I'm a big pirate, and you said I just went out to sea?

Chapter 196 Monger's Guidance Battle Against Newgate
Monger was unaware of Kokoro's thoughts.

Observation Haki is not facial recognition; it primarily senses a person's aura, and the stronger the person, the more pronounced their aura.

When Monger saw the merchant ships, the most imposing figures on board, besides the ship's guards, were Rayleigh and Ivan.

Although Ivan concealed his aura well, the huge difference in strength still allowed Monger to recognize his old crew member at a glance.

Although Kokoro's race is different from that of ordinary humans, her aura is similar to that of ordinary people. In addition, the two have only met a handful of times, so how could Munger possibly recognize her?

So Monger used Conqueror's Haki to knock the poor mermaid unconscious. When the mermaid woke up, the Millennium Falcon, where Monger was, and Newgate's ship were already preparing to set sail.

After not seeing him for half a year, Munger was very curious about how much Newgate had improved.

"This is it."

They randomly chose an uninhabited island, had Lipley and the others moor the boat some distance away, and had Munger and Newgate stand on either side of the island.

How long do you think Newgate can hold out?

Lipriy stood on the deck of the Millennium Falcon and asked the crane beside her.

"ten minutes?"

He said uncertainly.

Although she joined the White Wolf Pirates as a second-generation member, just like Shiki and Zephyr, her progress gradually lagged behind Shiki and Zephyr over time.

Within the White Wolf Pirates, there is a universally acknowledged genius.

Charlotte Lingling.

At the age of five, she was able to severely injure a top intelligence agent of the CP organization with a single punch. For a long time, she dominated Rocks and Newgate. If it weren't for her age slowing down her progress, it would have been incredibly difficult for Rocks and Newgate to catch up with her.

After Charlotte Linlin became sensible and learned to use her powers, her growth rate was like a rocket.

Two years ago, Lingling's abilities were surpassed by Newgate.

Now that the two are fighting again, it's hard to say who will win.

Apart from Lingling.

The top tier of the White Wolf Pirates in terms of talent consists of Rocks, Newgate, and Shiki, all of whom have made terrifying progress.

The only regret is that the three joined the White Wolf Pirates at different times, which meant that despite having similar talents, Rocks was always stronger than Newgate, and Newgate was stronger than Shiki.

The second tier below the three is Zephyr.

Although he has never been very prominent, Zephyr's efforts are evident to everyone in the White Wolf Pirates. Even though his talent is slightly inferior to the other three, Zephyr's strength has always been close to Shiki's through his own hard work, making Shiki dare not relax at all.

Not long ago, Shiki wanted to leave the White Wolf Pirates because his strength had stagnated, and he almost suffered a crushing defeat in his battle with Zephyr.

Shiki has always considered himself the eldest brother among the second generation of crew members. Just as Rocks wanted to recruit Newgate to his ship, Shiki also wanted to recruit Zeff to his ship.

But he was destined to be disappointed.

Because both Newgate and Zephyr have their own beliefs, and they would never accept a recruit from someone else if their beliefs conflict.

Newgate values ​​his family, but Rocks chose to leave the White Wolf Pirates.

Zephyr cares about ordinary people, but Shiki doesn't care about them.

Even for Munger, taming this unruly crew required both immense strength and a combination of kindness and severity.

He spent several years cultivating Newgate and Zephyr's sense of belonging, so how could he be easily swayed away by Rocks and Shiki?

Aside from a few others, the third tier consists of Lipri and Tsuru.

He's a genius to ordinary people.

But for true geniuses, it seems mediocre.

Lipriy has been stuck in a rut for a long time.

While Tsuru could still improve, her strength was that of an ordinary great pirate, which placed her among the first-generation crew members who were on average close to the admiral level.

It's not quite enough to watch.

Therefore, Crane guessed that Munger was still stronger than Newgate.

But I never imagined it would be much stronger.

"Hum~"

Lipriy crossed her arms. When she first joined the White Wolf Pirates, she was quite competitive, after all, no one wants to admit that they are inferior to others.

But after witnessing those monsters, Lipley had to admit that humans did indeed grow much faster than their giant race.

Since we can't catch up, then we won't chase after it.

