Ron stared at Rocks as he gradually walked away. The wind brushed through his hair, lifting several messy black strands, but it could not blow away the heat quietly igniting in his eyes.
'Maybe... fate doesn't want me to develop safely either.'
'In that case... I'll walk the thorn-covered road, cut through the thorns with my blade, water the soil with blood, and carve out a path by force.'
A smile slowly lifted the corners of Ron's mouth. Then he stepped forward without hesitation and followed.
Rocks, walking ahead, seemed to have noticed the figure following behind him. Without stopping, he burst into loud laughter.
"Hahahahahaha..."
"My name is Rocks D. Xebec. You can call me Captain, or Boss. Of course, if you don't like either, you can just call me Rocks."
"I'm Ron."
"I'll remember that, Ron." Rocks turned half his face back, a trace of appreciation flashing through his eyes. "From now on, you're the second apprentice crewman of my Rocks Pirates."
"Second?"
"Yeah. The one before you is called Kaido. He's a young man with plenty of potential."
"You don't care about my strength?" Ron asked, changing the subject. Mainly because joining the Rocks Pirates had gone far too smoothly.
"Wahahahaha! I've always had a good eye for people."
Whether Ron had faced Roger or himself, Rocks had not seen fear in his eyes. A person with that kind of temperament usually would not turn out too badly.
"Where are we going next?" Ron asked.
"Business is done, so of course we're heading back," Rocks replied.
This trip had been for Roger. Unfortunately, things had not gone as he wanted. Roger refused to cooperate no matter what. In the end, Rocks did not force it. After all, people who walked different paths could not plan together.
-------------------------------------
At the island harbor, the winds surged and clouds rolled like ink across the sky. The sea churned violently, waves exploding into white foam.
A majestic ship lay quietly at the pier.
Across every part of its hull, figures sat, stood, or lounged about, each one unruly and untamed.
The pirate flag flew with black fangs that seemed to tear through the heavens, snapping in the wind like war drums.
This was the most luxurious, absurd, and terrifying lineup of pirates in history.
There was the future "Strongest Man in the World," one of the Four Emperors, Whitebeard, Edward Newgate.
There was the future "Strongest Creature," one of the Four Emperors, Kaido.
There was the future Four Emperor, Charlotte Linlin.
There was also the legendary pirate, "Golden Lion" Shiki.
And many, many more.
Names that would be enough to keep Marine Headquarters awake all night were scattered casually across the same deck.
"Rocks still hasn't come back. Don't tell me Roger killed him?" Ochoku leaned against the ship's railing, one rough hand gripping a roasted lamb leg dripping with fragrance. He tore off a large bite of meat, then lifted a bottle of liquor with his left hand and took a hard swig.
"Jihahahahaha!" Hearing that from the mast, Golden Lion Shiki immediately roared with laughter. "If that's the case, then I, Shiki, will reluctantly take over the crew of the Rocks Pirates. From now on, all of you have to call me Captain."
Linlin sat on another section of railing with a piece of fruit cake in her hand. She picked up a piece of fruit, tossed it into her mouth, and complained, "Stop daydreaming over there, Shiki! If Rocks really died, it'd be my turn to take over."
"Hehehe..." Stussy leaned in the shadow of the cabin door, the corner of her lips lifted. "Whoever wants the captain's seat can take it. But Rocks' fortune belongs to me, Stussy."
"You? Stussy? What kind of joke is that? Rocks and I are brothers as close as flesh and blood. His fortune should naturally fall to me," Captain John retorted. In his eyes, anyone could be captain if they wanted. But if anyone tried to fight him over treasure, he would fight them to the end.
On the deck, Kaido sat cross-legged against the wall. A giant kanabo rested beside him, and in front of him was a plate of buns. He stuffed them into his mouth with relish while silently grumbling, 'These people really have nothing better to do.'
Kaido's goal right now was simple. He knew that with his current strength, he would not get any benefits aboard this ship full of villains. So he had been searching for a Devil Fruit that could make him stronger.
Especially after seeing Whitebeard use the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, that desire had become even stronger.
Whitebeard sat on the roof of the ship, enjoying the sea breeze and occasionally taking a sip of liquor. He neither joined their discussion nor had any interest in it. In fact... he even found it a little distasteful. What were these people thinking every single day? What kind of crewmates spent their days hoping their captain died?
No... actually... maybe it did make sense.
After all, no one on this ship truly regarded Rocks as their "boss" in the real sense. He was merely a powerful and generous "collaborator."
As for them, they were just villains temporarily riding the same ship.
Silver Axe lay over the railing and saw two figures approaching from a distance. He slowly spoke up, "Stop daydreaming, everyone. Rocks is back."
The others did not react much. They had only been muttering earlier. No one truly believed Rocks would lose to Roger.
As Rocks drew closer, they also saw Ron following behind him. Almost at the same time, everyone started sizing him up.
"Hey, Rocks, is the guy following behind you someone you won from the Roger Pirates?" Linlin licked the cream from her fingers and asked with a smile.
In the pirate world, there was a game called the Davy Back Fight. It was a series of contests between pirate crews, a cruel game where crews stole partners and flags from one another.
In a Davy Back Fight, any defeated crewmate chosen by the winner had to immediately become a subordinate of the victorious captain.
On the Rocks Pirates, quite a few crewmates had been won back by Rocks this way.
"No." Rocks waved his hand and chuckled. "He's a kid Roger disliked because his reputation stinks too much. But... I, Rocks, don't mind."
"His reputation stinks too much?"
Everyone froze.