Rocks, You Know I've Always Been Optimistic About You!

Often, the upper limit of a Devil Fruit depends on its user.

There are no useless fruits, only useless people.

This statement, to some extent, isn't wrong.

But is there a possibility...

That if an outstanding person possesses an outstanding fruit...

They would become even more outstanding?

Many times, a Devil Fruit can compensate for a user's innate flaws and enhance their potential, and this isn't limited to Zoan Fruits.

The Mini Fruit might not be a powerful fruit, but it's one of the most suitable for Giants, as it can effectively mitigate the drawbacks of their massive bodies.

Although the Mini Fruit shrinks the user's body, it retains their original strength while doing so.

Imagine, when the strength of the Giant race is concentrated onto an arm as small as a needle, no defense in this world could withstand the destructive power.

And with the body shrunk, the total amount of Haki trained as a Giant remains unchanged.

This means Ripley's Haki is tens or even hundreds of times that of an ordinary person. Even if the quality is slightly lower, the sheer volume is enough to make one despair.

Therefore, Magnus wasn't worried about the upcoming operation at all.

What he cared about was another small crewmate on his ship.

"Rocks, do you know why I sent Ripley on this operation instead of you?"

"Because this is an internal Elbaf matter."

"Wrong. Because you're too weak, I was afraid you'd get yourself killed by those guys."

Magnus's words made Rocks's face flush red. He desperately wanted to retort but couldn't find a reason.

Because, at this moment, he truly couldn't compare to Ripley.

"Do you know why I gave the Mini Fruit to Ripley and not you?"

"Because she's stronger."

"Wrong again!"

Magnus shook his head, looking at Rocks with a sense of disappointment.

"Because her potential isn't enough!"

"(⊙o⊙)"

Rocks's eyes widened. It was the first time he'd heard Magnus critically assess Ripley.

"Rocks, let me ask you, have you mastered the Six Powers?"

"I've pretty much mastered them all."

"And Haki?"

"Not yet. But soon!"

As if trying to prove something, Rocks declared loudly, "Just give me two more months, and I'll definitely master Haki!"

"Alright, two months. I'll consider it half a year. Rocks, do you think you'll spend more than a year learning Haki?"

Rocks shook his head.

"Then what if I told you that Ripley has been practicing how to use Haki since the first time I met her ten years ago?"

"Uh."

"Ripley spent ten years just to preliminarily master the usage of Haki, while you'll only need at most a year."

"Do you understand the gap between Ripley and you now?"

Rocks nodded silently.

He had always been surrounded by old pirates like Magnus or Giants like Ripley, and Rocks had always felt anxious about his own strength.

The more he improved himself, the more he could sense the gap between himself, Magnus, and Ripley.

But after Magnus explained it like this, Rocks felt a sense of sudden realization.

It wasn't that he was incompetent.

It was that Magnus and Ripley had been training for much longer than him.

"Rocks, what do you think has the biggest impact on strength?"

"Swordsmanship? Combat techniques? Or Devil Fruit abilities?"

"None of them!"

Magnus's eyes gleamed with fanaticism.

"In this world, the biggest impact on strength is Haki!"

"Only Haki surpasses everything!"

In the past, Magnus also believed that powerful Devil Fruit abilities could rival strong innate talent, and that luckily obtaining a powerful fruit was also a form of strength.

He realized one day that sufficiently powerful Haki could even nullify the abilities of a Devil Fruit user.

Then he understood.

In this world, Devil Fruit powers and swordsmanship were all garbage.

Haki was the strongest!

That's why Magnus felt such bitter helplessness upon learning he lacked Conqueror's Haki, because the most elite Haki came from Conqueror's Haki users.

"With Haki, all Paramecia-type, Zoan-type, and Logia-type Devil Fruits become completely useless!"

"With Haki, even if you don't know any swordsmanship, you can wield a Supreme Grade Sword that only a master swordsman could forge."

"With Haki, any enemy, no matter how powerful, will kneel before you!"

Magnus heavily patted Rocks' shoulder.

"Rocks, you know I've always thought highly of you. The moment I first saw you, I knew you had the potential to reach the pinnacle!"

"Devil Fruits are not important at all; they are tools for the weak. Even I wouldn't have eaten this Mythical Zoan Fruit if my talent wasn't lacking, even if it were given to me for free."

"Rocks, do you want to become a ruler of the sea only to be told that you achieved it through powerful Devil Fruit abilities?"

"No!"

Rocks quickly shook his head.

"That's right. When we set sail in the future, we might acquire many Devil Fruits, but remember, only the weak eat them."

"The strong rely only on themselves!"

Seeing Rocks looking solemn, finally emerging from his dejection, and no longer dwelling on him giving the fruit to Ripley, Magnus breathed a sigh of relief.

It's not poverty but inequality that causes trouble. With Rocks' talent, he didn't need a Devil Fruit, but he couldn't stop Rocks from overthinking things!

Therefore, while Rocks was still young and impressionable, he had to nip this tendency in the bud. If Rocks were to obtain another Devil Fruit in the future, there wouldn't be a need for excessive explanations.

Explanation is concealment.

Heaven knows, Magnus had no intention of suppressing Rocks.

But having Rocks eat a Devil Fruit now would only distract him, offering no other benefits.

After all, most Devil Fruit abilities require day-after-day training to manifest their effects. Ripley, who had just eaten a Mini Fruit, could only currently make herself bigger or smaller; she was still far from mastering its abilities.

On the sea.

About a hundred kilometers out from Elbaf, the CP0 agents on the sailing ship finally couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"This mission was too dangerous."

"I didn't expect White Wolf Magnus to be in Elbaf."

"Thankfully, Fleet Admiral Scarlet Snake was there."

"..."

The three who had escaped Elbaf weren't worried about whether Rona could retreat safely after fighting Magnus; that wasn't even a question.

It was laughable. If Magnus could defeat an Fleet Admiral, he would have long been the overlord among pirates.

Why else would he be constantly on the run from the Marines?

Having relaxed, the three failed to notice the giant eagle that had been trailing them from a distance under the cover of night.

They also didn't see Ripley, who was only five millimeters tall, struggling to adjust her direction in the air and successfully landing on their ship using Elbaf's specialty, Sunstone.

When the three CP0 agents finally stood together, Ripley didn't hesitate. She resumed her original size and, facing the three CP0 agents, brought her massive fist crashing down.

A decisive blow!