Rocks, Your Domineering Aura Isn't Strong Enough

A few days later, in a certain sea area of the Paradise in the Grand Line.

"Houka, your constitution is truly trash. An eight-year-old kid in my village is stronger than you!"

"Hmph! Quit your yapping. Is having a bloodline really that impressive? I'll get stronger sooner or later. Give me a few more years, and I'll definitely achieve a qualitative breakthrough!"

Houka was training as if his life depended on it, yet his constitution still failed to meet Rocks' minimum requirements.

He was, quite simply, the weakest student Rocks had ever seen.

Even the little brats of the Davy Clan were stronger than Houka.

The sailors and handymen on the ship had long since grown accustomed to the daily bickering between Rocks and Houka.

They never expected that Rocks, a man capable of killing a Marine Admiral, would be like this.

"Captain Rocks, we'll be arriving at the Sabaody Archipelago soon."

A sailor sounded a bit nervous; after all, this sea area was close to Marine Headquarters, and they were genuinely afraid of being suddenly surrounded by the Navy.

"Then lower the black flag and enter the Sabaody Archipelago discreetly."

Rocks was well-prepared. He wasn't a mindless brute; he knew when to keep a low profile.

He had even prepared cloaks for both himself and Houka.

As for the Tribute Ship, they had modified it extensively, turning it into a full-fledged pirate vessel.

The World Government held some critical opinions regarding Rocks' recent behavior of constantly attacking pirate crews...

According to intelligence, Rocks seemed to be engaging those Paradise pirate crews in constant Davy Back Fights, yet he never actually recruited those pirates.

He hadn't even taken in a certain supernova with a new bounty exceeding one hundred million.

The World Government was actually somewhat pleased to see Rocks helping to clear out pirate crews.

This time, the coating process at the Sabaody Archipelago went unexpectedly smoothly, and no incidents occurred.

The Sword of Xebec headed toward Fish-Man Island without a hitch.

"Hmph, the World Government is deliberately letting pirates and ambitious men from the Four Blues and the Paradise of the Grand Line enter the New World!"

"Furthermore, pirates from all walks of life bring a constant stream of slaves and treasures to the Sabaody Archipelago. The Celestial Dragons specifically leave the Lawless Zone for their own amusement."

"The Sabaody Archipelago has now become the backyard of the Celestial Dragons."

"It is a prosperous yet twisted island. If not for necessity, the Celestial Dragons wouldn't allow a massive war between the Navy and pirates to break out here."

Rocks let out a soft scoff; he had witnessed the darkness of the Sabaody Lawless Zone himself.

Human auction houses and slave shops were visible everywhere.

It was truly a hell for commoners, a heaven for nobles, and a paradise for the Celestial Dragons...

"Tell me, Rocks, you want to become the King of the World. Once you become king, will you change all of this?"

Houka looked at the disdainful Rocks and spoke calmly.

Even if this brute could take down Nerona Imu and become the King of the World, he probably wouldn't even bother ruling it.

"..."

Rocks was taken aback; he truly hadn't thought that far ahead.

Just the thought of a terrifying King of the World had already exhausted his mind without yielding any certainty.

According to the heritage and intelligence of the Davy Clan, to defeat the immortal King of the World, one needed at least two of the strongest Devil Fruits.

One was the strongest Mythical Zoan, the Sun God Nika ability, and the other was the most wicked Logia, the Dark-Dark Fruit ability.

The Sun God Nika fruit possessed unparalleled combat power and even a special ability that countered that old monster.

The Dark-Dark Fruit possessed the bizarre ability to nullify all other Devil Fruit powers.

However, he currently had no leads on either of these two Devil Fruits.

He could only pin his hopes on Houka.

"Let's worry about that after we defeat that old monster!"

"Besides, don't I have you?"

"Right now, I only want to defeat the King of the World!"

Rocks laughed wantonly, never one to fret over things that were still far from happening.

"If you ever face that old monster head-on, make sure you don't piss yourself."

