Pirates: A Family Slaughtered, the Celestial Dragons Must Die!

That was the move that had made Silver Axe a Division Commander of the Rocks Pirates!

Silver Axe was certain Rono couldn't learn this one just by watching it once.

He Really Learned It? Kirin? Anyone Could Do That! The Whole Crew Was Stunned

"Well, Rono? If you can learn this move, you'll pass the test."

Silver Axe looked thoroughly pleased with himself after performing his signature technique.

He didn't believe Rono could learn it on the spot.

There were too many difficult parts: using Conqueror's Haki to summon lightning, drawing it down around the weapon, then controlling it with Haki so it wouldn't strike the wielder...

He'd taken plenty of hits while practicing it as a child.

"That sneaky bastard Silver Axe." John was irritated. Clearly, he didn't think Rono could learn it either.

"Damn Silver Axe. He's deliberately making things hard for Rono." Whitebeard was getting angry. He'd spent ages puzzling over the move himself and still hadn't learned it.

Golden Lion and Ochoku, meanwhile, struggled to hold back their laughter.

Now they wouldn't have to pay out a billion Beli. They might even win a billion.

"Of course, if Brother Rono finds it too difficult, we can leave it there. This move really is hard to learn."

"Your recreation of Golden Lion's Cleaving Wave already showed your talent and strength."

"I'd have no objection to you becoming a Division Commander." Silver Axe offered Rono a way out.

Rono's talent was genuinely astonishing. Silver Axe couldn't afford to make an enemy of a genius he might want to win over later.

He only needed to win the bet. Rono could still become a Division Commander.

"No need. I've already learned it. I'll show you now," Rono said with a smile.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for acquiring Silver Axe: Qilin!]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for acquiring Advanced Axe Techniques. Current progress: 8%]

The system notifications had arrived while Silver Axe performed the move.

The techniques and muscle memory had flowed into Rono's body. He could use the move whenever he wanted.

Now that he'd learned Kirin, Rono saw no reason to hide it.

This was the Rocks Pirates, after all: a massive crew of vicious, ambitious pirates who constantly feuded and killed one another.

Having only just come aboard, he needed a chance to show everyone what he could do—or rather, to warn them.

Don't mess with him. This was the perfect opportunity.

He hadn't come aboard to fight his crewmates, and he had no grand ambitions. He only wanted to kill every Celestial Dragon and avenge his parents.

"You... you're sure? You really learned it?"

Everyone present was stunned!

Silver Axe, Ochoku, and Golden Lion looked doubtful. Could anyone learn such a difficult move from a single look?

Whitebeard and John froze too. Neither had expected Rono to learn it.

Even Rocks was surprised. Rono had far exceeded his expectations.

The other Division Commanders, including Charlotte Linlin, and officers such as Streusen were watching.

So were the ordinary crew members, including a very young Shakky. All of them stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

Was Rono serious?

"Of course I learned it. Watch."

Rono smiled and raised Kotetsu.

The next moment, he unleashed his Conqueror's Haki!

Rumble! Rumble!

Rono's Conqueror's Haki had reached the highest level. It was plainly far stronger than Silver Axe's.

The violent weather and thunderclouds it produced were on another level too.

Rumble! Rumble!

A blazing bolt suddenly shot from the thunderclouds like a dragon, heading straight for Rono.

The Rocks Pirates standing near him scrambled away, afraid the lightning would catch them.

Crackle! Crackle!

Rono held Kotetsu high and let the lightning hammer against it!

But the lightning was too wild. Kotetsu couldn't seem to absorb it.

The reason was simple: Rono's Conqueror's Haki was on par with Whitebeard's, so the lightning he'd summoned was far stronger than Silver Axe's.

"Damn it, settle down!"

Rono roared, his presence surging outward!

He understood the principle. Silver Axe had used Haki to pin the lightning to his weapon.

That was the hardest part of the move. It demanded extraordinarily precise control of Haki.

Use too much, and the Haki would snuff the lightning out.

Use too little, and the lightning wouldn't obey.

But Rono's muscle memory already held that precise control. In this, he had reached Silver Axe's level.

He poured both Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki into Kotetsu, forcing the lightning down.

