Pirates: My Immortality Starts with Maxing Out Conqueror's Haki

Crocodile seemed to be in a somewhat strange condition.

"Xia Le?"

Crocodile repeated the name, seeming to have some impression of it, but not being familiar with it.

After a moment of silence, he raised his head blankly again.

"Then who am I?"

Xia Le froze. He could naturally tell that this fellow was not pretending.

To be one hundred percent certain, he even looked toward Evens, who was wiping his gun nearby. The other man nodded seriously.

"Did I punch his brains into mush?"

Xia Le was somewhat dumbfounded.

But then, he began to laugh.

This seemed even better!

"Listen, kid!"

His eyes once again settled on the bewildered Crocodile before him.

"You were rescued by me from the Pirates. As for your current identity..."

"You're an Apprentice Marine on my ship!"

Upon hearing this, Crocodile looked around again.

Everyone else was watching him curiously.

"I, Crocodile!"

"Am I an Apprentice Marine?"

Crocodile muttered the words repeatedly.

He seemed to have lost his previous memories and forgotten who he was. However, everything else was fine, and he clearly understood what an Apprentice Marine meant.

Slowly closing his eyes, an image surfaced in Crocodile's mind. It instinctively filled him with fear, making him shrink back.

He struggled to recall it. It was a fluttering white cloak and a fist wearing a black glove.

When he opened his eyes again, Crocodile looked at the other man's right hand. The glove was exactly the same as the black glove in his memory.

"Perhaps he's right!"

"I only remember some things about him. I must have admired him a great deal."

He secretly thought to himself.

And so, from that day onward, Crocodile—whose brain had been shattered before he could even begin his journey—began living happily as an Apprentice Marine aboard Xia Le's ship.

In five days, the young Crocodile became familiar with Rosinante, T Bone, Evens, and the others.

Moreover, the ability of his Sand-Sand Fruit made everyone else aboard the ship extremely curious.

"Wow, wow, wow! That ability is amazing!"

"To think you're immune to all physical attacks! That's incredible!"

"You're really strong, Crocodile! Even without using your Devil Fruit ability, you can fight Evens in close combat!"

Rosinante shouted excitedly.

On this ship, the twelve-year-old Rosinante was essentially the atmosphere-maker, lively and cheerful.

T Bone, meanwhile, was sparring with Yagyu Hyoe using their swords. He quickly developed a sense of mutual respect for the other man, and the two became good friends.

Xia Le folded his arms and watched Crocodile quickly become friends with everyone. A faint smile appeared on his face.

"The amnesiac Sand Crocodile."

"He seems to be gradually experiencing new joys as well."

"Perhaps he'll thank me for that punch in the future."

Important Mission

With Crocodile joining Xia Le's squad, its combat strength had undoubtedly surged.

Over the following half month, Crocodile displayed the powerful offensive strength of a Logia ability user, sweeping aside nearly every target Pirate group.

Sandstorms appeared at a thought, and he could casually create sand tornadoes. At the moment his right hand touched an opponent's body, he could also drain all the moisture from the target.

The Sand-Sand Fruit truly possessed terrifying offensive power, with an extremely potent ability to plunder and invade.

Yet this former Sand Crocodile, the great Pirate who had recently been active on the seas, displayed a personality completely opposite to his former one.

He was cautious and wise, and he treated his comrades with gentleness and courtesy. Whenever they encountered children among the civilians during missions, he even showed a kind heart.

This left T Bone, Evens, and the others clicking their tongues in amazement.

No one could have imagined that a great Pirate whose notorious reputation had spread far and wide would become like a new person after losing his memory, transforming into someone else entirely.

Of course, everyone aboard the ship was extremely taciturn about it. No one would reveal anything about his past.

On this day, after completing a rescue mission and returning to the Warship, Crocodile finally could not hold back any longer. He gathered his courage, walked up behind Xia Le, and asked the question that had puzzled him for so long.

"Commander Xia Le!"

"Why did those Pirates recognize me?"

"They even said that I had betrayed the ideals of the Pirates?"

"Who exactly was I before?"

Hearing this, Xia Le turned around. There was no smile on his face, and he did not answer. Instead, he stared into the other man's eyes.

Only after a long while did he slowly speak.

"Little Sand."

"Is the past really that important?"

"No matter what your past was, or what kind of person you were, aren't you living in the present now?"

