Patri Vic and Whitebeard's battle lasted half an hour.
Of course, the only reason Patri Vic could hold his own was that Whitebeard was going easy on him.
If Whitebeard had fought at full strength, Vic wouldn't have lasted long.
The fight was a great help to Patri Vic. As they battled, he improved his grasp of Nintaijutsu and became much more proficient in its use.
Whitebeard also taught him how to use Armament Haki during their fight. Vic hadn't learned it yet, but he was close to grasping the basics.
The moon hung high in the night sky, casting down its clear, bright light. The two men had finished their battle.
"You're improving quickly, Vic. Sooner or later, you'll become strong enough to stand beside me," Whitebeard praised him, sitting on the shattered ground.
"I hope so."
"I'm leaving tomorrow, Vic. There are plenty of powerful pirates in the New World. Rocks sent me to invite them to join us. If you run into trouble on Hachinosu Island, just give them my name."
"I hope your name carries some weight," Patri Vic joked with a smile.
"Don't worry. I'm an officer of the Rocks Pirates now. There are only a handful of people on this island who'd dare lay a hand on you. Just give them my name."
"Okay."
The two talked for a long time before Whitebeard left. Patri Vic returned to the tavern to sleep.
The next day, Whitebeard headed to a patch of sea in the New World to invite its powerful pirates.
Rocks' brazen recruitment drive naturally caught the Navy's attention.
The Fleet Admiral called an emergency meeting in the Holy Land Mary Geoise to discuss the matter.
"Rocks has a bounty of one billion and is a vicious pirate. He's formed a pirate crew, and every famous pirate on Hachinosu has joined his ship."
"He's also recruiting powerful pirates from all over the world."
"Rocks poses a serious threat to the Navy. We have to eliminate him as soon as possible."
The Fleet Admiral at Navy Headquarters felt a headache coming on as he looked at the stack of wanted posters on the table.
Every pirate on them had a bounty of over a hundred million: Edward Newgate, Shiki, Charlotte Linlin, John, Wang Zhi, and Silver Axe.
They were all famous pirates from Hachinosu Island.
Other well-known pirates from across the seas had also joined the Rocks Pirates.
If they were allowed to keep growing, the consequences would be unthinkable.
"It won't be easy to eliminate them," one senior Navy officer replied gravely.
"We didn't take the pirates on Hachinosu Island seriously before, but now they're trying to unite. They've certainly given the Navy a difficult problem to solve," the Navy Admiral said solemnly.
"To be safe, we should send someone to Hachinosu Island to gather information before deciding what to do."
"Then who should we send?"
"Hasn't Navy Headquarters recently trained three capable Navy Captains who work well together? They've been active in the first half of the Grand Line, and hardly anyone in the New World knows them."
"Having them disguise themselves and go to Hachinosu Island as spies to investigate the Rocks Pirates would be perfect."
"Then send them," the Fleet Admiral agreed.
The World Government's leaders began contacting senior Navy officers, telling them to notify the three Captains the Navy had trained.
Navy Headquarters, Marineford.
The Vice Admiral here received orders from above and told Garp and the others about their mission and its target.
"We're supposed to go to Hachinosu Island and gather information? There are plenty of terrifying pirates there. This won't be easy," Sengoku replied hoarsely, pushing up his glasses.
"Puhahaha... So there's a Rocks. What's there to be afraid of?" Garp laughed as he munched on snacks.
Garp was still very young and brimming with confidence in his own strength. They had always operated in the first half of the Grand Line.
There weren't many powerful pirates in Paradise, and the three of them had wiped out most of them. As a result, he had no fear of pirates at all.
Even Rocks, with his billion-berry bounty, was someone Garp thought he could take on. He just hadn't yet learned how harsh the world could be.
"Garp, stop eating while you talk. You're making so much noise," Sengoku shouted, holding his forehead in exasperation.
Garp didn't understand how serious the situation was or how powerful Rocks was.
But Sengoku knew all too well just how terrifying Rocks, with his billion-berry bounty, was in the New World.
And he knew how dangerous Hachinosu Island could be.
"Rocks has a bounty of one billion. He's more than we can handle right now. Fortunately, we're only going there to gather information this time," Tsuru said calmly.
"Don't worry, Tsuru. If anything dangerous happens, I'll protect you. No pirate can stop my fists!" Garp laughed, showing off his muscles.
"Could you stop tempting fate, Garp? Besides, the pirates on Hachinosu Island can't be compared to the ones in Paradise."
If Garp weren't such a powerful fighter, Sengoku would have kicked him off the team by now.
"Don't worry. No matter what kind of pirate we encounter, I won't back down," Garp said with a grin, baring his white teeth.
"sigh." Sengoku sighed helplessly at Garp's enthusiasm.
He silently prayed that nothing would go wrong when they went to Hachinosu Island to gather information.
Hachinosu Island.
Patri Vic stood outside the tavern, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly. The tavern's owner had been killed by pirates the day before.
The tavern now belonged to him. Its owner had saved up quite a bit of money, and Vic had used all of it.
He'd used the money to renovate the tavern and stock it with plenty of fine liquor.
The tavern had reopened.
The Rocks Pirates had formed, becoming a famous crew in the New World from the very start.
After all, the Rocks Pirates had recruited every famous pirate on Hachinosu.
Plenty of pirates from across the sea had also joined, drawn by the crew's reputation.
But that had nothing to do with Patri Vic. He wasn't a member of the Rocks Pirates, after all.
Patri Vic had hired a few servers for the tavern. All he had to do was sit back and count the money. The tavern didn't make much profit, but every little bit helped.
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