She trained and grew step by step. No matter how strong others were, they couldn't beat Meng Ge. Even Meng Ge had to obediently beg her to shrink her size during training.

Having spent the most time by Monger's side, Lipriy naturally gained a clearer understanding of Monger's strength through observation and experience.

"Although Newgate has become much stronger now, if the captain wanted to, he could finish the battle in a flash, without even needing ten minutes!"

When the gap in strength is large enough, any weakness will be magnified infinitely. When Newgate fully matures, both his Armament Haki and Observation Haki are at the top level, and his Observation Haki has even reached the level of predicting the future.

However, Newgate's true strength lies not in his Armament Haki or Observation Haki, but in the Tremor-Tremor Fruit ability that he has already awakened.

Its terrifying destructive power is such that even Monge would have to admit defeat.

Just like this moment.

As Newgate clenched his fist, the air began to tremble uncontrollably, starting with the air around Newgate, then the ground, and finally the entire island and the surrounding sea.

Even before the battle had officially begun, the sheer amount of power emanating from the battlefield was enough to make the onlookers in the distance lose their footing.

"So strong!"

"No wonder they made us stand so far away. They have such power even before the fight has started. If a real fight breaks out, we won't even be able to withstand their aftershocks."

"Captain, keep it up!"

"."

Although there were several young children on Newgate's ship, including Kaido, it wasn't that there wasn't a single proper crew member.

There were several crew members of the same age, but their strength was average and there was a huge gap between them and Whitebeard. After all, compared with Rocks, who selected the best of the best, Newgate was more arbitrary in choosing his crew members.

As long as they take a liking to each other, they will bring each other under their command regardless of strength.

"Haha, that's pretty convincing!"

The farther away Newgate's vibrational power was, the greater the impact; conversely, when the distance was closer, Munger was not affected much.

An ordinary person might think Newgate is nothing special.

But this is just the beginning.

When Newgate retracted his vibrational power, the surrounding air stopped vibrating, and what appeared in Newgate's hand was a ball of milky white light.

"Captain, watch out!"

Newgate took a deep breath, knowing just how terrifying his captain's strength was. Even three years after the Battle of Akroppolis, even admiral-level powerhouses were too intimidated to fight Newgate.

But facing Monger, Newgate still gave it his all, daring not to hold back in the slightest.

"Zhenzhen—"

Newgate let out a low growl and, after the standoff ended, took the first step forward. His tall body unleashed a speed that no one dared to underestimate. Newgate was well aware of his strengths and weaknesses.

Even the most powerful attack is only meaningful if it hits its target!

The space seemed to be compressed to its limit.

In an instant, Newgate leaped from one end of the battlefield to the other. His young face was contorted with extreme fighting spirit, and beneath his bulging muscles surged a terrifying power capable of shaking the sea.

Monger saw Newgate's arm muscles bulging to their limit, a milky white halo enveloping his massive fist, and when he swung his arm, it seemed as if even the air itself was groaning under the strain.

"Well done!"

Monger stood still, and was more pleased than surprised by Newgate's attack.

At his level, attacks that could move him were few and far between. If it were an attack from an ordinary admiral-level powerhouse, even if it tore his body apart, the injuries would probably heal in less than a breath, given his sturdy physique and Armament Haki defense.

But Newgate's attacks were different.

If the attack were allowed to land on him, even Monger would suffer serious injuries, as the damage caused by the shockwave would be almost all-encompassing.

So at that moment, Monger moved.

On the black longsword in his hand, destructive black and red arcs of electricity leaped, and the Conqueror's Haki, solidified to the point of being tangible, wrapped around Frost Shadow, which had been completely forged into a black sword, carrying a terrifying pressure that made people suffocate.

As Newgate's fist fell, Munger also raised his longsword.

At the center of the two, an impact like a dark, raging torrent erupted, accompanied by a thunderous roar.

"boom------!"

The ground beneath Monger's feet shattered inch by inch at that moment. Regardless of the effect of his attack, the destructive power of Newgate's Tremor-Tremor Fruit was already evident.

A massive, visible crack spread through the center of the collision between Monger and Newgate. A terrifying attack, powerful enough to destroy the world, was unleashed by Newgate without reservation. Only the man before him could compel Newgate to unleash his full power in a single strike.

"Boundary Break!!!"

