Ripley, You Wouldn't Want to Take Rocks's Place Doing Odd Jobs on the Ship, Would You?

Although he had long expected that pirates might come to attack after Magnus and Ripley left, after all, he was the only one on the Black Pearl now.

Rocks had not expected his attackers to be a group of teenagers who looked even younger than him.

"Hey, do you know what you're doing?"

Easily dodging the attack from the boy named Newgate, Rocks turned his head to look at the others rushing toward the cabins.

"If you damage the ship, that old man will give me trouble."

"So."

"Let's make this quick!"

As he spoke, Rocks raised a hand and caught the boy's fist perfectly.

"How is that possible?!"

The boy's eyes widened. It was the first time he had seen someone his own age catch his punch.

Although the young man before him looked a little older, he was only just an adult. In terms of build, Newgate had the advantage.

Fourteen-year-old Newgate stood nearly four meters tall. Compared to Rocks, who was under two meters, he looked like a giant.

Yet despite having twice the height advantage, Newgate could not beat Rocks in a contest of strength.

"Heh, size doesn't decide everything on these seas."

Seeing the shock on Newgate's face, Rocks showed a bright, sunlike smile for the first time.

This really had not been easy!

The moment he set out to sea, he had encountered Magnus, a Great Pirate. He had spent more than half of the past year in Elbaf, the Land of Giants. All the "kids his age" around him had been Giant race children, not to mention freaks with special constitutions like Charlotte Linlin.

If Magnus had not acknowledged him, he would have doubted whether he even had any talent for fighting.

Now, it was confirmed.

"Sure, I can't beat that stinking old man, and I can't beat Ripley. But beating up a brat like you is more than easy."

A brilliant smile spread across Rocks's face.

Finger Pistol!

Concentrating all the strength in his body into his finger, Rocks sent Newgate flying with a single strike, then looked toward the remaining boys.

"Didn't the adults in your family teach you that mistakes come at a price?"

Soru!

In an instant, Rocks appeared before the other four or five boys. One kick each was all it took to knock every last one of them down.

"Guido! Pike! Ba—"

Watching his companions fall one after another, the large-built Newgate's eyes turned bloodshot. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself back to his feet and charged at Rocks.

"Huh? You can still stand?"

Rocks had already seen through him. Although the boy before him possessed brute strength, just like Rocks himself a year ago, he had never received any professional training.

If it had been Rocks from a year ago, taking him down might have been somewhat troublesome.

But now—

He was more than ten times stronger than before!

However, while Rocks focused his attention on Newgate, he failed to notice that on another pirate ship not far away, a pirate had raised a Flintlock Gun.

Bang!

A round bullet shot from the muzzle and flew toward Rocks. Facing Newgate head-on, Rocks suddenly felt a chill run through his heart.

"Get out of the way!"

Newgate slammed a fist into Rocks's face, but Rocks neither dodged nor flinched. He grabbed Newgate, and the two of them fell to the ground together.

Whoosh!

The bullet grazed Rocks's scalp and wounded Newgate's shoulder as well. Like a cannonball, it blasted a huge crater into the Black Pearl's deck.

"That was close!"

Lying on the ground, Rocks stared at the crater in lingering fear. If he had not reacted in time, even if he did not die, he would have been seriously injured.

Only then did Newgate realize that the young man before him had saved him.

If Rocks had not grabbed him and had simply dodged, the bullet would have struck Newgate.

"Why did you save me?"

"Hmph, who said I wanted to save you? I just can't stand cowardly scum who likes to launch sneak attacks from behind. Also, get off me already!"

After shoving Newgate away with some effort, Rocks looked into the distance.

Several figures descended from midair.

"Tch, you actually dodged?"

The man in the lead, holding a Flintlock Gun, looked displeased. He had thought he could deal with Rocks easily.

The moment Newgate saw the man's face, his body tensed. Lowering his voice, he said, "It's Vulture Vic. He's a Great Pirate with a bounty of over thirty million Beli. We can't possibly be his match!"

Thirty million?

Rocks had never had a clear sense of the pirates active on these seas. Magnus constantly talked about pirates with bounties over a hundred million, making pirates with bounties below that seem like minor figures.

Besides, though he could sense a trace of danger from the man, he was far inferior to Magnus, or even Ripley.

I can handle him!

Rocks thought to himself.

Port town.

Though they were separated by three or four streets, Magnus had noticed as soon as Rocks began fighting Newgate.

But since the ones fighting were a bunch of children, Magnus had not even considered turning around.

Only after Vulture Vic appeared did Magnus show a hint of interest.

"Looks like because of those pirates impersonating us, our ship's flag isn't very useful anymore. Every stray cat and dog dares to come sniffing around."

Among the few slightly stronger presences Magnus had sensed with Observation Haki before leaving, one belonged to Vulture Vic.

Of course, "slightly stronger" was only relative to Rocks.

As long as their bounty did not exceed a hundred million, they were nothing special.

"Should we go back?"

Noticing Magnus's gaze and guessing something might have happened on the ship, Ripley asked.

"No need."

Magnus smiled.

"Rocks is about to master Haki. That pirate is about as strong as him, so with this opportunity, Rocks might master both Armament Haki and Observation Haki in one go."

Rocks had long possessed the strength needed to use Haki. What he lacked was merely an opportunity. If the enemy had been much stronger, Magnus would certainly have gone back.

But since their strength was comparable, Magnus believed Rocks could handle it.

"As for you, you've practically mastered Armament Haki already. Why haven't you grasped Observation Haki yet?"

"There's nothing I can do about that!"

Ripley stuck out her tongue. "Most Giants are rather slow-witted. I'm already considered fast at mastering Haki."

Although Ripley had defeated a CP0 agent comparable to a pirate worth over a hundred million through a sneak attack, in a direct fight, she definitely would not have been a match for him.

The greatest gap lay in their mastery of Haki.

"If you don't work harder, Rocks will surpass you before long. Ripley, you wouldn't want to take Rocks's place doing odd jobs on the ship, would you?"

"But if I can't do it, I can't do it!"

Ripley rolled her eyes, then suddenly brightened. "How about it, Captain? Can't you find a way to give me some special training? I don't want to be demoted to trainee just after becoming a crew member!"

Ripley pressed herself against him, hugging Magnus's arm as she looked at him with a pitiful expression.

"Idiot!"

Magnus showed no mercy as he knocked Ripley on the head.

"If there were shortcuts for something like this, what would be the point of training?"

"Ow!"

Seeing that Magnus remained unmoved, Ripley puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction.

"Stinking old man. No wonder you'll be single for the rest of your life."

"Hm?"

"Nothing at all!"

Ripley giggled. Just as she prepared to continue walking, she found someone blocking their path.

"You're the White Wolf Pirates, right?"

A group of pirates looked at Magnus and Ripley with mocking expressions.

"Come on. Our captain wants to see you!"

Thanks to "Lyuio" for the 1,500 tip!