The shores of the small island that Rocks found himself on was strangely calm. Not that it was strange for the island itself, but the notorious captain had become all too used to chaos throughout his career. Though as he stood a few feet in front of the captain of the Cook Pirates, Red Leg Zeff, he could feel the familiarity of chaos begin to brew around him.
The dangling carrot of the devil fruit that he presented to initiate this Davy Back fight had clearly been a point of conversation amongst the crew. The various chef's coats hanging off their shoulders made it seem like they were about to witness a cook off, but as Zeff tossed his jacket aside, Rocks could have sworn he saw a small ember flicker off of his right boot.
"You know, Davy Back fights are usually a bit more theatric than a simple one on one," Zeff said sarcastically as he slowly stretched out his legs.
"Oh, I'm well aware," Rocks said as the memory of himself holding a bloody saw over a barrel brought a smile to his face. "I'm just in bit of rush, I guess you could say," he said as he unsheathed the massive blade, Eclipse, from its holster on his back. The cannonball-like strikes that he was able to deliver in his prime would probably be a ways away until he could fully recover from the effects of returning to life, especially with Conqueror's Haki still unavailable to him. However, as he inhaled a slow breath, he was able to summon both Observation and Armament Haki for the first time since he had returned. He felt a strain on both his muscles and his temples, as if the sources of both abilities were straining desperately just for a portion of his former power.
"Oh? And where does the mighty captain Rocks have to be? A dead man can't be in too much of a rush, can he?" Zeff asked with a smug grin. A quick surprised expression flashed across Rocks' face, though it almost immediately disappeared and was replaced with a wide grin.
"I'll tell you whatever you want if by some miracle you end up beating me!" Rocks shouted before dashing toward his opponent.
Despite his weakened state, the whooshing of the wind caused by the force of Xebec swinging his sword was so fierce a passing ship could have confused the attack for a small tornado. The sound of his sword cracking against Zeff's leg similar to that of a mighty blacksmith's hammer striking an anvil, and Rocks looked down to see that the Cook Pirate's captain had blocked his strike with his left knee, the black sheen of armament haki reflecting the midday sun brightly.
With a twist of his hips and the infusion of Haki into his other leg, Zeff cracked into Rock's rib cage, his weakened observation Haki unable to warn him of the impending strike before it could make contact. The force of the impact rocketed him off of his feet, and the last second infusion of a protective coating of the spiritual energy on his back was all that prevented it from snapping in two against the rock formation that he crashed into.
"Heh, is that all you've got?" Zeff asked mockingly as Rocks stood up from the rubble.
"I have to admit, I wasn't expecting a Haki user like you to be this far back in the Grand Line," Xebec said with begrudging respect as he shook the dirt off of his massive sword.
"Well we're on a bit of a specific mission, plus I never wanted to get involved in the nonsense that people like you and Roger. Making an enemy of the World Government is just a great way to inconvenience yourself on the seas," Zeff said with a shrug before pouncing toward Rocks.
The speed at which he moved was surprising for the amount of bulk on his body, but Rocks was barely able to bring Eclipse up in time to meet Zeff's Haki coated right foot. The impact of the strike violently shoved Rocks backward, the mini storm of sand that his boots kicked up nearly blinding him.
Readjusting before Zeff could launch another attack, Rocks regained his footing and swung his sword in a violent arc. The sheer force of his swing created a small whirlwind that instantly cleared the sand that had been swirling around the two, and Rocks laughed at the chef's genuine look of surprise as the forceful winds had thrown him slightly off balance.
Channeling a small burst of Armament through his feet, Rock's managed to get up close to the surprisingly speedy chef before he could react, and his toothy grin was massive as he swung his blade directly into Zeff's legs.
"Bedlam!" He shouted as the blade he wielded shone with the reflective black surface of a blade completely coated in Haki. The impact of Eclipse cracking against Zeff's hasty attempt to block the blow resounded across the battlefield, and a thunderous boom followed the clash before the Cook Pirate's captain crashed into a small rock formation.
While keeping a confident smile displayed, Rocks could feel the flood of sweat dripping down his back. The strain that it took to use even a fraction of the power that he used to was nearly unbearable, but the middle of a Davy Back fight was not the time to show weakness.
Gritting his teeth as he saw the rubble fall to the side, Rocks crouched into a defensive stance as the chef's right leg had seemingly caught fire, though this did not seem to bother him as he casually continued to walk forward.
"That hurt…but now it's my turn," the chef said with a cocky grin as he wiped a small trickle of blood from his mouth.
Kicking off of his flaming leg much like Rocks had just done with his own foot, the form of the cook pirate's captain resembled a meteor more than a man as he zoomed toward Rocks. As the red blur flew toward him, Xebec took a deep breath before channeling the largest portion of Armament Haki that he could into his blade.
The silence from the crowd of Zeff's crew was all that Xebec needed to hear to know how dangerous the situation must have looked to them. Very few people at this point in the Grand Line knew what Haki even was, and as far as he could tell, Zeff might have been one of the most powerful Armament users that he had clashed with. The clash of Zeff's leg against Rocks blade caused such a massive shockwave that all of the onlookers were immediately blown off of their feet, and only the heartiest of the crew were able to recover quickly enough to see the blow's immediate results.