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

Chapter 95 Liprit vs. Rocks: Signs of Conqueror's Haki!

"I want to participate!"

Upon hearing Monger's suggestion to have a competition among the fleet's members, Locke immediately perked up, his gaze toward Lipley filled with provocation.

He's sure to beat Liprit this time, and then take the opportunity to challenge Monger!

Even though I knew it was impossible to win.

But Lox wanted to know how far he was from being as good as Monger.

Therefore, a challenge is essential!

"Can I ask for anything?"

"It can only be a request that I can fulfill."

Pushing Lipriy's head away, Munger corrected Lipriy's statement.

"You've been so lazy lately, you're probably no match for Rocks."

"Hmph, that's not necessarily true!"

Lipriy admits that she has become somewhat lax since Monger returned, but she was anything but lax during the year Monger was away.

Rocks grew faster than her, but isn't that to be expected?

Locus was a human!

She was a giant, and her lifespan was three times that of a human.

So it's reasonable that Lox's growth rate is three times that of hers, right?

However, even if Lipley believes that it's only a matter of time before Rocks surpasses her, she doesn't think she's no match for him now.

"We'll only know who wins and who loses after the fight!"

After all, she's now a great pirate with a bounty of 100 million Berries!
During the year that Monger was away, both Lipley and Rocks had their bounties increased significantly due to their constant harassment of the Navy.

Newgate and Charlotte Linlin even received their first bounty since their debut.

That's right, not only Newgate has a bounty on his head, but even seven-year-old Lingling has one.

The bounties for the new members of the White Wolf Crew are as follows:

The Empress Flower, Lipri, bounty of 100 million Berries!
Rocks D. Giebeck, son of the ominous sign, bounty 85 million Berries!
Edward Newgate the Rock, bounty of 30 million Berries!

Charlotte Linlin, the mischievous child, has a bounty of 50 million Berries!
Because they were still young, neither Newgate nor Linlin received their future bounty nicknames. Bounty nicknames are things that change as the strength, appearance, and power of pirates change.

Some pirates choose to give themselves nicknames, and if these nicknames are accepted, they can be added to the bounty list.

Although the White Wolf Pirates have a small number of new crew members and are still young, just looking at their bounties, even the lowest one, Newgate, has a bounty of 30 million Berries. They could easily dominate the first half of the Grand Line, and even in the New World, where powerful figures abound, they would still be able to make a name for themselves.

In just two years, the rebuilt White Wolf Pirates got back on track, and it was only a matter of time before they surpassed their former crew members.

The Navy's bounty posters represent the strength of Lipri and her crew six months ago, and they must have improved in the following six months.

When the Navy was still around, Rocks was still a step behind Lipley.

but now.

Rocks is now confident he can challenge Lipley!
"This is the first martial arts tournament within our White Wolf Clan. I plan to hold it every year from now on, so those who didn't win first place this time shouldn't be discouraged. It's a good opportunity to see how you compare to others."

If there is no external pressure, then we must find ways to create internal competitive pressure.

Monger hoped that the members of the fleet would get along harmoniously.

However, too much comfort can lead to a lack of motivation to work hard. Finding the right balance is what he, as the captain, has to do.

"There aren't many people, so I'll just arrange the opponents directly."

"First up is Lipriy vs. Lox!"

"Newgate vs. Lingling!"

"There will be a total of six matches. The ranking will be based on points. If the points are the same, the winner of the match will be ranked higher."

The purpose of the battles is to increase the crew's motivation to train. Of course, it can't end after just two matches. If that were the case, why not just have Ripley and Rocks, the two strongest crew members on the surface, fight it out?

Since each person has to fight against three other people, there are many more variables.

By playing against different opponents.

People can more clearly recognize their own strengths and weaknesses.

During regular exercise, I only do a light touch.

With him watching over me during the competition, it's okay to go all out!
"Oh, is Lingling going to participate too?"

Knowing her own strength, Monger did not include her in the battle list. Tenzuki was relieved, but he was still a little surprised to see that Lingling, who was only seven years old, was going to fight others.

