Pirates: A Family Slaughtered, Every Celestial Dragon Must Die!

Rocks tapped his fingers against the table, a cold glint flashing through his eyes.

"Oh? Golden City?!" The moment John heard "gold," he perked up.

"Despite its name, Golden City is actually a massive ship!"

"It's said to be the largest entertainment cruise ship on the seas. Its owner has the Gold-Gold Fruit, and legend has it that he personally owns twenty percent of the world's gold."

The well-traveled Golden Lion showed off what he knew.

Twenty percent of the world's gold?

John, Ochoku, and Silver Axe stared wide-eyed. John's eyes practically turned into coins.

"You called all of us here just for Golden City? That's boring."

Whitebeard had no interest in Golden City. He yawned.

"Of course not. According to the intelligence I received, there are currently nineteen Celestial Dragons aboard Golden City!"

As Rocks spoke, an immense wave of Conqueror's Haki erupted from him!

The floor cracked instantly under its force!

Even the seven Division Commanders present swayed on their feet!

Special Observation Haki: Future Sight

[Ding! Congratulations, host! You have successfully acquired Top-Tier Conqueror's Haki. Current progress: 5%!]

The moment Rocks unleashed his Conqueror's Haki, the system notification that Rono had not heard in ages appeared!

His Top-Tier Conqueror's Haki had suddenly made a substantial leap!

Rocks's Conqueror's Haki must be at the god tier, Rono guessed, startled.

He had sparred with Whitebeard for three months, yet his Top-Tier Conqueror's Haki had risen by only 1.5%. Rocks had barely let his power out, and Rono's progress had jumped by three percent!

Rocks truly deserved his title as overlord of the seas!

It was a shame Rono had not seen him once in the past three months. Otherwise, he would have insisted on challenging him.

"Nineteen Celestial Dragons! How could so many of them be in one place at the same time?" Even Silver Axe could not help exclaiming.

Whitebeard, Golden Lion, Charlotte Linlin, John, Ochoku, and Rono were all stunned too.

Nineteen Celestial Dragons appearing together was extraordinarily rare. The Rocks Pirates had never encountered anything like it!

"Heh. As everyone knows, the Celestial Dragons are descendants of the twenty kings who founded the World Government eight hundred years ago."

"After the World Government was established, those descendants moved to the Holy Land of Mary Geoise. From then on, the Celestial Dragons were called gods."

"Apart from the Nefertari royal family of Alabasta, who refused to move there, only nineteen Celestial Dragon families live in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise today."

Rocks explained this to the others, fire burning in his eyes.

"So those nineteen Celestial Dragons might each come from a different family?" Rono rubbed his chin.

The number nineteen was too much of a coincidence. It was the only explanation he could think of.

"That's only my guess. But according to my intelligence, those nineteen Celestial Dragons have gathered in Golden City to hold secret talks about something," Rocks continued.

"Secret talks? About what?" Everyone was curious.

What could require a meeting involving all nineteen families?

Rono frowned. He felt as though he had an inkling, but then shook his head.

There was no need for him to worry about that now.

One word: Kill!

Killing every last one of those beasts was his first priority.

"I don't know the details either. But... won't we find out if we go there and kill them?"

An utterly wicked smile spread across Rocks's face as his aura continued to rise.

"Good! When do we leave?"

Rono surged to his feet, eager to set off right now.

He did not care why the Celestial Dragons had gathered. If that many dared appear together, he would kill them all!

What they were discussing meant nothing to him.

Everyone knew Rono's past, so none of them was surprised by his reaction.

"Rono, don't be so hasty. We still need to be careful."

"Nineteen Celestial Dragons have left the Holy Land at once. Nothing like this has ever happened before. The Marines and the World Government will take it seriously. They won't let us charge in and kill them so easily."

Golden Lion had always been cautious, and he spoke up to warn Rono.

The others nodded in agreement.

Nineteen Celestial Dragons were a tremendous affair. The Marines would probably deploy every available force to protect them.

"Shiki is right. According to our intelligence network, the Marines will send at least four Admiral-level fighters: Kong, Garp, Sengoku, and Zephyr!"

"And then there's that scheming woman, Tsuru."

Rocks's tone grew noticeably heavier when he mentioned Tsuru.

In terms of strength, the Rocks Pirates and Marine Headquarters were roughly evenly matched. But Tsuru was too cunning. Every plan she devised struck at exactly the right weakness.

That was why the Marines could still just barely keep the Rocks Pirates in check.

"Four Admiral-level fighters?"

Golden Lion, Ochoku, Silver Axe, and the others were taken aback.

The Marines were certainly going all out. They still needed forces to guard Marine Headquarters, so they could not send everyone.

