A few days later, somewhere in the Paradise waters of the Grand Line.
"Houka, your constitution is downright pathetic. Even the eight-year-olds in my village are stronger than you!"
"Hmph! Quit flapping your gums! So what if you've got a bloodline? I'll get stronger sooner or later. Give me a few more years, and I'll make a qualitative breakthrough!"
Houka trained like his life depended on it, but his constitution still couldn't meet Rocks's minimum requirements.
He was the weakest student Rocks had ever seen.
Even the little brats from the Davy Clan were stronger than Houka.
The ship's sailors and deckhands had grown used to Rocks and Houka's daily arguments.
They'd never expected Rocks, a man powerful enough to kill a Marine Admiral, to be like this.
"Captain Rocks, are we about to reach the Sabaody Archipelago?"
One of the sailors sounded a little nervous. After all, these waters were close to Marine Headquarters, and they were genuinely afraid the Marines might suddenly surround them.
"Then lower the Black Flag and enter Sabaody quietly."
Rocks had already prepared for this. He wasn't a mindless hothead; he knew when to keep a low profile.
He'd even prepared cloaks for himself and Houka.
And they'd already made so many changes to this Heavenly Tribute battleship that it had been completely transformed into a pirate ship.
The World Government had some reservations about Rocks's repeated attacks on pirate crews lately...
According to intelligence, Rocks seemed to be constantly playing the Davy Back Fight game with pirate crews in Paradise, yet he wasn't taking any of their pirates.
He hadn't even taken a certain Supernova with a newly issued bounty of over a hundred million.
The World Government was even somewhat pleased to see Rocks helping to wipe out pirate crews.
Their ship's coating in the Sabaody Archipelago went surprisingly smoothly, without a single incident.
The Sword of Xebec made its way to Fish-Man Island without a hitch.
"Hmph, the World Government deliberately lets pirates and ambitious people from the Four Blues and Paradise enter the New World!"
"Besides, pirates from all over bring a steady stream of slaves and treasure to the Sabaody Archipelago. The Celestial Dragons deliberately leave the Lawless Zone intact for their own amusement."
"Now Sabaody has become the Celestial Dragons' own private garden."
"It's a prosperous yet twisted island. Unless absolutely necessary, the Celestial Dragons won't let the Marines and pirates fight a major battle here."
Rocks gave a soft snort. He'd seen the darkness of Sabaody's Lawless Zone for himself.
Human Auction Houses and slave shops were everywhere.
It was a hell for commoners, a paradise for nobles, and a playground for the Celestial Dragons...
"By the way, Rocks, you want to become the King of the World. Once you're king, will you change all this?"
Houka looked at Rocks's disdainful expression and spoke calmly.
Even if this hothead could take down Imu, he probably wouldn't rule the world after becoming King of the World.
"..."
Rocks froze. He really hadn't thought that far ahead.
Just defeating the terrifying King of the World was already enough to occupy all his thoughts, and even then, he wasn't confident he could do it.
According to the Davy Clan's heritage and intelligence, defeating the immortal King of the World required at least two of the strongest Devil Fruits!
One was the strongest Mythical Zoan, the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika, and the other was the most evil Logia, the Dark-Dark Fruit.
The Sun God Nika's powers offered unparalleled combat strength and even possessed some special ability that countered that old monster.
The Dark-Dark Fruit, meanwhile, had the bizarre power to counter all Devil Fruit abilities.
But at the moment, he didn't have the slightest information about either of those Devil Fruits.
All he could do was pin his hopes on Houka.
"I'll think about that after I defeat the old monster!"
"Besides, I still have you, don't I?"
"Right now, all I want is to defeat the King of the World!"
Rocks grinned recklessly, not about to worry over things that hadn't happened yet.
"If you ever face that old monster, make sure you don't get scared out of your pants."
Rocks tried to smack Houka again, but Houka quickly flew away and dodged.
"But your ancestor, Davy D. Jones, seems to have made a pact with the King of the World, Nerona Imu."
Houka looked at Rocks as he spoke. To be honest, he wanted to know what kind of pact Imu and Jones had made, too.
"So you really do know my true surname!"
Rocks glanced at Houka with a grave expression. If Houka even knew about the Davy Clan, he probably knew about their hidden home, God Valley, too.
"I also know that Imu hung a portrait of Queen Lily in the Holy Land and gazed at it every day. I know that he can descend into and possess the Five Elders and the Holy Knights, too."
"Also, every one of the Five Elders and Holy Knights is immortal."
"Only the highest level of Conqueror's Haki Infusion can destroy their immortality."
"Rocks, your Conqueror's Haki Infusion doesn't seem strong enough yet."
"In a glimpse of the future, I saw that you couldn't even kill the captain of the Holy Knights."
"Your Advanced Conqueror's Haki only delayed the Holy Knight captain's recovery!"
Houka looked at Rocks just as gravely. He couldn't understand how even Rocks's Conqueror's Haki Infusion had failed to take down a Holy Knight.
This was going to be a problem!
"What? They're immortal? Even I can't cut them down?"
Rocks's expression darkened further. His wariness of Imu, the King of the World, and the Five Elders and Holy Knights had grown even stronger.
Could he really take down Imu, with an enemy that terrifying standing in his way?
"That's why you need to train your Conqueror's Haki Infusion to an even higher level!"
"Keep working hard."
Houka tried to encourage Rocks, who looked as if he were questioning his whole life.
As a captain, how could he be lazier than his crewmate?
From now on, whenever Houka trained, Rocks would have to train twice as hard.
Just because he could kill a Marine Admiral on his own didn't mean he could stop training!
He was still nowhere near strong enough to take down Imu.
"Stronger Conqueror's Haki Infusion..."
Rocks had thought his strength was already at its peak. He'd planned to focus on recruiting powerful subordinates and finding the two legendary Devil Fruits.
He'd felt that the only way to grow stronger now was through Devil Fruit powers—to reach Imu's level.
But now Houka was telling him that his Conqueror's Haki Infusion hadn't reached its peak and that he could still improve.
"Joy Boy's God-level Conqueror's Haki could scare Imu into screaming in terror and force awakened Mythical Zoan users back into their human forms."
"You've still got a long way to go. Keep at it!"
Houka actually sounded like an elder as he patted Rocks on the shoulder and gave him a stern lecture.
Rocks was just about to nod seriously, but when he saw Houka's youthful face right in front of him, he flew into a rage.
"Get lost! I don't need you telling me what to do!"
Humiliated and furious, Rocks coated his fist in Conqueror's Haki and punched Houka, sending the fleeing boy crashing into the cabin.
"Captain Rocks, be careful! We're still underwater!"
The dozen or so sailors and deckhands trembled with fear, terrified that the coating would rupture and they'd all perish on the seafloor.
"Rocks, you never listen to your elders. You'll pay for it!"
Houka cried out in pain and cursed him.
"Cut it out. You, an elder? You're just a brat. I'm going to teach you a lesson!"
"Don't think you can lecture me just because you saw a bit of the future."
"You said it yourself: the future can change!"
"Go on, predict whether I'm going to beat the crap out of you today!"
"Guess right and you get a prize!"
Grinning broadly, Rocks clenched his fist and walked into the cabin. He was going to give the arrogant bastard Houka a good beating.
"I'm already injured. You can't hit me..."
"Looks like your prediction was wrong. Take this, Supreme Great Elbow Strike!"
"Ah!! I predict you're going to hit me again... I want my prize!"
"Wahaha! Congratulations, you guessed right! I really am going to keep hitting you. Your prize is the Supreme Great Foot!"
"Ah!! Rocks, you just wait!!"