Sladar's brows lifted into a sharp V, his trident snapping forward toward Rocks with a piercing shriek as it split the air.
CLANG!
Captain John crossed his twin blades and clamped the trident in place. His arms trembled slightly as he absorbed the impact.
So strong…
I couldn't beat this monster in the water. Don't tell me I can't beat him on land either?!
The overwhelming force pressing down through the shaft made John's face darken. He didn't dare relax for a single breath.
Towering above him, Sladar built like a brutal, muscle-packed beast looked down coldly.
"If you don't move, I won't hold back!"
"Then come." Captain John didn't even frown.
If he let Sladar run off and interfere, Captain Rocks would make him pay afterward.
Sladar's strength was absurd, yes but this was land, not the sea. In the sea, John would admit he wasn't his match.
But on land…
Captain John could still fight.
Sladar yanked back his trident. His arm swelled like a pumped-up ball, and his blue scales rattled with a harsh, scraping chorus.
Then came an even fiercer chop!
The shrill wind-scream sounded like the air itself was being torn apart.
John retreated.
BOOM!
Sladar's trident carved a deep crack into the ground, the fissure racing forward until it stretched right beneath John's stance.
John seized the moment.
Both blades in hand, he slid his strike along the trident's shaft, angling the razor edge up at Sladar as he slashed from low to high.
"Two-Sword Style Ascending Tower, Gazing at the Moon!"
Cold light flashed. A terrifying blade wave burst out from his swords if it landed cleanly, Sladar would be split into three pieces.
Sladar reacted instantly.
His other arm swung up and hardened with Armament Haki in the same breath, turning into a wall of iron and bronze.
CLANG!
CLANG!
The blade waves couldn't push forward another inch. When their force ran out, they dispersed into the air like scattered frost.
Feeling that monstrous power again, John didn't dare underestimate him for even a second. If anything, he treated Sladar with extreme caution.
After all, this was the bastard who had nearly taken his life in the sea.
And in that caution, a bitter thought surfaced.
Without realizing it, the division Ares built has gathered more than a few strong men…
Not just this sea demon Sladar there's also that monster Kaido.
Kaido used to be a newcomer.
Now?
Now he was a pirate whose name rang across the sea.
Meanwhile, the battle in the sky shifted again.
Ares was blown away.
"You couldn't keep up with that kind of assault, could you?" Rocks' fist hung in midair the very punch that had sent Ares flying.
Ares' offense had been overwhelming, a storm that blotted out the sky. But the moment a crack appeared, Rocks' razor-sharp instincts caught it.
He seized the opening
And with one punch, launched Ares away.
Yet Rocks didn't look victorious.
Instead, something strange flickered in his eyes, and an uncomfortable feeling rose in his chest.
I've only been fighting him for a short while…
So why does his Conqueror's coating keep getting stronger and stronger?
It's ridiculous.
In the exchange, Rocks could clearly feel it Ares' coating was sharpening, as if a rough piece of jade was being polished.
Not flawless yet.
But with every strike, the shape became clearer, the edge more defined.
Rocks couldn't make sense of it.
Is he really that gifted at learning techniques?!
He knew Ares' talent was abnormal.
But after trading blows, watching Ares' Conqueror's coating change from moment to moment
It hit him like a slap.
It made him feel…
…shaken.
His own growth in coating had never been this fast.
No
This wasn't even the same category.
Ares was improving by layers in the time it took to trade a few punches, like he'd never been a beginner at all.
Ares, of course, had no idea what was going through Rocks' head.
That punch hurt hurt more than flames ever did.
But the pain only made him more excited.
Adrenaline surged through him like wildfire, as if he'd been injected with madness.
He sprang up from the ground like a tiger descending the mountain, swinging fists bigger than sandbags, unleashing a crushing, domineering force as he charged right back at Rocks.
And even as he fought
Ares kept learning.
Fist techniques.
Conqueror's coating.
Anything worth taking, he stole it without missing a single detail.
That was why his growth in combat was terrifying.
Almost changing by the minute.
Of course, this was only the early phase. Once his understanding reached a certain level, the speed would slow then bottleneck.
But for now…
Ares and Rocks crashed together again in a roaring, intoxicated duel.
…
Buru Buru
The Den Den Mushi rang.
The sound sent a ripple through Claude's heart. He snatched it up instantly, voice tight with urgency.
"Did you find the Celestial Dragons?!"
