Rocks's Recognition

Above Hachinosu, the lightning had yet to fully fade, and Rock's figure stood out sharply amid the lingering gold and silver glow.

—His declaration struck the hearts of every monster like a Thunderclap.

Newgate's fingertips trembled slightly, veins bulging on the hand gripping his blade. His instinctive fighting spirit was stirring:

"This brat... he'll definitely become a monster in the future."

Linlin licked her lips, her eyes blazing with possessiveness. "MaMaMaMa..."

"If I have children with a man like him, my family will become even stronger, won't it?"

Ochoku and John exchanged glances, each seeing an unpredictable new variable in the other's eyes.

As Kaido watched the lightning-wreathed youth in the sky, a chill suddenly ran down his spine.

He touched the patch of flesh on his chest that had been charred black by lightning, and the first thought that surfaced in his mind was:

"Something's wrong... I have a feeling this guy will definitely do something especially terrible to me someday..."

The toughest man in the world to put down actually felt a trace of fear at that moment.

There was a boom in the distance as a huge chunk of rubble was blasted into the air.

The charred Shiki staggered out through the air, half his eyebrows blown off, yet an outrageously arrogant smile curled across his lips.

"Jihahahaha!!! Brat—no, monster!! I'll remember you!!!"

That laughter made every pirate's scalp tingle.

For Shiki, that mad lion, to laugh like that meant that not only had he refused to admit defeat, he was so excited he was practically about to explode.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!"

The very air of Hachinosu trembled from that laughter.

Rocks D. Zebek finally stepped out of the heavy shadows, his blue-white hair spilling over his shoulders as purple streaks of lightning flickered around him. He was the most terrifying man of the old era.

He raised his left hand toward the sky, and the air pressure across all of Hachinosu instantly dropped.

"Brat!!!"

He laughed, each word shaking the waves until they flowed backward. "You're not bad at all!! Join us!!!"

"Come overturn this world with me—!!!"

Every powerhouse on Hachinosu instantly stirred!

Newgate gripped Murakumogiri; Linlin bit down hard on her fingertip, breathing rapidly. "Join... join... join us...!!!"

Kaido kept a cold face on the surface, but inwardly he was screaming madly, Don't agree to it, damn it!!!

Gloriosa, Buckin, Ochoku, John...

Every monster was waiting for the youth in the sky to make his decision.

High above, Rock lowered his head, black hair concealing half his face.

Hachinosu fell utterly silent.

Rock raised his head, revealing a relaxed smile that was completely out of character. "Ah~ no thanks."

Every powerhouse on Hachinosu: "???"

Rock shoved both hands into his pockets and lazily delivered the killing blow. "I was planning to join the Marines."

—A deathly silence.

Three seconds later.

The entire Hachinosu erupted. "Wha—?!!"

Linlin's pupils shrank abruptly, and she flew into a rage as killing intent burst from her on instinct:

"You little bastard! If you want to join the Marines, don't even think about leaving here alive!!!"

She raised both hands, her furious roar tearing through the sky. "Zeus!! Prometheus!!!"

Two enormous living souls, one black and one gold, instantly took shape. Zeus churned with thunderclouds, while Prometheus blazed with raging flames, making her look like a demon god descending upon the world.

Newgate's shoulders shook slightly as he held Murakumogiri horizontally. Rings of vibration spread from its tip like heartbeats.

"Thump... thump... thump..."

The Tremor-Tremor Fruit activated, and for the first time, true killing intent appeared in the young Whitebeard's eyes.

"You little punk, if you join the Marines... then we'll have to fight to the death."

Shiki, who had just flown out of the ruins, saw Rock's words and his pupils suddenly contracted!

In the next instant, he laughed wildly and flew into the sky, taking a fighting stance beside Linlin.

"Jihahahaha!!! Brat, you've really gotten tired of living!!!"

His twin swords once again bloomed with golden light, his fighting spirit surging like a hurricane.

Ochoku and John exchanged a glance as Armament Haki and killing intent rose together.

The officers of the Rocks Pirates all entered fighting stances.

Just as flames, vibrations, and sword energy were about to erupt completely—

Rocks's smile froze, and his aura spread outward.

The world suddenly stood still. The sea breeze stopped, and everyone's breathing froze.

It was a pressure like the heavens looking down upon all beneath them.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!"

Rocks's wild laughter shook the heavens. "Brat, you've got guts!!!"

"You came before me and said you wanted to become a Marine... I've never seen anything like it before!!!"

The monsters' killing intent was suppressed by his laughter as Rocks locked his gaze onto Rock. "But I can feel it!!!"

"You're not the kind of person who lives beneath others. You could never submit to those idiots up there!!!"

Purple lightning streaks exploded as the air twisted into something almost tangible. "Then go!"

"Do it your own way—"

"Turn this world upside down for me to see!!!"

Every powerhouse on Hachinosu froze in astonishment.

Rock lowered his head with a soft laugh. "Just as I thought... you're that kind of man."

He looked up, thunder roaring in his eyes.

"But being a pirate..."

He raised his right hand, wreathed in lightning. "...can't change the world."