"Of course, Lingling is no weakling."

Monger smiled and looked at Charlotte Linlin.

"However, it's okay if you don't want to participate, Lingling."

"I want to play with everyone!"

Upon hearing Meng Ge's words, Lingling quickly shook her head. In her opinion, this was how the older brothers and sisters on the boat played.

Before, when she was at the Lamb's House, no one would play with her. Now that she's on the ship, everyone is willing to play with her, and she's overjoyed.

When people grow up and realize the limitations of their abilities, they will envy those who are talented. However, for Lingling, who is talented, her talent brings her more trouble than anything else.

If Carmelo hadn't had enough patience to educate Lingling, who was inherently naive, she probably would have gone astray.

Of the people present, Newgate is the only one under pressure.

He had never won against either Rocks or Lipley during training, so the only opponent he had a chance to beat among the three was Charlotte Linlin.

But is it really that easy?
Although he had never fought Lingling, Newgate had heard of Lingling's special physique, which was a steel body that even Haki could not penetrate.

But as Monge said, the competition is not about who wins or loses, but about seeing the gap between yourself and others, and recognizing your own strengths and weaknesses.

Rocks and Lipley were the first to take the field.

The upper deck of the Millennium Falcon is a full 100 meters long and 60 meters wide, with a smooth surface and no obstacles.

In addition, since it is constructed from Adam wood, the pressure from a typical attack is unlikely to damage the deck unless it is deliberately targeted.

Locus was the first to attack.

When Monger gave the order to begin the match, Lox drew his sword.

"shave!"

His mastery of the Six Styles of Shave was so great that his sudden burst of speed allowed him to appear in front of Lip in an instant.

Swing the sword and cut down.

Lipriy neither dodged nor evaded. As a giant, she had an absolute advantage in strength. Facing Rocks' attack, Lipriy threw a punch.

Clang!
Despite being made of flesh and blood, it produced a metallic clang when it clashed with Rocks' blade.

The domineering power of Armament Haki is unparalleled.

Amatsuki watched in a daze. She was just a Devil Fruit user, and her Devil Fruit ability wasn't even combat-related. The knife in her hand was more like a beautiful decoration than a weapon.

"So strong!"

"But it wasn't this strong from the beginning."

Hearing Tengetsu's sentiments, Munger laughed and said, "No matter how powerful a person is, there are times when they are weak. I am like that, Lipley is like that, and Rocks is like that too."

"Toki, Wano Country isn't as peaceful as you imagine. If you ever have to leave, I hope you can at least become stronger and have the power to protect yourself." Putting everything else aside, Toki and he were comrades who had gone through life and death together. Faced with the siege of three top-tier powerhouses, Toki chose to trust him and didn't use his Devil Fruit ability to escape.

For this reason alone, it's worth spending more time guiding her.

"Is Mr. Monger concerned about me?"

"Haha, Miss Shi, don't you deserve my concern?"

Seeing that Monger's expression was normal, Amatsuki couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed and annoyed. She had been spending every night in the same room with Lipri, and even someone like her who had never experienced anything like this knew what the two of them did at night.

Surely he couldn't be exercising?
Now they're even using the guise of caring for her to try and get closer to her.

"Playboy!"

Tian Yue muttered to himself, but felt no disgust whatsoever.

"Hey, Captain, your beloved crew member is sparring with his opponent, and you're not even glancing at him, instead flirting with someone else. Isn't that going too far!"

"Haha, aren't you guys just warming up?"

Hearing Lipriy's dissatisfaction, Munger burst into laughter.

"Let me see how much you've improved over the past year!"

"as you wish!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Lipriy's eyes turned serious.

If it's on land.

She and Rocks are at best evenly matched.

However, on the narrow wooden boat, the space for Lox to hide was far too small.

"Thunder of the Giants!"

"shave!"

Even though Rocks believed that his mastery of Armament Haki had surpassed that of Ripley, actual combat is not just about comparing Armament Haki.

And physical fitness too!

Compared to Lipriy, who was a giant, he possessed overwhelming strength.