A weak, shaken CP0 voice came through the Den Den Mushi.
"Mission… failed. We ran into the Roger Pirates."
"…Shakky was… rescued by the Roger Pirates…"
The moment that news hit, Claude's heart lurched and sank straight to the bottom.
The Roger Pirates?
"Hold on hang in there. I'm coming right " Claude didn't even finish before
PFFFT!
The wet sound of a blade piercing flesh rang through the receiver.
Then came the sound of something dropping to the ground.
Claude's face turned so dark it looked like it could drip water.
A stranger's voice spoke into the Den Den Mushi, casual and cold.
"The one on the other end… CP0 too, huh?"
Click.
The call ended.
Claude was burning with rage and had nowhere to vent it.
In the end, he could only let out a long sigh.
"It's over…"
"The last thread of hope is gone. How can I be this unlucky… to run into the Roger Pirates at sea?!"
All he could do was curse his own luck.
A defeated heaviness settled over his face. He had carried out countless missions in his life
This was the first time he had ever felt so powerless.
"It really is the Rocks Pirates…"
"The strongest pirate crew on the sea. Even CP0 has no answer."
"Heh."
He laughed at himself.
"If they weren't that strong… how could they be the enemy the World Government wants erased at any cost?"
Claude stared into the far distance. The battlefield was too far for him to see clearly now
Only the sound and trembling air told him the fight was still raging, sliding deeper into a boiling climax.
Then he turned back to Katakuri, who was bound tight, Seastone cuffs locked on his wrists.
Claude's expression wavered hesitation and struggle tangled in his eyes.
After a moment, he drew a deep breath.
"Katakuri… my original intent was to use you as a hostage to exchange for the Celestial Dragons."
"I knew the odds were low… but I had to try."
"Before I acted, I was already prepared to fail. Your value is nowhere near a Celestial Dragon's."
"And in Rocks' eyes… even if you died, he probably wouldn't blink."
"I later switched the exchange target to Ares. You're his man your captain. I heard he values you."
"But even then, I didn't hold hope. In the end, what matters between people is利益 benefit."
"And from you… I couldn't see any value to Ares, or to Rocks."
"…But…"
"I didn't expect Ares to fight Rocks for your sake."
"From my standpoint, I can't understand it."
"Maybe…"
"Maybe only family would do that."
Claude didn't even know why he was saying this.
Maybe it was because of a debt he owed Ares long ago.
But…
Wasn't he CP0?
A cold, emotionless machine of the World Government?
As Claude spoke, tears slid down Katakuri's face in thick drops, streaking along his cheeks.
He had never felt a father's love.
But now
Now he finally understood what it felt like.
A feeling even his mother had never given him.
Katakuri's heart screamed silently.
If I were strong enough… maybe none of this would've happened.
Maybe I could've protected my little brothers and sisters… fulfilled my duty as an older brother.
But I'm too weak.
So weak I can't help at all. I'm nothing but a burden…
The self-blame crushed him. That suffocating sour pain like his heart was bleeding
Anyone who hadn't felt it would never understand that helplessness.
Katakuri wanted to become stronger.
So strong that he could protect what he wanted to protect.
"When the fighting ends," Claude said, turning away, his loneliness written across his back, "I'll let you go."
"You have no value to me anymore."
"Consider it…"
He didn't finish the sentence, but in his heart he did.
…repaying a favor.
…
On Hachinosu, watching Ares grow more excited his punches growing heavier and stronger Rocks felt a thread of tension coil in his chest.
Even a hint of danger.
"No."
"This can't go on."
"At this rate, I'm becoming Ares' sparring partner."
"That brat's coating getting smoother that fast… he's definitely stealing techniques from me."
Rocks' suspicion hardened.
And he knew one thing for sure
He couldn't allow the fight to drag.
Then I'll crush him with absolute power.
He pulled back. Endless black smoke poured from his body, rolling without stop.
In moments
A world of darkness swelled behind Rocks, like a void that swallowed everything, making it impossible to see what lay within.
"Dark Star!"
The heavy black smoke blotted out the sky and moon, plunging the earth into darkness.
It churned violently, compressing, gathering
Until it formed a massive black sphere.
Like a planet.
Held in Rocks' grasp.
As if it could devour everything.
And as Rocks began to forge this killing move
Ares felt it too.
A violent, screaming sense of danger surged through his bones.
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