"So, who you are now and what kind of person you are—that is what matters most!"

After a pause, a trace of emotion also surfaced in Xia Le's eyes.

"Actually, I'm the same as you. I know nothing about what happened to me before I was seventeen!"

"But I'm living quite well now, aren't I?"

Crocodile froze upon hearing this. He looked at the superior before him—the person he cherished, trusted, and revered most.

"You forgot your past too?"

"Live in the present!"

"Little Sand!"

Xia Le smiled.

The confusion in Crocodile's eyes vanished, and he solemnly nodded. "Yes, Commander!"

"Go train. Your physical fitness and martial arts still need work!"

"You should know that while Logia abilities are powerful, in battles between experts, one's own strength is ultimately the deciding factor."

Xia Le reached out and patted him on the shoulder.

Crocodile turned around crisply and stood together with Rosinante and the others, then continued their training for the day.

Time continued to pass. In the blink of an eye, another two months went by.

The sea had undoubtedly experienced many changes that year. Roger became the Pirate King, stirring up the wild actions of countless Pirates.

While Xia Le's squad suppressed these Pirates, they also frequently heard news about Kuzan and Sakazuki. Like Xia Le, they were active across these seas, transforming from immature graduates into seasoned Rear Admirals.

As for Borsalino, he seemed to have been assigned by Headquarters as the deputy commander-in-chief of some fortress, beginning his clock-in-and-out working life.

The strength of the squad members under him also rapidly increased through training and constant battles.

It was worth mentioning that after several months of pondering, Xia Le finally drew out and completely mastered the Armament Haki that had originally been hidden within his body.

Although there was only a trace of it, it could already be displayed on the panel.

"Armament Haki, Lv0+."

This simple information bar brought a smile to Xia Le's lips.

It undoubtedly represented that he could spend points to increase it.

Through the Navy Academy and the battles during this period, he had accumulated fifty-eight system points.

Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately spent them all on Armament Haki.

In an instant, Armament Haki rose to level fifty-eight.

At that moment, an indescribable perception of his body and the aura of the outside world surged over him. At the same time, with a slight movement of his consciousness, an aura spread across the glove he was wearing and rapidly extended, wrapping around his entire arm.

"Armament Haki."

Xia Le laughed.

Although Armament Haki was not as effective as Seastone when it came to suppressing Devil Fruit Users, it could increase his attack and defense. It could even seize Logia Devil Fruit Users.

At level fifty-eight, his Armament Haki could already coat and wrap around his body from his head down to below his chest and across his waist.

At the same time, Xia Le discovered that he could now make simple use of Ryuo, an advanced application of Armament Haki.

Of course, when he used it, it still sometimes worked and sometimes failed.

"This gives me more—and more effective—ways to deal with Devil Fruit Users."

Xia Le smiled.

On the other side, while Crocodile was chatting with Rosinante with a smile on his face, his head suddenly went blank. Fragmentary scenes abruptly surfaced in his mind.

There was a scene of him running barefoot as a child, a scene of him excitedly sailing out to sea aboard a ship, and a scene of him eating a strange fruit.

Everything was extremely fragmented and disjointed.

But Crocodile instantly understood that these were memories from his past.

"Are my memories coming back?"

"But they're far too fragmented!"

At that moment, Rosinante noticed that something was wrong. He asked curiously, "What's wrong, Crocodile?"

"Nothing!"

Crocodile shook his head and smiled.

"Come to think of it, we've participated in so many battles as Apprentices. We should be close to becoming full Marines, right?"

Mina asked curiously.

Although the five of them had originally been Pirates, life after becoming Marines was quite comfortable. Most importantly, they were very satisfied and at ease with the way their superior treated civilians.

Evens had once commented privately that their Commander was actually cut from the same cloth as them.

"That would be great."

Crocodile grinned.

"I like the Justice Cloak behind Commander Xia Le."

Evens smiled upon hearing this. "For some people, the justice on the cloak behind them is hypocrisy. But the justice behind Xia Le is true justice."

Crocodile smiled. "If I had a cloak like that, mine would definitely represent true justice too."

"Me too!"

Rosinante shouted.

Everyone burst out laughing, and the atmosphere grew lively.

Clearly, everyone aboard this Warship revered Xia Le deeply.

That reverence came from the different attitudes he displayed during their daily missions when dealing with civilians and certain detestable nobles.