for himself.
But now it was too late.
The system had healed the old injuries he'd suffered for years, but the prerequisite for receiving those rewards was that he defeat the Overlord of the Sea, Rocks D. Zebek.
Rocks might still be a kid,
but that alone showed just how demanding the conditions for earning system rewards were.
How many Overlords of the Sea were there in the whole world of pirates?
And Rocks was still not even twenty. The future Four Emperors, Big Mom and Kaido, probably weren't even on the horizon yet.
Oh, but Pirate King Roger was someone he could look forward to.
Pirate King Roger and Rocks belonged to the same era, and they were probably around the same age. Mongge didn't even know whether Roger had gone out to sea yet.
But it wasn't as if he'd become the Pirate King the moment he set sail, right?
And then there were Whitebeard, Golden Lion...
Thinking it over, if the loophole in the system in his head really did remain,
he still had quite a few chances to reap its rewards.
But the world of pirates was vast. There was no telling whether he'd even run into them.
And if he did meet them someday, he might already be too old to lift a sword.
Mongge felt a little regretful.
He wasn't afraid of meeting the Overlords of the Sea in their prime.
He only regretted that he hadn't been born in the same era as them.
But there was still a chance!
The regret vanished from Mongge's eyes, and his gaze sharpened once more.
If he didn't have the system, so be it.
But now that it had arrived, healed his old injuries, and increased his Cellular Activity, then even if he had to climb out of his coffin, he'd struggle to make something of himself!
That was why Mongge had ultimately taken Rocks in.
Knowing what Rocks would accomplish in the future, did Mongge really not realize what a dangerous handful he was?
One wrong move, and Rocks would stab him in the back!
That sort of thing was commonplace in the world of pirates.
And Rocks would grow into someone so powerful that even Mongge in his prime wouldn't have been confident of beating him.
But Mongge had taken him in anyway.
"If I don't even dare to take in a loser who failed to claim the Pirate King's throne, then what right do I have to make a comeback?"
Mongge had no plans to call back the crew he'd disbanded earlier.
Many of them were getting on in years and weren't suited to a life where they never knew if they'd see tomorrow. Even without his old injuries, if he ran into one of the Navy's Admirals, he'd still have no choice but to run.
Besides, he'd already divided up the money. They had enough to live out the rest of their lives in peace.
He'd decided to train Rocks!
Mongge's sudden gaze made Rocks, who was about to get up off the ground, shudder.
He was afraid Mongge would hit him again.
Just one slap had nearly left him unable to fight.
Rocks had no thoughts of resisting.
"Hmph, you old bastard. Once I've learned everything you teach me and gotten stronger, I'll hit you twice as hard as you hit me!"
Rocks had had his eye on the big ship beneath their feet for a while. That was why he'd sneaked aboard. Did Mongge really think he wanted to be someone else's crewman?
He'd meant to steal the ship from the start!
As he got up off the ground and thought about Mongge teaching him the move that could split the sea, Rocks felt his blood start to boil.
He'd never seen power like that before.
If he gained power like that, where in the world couldn't he go?
Huh, wait a second.
Rocks narrowed his eyes.
"Old man..."
"What did you call me?"
"C-Captain!"
Another knock to the head, and Rocks forced a smile.
He pointed into the distance.
"Look, isn't that a ship?"
A ship?
Mongge looked up.
Sure enough, a sailing ship was approaching from not far away.
Mongge spotted the flag on its mast at once.
A pirate flag?
The smile on Mongge's face immediately turned sly.
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