Chasing the Ultimate Dao Shi Ji

"Scientific bandit?"

"Wahahaha! I only just birthed that idea, I never expected there to actually be such a cadre in the future!"

Rocks placed increasing importance on Houka. With this prophet by his side, he was certain he could overthrow Imu and fulfill the mission of the Davy Clan.

Then, the Davy Clan would be able to live openly under the sun, no longer subject to the endless, exterminating pursuit of the World Government.

Houka did not mention Vegapunk, the world's greatest scientist; after all, the guy was only nine years old, and it was unknown if he had even consumed the Brain-Brain Fruit yet.

As for Vinsmoke Judge, Queen, and Caesar, they had only been born within the last year or two.

Under the awestruck gazes of the others, the Sword of Xebec rode the wind across the sea.

They were on the path to finding "Gangster" Shiki.

Babel and Newgate engaged in a duel.

But, unsurprisingly, Babel was soundly defeated.

Newgate used his strength to firmly secure his position within the Rocks Pirates.

With Houka acting as a "lubricant," the atmosphere on the ship remained quite harmonious for the time being, avoiding the situation where Rocks would let his cadres slaughter one another.

Houka worked hard to develop his three abilities, all while enduring Rocks' physical conditioning and specialized Haki training, getting beaten black and blue by Rocks for any number of reasons.

He was determined to guide Houka onto the correct path of "physicality above all else!"

Newgate would also challenge Rocks, learning the methods of cultivating the three types of Haki.

He wanted to learn from Rocks, catch up to Rocks, and surpass Rocks!

But getting pummeled was an unavoidable part of the process.

Rocks treated everyone the same, and his blows were exceptionally heavy.

Yet, the results were remarkably clear!

Houka, Newgate, Babel, and Sambel all achieved visible, tangible growth.

Several months later!

"Damn it!! This guy can really run!!"

In his quest to find the flying gangster swordsman, "Gangster" Shiki, Rocks had accumulated a great deal of rage.

"I never expected Xiong to have already formed a grudge with Shiki this early on!"

Houka had not anticipated that finding Shiki would take so much time.

No wonder the Rocks in the original timeline had spent eight years recruiting the six cadres: Newgate, Shiki, Stussy, Ganzi, Malone, and Ochoku.

During that period, many unruly powerhouses were killed because they refused to follow Rocks.

After visiting Harald in Elbaf, it took Rocks another four years to subdue cadres like Charlotte Linlin, Streusen, Captain John, Babel, and Gloriosa.

It was only after occupying Hachinosu that guys like Kaido and Xiong joined the Rocks Pirates.

With Hachinosu as its foundation, the Rocks Pirates continued to develop for several more years before reaching their true peak.

Right now, Shiki and Xiong were playing a game of cat and mouse.

At this moment, the raw strength of the underworld assassin Xiong seemed slightly superior to Shiki's, as he was the one hunting down "Gangster" Shiki.

Shiki, who possessed the Float-Float Fruit ability, had not yet fully grown and could only avoid battle wherever he went.

Their mutual vendetta and pursuit meant the Rocks Pirates could never quite catch up to Shiki.

"When I finally get my hands on them, I'm going to beat the living daylights out of them!"

Rocks had set his sights on both Shiki and Xiong.

Especially after learning from Houka that the underworld assassin, Xiong, would also join the Rocks Pirates in a dozen years or so.

Rocks was dead set on beating this guy into submission early and bringing him into his fold!

Houka could do nothing about the hot-headed Rocks.

This reckless captain was obsessed with catching Shiki and Xiong.

If they had gone to the West Blue to find the mafia boss Malone, or the smuggler Ganzi, or even the pirate patriarch Ochoku, it would have been much faster than chasing "Gangster" Shiki indefinitely.

However, this period of time allowed Houka and the others to grow stronger and deepen the bonds between the crew members.

Houka had already hit it off with Newgate, Babel, and Sambel; the four of them currently enjoyed excellent communication and friendship.

"Rocks, chasing them like this isn't a solution."

Houka felt a bit helpless toward his impulsive captain, who hadn't even considered changing targets after months of pursuit.

"Houka, it's your prophecy that isn't pulling its weight! Otherwise, how could we have chased them for so long without catching them!"

Rocks was already incensed by Shiki and refused to give up, even going so far as to complain about Houka's selectively unreliable prophetic ability.

"Everything in the world is in flux, and the future is always changing. That is precisely the diversity and charm of the 'future'."

"If I were to tell you that in one of those futures, you couldn't defeat Imu at all, I imagine you wouldn't be convinced..."

Houka couldn't be bothered to deal with Rocks' resentment. The guy had been full of confidence that he would capture Shiki in one fell swoop, but after being led on a wild goose chase for months, his composure had more or less shattered.

"Hmph! That future must be one where I hadn't yet found the Sun God Nika fruit or the Dark-Dark Fruit before I was caught by Imu, right?"

Rocks knew that if he hadn't obtained those two abilities, he truly wouldn't be a match for Imu.

"That's right."

Houka didn't reveal the information outright; he couldn't exactly tell him that the World Government had discovered Rocks' hometown, God Valley.

"As I thought! Without those two legendary abilities, there's no way to beat that old, immortal monster!"

Rocks' state of mind finally calmed down. The trivial matters regarding Shiki and Xiong were not even worth mentioning in the face of an old monster like Imu.

Wasting a little time was just wasting a little time.

Besides, they had plenty of time now!

"It takes a Vice-Captain to be able to talk sense into the Captain."

Sambel saw that Rocks, who had been wearing a cold expression, had finally returned to his usual bold and casual self, and the atmosphere on the ship relaxed significantly.

When Rocks was in a bad mood, the entire ship felt oppressive.

The sailors and handymen were even more terrified; they had almost messed up the cooking, and in the end, Houka had to step into the kitchen himself a few times.

Everyone then discovered that Houka had actually leveled up his cooking skill.

However, Houka didn't cook often, as the little giants like Newgate, Babel, and Sambel were all voracious eaters.

Houka had no desire to cook for these bottomless pits!

"Houka, your gravity should be able to counter Shiki's Float-Float Fruit Ability, right?"

Newgate felt it was a great pity that he couldn't eat Houka's cooking; the food made by the handymen was indeed a bit mediocre.

He would have to get Rocks to find some real chefs.

"The Float-Float Fruit Ability leans toward being rule-based; once you float, you can stay afloat indefinitely, whereas my gravity requires continuous expenditure of stamina to maintain a state of weightlessness."

"Also, the term 'counter' isn't accurate. In a nutshell, whoever is stronger is the one who does the countering!"

"If a flame is strong enough, it can even counter water."

It wasn't as if Houka hadn't tried floating the Sword of Xebec to travel, but the stamina and focus it consumed made it difficult for him to concentrate on developing his other abilities.

Therefore, after playing with the flying version of the Sword of Xebec for a few days, Houka couldn't be bothered with it anymore.

It was better to just sail honestly on the surface of the sea.

Unless he found Shiki, at which point it could be used as a means of pursuit.

"Exactly. If your Haki is strong enough, it's enough to counter most Devil Fruit abilities."

"Conversely, if a Devil Fruit ability is developed strongly enough, it can likewise break through Haki defenses."

Rocks highly approved of Houka's theory. There was no such thing as so many counters; everything was simply because you weren't strong enough yet!

Just then, Rocks suddenly looked toward the distance.

A flying pirate ship was leisurely cruising through the sky, which caused a ferocious grin to instantly appear on Rocks' face!