The Black Pearl's cabin was small. If they made a move, they'd be spotted in no time.
"Forget the treasure. Take out those two brats first!"
Bennet, captain of the Heart Pirates, shouted.
But the Heart Pirates' eyes were fixed on the treasure before them. Even after hearing their captain's order, they couldn't bear to put down the valuables in their hands.
"Newgate, block the way up!"
"Got it!"
The passage through the Black Pearl's cabin was wide enough for two ordinary-sized people. But fourteen-year-old Newgate stood in it, blocking the entire route.
"When the old man gets back, I'm definitely getting a beating."
Seeing Newgate haul Mongge's bed over to block the passage, Rocks bared his teeth, but didn't blame him.
Without making use of the cabin's layout, the two of them could never beat an entire pirate crew. But now that Newgate had blocked the passage, the Heart Pirates' crew had been split in two.
Their strongest fighter, Bennet, was trapped outside.
Inside were only a few of the Heart Pirates' bruisers. They were no threat.
"You little brat, you're dead!"
When Rocks killed a Heart Pirates crewman by attacking him from behind, the two pirates nearest him flew into a rage. They stuffed jewels into their pockets as they charged at Rocks.
Meanwhile,
the Heart Pirates outside realized something was wrong and began ramming the blocked passage.
"We have to finish this quickly!"
With Soru from the Six Powers, Rocks moved through the cabin as fast as lightning. The Heart Pirates trapped inside could only see a dark blur flashing before them.
One pirate hadn't even realized what was happening before his body was sent flying.
"Brat, don't underestimate me!"
One of the three strongest men Rocks had sensed earlier, aside from the Heart Pirates' captain, let out a roar. Nearly three meters tall, the fat man charged at Rocks like a cannonball.
In the cramped cabin, Rocks had nowhere to dodge.
"Iron Body!"
With a dull thud, the fat pirate and Rocks slammed into each other. But Rocks had used Iron Body, and the fat pirate hit him as if he'd run into an iron wall.
Rocks was knocked back only two or three meters, carving two long grooves into the broken floor beneath his feet. The fat pirate's body, however, was almost crushed out of shape.
"Iron Body Impact!"
The instant Rocks sensed the fat pirate had run out of strength, he went on the attack. A metallic sheen appeared on his thickly muscled arm.
Bang!
One punch sent the fat pirate tumbling to the side like a deflated ball.
Rocks felt as if he'd grasped something, faintly.
"Not quite there yet."
He had no time to think about it. Newgate was already struggling to hold the line.
"Fall back!"
At Rocks' words, Newgate followed the plan they'd agreed on: he retreated while Rocks moved forward, helping the larger boy withdraw first.
But neither of them had expected a thick cloud of smoke to suddenly pour through the cabin's ventilation shaft, then take on a human shape.
"You little brats! You really think you can beat me?"
Bennet, captain of the Heart Pirates, swore at them.
There was a reason he had a thirty-million-Beli bounty on his head. He was strong enough to deserve it.
"I ate the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, so I'm a man of smoke! It's one of the strongest Logia Devil Fruits. With my custom-made gun, even a Great Pirate might not be able to beat me!"
As he spoke, Bennet aimed his gun at Newgate, who stood just a short distance away.
Bang!
The gunshot rang out. With nowhere to dodge, Newgate could only raise his arm in front of him.
But the pain he expected never came.
"A man of smoke? You're just a thief who sneaks in to steal while the owner's away!"
Even Iron Body hadn't been enough to stop Bennet's bullets. Yet despite the blood and torn flesh on his arm, Rocks showed no fear.
"You're not even fit to touch the hair on a Great Pirate's head!"
"You little brat!"
Furious at Rocks' words, Bennet raised his gun and aimed at him again.
"You think I'll let you shoot from this close?"
Rocks kicked Bennet's hand, sending the gun flying. But when he tried to follow up with another attack, his kick passed through empty air.
"Hahaha! I'm a Logia Devil Fruit user, brat! Physical attacks are useless against me!"
Rocks' kick had gone straight through Bennet's body, but Bennet hadn't been hurt at all. He reached out, turning his arm into thick smoke, and retrieved the gun that had fallen nearby.
"Die!"
Rocks was between one burst of strength and the next. Seeing that Rocks' attack had no effect, Bennet's body passed through him and pinned him firmly to the ground.
Bennet was just about to fire—
"Raaaaaah!"
Newgate roared beside them. He lifted Mongge's bed and swung it like a weapon at Bennet.
"It's useless! I'm a—"
Bennet had been about to say he was a Logia Devil Fruit user, but it wasn't the bed itself that sent him flying. It was the gale Newgate had stirred up as he swung it.
Bennet was blown away!
"Hah... hah..."
Newgate had suddenly unleashed far more strength than he usually could. He dropped onto the ground and looked at Rocks beside him.
"Now I don't owe you anything!"
"Tch."
Rocks looked displeased at Newgate's words, but he had to admit that without Newgate, Bennet's bullet would have hit him in the head. He would've been dead or badly wounded.
"What do we do now?" Newgate asked worriedly. He knew about Logia Devil Fruits; their power was far beyond what ordinary people like them could handle.
"Hold off the other pirates. I'll take care of that smoke bastard!"
"You have a way to deal with Devil Fruit users?"
"I do!"
Rocks nodded firmly.
Mongge had once told him that no matter how strange someone's power was, if it came from a Devil Fruit, Haki could counter it.
Rocks had bragged to Mongge that he could master Haki in two months at most, but nearly three months had passed already.
"Haki can only be mastered in battle!"
Remembering what Mongge had once told him, Rocks no longer felt any fear.
At the harbor,
Mongge and Lipri stood at a high vantage point, watching the battle between Rocks and Bennet.
Though Bennet was a Logia Devil Fruit user, the Smoke-Smoke Fruit was only useful for throwing its weight around in the first half of the Grand Line. It wasn't worth Mongge's concern.
What he cared about was the figure behind Rocks, helping him hold off the other pirates.
The system's text appeared again after a long absence.
["Become my son!"] [Accept/Decline?]
Before you continue