Pirates: A Family Wiped Out, Every Celestial Dragon Must Die!

In short, Division Commanders were the highest-ranking officers of the Rocks Pirates!

They stood on the same level as an emperor's All-Stars or Four Sweet Commanders, or Whitebeard's Division Commanders.

They could travel alone, raid as they pleased, and wield considerable authority.

No wonder so many pirates dreamed of becoming Division Commanders in the Rocks Pirates. The position was genuinely tempting.

But standing out among these monsters was no easy feat.

The Rocks Pirates currently had only six Division Commanders: Whitebeard, Golden Lion, Charlotte Linlin, Silver Axe, John, and Ochoku!

Rono was the seventh!

"Of course, a Division Commander's most important duty is this: whenever I give an order, no matter where you are or what you're doing, you stop immediately, assemble, and move with the main force."

Rocks's voice grew heavier. This was clearly the rule that mattered most.

"But don't worry. I guarantee you'll like every order I give." Rocks gave Rono a meaningful look.

"Interesting. I understand." One look at Rocks's expression told Rono what he meant.

Given Rocks's way of doing things, any operation that required every Division Commander would probably target the Celestial Dragons. That suited Rono perfectly!

"All right. You can recruit your own crew now." Rocks patted Rono on the shoulder.

The moment he finished speaking, several members of the Rocks Pirates hurried over to Rono.

"Captain Rono, pick me! I'll be loyal, I swear!"

"Captain Rono, pick me! I'm a Chop-Chop Fruit User. I can help you!"

"Pick me, Captain Rono! I'm an Ox-Ox Fruit User, and I'm strong as an ox!"

In an instant, more than a dozen crew members wanted to join Rono's division.

Rono wasn't particularly interested in any of them.

Some were Devil Fruit Users, but anyone volunteering this eagerly had probably been passed over by the other Division Commanders.

In other words, they lacked strength and talent. They were the rejects.

Still, he had no one under his command yet. Even if they were poor fighters, he needed people to handle the dirty work and odd jobs.

Before long, Rono accepted a dozen or so sturdy men who looked strong and healthy.

Those who made it into his division looked smug!

Everyone had seen Rono's talent. His potential was surely greater than that of any other Division Commander!

If they followed him, they might rise with him.

Some members who had already joined other divisions looked on with envy and regret.

If only I'd waited. These sailors aren't as strong or promising as me, but they got into Rono's division. What ridiculous luck.

Just then, a towering, heavily muscled man effortlessly pushed through the crowd and came before Rono.

He stood around five meters tall, his powerful muscles looking as hard as cast iron.

A spiked club at least four or five meters long hung at his waist, and two strange, bull-like horns rose from his head.

He was unmistakably an Oni.

"Captain Rono! You're Rono the Hero? I never thought I'd meet you here!"

"I want to join your division. Please, you have to take me in!"

The man was as excited as a devoted fan meeting his idol. He dropped to one knee on the spot and pleaded to join, looking ready to swear an oath!

Golden Lion, Charlotte Linlin, Silver Axe, Ochoku, and the others were all startled to see him.

He was a trainee who had recently joined the Rocks Pirates, originally from the Vodka Kingdom in the Grand Line.

After his country sold him to the Marines, he escaped and joined the Rocks Pirates.

This man was Kaido, who would one day become the renowned World's Strongest Creature and one of the Four Emperors!

Of course, Golden Lion, Silver Axe, Charlotte Linlin, John, and Ochoku knew none of that. They only knew Kaido seemed talented and promising, so each had sincerely invited him into their division.

Kaido had turned every one of them down.

They had assumed he was ambitious and planned to form his own division someday. Who would have thought he'd suddenly change his mind and clamor to join Rono's?

Envy filled Golden Lion's eyes and those of the others!

Here was another promising newcomer, asking to join of his own accord.

More strikingly, Kaido had called him Rono the Hero!

Was this guy a Rono fan?

What they didn't know was that Kaido had idolized Rono ever since he first saw him in the newspaper!

Rono was about his age, yet he had dared to seize the Heavenly Tribute. He had done what Kaido had only dreamed of doing!

If his homeland hadn't been forced to pay the Heavenly Tribute, it wouldn't have suffered years of war, and it wouldn't have sold him to the Marines.

The operation begins: the Celestial Dragons in the Golden City

"Kaido, why do you call me Rono the Hero?"

Rono didn't accept Kaido's offer right away. Instead, he asked out of curiosity.

Since when did I have a title like Hero?

Kaido grew even more excited when he realized Rono knew his name.

"Captain Rono, you haven't heard? When you seized the Heavenly Tribute, you freed a lot of slaves. Some of them were our fellow Oni."

"Once everyone learned your name, they started calling you Rono the Hero!" Kaido explained with heartfelt enthusiasm.

Rono nodded. He hadn't expected that small, spur-of-the-moment act to bring him such an unexpected reward.

