Not a Little Brother-I'll Only Be the Old Man

Rektol walked to the edge of the deck.

The sea wind tossed his short pink hair into disarray. He turned around and looked at the enraged Rocks and the stunned pirate officers covering the ship.

"You want me to be your little brother?"

Rektol spat. The droplets landed precisely on the blackened wooden deck.

"Keep dreaming. I was born to be the old man."

Rocks's face twisted completely.

The veins on his forehead writhed like worms. Blue veins bulged across the backs of his withered hands.

He abruptly drew the pistol from his waist. He aimed the muzzle at Rektol's head and pulled the trigger without the slightest hesitation.

"Bang!"

The lead bullet tore through the air with a piercing shriek. A cloud of choking white smoke burst from the muzzle.

Rektol did not even blink. The instant the bullet touched his skin, his body transformed directly into a dazzling mass of blue-white lightning.

The bullet pierced through the lightning and struck the ship's side behind him, blasting out a large cloud of splintered wood.

"Rumble—"

Two hundred million volts of electricity erupted across the deck. The entire two-hundred-meter flagship rocked violently, as though it might fall apart at any moment in the middle of a storm.

The enormous pirate flag atop the mainmast ignited instantly from the intense heat. Flames danced wildly, reducing it to a mass of black ash within seconds that drifted all over the deck.

Rektol transformed into a lightning bolt as thick as a barrel and shot into the sky.

The raging lightning tore through the heavy clouds above and surged straight into the heavens. Thunder exploded against everyone's eardrums.

Only a thick, nauseating smell of ozone remained in the air, along with Rocks's suppressed, beastlike roar.

The deck fell deathly silent.

Golden Lion Shiki leaned against a rope. The cigar in his mouth had been snapped in half by the thunder just now. The burning half fell onto his leather shoe and left a black mark.

For once, he did not curse. He merely stared fixedly at the blue electric trail in the sky that had yet to completely disperse.

Whitebeard Newgate stroked his crescent-shaped beard. He drew in a deep breath of air tinged with the smell of scorching.

The face of the Rocks Pirates had been trampled beneath the feet of a three-year-old child today, crushed to pieces.

The embryonic headquarters of Totto Land.

The midday sunlight was blocked by thick clouds.

A mass of raging lightning descended from the sky and slammed into the bluestone pavement of the central square.

"Bang!"

The bluestone shattered outright. Fragments shot in every direction like bullets, striking the nearby earthen walls and leaving deep pits behind.

Rektol walked barefoot out of the crater.

Residual static electricity still clung to his trouser legs. Blue arcs crackled across his skin, and the surrounding air warped slightly from the heat.

"Big brother!"

Katakuri ran over with great strides. He was only a few years old, but he was already much taller than Rektol.

A tattered, thick scarf wrapped around his mouth, hiding his sharp fangs. His eyes, which usually carried a hint of timidity, now shone with fervent admiration.

Chubby Cracker followed beside him.

He held a hard biscuit he had only half finished eating. Several rusty nails and half of a broken iron pot floated around his body, bobbing up and down with his steps. The power of the Magnet-Magnet Fruit had already begun operating instinctively, occasionally producing crisp metallic clangs.

Rektol dusted off his hands.

"To the council hall." Rektol's voice was not loud as he strode forward on his short legs.

Less than ten minutes later.

The spacious stone hall was packed with people.

The core officers of the Charlotte Family, the captains of affiliated pirate crews, and the younger brothers and sisters who had only just learned to walk.

The hall was quiet. Only the torches on the walls crackled as they burned. The pungent smell of pine resin filled the air, mixed with the body odor of the pirates.

Linlin sat in an oversized iron chair in the corner.

She held a roasted leg from a giant sea beast in her hands. She tore into it in huge bites, her mouth covered in grease. Fat dripped from her chin onto the carpet, and she paid no attention to the oppressive atmosphere in the hall.

Rektol walked to the front of the steps.

He jumped directly onto the broad stone chair in the seat of honor. He was too small, and his feet dangled completely off the ground.

Yet no one dared find the scene amusing. The faint pressure of thunder weighed down on the people in the front rows until several pirates could barely breathe.

Rektol rested his two short hands on the armrests. His knuckles tapped rhythmically against the rough stone.

"I just came back from Rocks's ship."

He paused and swept his gaze over the pairs of uneasy, astonished eyes below.

"That old bastard wanted to cripple me with poison."