Rocks tried to land a palm on Houka again, but Houka flew away quickly to dodge it.

"By the way, your ancestor, Davy D. Jones, seems to have had a contract with the King of the World, Nerona Imu."

Houka looked at Rocks as he spoke; honestly, he also wanted to know what the contract between Imu and Jones was.

"So you really did know my true surname!"

Rocks looked at Houka with a grave expression; Houka even knew about the Davy Clan.

He likely also knew about God Valley, where they lived in seclusion.

"I also know that Imu keeps Queen Lily's portrait in the Holy Land, gazing at it every day, and that He can descend and possess the bodies of the Five Elders and the Holy Knights."

"Furthermore, every one of the Five Elders and the Holy Knights possesses an immortal body."

"Only the highest level of Conqueror's Haki infusion can destroy their immortality."

"Rocks, your Conqueror's Haki infusion doesn't seem to be enough."

"In a glimpse of the future, I saw that you couldn't even kill the commander of the Holy Knights."

"Your Conqueror's Haki only delayed the Holy Knight commander's immortal regeneration!"

Houka looked at Rocks with equal gravity; he couldn't fathom that even Rocks's Conqueror's Haki infusion couldn't finish off a Holy Knight.

This was going to be tricky!

"What? An immortal body? I can't even kill them?"

Rocks's face grew increasingly dark. His wariness toward the King of the World, Imu, as well as the Five Elders and the Holy Knights, deepened even further.

With such terrifying enemies, could he really manage to take down Imu?

"That is why you need to cultivate an even stronger Conqueror's Haki infusion!"

"Work hard."

Houka offered some encouragement to Rocks, who was currently questioning his own existence.

As a captain, how could he be lazier than his crew?

From now on, whenever Houka trained, Rocks would have to train twice as hard.

Don't think that just because you can solo an Admiral, you don't need to train!

To take down Imu, that is still far from enough.

"A stronger Conqueror's Haki infusion..."

Rocks had originally felt that his strength had reached its peak, and he had intended to shift his focus toward recruiting powerful subordinates and searching for two legendary Devil Fruits.

He felt that he could only advance further and reach Imu's level through Devil Fruit abilities.

But now, Houka was telling him that his Conqueror's Haki infusion hadn't reached its zenith and could still improve.

"Joy Boy's god-tier Conqueror's Haki could terrify Imu into screaming in fear and force awakened Mythical Zoan users back into their human forms."

"Your path is still very long; keep at it!"

Houka patted Rocks on the shoulder like an elder, lecturing him earnestly.

Rocks was just about to nod seriously, but seeing Houka's youthful face right before his eyes, he instantly flew into a rage.

"Get lost! I don't need you to teach me how to do things!"

Embarrassed and angry, Rocks unleashed a fist coated in Conqueror's Haki, blasting the fleeing Houka straight into the ship's cabin.

"Captain Rocks, be careful! We're still underwater!"

A dozen sailors and handymen trembled in fear, terrified that the coating would rupture and they would all be buried on the ocean floor.

"Rocks, if you don't listen to the words of your elders, you'll suffer for it!"

Houka let out a scream followed by a string of curses.

"Tch, calling yourself an elder? You little brat, I'm going to give you a proper lesson!"

"Don't think that just because you can see a bit of the future, you can lecture me."

"You said it yourself, the future can be changed!"

"Why don't you try predicting now whether or not you're going to get beaten up by me today?"

"Guess right, and there's a prize!"

Rocks grinned wide, clenching his fists as he walked into the cabin; he was going to give that arrogant bastard Houka a good thrashing.

"I'm already injured, you can't hit me..."

"Looks like your prediction was wrong. Behold my Supreme Elbow Strike!"

"Ah!! I predict that you're going to keep hitting me next..., I want my reward!"

"Wahahahaha, congratulations on predicting correctly! I really am going to keep hitting you, here's your reward: the Supreme Sole Stomp!"

"Ah!! Rocks, you just wait!!"