Judging by the worshipful look on Kaido's face, he was a fan through and through.

Rono didn't yet know that the slaves he had freed had influenced more than Kaido. His actions had also reached the Mink Tribe, the Fish-Men of Fish-Man Island, and many other peoples.

That influence would prove enormously important one day!

"All right, I understand. You're in. From now on, you're a member of my Seventh Division."

Rono was more than happy to gain someone with Kaido's extraordinary potential.

After all, this was the future World's Strongest Creature!

To achieve his goal of killing every Celestial Dragon, he would need capable allies.

"Not bad. You've barely become a captain, and you've already recruited a monster like Kaido."

Golden Lion, Silver Axe, Ochoku, and the others spoke with unmistakable envy.

Who among them wouldn't have wanted such a talented, powerful crew member?

Unfortunately, they had invited him and been ignored. Then he had gone and begged Rono to let him join.

"Congratulations on becoming a Division Commander, Rono. We're family now. Since we're all on the same ship, let's look out for each other."

"That's right. We're comrades. We'll be facing life and death together."

"Exactly, Captain Rono. If you ever need help, just say the word."

"Mama, Captain Rono, would you like to come to my room tonight? I'll treat you well."

As the banquet continued, Golden Lion, Silver Axe, Ochoku, John, and the other Division Commanders raised their glasses to congratulate Rono.

They also wanted to leave him with a good impression.

Charlotte Linlin even kept batting her eyelashes and inviting Rono to her room.

At this point, Charlotte Linlin still had her figure and youthful looks. She could even be called a great beauty.

But when Rono glanced at the dozen or so young children behind her—including Perospero, Katakuri, Daifuku, Oven, Opera, Counter, and Cracker—he nearly spat out the wine he had just drunk.

No thanks. I'm not interested in secondhand goods, let alone someone who's been through more than a dozen hands.

Big Mom's looks in her younger days

"True. We're all comrades. We should look out for one another."

Rono clinked glasses with Golden Lion, Silver Axe, John, and the rest, while inwardly thinking, Screw every last one of you.

He knew exactly what sort of people they were: a pack of schemers.

They called one another comrades, but the moment their interests clashed, they would turn on each other.

Still, showing them the full extent of his talent hadn't been a bad thing. At least these Division Commanders now respected his strength and potential enough to come and curry favor.

With luck, no one in the Rocks Pirates would bother him from now on.

The banquet lasted three days and three nights, costing nearly three billion Beli before it finally ended.

Three months passed in the blink of an eye.

During his first three months with the Rocks Pirates, Rono kept training to shore up his weaknesses.

First came Swordsmanship!

Rono sparred with Whitebeard often over those three months, and Whitebeard was always happy to have a fight.

Through all that sparring, Rono raised his Swordsmanship from advanced to top-tier. Whitebeard was an expert with a blade, after all.

Rono had now reached the level of a Great Swordmaster. The sword energy behind his Cleaving Wave could rival Golden Lion's own.

His strength, speed, and stamina had improved through sparring too, reaching Admiral level!

He checked his status panel again:

[Host: Rono]

[Age: 17]

[Strength: Admiral level]

[Speed: Admiral level]

[Stamina: Admiral level]

[Top-Tier Conqueror's Haki (1.5%); top-tier Armament Haki (4.6%); advanced Observation Haki (82.7%)]

[Other abilities: Swordsmanship (Great Swordmaster level); Combat Experience (advanced); Axe Combat (advanced)]

[Techniques: Iron Fist; Cleaving Wave; Kirin; Six Powers]

[Devil Fruit ability: Flame-Flame Fruit · absorption]

[God-Tier Ability: Voice of All Things!]

Rono nodded in satisfaction after looking over the panel.

He now had virtually no weaknesses. He had become a genuine Admiral-level powerhouse!

Of course, his Observation Haki was still at the advanced stage. Rono planned to use the Devil Fruits he had seized with the Heavenly Tribute to push it higher.

His Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki, meanwhile, remained at the top tier. They still had a way to go before reaching the highest, god-tier level.

Whitebeard's Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki were about equal to Rono's, so sparring with him barely improved either one. Their growth had nearly stalled!

Perhaps he needed a major battle to break through that bottleneck.

As for Rocks, Rono had no idea what he had been doing these past three months. He hadn't even seen him.

Then, one day, Rocks appeared without warning and called a meeting of his officers.

Rono and Whitebeard were the only two Division Commanders who had stayed on Hachinosu instead of going out to "earn a little extra."

Golden Lion, Silver Axe, Ochoku, Charlotte Linlin, and John immediately halted whatever they were doing when Rocks summoned them and returned to Hachinosu as quickly as possible.

Inside Hachinosu's enormous skull was a lavishly decorated conference room.

Rocks and all seven Division Commanders were present.

"Since everyone's here, I'll get straight to the point."

"I called you together because of one target: the Golden City!"