It was as if even space itself was shattered by Newgate's punch. Before his Devil Fruit awakened, Newgate needed to combine his terrifying brute strength with his attacks to cause widespread destruction.

But after the Devil Fruit power awakened, Monger felt the whole world shake under Newgate's punch.

"Haha, this is interesting!"

Faced with Newgate's attack, Monger used Conqueror's Haki Entanglement, but it was merely a casual, perfunctory strike.

However, when faced with Newgate's attack, the amount of Conqueror's Haki wrapped around his blade was clearly insufficient.

The cracks in space are spreading toward Munger.

Upon seeing this, Munger's expression turned serious, and his tone became no longer frivolous.

"Then let's be a little more serious!"

Up until this moment, Monger had only swung a sword wrapped in Conqueror's Haki with one hand to block Newgate's full-force attack.

The next second, Monger sheathed his sword and turned around.

Newgate's attack did not put any pressure on him. Facing Newgate's downward punch, Monger turned around and slashed with his knife.

This slash was as fast as lightning, with all the domineering aura concentrated in the small space of the blade. The milky white aura in Newgate's hand was sliced ​​apart by the black blade in an instant.

"!!!"

Seeing this, Newgate's expression changed drastically. If this knife was going to cut his hand, would he still want his hand?

"Haha, strong in attack but weak in defense. All top martial arts masters use their fists as both the sharpest spear and the sharpest shield. If your fists aren't hard enough, you can't defeat your enemy!"

Newgate's attacks are currently strong enough to overwhelm ordinary general-level powerhouses, but against enemies of a higher level, they would be insufficient.

Just as the blade was about to strike Newgate, Munger changed his attack to a slap, the blade striking Newgate's fist hard.

Even though Newgate was a seasoned veteran, being struck in the hand by Monger's knife felt like a student being hit in the palm of a teacher's hand with a ruler.

He gasped.

"Come on, take a look!"

Monger's knife could easily cut through the aura formed by Newgate's Tremor-Tremor Fruit, and when his fist collided with Newgate's fist, which had formed an aura again, Newgate was horrified to find that his fruit ability had no effect on Monger at all.

No, it's not that there's no impact.

Instead, the domineering aura surrounding Monger's fist was so concentrated that it almost withstood his shockwave and collided with his fleshy fist.

"The power of a Devil Fruit alone, no matter how strong, is hardly worthy of being called a high-class skill. Only when combined with Haki, with the two complementing each other, can it become the stepping stone for you to reach the pinnacle!"

"Come again!"

At first, Newgate was looking to challenge Monger, but Monger's knife and punch completely shattered Newgate's arrogance, making him revert to the way he was when he was a child receiving guidance from Monger.

Newgate originally thought that after becoming stronger, even if he couldn't beat Monger, he wouldn't lose in a bad way, since even the Navy Admirals didn't dare to face him.

But now Newgate realizes that the so-called Admiral level is just the starting point, and he still has a long way to go to become a true powerhouse.

Lox was still figuring it out.

But Monge could lay out the real road to success before him.

Newgate lacks rivals.

Monger is the best opponent.

Newgate lacks pressure.

The pressure that Monger can exert is unmatched by anyone else in the world.

The only drawback is that this battle was merely a training exercise, not a life-or-death struggle. It could only give Newgate some insights, but not allow him to truly break through.

But in this respect alone, it has already surpassed Lox by a great deal, which was still in the process of exploring.

After all, Lox and Munger had a ten-year agreement.

Although Monger wouldn't discriminate if Lox came to him for guidance, Lox was a stubborn fellow who wanted to figure it out on his own.

In his view, since he had already left the White Wolf Pirates, if he were to seek guidance from Monger, wouldn't that mean that leaving the White Wolf Pirates was a mistake?

Rocks had his own kind of arrogance.

Although Monge sees this as a case of forcing oneself to endure hardship, if he truly breaks free from his cocoon and transforms, he can truly shatter the shadow that Monge has cast over him.

If you ruin your main account, start a new one.

Since Rocks is going his own way, Munger will have to spend more time guiding Newgate until the ten-year period is up.

Monger pointed at Newgate and said, "Let Lox beat Newgate first."

This instruction lasted for a full day and night.

(End of this chapter)