Trying to Change Fate

"Take it back!"

Oak noticed Kaido giving him a sidelong look, so he glared at him in warning to take it back.

This little brat actually dared bare his teeth at him. He was getting out of hand!

"So what if I put my drinks on your tab? What's the big deal? Look at how petty you are."

After giving him a dressing-down, Oak shifted his gaze to Rocks just as Kaido was about to explode.

"Me? What qualifications does a lowly intern like me have to compete with all those big brothers and sisters down there? I'd better stay up here and wait to pick up whatever scraps are left at the end!"

Oak spread his hands, making himself sound utterly pitiful.

"Cut it out!"

Rocks saw through his act at a glance.

"You brat are even wilder than Kaido. Stop pretending to be so well-behaved. Every night, you even dare to go with Linlin..."

Rocks was about to expose him when Oak clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Don't hit people in the face or expose their dirty laundry when insulting them, Captain Rocks. Don't talk nonsense. Big Sis Linlin and I are completely innocent. I only go to her place for dinner..."

Yet his words drew two snorts of laughter, one from Kaido and the other from Newgate.

Kaido's face was full of contempt.

By now, who in the entire pirate crew didn't know about that little thing between him and Linlin? What was he pretending for?

Newgate watched him too, with an amused half-smile.

"Wororororo!"

Rocks broke free of Oak's hand, planted his hands on his hips, and laughed as he teased him.

"Brat, even I admire you. You actually dared touch Linlin. Aren't you afraid..."

He tossed Oak a look that every man understood, then steered the conversation back on track.

"Tell me, what's your reason for insisting on staying until the end?"

He could tell that Oak seemed to have something he wanted to say.

Oak did not answer immediately. Instead, he looked below and waited until he saw that the others had no intention of returning anytime soon before speaking.

"We seem to be quite close to Punk Hazard, right? I have some information. There may be a group of frozen giants there. Do you want to take a look?"

After saying that, Oak watched Rocks's eyes. Sure enough, they lit up.

"Are you sure?"

At the mention of frozen giants, the first thing Rocks thought of was the lost Great Hammer Warband. He had been searching for news of that warband without success, never expecting to gain something from an intern who had joined only recently.

"I'm not sure!"

Oak shook his head.

As for the frozen giants on Punk Hazard, he had only seen them in a fleeting shot from the original story.

At that time, it had already become a restricted area. It had originally been a Marine research base under the World Government's jurisdiction, where Vegapunk, the world's greatest mind, and Caesar Clown conducted research and temporarily held some World Government prisoners.

Later, Caesar Clown's experimental accident caused a severe poisonous gas leak, and the island was abandoned. It then became the battlefield for Akainu and Aokiji's contest for the position of Fleet Admiral. Their battle, which lasted ten days and ten nights, completely changed the island's climate and turned it into an island of ice and fire.

Later still, Caesar Clown, who had escaped, returned there in secret to cultivate SAD, the material for artificial Devil Fruits, and conduct experiments in human gigantification.

So Oak was not sure whether those frozen giants had originally been on the island, were prisoners later transferred there by the World Government, or were failed subjects of Caesar Clown's human gigantification experiments.

The only way to find out was to go there himself and confirm it.

"Are you going or not?"

He asked Rocks.

"Of course I'm going!"

Rocks answered without hesitation. Even if the information was uncertain, he had to go and see for himself.

"I'll call those guys back right now. We'll set off for Punk Hazard immediately!"

After saying that, Rocks impatiently moved to send out a signal, but Oak stopped him.

"Are you sure every one of us can be trusted?"

He threw out the question and continued before Rocks could answer.

"I don't know why you're looking for the Great Hammer Warband, but I assume it's important. What if it really is on Punk Hazard, and someone among us sells the information to the World Government?"

"The World Government has existed for eight hundred years and ruled the world for eight hundred years. There are probably beings within it that even someone as strong as you cannot handle, right?"

"Otherwise, you wouldn't have gone to such lengths to prepare so many plans. You would have fulfilled your dream of becoming the King of the World long ago!"

Oak's words made Rocks calm down. He looked at him in surprise, while Oak met his gaze without the slightest ripple.

The air fell silent in an instant. Newgate and Kaido, standing nearby, both stopped what they were doing and made no sound.

"Who do you suspect?"

After a moment, Rocks spoke. Without any unnecessary words, he went straight to the heart of Oak's statement.

Since he had said this, he naturally suspected there was a mole within the crew.

"Ochoku!"

Oak spoke the name of that traitor.

"Why?"

Rocks asked again.

"A feeling!"

After hearing that reason, Rocks did not ask any more questions. He merely gave Oak a deep look before making his decision.

"Then only the four of us will make a trip to Punk Hazard!"

"No objections, Kaido? Newgate?"

Newgate merely nodded lightly. Kaido, meanwhile, slammed his spiked club heavily onto the deck.

"Pirates have their code too. Never betraying your comrades is an ironclad rule. If there really is a mole, I'll be the first to kill him!"

As he said this, Kaido wore a savage expression. During this time together, both he and Newgate had developed an inexplicable trust in Oak. They believed he would never speak carelessly about something like this. Since Oak had raised the matter, he must have noticed something. Kaido's gaze began searching for Ochoku's figure.

"Stop looking!"

Oak jumped up and smacked him on the head.

"I said it was only a feeling. Until we have any evidence, don't falsely accuse anyone. The important thing is the real business."

"Besides going to Punk Hazard this time, I have my own objective. I hope you can help me."

"There are two things I absolutely must get my hands on!"

Oak looked at the three of them, especially Rocks, and spoke seriously.

He was trying to change Rocks's predetermined fate from the original story, using the memories in his mind to provide him with intelligence and help him avoid certain risks.

But the world was constantly changing. With himself, this butterfly, flapping its wings, no one knew what consequences it might bring.

Even if he knew the plot of the original story and tried to avoid it, that did not mean certain things would definitely not happen. So while helping Rocks, he also had to keep pursuing strength and prepare for an uncertain future.

The two things he wanted to obtain this time were precisely things that could help him accumulate strength.

"Agreed!"

Under Oak's gaze, Rocks nodded firmly.