Chapter 37: The Operation Begins, Target: The Celestial Dragons of the Golden City
"Kaido, why do you call me 'Hero' Rono?"
Faced with Kaido's pledge of allegiance, Rono didn't rush to agree, but instead asked curiously.
When did I get the title 'Hero'?
Hearing that Rono actually knew his name, Kaido became even more excited:
"Captain Rono, don't you know? The last time you hijacked the Heavenly Tribute, you freed many slaves, and among them were our brothers from the Oni race."
"Everyone learned of Captain Rono's great name and started calling you 'Hero' Rono!" Kaido explained with deep emotion.
Hearing this, Rono nodded. He hadn't expected that a simple act at the time would lead to such a pleasant surprise.
Seeing the look of admiration on Kaido's face, he was most likely a 100% fanboy.
What Rono didn't know at this time was that among the slaves he had freed, besides influencing Kaido, he had also influenced various other races such as the Mink Tribe and the Fish-Men of Fish-Man Island.
These influences would play an extremely significant role in the future!
"Alright, I understand. I accept your application. From now on, you are a member of my Seventh Division."
Rono was also happy to gain a crew member with such immense potential as Kaido.
After all, this was the future "World's Strongest Creature"!
To achieve his goal of killing all the Celestial Dragons, he would need capable helpers.
"Not bad at all. He just became a commander and has already recruited a monster of potential like Kaido."
Golden Lion, Silver Axe, Wang Zhi, and the others commented sourly from the side, their tones filled with envy.
How could they not want a talented and powerful crew member?
Unfortunately, they had invited him, but he had ignored them, only to proactively kneel and beg to join Rono's crew.
"Congratulations, Rono, on becoming a Division Commander. We're all family now. We'll have to look out for each other on the same ship."
"That's right, we're partners now. We'll be going through life and death together in the future."
"Exactly, Captain Rono. If you need any help in the future, just ask."
"Mamamama, Captain Rono, are you interested in coming to my room tonight? I'll treat you well."
The banquet then continued, with Division Commanders like Golden Lion, Silver Axe, Wang Zhi, and John raising their cups to congratulate Rono.
It was also a way to leave a good impression on him.
Charlotte Linlin even kept throwing flirtatious winks, inviting Rono to her room.
Although Charlotte Linlin's figure had not yet gone out of shape, and she was still young and could even be considered a great beauty.
However, after glancing at the more than a dozen young children behind Charlotte Linlin, including Perospero, Katakuri, Daifuku, Oven, Opera, Compote, and Cracker, Rono almost spat out the drink he had just swallowed.
Forget it. He wasn't interested in second-hand goods, let alone tenth-hand goods.
"Indeed, we are all partners. We should look out for each other in the future."
Rono clinked glasses with Golden Lion, Silver Axe, John, and the others one by one, but in his heart, he was thinking, "Partners? To hell with that."
He was well aware of the character of this group of ambitious men.
They called him a partner to his face, but would turn on him in an instant if there was a conflict of interest.
However, it seemed that fully displaying his talent earlier was not a bad thing. At least these Division Commanders were now wary of his strength and potential and were all trying to curry favor with him.
His days in the Rocks Pirates should be free from annoying flies.
The banquet lasted for three days and three nights, costing nearly three billion Berries before it ended.
...
In the blink of an eye, three months passed.
During his three months with the Rocks Pirates, Rono continuously worked on his shortcomings.
The first was swordsmanship!
Over the past three months, Rono had sparred with Whitebeard frequently, and Whitebeard was always happy to fight.
Through these long sparring sessions, Rono successfully raised his swordsmanship from Advanced to Top-tier. After all, Whitebeard was also a master swordsman.
Rono could now be considered a Grandmaster Swordsman-level expert, and the sword energy from his Slashing Wave was comparable to Golden Lion's own.
His three stats—speed, strength, and stamina—also broke through during the sparring, growing to the Admiral level!
Checking his status panel again:
[Host: Rono]
[Age: 17]
[Strength: (Admiral Level)]
[Speed: (Admiral Level)]
[Stamina: (Admiral Level)]
[Top-tier Conqueror's Haki (1.5%), Top-tier Armament Haki (4.6%), Advanced Observation Haki (82.7%)]
[Other Abilities: Swordsmanship (Grandmaster Swordsman Level); Combat Experience (Advanced); Axe Arts (Advanced)]
[Techniques: Iron Fist; Slashing Wave; Qilin; Six Powers]
[Fruit Ability: Flame-Flame Fruit · Absorption]
[God-Tier Ability: The Voice of All Things!]
After checking the panel, Rono nodded in satisfaction.
It could be said that he now had almost no weaknesses, and his strength had become that of a genuine Admiral-level powerhouse!
Of course, his Observation Haki was still at the Advanced stage. Rono was already planning to use the stock of Devil Fruits he had stolen from the Heavenly Tribute to help upgrade it.
As for his Armament and Conqueror's Haki, they remained at the Top-tier level, still some distance from the strongest, God-tier.
Whitebeard's Armament and Conqueror's Haki were on a similar level to Rono's, so their growth in these two areas during their spars was minimal, almost stagnant!
Perhaps a major battle was needed to help him break through the bottleneck.
As for Rocks, Rono had no idea what he had been doing for the past three months; he hadn't even seen him.
One day, three months later, Rocks suddenly appeared and called an officer's meeting without any warning.
Aside from Rono and Whitebeard, the two Division Commanders who had remained on Hachinosu and hadn't gone out to "earn extra money," the other five Division Commanders—Golden Lion, Silver Axe, Wang Zhi, Charlotte Linlin, and John—immediately stopped their activities upon receiving Rocks's summons and returned to Hachinosu as quickly as possible.
Inside the giant skull on Hachinosu, in a lavishly decorated meeting room.
Rocks and the seven Division Commanders were all present.
"Since everyone is here, I'll get straight to the point."
"The reason I've gathered you all this time is for a single target: the Golden City!"
Rocks tapped his fingers on the table before him, a cold glint flashing in his eyes!
"Oh? Golden City?!" Hearing the word "gold," John immediately perked up.
"Although it's called the Golden City, it's actually a giant ship!"
"Known as the largest entertainment cruiser on the seas, the owner of this ship is a Gold-Gold Fruit user. Legend says he alone possesses 20% of the world's gold," the well-informed Golden Lion showed off his knowledge.
Possesses 20% of the world's gold?
John, Wang Zhi, and Silver Axe stared wide-eyed, John's eyes even turning into the shape of money.
"You gathered all of us just for the Golden City? That's too boring."
Whitebeard, however, was not interested in the Golden City at all and let out a yawn.
"Of course not. According to the intelligence I've received, there are currently nineteen Celestial Dragons present in the Golden City!"
As he said this, Rocks unleashed an extremely intense wave of Conqueror's Haki!
The ground instantly cracked under the pressure of this Haki!
This wave of Haki even caused the figures of the seven Division Commanders present to sway slightly
<><><><><><>
Read Advanced Chapters on: patreon.com/Amiii_
~Every 150 PS = Bonus Chapter!
~Push the Story forward with your [Power Stones]