Talent Beyond Rocks

"Such speed!" Jozu exclaimed in astonishment.

On the other side, Ye Yu remained utterly calm. Without Observation Haki, he truly could not sense Marco's exact location.

It was just that... when his Conqueror's Haki reached 4,000 points, the system had rewarded him with another bug-like skill: Conqueror's Haki Passive Defense!

Whenever the system sensed that someone was about to harm Ye Yu, his body would passively mobilize his Conqueror's Haki, covering all 360 degrees around him and forming a Conqueror's Haki protective barrier.

This was one of the main reasons why Ye Yu, despite his lazy personality, had been willing to leave seclusion.

Otherwise, the pirate world was far too dangerous... Even if Ye Yu possessed the strength of the One Piece, he would not have been willing to come out so easily!

What was even more powerful was that Ye Yu had upgraded this move after reading manga.

When the Conqueror's Haki protective barrier appeared automatically and an enemy was within close range, Ye Yu could instantly release the compressed Conqueror's Haki within his Conqueror's Haki Barrier, using explosive repulsion to blast the enemy away!

Too lazy to name it, he had borrowed the name of a ninjutsu from the Naruto manga: Almighty Push!

Having transformed into his half-beast form, Marco was surrounded from time to time by blue flames. Those blue flames also propelled his flight.

He drew ever closer to Ye Yu. Ten meters, nine meters, eight meters...

When he was only one meter away from Ye Yu, Marco twisted his body and threw a side kick. A massive bird claw wreathed in blue flames appeared.

Without question, with the force of his dive behind it, Marco's strike was fully capable of kicking over a pirate ship!

Yet just after Marco threw that kick, something strange happened again. Before his foot could touch Ye Yu, it felt as though he had kicked a rock, unable to advance any farther.

Marco the Phoenix was completely dumbfounded. What the hell... what was going on? A Devil Fruit ability?!

Marco's momentum came to a complete halt as well. A sharp pain shot through his foot, making him crumple to the ground and return to human form. He clutched his foot with both hands and cried out in pain!

The entire Whitebeard Pirates fell into silence.

Even their captain, Edward Newgate, could hardly believe his eyes. One after another, they swallowed hard as they watched the absurdly dramatic scene unfold.

After a long while, Vista the Flower Sword spoke.

"How the hell did that guy do it? Is it a Devil Fruit ability?" Vista asked, his lips trembling.

"I heard Kozuki Oden mention an ability like this before. Could this be the Barrier-Barrier Fruit?" Diamond Jozu guessed.

"No! This... should be Conqueror's Haki!" Captain Edward Newgate said with a grave expression.

"I once heard Rocks speak of Conqueror's Haki at this level! Conqueror's Haki directly covering the body and forming a Conqueror's Haki Barrier!"

"Back then, Rocks dreamed of reaching the realm where he could control Conqueror's Haki at will, but... he never reached such heights before he died!" Whitebeard's gaze grew increasingly solemn.

Tsk...

After hearing Whitebeard's explanation, the surrounding pirates were completely convinced from the bottom of their hearts!

That kid's Conqueror's Haki had actually... surpassed Rocks, the king of pirate kings?

There was no need to explain what that meant!

Back then, Rocks had nearly destroyed the entire world!

In the end, it had taken the combined efforts of Whitebeard, Roger, Garp, and many other peerless powerhouses just to barely defeat Rocks!!

And yet... Ye Yu was not even twenty years old, but his Conqueror's Haki had surpassed Rocks's. In that respect alone, Ye Yu was undoubtedly a monster!!

The methods Ye Yu had displayed had already made him seem incredibly powerful, but no one had expected his true strength to still exceed their imagination!

On the battlefield, after Marco crumpled to the ground, Ye Yu once again mobilized the Haki in his body, shaping it into a pair of Buddha hands that directly pinned Marco down.

"I told you long ago, my fighting style is simple and direct. I don't need Armament Haki or Observation Haki at all." Ye Yu said lightly, the corners of his mouth lifting.

"Marco, can you rest easy and let me kill Blackbeard now?"

Originally, when Marco's attack struck Ye Yu's Haki defense barrier, Ye Yu should have immediately followed up by unleashing Almighty Push and sending him flying.

But... he had only mastered this skill not long ago, and he still had not gotten a good grasp of it.

If he failed to control his strength and blasted Marco unconscious... wouldn't that be a huge offense!?

So Ye Yu chose this ordinary method of attack: Conqueror's Haki suppression.

"Enough, enough. Damn it, I'm not fighting anymore, I'm not fighting... You're strong, kid. I, Marco, don't mind losing to you at all!"

Marco now clearly understood the gap between himself and Ye Yu. Even if someone beat him to death, he did not want to fight a freak like Ye Yu again!

"I believe it now. You really don't need Armament Haki or Observation Haki at all!"

"Old man, you haven't just brought a monster to our crew. You've brought a monster to the entire world!" Marco continued to marvel after getting up!

"Gurararara! To be honest, I never expected this kid's Conqueror's Haki to surpass even Rocks's!" Whitebeard said excitedly, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

For the Whitebeard Pirates, having such an overwhelmingly powerful captain of Zero Division was naturally tremendous news!

"Zero Division Captain Ye Yu, I acknowledge you now! May you take down Teach soon!" Diamond Jozu said with cupped fists.

Jozu had originally planned to spar with Ye Yu as well, but after looking at Marco's foot, still swollen like a brick, he gave up on the idea of fighting Ye Yu.

Vista, too, genuinely acknowledged Ye Yu's strength. Conqueror's Haki even more terrifying than Rocks's—he was the first person in history to possess such power!

"I acknowledge you!"

"I acknowledge you too, Captain of Zero Division!"

"Me too!"

The captains of the Whitebeard Pirates all cupped their fists in turn, signaling their recognition of Ye Yu.

Ye Yu was quite satisfied. Now no one would bother him by asking to spar anymore. It was still necessary to show off a little of his strength at the right time!

"Then goodbye, everyone!" Ye Yu waved at the Whitebeard Pirates and leaped straight down onto a small boat.

"Ye Yu, we still haven't had a drink together! When you return, we have to drink properly!"

"That's right! I can't beat you in a fight, but I'll definitely drink you under the table!"

"Exactly! Once you come back after killing Blackbeard, we'll have a few good drinks!"

"Ye Yu, don't think I'm nagging, but you still need to be careful when facing Blackbeard!"

The Whitebeard Pirates bid Ye Yu farewell one by one.

Although they had only spent a short time together, Ye Yu could still feel the Whitebeard Pirates' sincerity.

As an orphan in his previous life, Ye Yu felt warmth spread through his heart.

With his back to the Whitebeard Pirates, Ye Yu waved his hand. "Got it. You guys really are a pain!"