For Captain John, today was one of the rare days in his life when his emotions had swung so violently.
He had not always been this indifferent to everything, like some lifeless old man spending every day drowning himself in alcohol.
Sixteen years ago, he had been just as spirited and full of ambition as Yemu was now, and his name had carried great weight across the seas.
Even later, when he was recruited into the Rocks Pirate Crew, like most of the others who had boarded that ship, the process had not been a pleasant one. But with Rocks's overwhelming ambition to rule the world, and with so many monster-like comrades around him, he had not felt particularly wronged by it.
Until that day came.
Rocks suddenly gathered them all together and told them:
"I've found the power that can rule this world. The legendary Ancient Weapon, Uranus. It's hidden in God Valley, where the Celestial Dragons live. Once we seize it, this world will belong to the Rocks Pirate Crew. So now, which of you is willing to ascend the throne of world domination with me?"
Anyone who could become one of Rocks's crew, aside from the freak Newgate, carried unmatched ambition in their heart.
And so, the battle to attack God Valley broke out.
Even now, he still could not forget that battle.
That day, the Rocks Pirate Crew's assault on God Valley had been unstoppable. The Marines had no time to send reinforcements, and the CP0 agents and guards protecting the Celestial Dragons were no match for the monsters of the Rocks Pirate Crew.
That day, the throne of world rule had seemed within the Rocks Pirate Crew's grasp.
But at that very moment, something happened that no one had expected.
As if they had fallen from the sky, Roger, who was not yet the Pirate King, and Garp, who was not yet the Hero of the Marines, appeared before the Rocks Pirate Crew.
It was as if fate itself had sent them there to stop Rocks.
Pirates had actually joined forces with the Marines.
Those two men, together with their companions, kept getting back on their feet no matter how many times they were beaten down, and with unbelievable willpower, they blocked the Rocks Pirate Crew's path.
And so, the Rocks Pirate Crew's dream of ruling the world was shattered. Captain Rocks was buried in the sea and vanished without a trace, and the Rocks Pirate Crew fell apart.
From that moment on, John's spirit had abruptly faded.
Even the Rocks Pirate Crew had failed.
So how could he possibly succeed?
Could he ever become stronger than Rocks, or command a force greater than the Rocks Pirate Crew?
From then on, he stopped caring much about anything.
Even now, within the Silver Axe Pirate Crew, Silver Axe and Ochoku were locked in a deadly struggle over the captain's seat, but John had no interest in it. He had simply taken a few hundred men and gone out to claim territory, far away from the conflict.
What he had not expected was that this trip out would bring him so many surprises.
A Logia Devil Fruit would have been precious in any era, especially one like the Cloud-Cloud Fruit, which stood at the very top even among Logias.
With the power of that Devil Fruit, nothing in this world would be able to restrain him ever again.
He had thought his luck ended there.
But then another enormous surprise appeared.
Dual Devil Fruit powers.
That was something he had never even dared dream of before, yet now it was right there in front of him.
And in that instant, he saw a path, one that seemed capable of surpassing even the power of Rocks himself.
Then there was the ability to extract Devil Fruits from Devil Fruit users.
The moment he heard it, he understood.
The road to his dream had appeared.
Not only could he surpass Rocks, he could also use that ability to build an army of Devil Fruit users. By then, even surpassing the Rocks Pirate Crew might no longer be impossible.
For the first time, the thing he had pursued all his life was right there before his eyes, closer than ever, and the spirit that had long since gone cold began to burn again.
But...
Captain John finally dropped his usual careless manner. Looking solemnly at the absurdly young boy before him, he asked coldly,
"Who exactly are you? Why are there so many secrets hidden in you?"
"Why do I have so many secrets? That doesn't seem like the important part right now. Besides, if you beat me and capture me, won't you find out everything?"
Yemu answered calmly.
Captain John's expression sharpened.
"You really do seem confident. You handed the Devil Fruit over to me that easily. And if you extract a Devil Fruit from a Devil Fruit user, the user dies, don't they? Is it your dual Devil Fruit powers that make you think you can defeat me here?"
"Of course not. You've got the wrong idea."
Yemu shook his head and looked at him.
"I gave you the Devil Fruit because you kept your promise and came to this island with me. I don't like breaking agreements. That was the deal. But this Devil Fruit is indeed important to me. And from the moment you blocked the warship's path, you became my enemy. So next, I have no choice but to kill you and take it back."
This time, Captain John was genuinely stunned. He gave Yemu a strange look and asked,
"Both dual Devil Fruits and the secret of stealing Devil Fruit powers are certainly tempting to me, but they're not things I absolutely must have. As long as you're still sailing these seas, we'll meet again sooner or later. Do you really think I need to be in a hurry?"
Yemu shook his head again.
"You've got one more thing wrong. Right now, it's not me who has to kill you. It's you who has to do everything possible to kill me."
Captain John froze again. He seemed unable to follow Yemu's train of thought.
Fortunately, Yemu quickly gave him the answer.
"Of course I don't think I can definitely kill you here. But there's one thing I'm certain of. Right now, I'm the weakest I'll ever be. In the future, I'll only keep getting stronger. So even if you've obtained the Devil Fruit now, if you don't kill me while I'm at my weakest, then you won't get another chance in the future. And when that time comes, you'll face my endless pursuit. So just like you said, do you really think I'm the one who needs to hurry? Of course, you could gamble on it. You could hide and see whether I can find you."
"You brat. You really are arrogant."
Captain John's brows furrowed deeply.
As much as he hated to admit it, the future Yemu described was indeed very likely to happen.
He was already forty-five years old, while Yemu was still so young.
Not to mention his dual Devil Fruit powers and all the other secrets he carried.
"In that case, I'll grant your wish!!!"
In an instant, the killing intent of a Grand Master surged toward Yemu like crashing waves...