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

Chapter 197 The Unexpected Turn of Events on Mechanical Island
In this world, what kind of destruction can a battle between the strongest individuals cause?

Although it was just a training session between Monger and Newgate, the terrifying destructive power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit caused more than a third of the island's landforms to disappear after a day and a night of instruction.

The remaining island, like a honeycomb, is riddled with huge holes and rifts, with seawater constantly pouring in from all directions, definitively announcing the island's final fate.

The group watched the battle from a ship several kilometers away from the island, but even at such a distance, the vibrations caused by the Tremor-Tremor Fruit still stirred up the seawater, creating towering waves that greatly shocked the newcomers on the Newgate ship.

"Is this the battle between Captain Newgate and Captain Munger?"

"very scary!"

"I will become just as strong someday!"

"."

Some were fearful, some were terrified, but others were inspired with an unprecedented fighting spirit.

However, to everyone's surprise, after such a fierce battle, Munger didn't even break a sweat.

Moonwalk stomped through the air, lifting Newgate with one hand, and tossed Newgate onto his own ship: "Hey, kids, take care of your captain!"

"Good, good."

"Yes, Captain Munger!"

"."

A group of new crew members were trembling with fear. Although they were not all newcomers, in front of a veteran monster like Monger who had been active on the sea for decades, even a great pirate with a bounty of over 100 million could only be given the title of "kid".

Newgate lay sprawled on the boat, physically exhausted, but his spirits were higher than ever before.

He became stronger again!
Not only Rocks, but Newgate's growth rate also gradually slowed down as his strength increased. It only took a few years to grow into an admiral-level powerhouse, but if he wanted to go further, he would have to put in countless times more effort than before.

In this world, only Monger, and only Monger, is willing to guide them without reservation and help them become stronger.

'Rocks, I will stop you!'

The more goodwill Newgate felt from Monger, the more dissatisfied he became with Lox's attempt to challenge Monger.

Everything they have was given to them by Monge.

Monger never asked anything of them, and he would not refuse even if they wanted to leave the White Wolf Pirates and form their own pirate crew.

Such a good captain is hard to find even with a lantern on this vast ocean.

That's why Newgate was dissatisfied.

Rocks had Rocks' ambitions, and he also had his ideals.

If Lox's ambitions conflicted with his ideals.

'Then let me destroy your ambition!'

After receiving guidance from Monger, Newgate gained a deeper understanding of his Devil Fruit abilities and his Haki.

In a simple contest of Haki, he is no match for top Haki users like Monger and Rocks. However, if he combines Haki with his Devil Fruit ability, he can withstand even the entanglement of Conqueror's Haki.

What's more, he also possesses Conqueror's Haki!
"Can I beat Rocks now?"

Newgate recalled his question, and Munger's answer was—

"When you've mastered the Conqueror's Haki binding technique and integrated your Devil Fruit ability into it, then not only Rocks, but even I will look forward to a battle with you that goes all out!"

Although Monger didn't say it explicitly, his words implied that he was still no match for Lox, but he was probably very close.

"Lox, I'm catching up with you!"

"Ah!"

In the snowy, icy region of the New World near the North Sea, Rocks, shirtless, couldn't help but sneeze.

"Which bastard is talking about me again, Newgate?"

Rocks grumbled and cursed.

"With the old man's guidance, that kid is probably almost catching up to me!"

As his strength increased, Rocks clearly felt that his strength had almost stagnated. Apart from continuing to train his physique, his domineering aura had improved by almost nothing in the past six months.

This is not surprising.

Domineering aura is a power that can only be improved by fighting against strong enemies, and breakthroughs can only be achieved in battles where one exerts all their strength.

In this world, there are very few people who can inspire him to fight with all his might, and even fewer who can inspire him to give his all.

Monge, Im, Harald!
These are the three strongest people in the world that Rocks knows.

The strongest are undoubtedly Mongo and Im.

Since the two had never actually fought, Rocks wasn't sure who was stronger between Mongo and Im, but he was betting on the old man.

Having grown to this point, Lox's perspective is vastly different now. He still remembers that ten years ago, Munger's strength was probably not as good as his current strength.

But now, neither of them can reliably beat Monger.

For "monsters" like them.

The difficult part is never going from 1 to 90, but going from 90 to 100.

However, Munger's growth did not stop after reaching 90. He was stuck at 89 for a long time, and then, like a late bloomer, he suddenly jumped from 90 to nearly 100.

Or.

Monger has now reached the pinnacle of this world.

"Am I supposed to admit defeat?"

Thinking that half of the ten-year agreement with Monger had already passed, Lockes couldn't help but feel anxious. If he challenged Monger with his current strength, he would most likely get a beating.

Unless he can spar with Harald every day.

Although Harald's strength is not as great as Munger and Im, his strength has improved since he ate the Blue Dragon Fruit, which is why Rocks recognized him as the third strongest person after Munger and Im.

However, Harald's relationship with him was so-so. He was only willing to spar with him because of Monger. Once or twice was fine, but if it happened too often, Lockes himself would lose face.

"Thinking so much is useless. Putting everything else aside, do you think we can beat your former comrades?"

Seeing Rocks lost in thought, Baroric knew what he was thinking. He had no confidence in Rocks's unrealistic ambitions.

"Shut up!"

Barolorick's words only made things worse, as they brought up Lockes.

"That's why I need to recruit new people!"

"So-called recruitment of new people is just about forcibly destroying their ships and making them our crew?"

Upon hearing Lox's words, Baroric rolled his eyes.

"What's the point of hiring these kinds of crew members?"

Being able to hear the voices in other people's hearts, Barolorick knew very well that the crew members who had been forced onto the ship by Lockes were filled with resentment.

