"A 'Scientific Bandit'?"
"Wahahaha, the idea just popped into my head—who'd have thought the future actually holds an Executive like that!"
Rocks valued Fang Huo more and more; with this Prophet around, he would surely overthrow Imu and fulfill the Davy Clan's destiny.
Then the Davy Clan could live openly under the sun, no longer hunted to extinction by the World Government.
Fang Huo didn't mention Vegapunk, the world's top scientist—after all, the guy was only nine and might not even have eaten the Brain-Brain Fruit yet.
And Vinsmoke Judge, Queen, and Caesar were all born within the last year or two.
Under the awed gaze of the crew, the Saber of Xebec sailed forward, riding the wind across the sea.
While searching for the underworld's Shiki...
Babel and Newgate had a showdown.
As expected, Babel was crushed.
With his strength, Newgate secured his place in the Rocks Pirates.
Thanks to Fang Huo acting as the "lubricant," the ship's atmosphere stayed fairly harmonious; Rocks hadn't let his Executives slaughter one another—at least not yet.
Fang Huo busted his ass developing his three abilities while suffering Rocks's physical training and Haki regimen, getting pummeled for every excuse the Captain could find.
He was going to steer Fang Huo onto the one true path: power through the body!
Newgate kept challenging Rocks, learning how to cultivate the Three Types of Haki.
He would learn from Rocks, chase Rocks, surpass Rocks!
But getting thrashed came with the package.
Rocks treated everyone equally—equally brutally.
Yet the results were obvious!
Fang Huo, Newgate, Babel, and Sunbell all grew visibly stronger.
—Several months later!
"Damn it!! That guy can really run!!"
Chasing the flying yakuza warrior Shiki had piled up Rocks's rage.
"Who'd have thought Kyo already had a grudge against Shiki so early!"
Fang Huo never expected the hunt for Shiki to take this long.
No wonder the Rocks of the original timeline spent eight whole years recruiting only six Executives: Newgate, Shiki, Stussy, Ganzi, Maron, and Wang Zhi.
Along the way, plenty of unruly powerhouses had been killed for refusing to follow him.
After visiting Harald in Elbaf, Rocks spent another four years subduing Charlotte Linlin, Streusen, Captain John, Babel, and Gloriosa as Executives.
Once they occupied Hachinosu, Kaido and Kyo finally joined the Rocks Pirates.
With Hachinosu as their base, the Rocks Pirates grew for a few more years before reaching their true peak.
—Right now, Shiki and Kyo were playing cat-and-mouse across the sky.
Kyo the "Gangster Killer" seemed a bit stronger at this point; he was the one chasing "Gangster" Shiki.
Shiki, whose Float-Float Fruit hadn't fully matured, could only dodge battle after battle.
Their feud kept the Rocks Pirates forever one step behind Shiki.
"Once I catch those two, I'll beat the crap out of them!"
By now, Rocks had both Shiki and Kyo on his blacklist.
Especially after Fang Huo revealed that the "Gangster Killer" Kyo would join the Rocks Pirates a decade later.
Rocks resolved to beat the man into submission ahead of schedule and add him to the crew!
Fang Huo could do nothing with the fuming Captain.
This reckless boss insisted on catching Shiki and Kyo first.
Heading to the West Blue for Mafia boss Maron, or hunting the smuggler Ganzi, or even recruiting the Pirate Patriarch Wang Zhi, would all be faster than endlessly chasing "Gangster" Shiki.
Still, the detour gave Fang Huo and the others time to grow closer and stronger.
Fang Huo had already hit it off with Newgate, Babel, and Sunbell; the four got along great.
—"Rocks, chasing like this forever won't work."
Fang Huo was exasperated; after months of pursuit, the stubborn Captain still wouldn't switch targets.
"Fang Huo, your prophecy's slacking—otherwise, how could we still be empty-handed!"
Rocks was dead-set on Shiki, unwilling to give up, even complaining about Fang Huo's selective foresight.
"Everything in the world keeps changing; that flux is exactly what makes the future diverse and fascinating."
If I told you that in one future you lose to Imu without even landing a hit, you'd refuse to believe it...
Fang Huo ignored Rocks's grumbling; the guy had swaggered in expecting to subdue Shiki in one go, only to be led on a months-long leash—his pride had taken a serious blow.
"Hmph! That future's the one where I get caught by Imu before I find the Sun God Nika Fruit and the Dark-Dark Fruit, right?"
Rocks knew that without those two powers, he indeed stood no chance against Imu.
"Exactly."
Fang Huo withheld the intel; he could hardly tell him the World Government had already discovered Rocks's hometown, God Valley.
"As I thought! Without those legendary abilities, you can't beat that immortal monster!"
Rocks finally calmed; next to Imu, the little sideshow with Shiki and Kyo meant nothing.
Wasting a bit more time was no big deal.
They had all the time in the world right now!
"Only the First Mate can talk the Captain down."
Sunbell saw the dark cloud lift from Rocks's face; the whole crew relaxed.
When Rocks was in a bad mood, the whole ship felt oppressive.
The sailors and grunts grew jumpy; even the meals nearly failed until Fang Huo personally took to the galley several times.
Only then did everyone realize Fang Huo had the Chef skill slotted too.
He didn't cook often—Newgate, Babel, and Sunbell were giants with bottomless stomachs.
Fang Huo flat-out refused to slave over the stove for those gorging titans!
"Fang Huo, your Gravity should counter Shiki's Float-Float Fruit, right?"
Newgate hated missing Fang Huo's cooking; the galley grunts' dishes were mediocre at best.
They needed to get some real chefs for Rocks.
"The Float-Float ability is rule-based—once it lifts something, that thing keeps floating, whereas my Gravity has to burn stamina to maintain weightlessness."
"Besides, 'counter' isn't accurate: whoever's stronger is the one who counters!"
If a flame is hot enough, it can even overcome water.
Fang Huo had tried levitating the Saber of Xebec, but the stamina and focus cost made it hard to develop his other powers.
So the flying version of the Saber of Xebec lasted only a few days before he gave up.
Better to sail the old-fashioned way.
Unless they spotted Shiki—then it could be a pursuit tactic.
"Exactly. With Haki strong enough, you can suppress most Devil Fruit powers."
"Conversely, if a Devil Fruit is developed far enough, it can smash through Haki defenses."
Rocks fully agreed with Fang Huo's logic—there was no such thing as hard counters, only not being strong enough!
Just then, Rocks glanced into the distance.
A flying pirate ship drifted lazily across the sky, and a savage grin split Rocks's face!