If it comes down to a head-on confrontation, he's bound to lose!
What Lipley is doing now is forcing Rocks to confront her head-on.

Lipriy's punch was a normal, rapid punch.

However, due to the effect of the Mini-Fruit, when she throws a punch, the size of her arm and fist increases tenfold, which is equivalent to her punching speed increasing tenfold.

And the attack area covered by a fist is ten to the power of three!
A thousand times!
Lipley could cover the entire deck with her attacks simply by standing still, forcing Rocks to constantly use Shave to dodge.

"Observation Haki is such a hassle!"

After a series of attacks failed, Lipriy quickly figured out why.

Rocks' Observation Haki is superior to hers!
She was the first to master Observation Haki, but Rocks, who mastered it later, has surpassed her.

The same applies to Armament Haki.

Although she comforted herself by thinking that she was a giant and Rocks was a human, and that her lifespan was three times that of Rocks, it was reasonable for her to grow slower than Rocks.

But words of comfort are just words of comfort.

No one would be willing to watch someone weaker than themselves grow stronger and surpass them, right?
The color of perception is sense, it is instinct!
Lipley forced herself to calm down and stared intently at Rocks, trying to find his weakness. Rocks' Observation Haki was only slightly better than hers; he was only able to dodge her attacks because his most proficient Rokushiki was Shave.

However, using Shave continuously would be a considerable burden even for Rocks now, and she still had plenty of energy.

'Too careless! '

Faced with Lipriy's relentless and unstoppable attacks, and with Rocks constantly dodging, only this thought remained in his mind.

Rocks originally thought that his strength was no less than Liprit's, and that as long as he went all out, he would definitely be able to defeat Liprit.

But Lipley immediately gave him a slap.

An intern is just an intern; it's a long way from them to be acting like a full-fledged crew member!
Rocks felt the same way.

On land, he could easily dodge Lipley's attacks without having to maneuver around in a narrow space.

But they're pirates!
Isn't fighting on a ship a matter of course?
Even Lox couldn't convince himself to ask Monger for an environment where he could fight Lipley fairly.

What's the solution?
No!

Lipriy is a classic example of overwhelming strength; the combination of a giant and a mini-fruit results in an effect greater than the sum of its parts.

Perhaps Newgate is right?
He also wants to find a Devil Fruit to eat; he'll definitely become powerful quickly.

Even the captain is a Devil Fruit user.

Why does he insist on not being a Devil Fruit user?
No, that's not right!

What he ever wanted to do was never to become Munger.

He's the man who's going to surpass Monger and become the overlord of the seas!
Facing difficulties.

Like the protagonist in a novel, Rocks broke through once again, not only increasing the strength of his Observation Haki.

Even the speed has increased significantly.

Even at the moment Lox broke through, Munger faintly sensed a threat, as if one king had met another king.

The Conqueror's Haki within him stirred.

"interesting!"

Monger was never worried that Rocks wouldn't awaken Conqueror's Haki; on the contrary, he would be disappointed if Rocks failed to awaken Conqueror's Haki.

With Rocks' current strength, he could have awakened Conqueror's Haki long ago.

The reason they haven't awakened is...

It's probably still because of his influence.

But now, Rocks's Haki is showing signs of awakening in the face of his power, which makes Mongo look forward to how strong Rocks will become when he awakens his Conqueror's Haki.

But now.

"Forget it, let's not fight anymore."

Rocks looked at Lipley with a constipated expression on his face.

"I surrender."

Although he made another breakthrough, it was still too difficult to defeat Liprit in such a confined terrain.

It's just a competition anyway.

Although he no longer had the chance to challenge Monger, Lox further proved his true colors, and his gaze toward Monger was filled with high fighting spirit.

Monger was pleased with this outcome.

As for Lipriy, despite winning, she looked somewhat sullen.

She witnessed Lockes's last-minute breakthrough.

Although Lipley managed to suppress Rocks this time by taking advantage of the terrain, she felt that her chances of winning next time were less than 10%.

Lipriy finally felt a sense of crisis.

'I really don't want to lose to anyone in front of the captain!'

(End of this chapter)