This was almost all the fighting strength they could spare.

"On top of that, the Marines have some formidable newcomers this time. As far as I know, three of them have Logia Devil Fruits."

"The Glint-Glint Fruit, the Magma-Magma Fruit, and the Ice-Ice Fruit. All three are top-tier Logia Devil Fruits."

"Don't get careless just because you have Haki. Understood?" Rocks looked around the room as he warned them.

Rono's eyelid twitched.

Huh? Going by their Devil Fruits, that sounds like the dog, the pheasant, and the monkey—the future Three Admirals.

According to the timeline, they should not have joined the Marines yet.

It seemed his arrival had subtly altered the original timeline!

"We've got Rono now, too. It's time the Marines suffered for once!"

Charlotte Linlin spoke through gritted teeth, still furious that Marine schemes had ruined several of her previous operations.

"Exactly. That's why I gathered you all here."

"It's time the Marines paid back everything they owe us."

Rocks looked certain of victory.

"That's all for the meeting. Go gather your crews and make your preparations. We leave first thing tomorrow morning."

With a wave of Rocks's hand, the seven Division Commanders left the meeting room to gather their crews.

"Rono, be careful this time."

After they left the office, Whitebeard suddenly patted Rono on the shoulder.

"I know. Don't worry."

Rono nodded. He knew what Whitebeard meant.

His strength had undoubtedly reached the Admiral level, but he still lacked Combat Experience. It was only at the advanced level.

He had sparred with Whitebeard for three months, but his experience in life-or-death combat had barely improved.

Sparring was sparring. He could not fight Whitebeard to the death.

But with the preparations the Marines had made, this trip was certain to bring a brutal battle!

When powerful fighters were evenly matched, experience decided the winner.

After parting ways with Whitebeard, Rono went straight back to his room.

First, he activated his Observation Haki to check whether anyone was nearby.

Once he confirmed he was alone, Rono opened the system space and took out several Devil Fruits he had obtained when he hijacked the Heavenly Tribute.

He had saved these fruits for a critical moment.

And this was undoubtedly one.

If he lacked Combat Experience, he would make up for it with Observation Haki!

Raising his Observation Haki as far as possible would do the most to offset that weakness.

[Ding! Devil Fruits detected nearby. Would the host like to absorb them?]

The system prompt appeared. Rono immediately confirmed and directed all the absorbed energy into his Observation Haki.

[Ding! Congratulations, host! Devil Fruit energy successfully absorbed. Observation Haki is growing rapidly. Current progress: 87.5%!]

[Ding! Congratulations, host! Devil Fruit energy successfully absorbed. Observation Haki is growing rapidly. Current progress: 91.5%!]

[Ding! Congratulations, host...]

He absorbed all five Devil Fruits in one go, bringing his Observation Haki straight to the top tier!

[Ding! Congratulations, host! Your Observation Haki has leveled up. Current level: Top Tier!]

[Ding! Your Observation Haki has reached the top tier. You have successfully learned a special Observation Haki ability: Future Sight!]

Rocks's Personal Lesson: Conqueror's Haki Infusion

[Ding! Your Observation Haki has reached the top tier. Ability learned: Future Sight!]

The system's voice sounded like music to Rono's ears!

Upon reaching the top tier, he had awakened a special form of Observation Haki: Future Sight.

It was a unique ability of Observation Haki.

In the original story, Katakuri had devoted himself entirely to training his Observation Haki and reached this level.

He could see a short way into the future!

Ordinary Observation Haki sharpened the five senses, making it easier to detect changes in the surroundings, living creatures, and their presence.

It also let the user anticipate an opponent's moves and evade them in advance.

But it had a flaw. An experienced fighter could feint deliberately, causing that prediction to fail. That could cost someone the fight—or even his life!

Special Observation Haki—Future Sight—let the user see a future that was certain to happen!

One allowed a fighter to predict an opponent's move and dodge. The other let him see what would happen before he acted!

It was obvious which was more useful!

"I never expected this surprise. Now my lack of Combat Experience has been completely covered!"

Delighted by the unexpected gain, Rono could not help nodding.

Then he activated his Observation Haki to test his new ability.

His five senses sharpened to an entirely new level.

Every blade of grass and every tree within several hundred meters entered his awareness, along with the hushed conversations of the Rocks Pirates outside his room.

In the next second, two members of the Rocks Pirates would start fighting because one had dirtied the other's clothes.

A second later, the man with the Dog-Dog Fruit, Jackal Form, would strike first.

Another second later, the surrounding pirates would crowd around to watch. None would try to stop the fight.

Then the man in Jackal Form would kill his opponent with a single swipe, bringing the farce to an end.