Soon it quieted, coiling around the blade's tip and flickering with tiny sparks.

"Ah! He actually controlled the lightning!"

Silver Axe was aghast. He knew suppressing the lightning with Haki was the move's greatest challenge!

Once that was done, the move was practically ninety percent mastered.

The remaining ten percent was swinging the sword to launch the lightning. Anyone who could wield a sword could manage that.

And the lightning Rono had summoned was much stronger than his own. Yet Rono had suppressed it?

Just how monstrous was this man's talent?

Seeing Silver Axe's reaction, Golden Lion and Ochoku grew alarmed.

He couldn't really have learned it... could he?

"All right. Watch this!"

"Kirin!"

Rumble!

Rono swung his blade toward the sky!

A sword strike charged with top-level Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki blasted upward!

In midair, it took the form of a mythical Kirin!

Roar! Roar!

The Kirin howled in fury and tore a huge hole through the clouds above Hachinosu!

Then, just as Silver Axe's had, it exploded!

Boom! Boom!

A mushroom cloud twice the size of Silver Axe's rose over Hachinosu Island!

The Rocks Pirates gasped as one!

Rono... he really had learned Captain Silver Axe's secret finishing move!

And judging by its size and destructive power, Rono's Kirin was even more terrifying than Silver Axe's!

This wasn't like Golden Lion's Cleaving Wave.

The power of Silver Axe's Kirin depended almost entirely on the strength of the user's Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki. Swordsmanship played only a small part.

Silver Axe's Haki clearly wasn't on Rono's level.

Among the entire Rocks Pirates, perhaps only Whitebeard, Golden Lion, and Rocks could rival Rono in those two forms of Haki!

Silence fell. The whole place went utterly quiet!

Everyone looked at Rono, their eyes filled with admiration, jealousy, fear, and shock.

His talent was simply monstrous!

"Well done, Rono." Rocks stepped forward, breaking the silence.

He looked excited himself.

Even he hadn't expected Rono's talent to be more frightening than he'd imagined!

Frightening was exactly the word!

He could learn any move after seeing it once—even a finisher as complicated as Silver Axe's!

No one in a hundred years—perhaps no one in all of history—had possessed talent like that.

As Rono grew stronger, he would surely help Rocks fulfill his ambitions!

"I now declare Rono a Division Commander of the Rocks Pirates. Does anyone still object?"

Rocks swept the crowd with a commanding gaze.

Seventh Division Commander; Kaido Begged to Join His Idol Rono

"No objections to Rono becoming a Division Commander, I trust?"

Rocks looked around the gathering, his voice full of authority.

"None! I'm all for Rono becoming a Division Commander!"

"Me too!"

"With Rono's strength, the job will be easy for him."

"The Rocks Pirates have gained another powerhouse."

With Rocks having settled the matter, Ochoku, Silver Axe, Golden Lion, John, and even Charlotte Linlin hurried to voice their support.

Golden Lion and Silver Axe had made the test difficult for Rono. By agreeing at once, they hoped he wouldn't hold it against them.

Neither wanted to offend a genius of his caliber.

After that test, Golden Lion, Silver Axe, and Ochoku had even begun thinking of ways to win Rono over.

Charlotte Linlin, not yet heavyset, even shot Rono a flirtatious look, hoping he'd notice her.

With talent like his, a child we had together might be even more gifted than Katakuri.

"Gurarara! That's Rono for you. Getting all these captains to agree on something is rare indeed."

Whitebeard laughed heartily when he saw Rono chosen with every Division Commander's approval. He felt proud.

He was the one who had personally gone to recruit this genius!

Rono had won over even difficult people like Golden Lion, Ochoku, Silver Axe, and Charlotte. Whitebeard couldn't have been prouder.

"Very well, Rono. You're now officially a Division Commander of the Rocks Pirates."

"The position comes with many privileges. You may choose your own crew, even from other divisions, provided you can defeat their commander or obtain their consent."

"You'll also have your own ship and the authority to sail the New World with your crew. You may raid any country or city you choose, without sharing the profits with the other Division Commanders."

Rocks began explaining the benefits of being a Division Commander to Rono.