"Boom!!!"

Lightning erupted from his body like a tsunami. In the next instant, he assumed an attacking stance!

Every monster instantly raised their weapons!!

A sharp glint flashed through Rocks's eyes. "You want to challenge me? With your current strength?!!"

He roared, "Newgate!! Linlin!! All of you, stand back!!!"

Whitebeard, Linlin, Shiki, and the others were all shocked. "Rocks is going to make a move himself?!!"

Rocks stepped forward, and a blast of air exploded outward.

He drew his longsword, Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki coating its blade like a raging black-purple tide.

The heavens and earth darkened, and the monsters of Hachinosu all retreated at once.

Gripping his sword with both hands, Rocks roared at the heavens and earth, "Abyssal—Curse!!!"

The slash fell! The sky seemed to split apart, and the sea collapsed!

Rock raised his right arm, muscles tensing as Thunder roared!

The sky instantly darkened as charges in the atmosphere came flooding in wildly. Every bolt of lightning in his body gathered in his right fist, forming a violently pulsing black-gold sphere of lightning.

The lightning continuously distorted the air.

"Thunder Emperor—"

Rock roared, "Star!!! Shattering!!! Roar!!!"

His lightning-clad fist smashed toward Rocks's slash!!

In an instant, heaven and earth collapsed!!

A torrent of dark red and golden electromagnetic lightning plasma burst forth!

Everything in its path was vaporized, while the earth was electrically melted into spiraling vortices!

Rocks's "Abyssal Curse" collided head-on with Rock's "Star-Shattering Roar"!!

Heaven and earth howled as space cracked into spiderweb-like fractures.

Above Hachinosu, it was as though two stars comparable to natural disasters had collided head-on!

Linlin, Whitebeard, Shiki, and Kaido were all blasted back more than ten steps.

Kaido was even shaken to his knees. "Th-This... is that an attack a human can unleash?!!!"

"BOOM--------!!!!!!"

This was no ordinary explosion.

It was a destructive resonance powerful enough to throw heaven and earth out of balance.

The dark red and golden torrent of electromagnetic lightning plasma resembled a true Thunder God beast, baring its fangs and claws as it tore into Rocks's slash;

Yet Rocks's slash was like a massive black blade from the abyss, carrying the will of a supreme ruler as it forcibly carved through the torrent of lightning.

At the point of collision—

Space twisted, tore apart, and reformed.

Before the aftershock could even reach the sea, the water had already been shaken into mist. The surface became as smooth as a mirror, as if it had been vaporized, while the island's foundations groaned like a colossal beast in pain.

All of Hachinosu was sinking.

Rock's fist remained locked in the position of his strike.

The lightning around him kept shattering under the clash, continuously suppressed by the slash.

For the first time, he truly felt something bone-piercing: the pressure of Conqueror's Haki, like a true king looking down upon all living things.

Blood vessels appeared in Rock's eyes under the immense pressure, but the curve of his mouth only rose higher.

He could feel it. Something like a "chain" within him was trembling, resonating, and loosening.

At that moment, cracks appeared in the bottleneck of his Conqueror's Haki.

Rock gritted his teeth as lightning exploded wildly around him. "So... this is the power of a king-class powerhouse?!!"

His expression grew increasingly frenzied, carrying an excitement that bordered on madness.

It was as though he faced not a crisis, but a treasure.

Below, Linlin, Kaido, and Whitebeard could hardly believe it.

This brat... facing Rocks's Conqueror's Haki slash, he wasn't afraid...

He was utterly ecstatic?!

Rocks's slash pressed down once more, visibly accelerating.

Like a fissure of darkness, the slash tore through the pillar of lightning and forcibly split Rock's attack apart.

The lightning pillar let out a miserable shriek under the pressure.

Rock's arm began to go numb and tremble, his bones cracking with violent snaps.

Rocks shouted, "Brat!! The current you..."

"...is still not worthy!!!"

Rock answered with wild laughter. "Then come again!!! Hahahaha!!!"

But in the end, he was still one step short.

When Rocks's slash reached its limit, the lightning around Rock's body suddenly scattered, and he reacted at the brink of death.

"Hiss—!!!"

His body instantly transformed into lightning!

A sharp explosion rang out, like the cries of countless birds!

In the next breath, his entire body became a streak of silver-white lightning, shooting upward past the side of the slash at extreme speed!

The Abyssal slash, having violently lost its target, continued surging upward:

"Boom—!!!"

The entire sky seemed to have been brutally cleaved open by a giant sword!!

A massive rift that pierced through the clouds and reached the heavens was carved across the world.

As the lightning gradually faded, Rocks slowly and steadily sheathed his sword.

Black-purple Conqueror's Haki contracted around him like an abyss.

He looked in the direction where the lightning had vanished, and for the first time, true gravity appeared on his face.

It was recognition, vigilance, and a faint thrill.

"Brat..."

His low voice sounded as though he were speaking to the entire era. "Your power... has yet to bloom."

"If you truly become a Marine—"

He raised his head, purple lightning streaks faintly gleaming. "This world... may be about to change."

Every monster on Hachinosu fell silent.