These crew members are not only uncooperative in battle, but you also have to be wary of being betrayed by them.

"Then what do you think we should do?"

"Why don't we learn from your old captain and train new people?"

"It's too late to train them now!" Some of the old crew members on Rocks' ship were trained from scratch using the methods he learned from Monger. Now, the strongest of them, Baroric, has already reached the strength of a top-tier pirate.

Even the less skilled crew members possessed strength comparable to that of a great pirate.

But this process took a full three years!

The further you go, the harder it becomes to improve your strength. For many crew members, becoming a great pirate is the limit of their talent. If they want to go further, they can only eat a Devil Fruit to further unleash their potential.

With five years remaining, Rocks' goal is to take it a step further and then help Barolorick achieve his current level of strength.

As for the other people on the ship, it would be best if a few more general-level experts appeared.

However, this is most likely just wishful thinking.

Aside from Baroric, who has a chance to reach his current level, it would be good enough if the others could reach the strength of a top-tier pirate.

And what about Monge?

There are two people whose talent and strength are no less than mine.

There's still one Shiki left.

It is said that his current strength is even greater than that of Baloric.

He is close to the rank of general.

So no matter what Rocks thinks, starting from scratch to train new people now will most likely not be as good as his battle with Monger.

That's why he wanted to steal people.

Pirates who manage to enter the New World in the first half of the Grand Line are usually quite strong, so they can skip basic training and start practicing Haki directly.

As long as you pass the basic requirements and learn Haki, you've already stepped into the ranks of great pirates. After experiencing a few life-or-death battles, you might learn advanced applications of Haki and become a top-tier pirate renowned throughout the New World.

However, this approach ultimately failed to win popular support.

So much so that Lox was thinking, why don't he go and challenge Munger to a duel five years from now?

These crew members are out of the question.

Lockes glanced at his crew: one was dead drunk, another was playing cards and started cheating when he lost, and the third kept complaining about not having reached the new island yet; he was already longing for the warm embrace of a girl.

To be honest, he missed it too.

Rocks couldn't help but recall the days when he used to drink and go to bars with Newgate.

Unfortunately, those days are gone forever.

That bastard was loyal to Monger, and the biggest obstacle to my challenge to Monger was that former closest companion.

"We'll be in Baltimore soon, right? The news says that bastard Roger is hiding on this island!"

Rocks grumbled and cursed.

Although he did manage to stop some newcomers who had just entered the new world some time ago, trying to recruit them as his subordinates.

However, after being persuaded by Barolok, he eventually gave up on this approach.

Having just set sail and joined a pirate crew with an excellent team atmosphere like the White Wolf Pirates, Rocks himself didn't even realize that he would now instinctively protect his crew members.

For those disruptive individuals who are destined to be unable to integrate and will only undermine the stability of the team, even if they are very strong, Rocks will make them get lost.

As for why they clashed with the Roger Pirates...

Damn it, while Rocks was sleeping, the idiots in Roger's crew, excited to have finally arrived in the New World, fired cannons to celebrate. However, due to the thick fog at sea, they didn't spot Rocks' pirate ship, and the cannonballs they fired directly smashed the mast of Rocks' pirate ship.

If he could tolerate this, he wouldn't be called Rocks D. Giebeck.

So Lox retaliated directly.

With a single slash, he cut Roger's ship in two.

I thought that was the end of it.

Later, when they landed on the island to relax, the Roger Pirates sneaked over and burned their ship.

Thus, the feud was definitively established.

After several battles, the Roger Pirates' overall strength was far inferior, so they were at a disadvantage in the battles, and even several of their crew members were captured.

However, several members of the main pirate crew escaped.

Among them was Roger, the captain.

And Rayleigh and Jabba as his right and left hands.

Rocks has now become interested in the Roger Pirates.

His Rocks Pirates are not the strongest pirate crew on this sea, because the strongest pirate crew is called the White Wolf Pirates.

However, besides the White Wolf Pirates, they also have Rocks, a top-tier powerhouse, and Baroric, a slightly less powerful one.

The Rocks Pirates can already be considered a future Yonko crew.

After the Roger Pirates clashed with the Rocks Pirates several times, they were not completely crushed like eggs hitting a rock. This was enough to attract Rocks' attention and even made him consider recruiting members of the Roger Pirates into his crew.

However, an idea is just an idea.

Anyway, he's already found Roger's trail. If he runs into him, he'll beat him up first, and then ask if he wants to join his pirate crew.

Not joining?
Then die!

Rocks wasn't exactly a saint either; he remained unmoved by the Roger Pirates' provocation, especially since it was the Roger Pirates who started the trouble first.

However, when Rocks arrived at Baltimore, the island of mechanical devices, he discovered that something was amiss.

"It's so quiet!"

Rocks frowned, signaling everyone to remain vigilant.

"Baroric, can you 'see' people?"

"No."

Although he often disagrees with Rocks, Baroric is always reliable when it matters, and his Observation Haki doesn't detect anyone on the island.

Baltimore, the island of machines, is a country located at the forefront of the New World. It is most famous for its technology, which is many times more advanced than that of other countries.

Many new technologies originated from Baltimore.

Lockes knew that although Baltimore was a member state of the government, Monger had always intended for them to withdraw from the government and become a force under the White Wolf Alliance.

The world government certainly cannot tolerate this.

However, Baltimore is in the New World, and if the World Government were to take any major action against Baltimore, the White Wolf Pirates would not be unaware of it.

Unless it is a small-scale, elite operation.

"The Knights of God?"

Rocks had no idea what the World Government had done. When he arrived in the town of Baltimore, all he saw was ruins.

Rocks saw the whole town, or rather, the whole island.

Empty!
Everyone disappeared.

(End of this chapter)