Become My Son, Whitebeard!

"."

System, did you just spit out gibberish?

Magnus had always thought the system's previous performance was already its lower limit, but reality proved that limits existed to be broken.

At first, the system had treated Rocks as the future sea overlord he would become twenty years later. Now, it had apparently treated Whitebeard as the right-hand man of Rocks, who had already become a sea overlord.

But the problem was, Rocks was now his crewman.

So the system had bugged out.

Fortunately, Magnus did not ask much of the system. It just needed to keep performing normally like before.

Several boosts to his cellular vitality had already helped Magnus break through the limits of his original talent, allowing him to step into the realm of Fleet Admirals and the future Four Emperors.

The awakening of Conqueror's Haki gave Magnus even more possibilities.

What Magnus valued was the talent bestowed by the system.

As for skill-type rewards—

For example, mastery of the Six Powers and the two types of Haki. Re-rewarding things he had already mastered could not help him break into a higher level.

"Rocks looks like he's about to collapse."

On the Black Pearl, the future Whitebeard was ultimately just a slightly stronger young pirate. Facing the attacks of so many pirates, he had no way to offer Rocks much help.

As a result, Rocks not only had to fight the captain of the Heart Pirates, but also guard against sneak attacks from the other Heart Pirates.

It made the situation look extremely perilous.

Magnus had already gripped the sword in his hand. If Rocks truly could not hold on, then though it would be regrettable, he would prioritize saving Rocks's life.

Because Rocks was not some captain. He was Magnus's crewman.

A crewman being killed before his captain's eyes was a captain's disgrace!

However, Magnus soon stopped worrying. His gaze at the Black Pearl carried appreciation.

Rocks had finally understood.

He squeezed every last drop from the cells in his body, just as a drowning man struggled desperately, or a fish stranded on land fought to return to the water.

When death descended, the human body could unleash limitless potential.

And that potential was Haki!

Under the attacks of Bennet and the surrounding pirates, Rocks was covered in wounds. Yet it was precisely in this life-or-death moment—

Rocks gained a clearer understanding of Haki.

Soru, Iron Body, Paper Arts, Geppo, Tempest Kick, and Finger Pistol—these six combat techniques that surpassed the limits of the human body were themselves a preliminary application of Haki.

But they still had to be distinguished.

The Six Powers were the Six Powers.

Haki was Haki.

The Six Powers were merely techniques, while Haki was a higher level of power.

"Useless, useless, useless!"

Seeing Rocks miss again, Bennet, captain of the Heart Pirates, let out a wild laugh. Ever since he had eaten a Devil Fruit, his favorite thing had been to toy with so-called martial arts masters.

What was the point of strong martial arts? If they could not hit him, they meant nothing!

"Tempest Kick!"

"I told you, it's useless—"

Rocks kicked downward. Bennet still wore a mocking smile, but the next second, the smile froze on his face.

A sharp pain shot up from below him.

"How is that possible?!"

Bennet saw Rocks's foot land squarely on his body. This time, he could even hear the sound of his thigh being kicked apart.

Crack!

Without the innate gifts provided by a Logia Devil Fruit, Bennet's physical defense was no different from that of an ordinary pirate.

Bennet initially thought it was just an accident, but Rocks's next strike, which slammed into his face, thoroughly shattered that illusion.

"A Logia Devil Fruit user? Didn't anyone ever tell you that Haki is the nemesis of all Devil Fruit users?"

Looking down at Bennet, Rocks felt a faint sense of superiority. After all, when he had first set out, he had not known what Haki was either.

But under Magnus's guidance, his strength might have been somewhat lacking, yet his knowledge far surpassed that of ordinary people.

Being able to hit Bennet meant he had already mastered Armament Haki.

Now that he had mastered Armament Haki, could Observation Haki be far behind?

(Ripley: Right, right, right.)

It could be said that whether one had mastered Haki was the dividing line between a strong pirate and a weak one. Mastering Haki was the mark of a mature pirate.

However, after those two kicks, Rocks felt his stamina plummet at light speed.

Haki could counter Devil Fruit users.

But using Haki consumed stamina!

Rocks had already been close to his limit. Having only just comprehended Haki, he was still unfamiliar with its use. After merely two kicks, his Haki was nearly depleted.

And all around him, a large group of Heart Pirates were eagerly waiting to make their move.

Seeing the surrounding pirates preparing to attack again, Rocks's mouth twitched. In the end, he reluctantly shouted, "Captain, save me!"

Rocks would bet that Magnus had known all along what was happening on the Black Pearl. That was why he had been holding back, wanting to prove to Magnus that he was already a qualified pirate.

Yet in the end, although he had defeated Bennet, captain of the Heart Pirates, his stamina had also run dry.

As Rocks was about to be chopped into mincemeat, Newgate, who had likewise been cut down onto the deck, could only watch in despair as the pirates raised their blades and brought them down.

Then, the wind suddenly stopped.

A figure with a long sword at his waist leaped down from afar.

Every pirate preparing to attack Rocks and Newgate froze as if struck by a paralysis spell.

"Make way, please."

With one kick, Magnus sent a pirate blocking his path flying. He walked up to Rocks and smiled. "How does it feel to master Haki?"

"Hmph, not bad!"

Only after truly mastering Haki could Rocks realize its power. It was not something that could be explained by a simple increase in strength, but a more fundamental change.

It was a qualitative transformation.

Newgate merely stared blankly at the handsome old man who had suddenly appeared on the deck. He noticed that after the handsome old man appeared, the Heart Pirates did not simply not want to move—they did not dare to move.

Fear had taken control of their bodies, making them unable to even twitch a finger.

The old man slipped both hands into his pockets and walked over to him with a smile.

"My name is Magnus. I'm the captain of the White Wolf Pirates. I don't know if you've heard of me, but I watched your fight with Rocks and think you've got plenty of potential."

"So, how about joining my pirate crew? I happen to be short on people right now."

"Of course, if you don't want to, I can put it another way."

Looking at the information on the system, then at the teenage boy before him, Magnus's lips curled into a slight smile.

"Kid, do you want to become my family?"

As for Whitebeard's name, there were two translations: Newgate and Newgote. After some consideration, Edward Newgate sounded better.