A commotion broke out among the crowd. Several pirates exchanged frightened looks.

Rektol ignored them and continued, "I butchered three assassins and conveniently splashed a foot of poisoned wine on him."

A collective gasp rose from below.

A captain of an affiliated pirate crew wearing a red headscarf went weak in the knees and dropped to the ground with a thud, pressing his forehead hard against the stone floor.

"Young master... have you gone mad? Rocks will kill us all!" The headscarf pirate's voice trembled uncontrollably, and his teeth chattered.

Rektol grabbed a solid copper wine cup from the table beside him.

He put strength into his wrist and smashed it viciously against the pirate's forehead.

"Clang!"

The copper cup was badly dented and rolled twice across the floor. The pirate covered his bleeding forehead. His scream caught in his throat, and he forcibly swallowed it back down.

"Shut up."

Rektol stood up. He stepped directly onto the animal-skin cushion of the stone chair and looked down over the entire hall.

"Rocks is nothing."

He raised his right hand and pointed toward the turbulent black sea outside the door.

"From today onward, the Charlotte Family will heed orders but not commands."

"When Rocks wants to wage war, we'll go seize territory. When he wants to throw his life away, we'll watch."

"When there are benefits, we'll take them all. When there's trouble, we'll let him bear it."

Rektol delivered his conclusion decisively: "In reality, we're independent from under Rocks's command."

The hall fell silent for two seconds. One could hear a pin drop.

Katakuri suddenly stepped forward.

His short boots landed heavily on the stone floor. A dark-red aura burst from his young body.

The embryonic form of Conqueror's Haki made the air in the hall instantly viscous. Several weak-willed underlings rolled their eyes back and fainted dead away.

"Whatever Big Brother says goes." Katakuri clenched both fists. His voice was muffled by his scarf, yet it carried an unquestionable fervor.

Cracker let out a loud, satisfied belch.

The broken iron pot and nails floating above his head instantly converged. Amid a piercing metallic twisting sound, they transformed into a crude greatsword with a broad blade.

He hugged the greatsword with his chubby arms, raised it over his head, and pointed toward the door. "That's right! Whoever Big Brother says to strike, I'll cut down!"

In the corner, Smoothie, who was still drinking milk, seemed to sense the atmosphere as well. She wildly flailed her extraordinarily long legs and kicked the blanket onto the floor.

Linlin swallowed the meat in her mouth.

She picked up the enormous wooden wine gourd hanging around her neck and tipped her head back to gulp down a mouthful. The liquor ran down her neck and into her collar.

"Ma-ma-ma-ma!"

Linlin bared her huge mouth and let out a wild burst of laughter. Red strands of meat still clung to her sawtoothed teeth. The laughter shook dust loose from the ceiling above.

She did not say a single word of objection.

The violence Rektol had displayed and his nearly insane ambition perfectly matched her understanding of the strong.

In that hall, everyone's spirit had been thoroughly ignited.

Their unity reached its peak at that moment. They recognized only the eldest son, Rektol. The flag of Rocks had long since been torn to shreds in their hearts.

Rektol looked at the excited faces below.

He sat back down in the stone chair. His back rested against the cold backrest.

His expression barely changed, but the three hearts in his chest beat steadily and powerfully.

Declaring independence was only a matter of saying the words. But to establish a foothold on this cruel sea, he needed absolute confidence.

His current trump cards were still insufficient to overturn the entire world.

Rektol closed his eyes. A faint blue light seeped from beneath his eyelids.

The All-Knowing Eye activated instantly.

His gaze pierced through the stone hall's domed ceiling, crossed the seas of Totto Land, and silently spread outward. Inch by inch, it scanned the waters of the New World.

Suddenly, his consciousness jolted to a halt.

High above an unnamed deserted island several hundred nautical miles from Totto Land, a violent spatial fluctuation rippled through the air.

The sensation was like a massive stone dropping out of nowhere into a tranquil lake.

Rektol opened his eyes. The blue light in their depths was so dense it seemed ready to drip out.

Mixed within the distant fluctuation was a rule-bound power that made one's scalp tingle. It was a sign that another God-tier Devil Fruit had emerged.

Rektol stood up. A crisp series of bone-cracking sounds rang out from his three-year-old body.

The All-Knowing Eye caught another familiar aura.

In the clouds above the deserted island, dozens of pirate warships flying skull flags hovered in midair, defying gravity.

Golden Lion Shiki stood on the bow, his face filled with fervor as he rushed toward the island.