Rocks Pirates' Apprentice

Ron stared at Rocks as he walked farther away. The wind brushed across Ron's forehead, lifting several strands of slightly disheveled black hair, but it could not disperse the blazing heat quietly igniting in his eyes.

Perhaps... fate would not allow him to grow in peace either!

Since that was the case... then on this thorn-filled road, he would carve through the thorns with his blade, water the earth with blood, and forcibly kill his way through!

Suddenly, the corners of Ron's lips slowly curled into a smile. Then he stepped forward and followed without hesitation.

Rocks, walking ahead, seemed to have noticed the figure following behind him. Without slowing down, he burst into laughter.

"Hahahahahaha..."

"My name is Rocks D. Zebek. You can call me Captain, or Boss. Of course, if you don't like either, you can simply call me Rocks."

"My name is Ron."

"I'll remember that, Ron." Rocks turned half his face toward him, a flicker of approval passing through his eyes. "From now on, you are the second apprentice crewman of my Rocks Pirates."

"The second?"

"Yeah. The one before you is called Kaido. He's a young man with plenty of potential."

"You don't care about my strength?" Ron changed the subject. Mainly because joining the Rocks Pirates had gone far too smoothly.

"Wororororo~ I've always been a good judge of people."

Whether it was Roger or Ron himself, Rocks had seen no fear in Ron's eyes. People with that kind of temperament usually could not be too bad.

"Where are we going next?" Ron asked about their itinerary.

"Now that our business is done, of course we're heading back," Rocks replied.

He had made this trip for Roger's sake, but things had not gone as planned. Roger stubbornly refused to cooperate, and Rocks did not force the issue. After all, those who walked different paths could not make plans together.

At the island's port, winds and clouds churned. Ink-black clouds rolled across the sky, while the sea surged violently and waves burst into snow-white spray.

An incomparably magnificent giant ship lay quietly beside the dock.

All across its deck, figures radiating wild defiance sat, stood, or lay about.

Upon the pirate flag's background were embroidered black fangs that seemed to tear apart the heavens. As the flag whipped in the wind, its snapping sounded like war drums.

This was the most luxurious, most absurd, and most terrifying pirate lineup in history.

There was the future "Strongest Man," one of the Four Emperors, Whitebeard, Edward Newgate.

There was the future "Strongest Creature," one of the Four Emperors, Kaido.

There was the future Four Emperor Charlotte Linlin.

And there was the legendary pirate, "Golden Lion" Shiki.

...And more... and more...

Names that could keep Marine Headquarters awake all night were casually scattered across the same deck.

"Rocks still isn't back. Don't tell me Roger took him out?" Ochoku leaned against the ship's railing, his rough hand tightly gripping a roasted leg of lamb that gave off a rich, charred aroma. He tore off a huge mouthful of meat, then lifted a bottle of liquor in his left hand and tipped back a fierce gulp.

"Jihahahaha!" Golden Lion, perched atop the mast, immediately threw back his head and howled. "If that's the case, then I, Shiki, will reluctantly take over the crew of the Rocks Pirates. From now on, all of you must call me Captain."

Linlin sat on the railing on the other side of the ship, holding a fruit cake. As she picked up a piece of fruit and put it into her mouth, she scoffed, "Stop daydreaming, Shiki! If Rocks really dies, I'll be the one taking over."

"Hehe~~~" Stussy leaned in the shadow of the cabin door, the corners of her lips lifting slightly. "Whichever one of you wants to be captain can have it. But Rocks's property belongs to me, Stussy."

"You? Stussy? What kind of joke is that? Rocks and I are brothers as close as blood. His property should rightfully be handed over to me." Captain John retorted. In his eyes, anyone could be captain if they wanted, but if anyone tried to steal his treasure, he would fight them over it.

On the deck, Kaido sat cross-legged against the wall, a massive spiked club lying beside him. Before him was a plate of buns, which he happily stuffed into his mouth one after another while silently mocking them. These people have way too much free time.

Kaido's goal was simple now. He knew that with his current strength, he could not gain any benefits aboard this ship of "villains." So he had been searching for a Devil Fruit that could make him stronger.

Especially after seeing Whitebeard use the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, that desire had only grown stronger.

Whitebeard sat atop the ship, enjoying the sea breeze and occasionally taking a sip of liquor. He did not join their discussion and had no interest in it. He even found it somewhat distasteful. What the hell were these people thinking all day? What kind of crewmen wished for their captain to die every day?

No... wait... that actually seemed reasonable.

After all, no one aboard truly regarded Rocks as their "boss." He was merely a sufficiently powerful and sufficiently generous "partner."

And they were nothing more than villains temporarily sharing the same ship.

Silver Axe lay sprawled over the railing. Seeing two figures approaching from the distance, he slowly spoke up. "Stop daydreaming, everyone. Rocks is back."

The others did not react much. They had only been chatting before; no one believed Rocks could lose to Roger.

As Rocks drew closer, they also saw Ron following behind him, and nearly all of them began sizing him up at the same time.

"Hey, Rocks, did you win that guy following behind you from the Roger Pirates?" Linlin asked with a smile, licking the cream from her fingers.

In the pirate world, there was a game called the Davy Back Fight. It was a competition involving multiple contests between pirate crews, as well as a brutal game for taking each other's companions and flags.

In a Davy Back Fight, crewmen from the losing side chosen by the winners had to immediately become subordinates of the winning captain.

Quite a few crewmen aboard the Rocks Pirates had been won by Rocks in this way.

"No." Rocks waved his hand and chuckled. "He's a brat Roger rejected because his reputation is too foul. But... I, Rocks, don't mind."

"His reputation is too foul?"

Everyone froze for a moment.