Rocks D. Xebec!
This was a name that was both legendary and taboo. In fact, because Rocks did such a shocking thing, the World Government chose to bury the truth of history instead of making it public. Today, only a few people knew about the existence of this legendary pirate.
Many years ago, a group of pirates gathered on the pirate island of Hatchinos, and the Rocks Pirates were born.
When Roger was still a rookie, the Rocks Pirates had already dominated the seas, and their crew included many now-famous pirates such as Shiki the Golden Lion, Edward Newgate the Whitebeard, Charlotte Linlin the Big Mom, Kaido of the Beasts, Silver Axe, Captain John, and Wang Zhi.
With such formidable fighting power, the Rocks Pirates had the confidence to challenge the World Government!
Rocks D. Xebec even harbored ambitions to become the King of the World!
Unfortunately, since the God Valley battle more than 20 years ago, Rocks was defeated by Garp and Roger, and even the island of God Valley itself was erased from the world map.
On this vast ocean, you could say you had inherited the will of D, or you could say you wanted to be the Pirate King—it didn't matter.
But if someone claimed to have inherited the will of Rocks D. Xebec, they were truly ignorant of the meaning of death!
Even Byrnndi World, known as the "Destroyer of the World," would never dare to call himself that!
Trebol swallowed hard, his throat bobbing, and stared intently ahead.
The earth was swallowed by endless shadows, and the vast sea of shadows rose and fell. Countless shadows shrouded Damon, as if a long yellow robe was trailing behind him. The deep eyes of the Abyss Mask flickered with blue light. His proud figure stood in the boundless shadows with his arms outstretched, as if he wanted to overthrow and rebuild the entire order of this world!
Dark, mysterious, powerful!
His arrogant King's Haki was unleashed, causing all the pirates of the Plum Blossom Legion to faint. They were then beheaded by the Death Knights, who were completely unaffected. Their bodies sank into the Shadow Sea. With each body that disappeared, an organ was added to the Shadow Sea, whether it was an ear, an eye, or a mouth.
"He actually possesses the qualities of a king!"
"Could it be that everything he just said was true?"
"Is he truly the one who inherited the will of Rocks?"
Trebol's pupils contracted sharply, and his heart pounded wildly.
Whether this was true or not, it meant that the opponent in front of him was very troublesome, and he might very well lose his life today.
As the Shadow Sea was about to spread to his feet, Trebol quickly floated up, while a lot of slime floated down, trying to block the shadow spikes piercing from all sides.
Trebol was a Logia-type user of the Sticky-Sticky Fruit, capable of creating a sticky, brownish, slippery substance from any part of his body. Even his clothes could turn into a sticky substance.
Originally, the Sticky-Sticky Fruit's ability was quite useless, but Trebol had explored its potential over the years. Not only could it shoot the secreted sticky liquid from a distance, but it could also enhance the stickiness of the liquid. Once an enemy got stuck in the sticky liquid, their body would be controlled and they would be unable to move freely for a short period of time.
In addition, the mucus secreted from Trebol's body was highly flammable and explosive. The scepter in Trebol's hand was disguised as an igniter. Once the secreted mucus was ignited, any enemy would suffer a silent loss.
Trebol already regarded Damon as an opponent of the same level as Doflamingo, and had no intention of underestimating him. He kept dodging the attacks of the shadow assassins around him, while also trying to hit Damon with a barrage of round, sticky sap.
Even if Damon managed to dodge it, as long as his slime fell around Damon, he could silently set up a killing formation against Damon. When the time was right, Trebol could ignite the slime and trap the enemy in a sea of fire.
The plan was wonderful, but reality was harsh.
Damon had long anticipated this move, allowing the shadow to envelop his entire body. Any slime that came near would be swallowed up by the ink-like shadow, leaving not even a trace.
The sea of shadows covering the ground beneath one's feet and the surrounding buildings seemed like a small black hole that swallowed everything, sending chills down one's spine.
While Trebol was busy defending himself, Damon checked the system notifications.
"Ding!"
"Congratulations, host, for reciting a classic line from One Piece. You have been awarded one chance to draw a prize. Would you like to start the prize wheel?"
A lottery wheel appeared in Damon's field of vision, unnoticed by anyone around him.
The lottery wheel was divided into two categories: Devil Fruits and Techniques.
Devil Fruits: Dark-Dark Fruit, Flame-Flame Fruit...
Techniques: Navy Six Powers, Fishman Karate, Transvestite Kung Fu...
[Armament Haki]: It could enhance personal defense and could also be transformed into offensive power, thus enabling one to contend with Logia-type Devil Fruit users.
Armament Haki was divided into four levels: hardening, binding, external release, and internal destruction.
Damon was currently a beginner, in the stage of using Armament Haki to harden his body. This was the most common and basic way to use it in the New World. Covering the body with Armament Haki could make the body harder than steel, increasing one's defense and attack power.
In addition to being used on one's own body, it could also be used on objects.
In the beginner stage, Armament Haki was essentially an upgraded version of Iron Body.
Damon raised his right hand; now he could only cover his right palm with Armament Haki.
However, the insights gained from previously acquiring the Thunder Bagua technique spontaneously arose, allowing Damon to temporarily imbue his right hand with both Armament Haki and King's Haki.
Since Damon had not yet been able to cover his entire body with Armament Haki, it was too early for him to come into contact with Armament Haki binding; he could only maintain it for a very short moment.
But for Damon, that was enough.
The next instant, Damon stomped his foot, and waves of shadow surged.
Shave!
Flash!
Seeing the enemy disappear in the blink of an eye, Trebol was terrified and instinctively covered his body with a large amount of slime in an attempt to resist Damon's attack.
The lines composed of all things were exposed before the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. After this period of contact and observation, four death lines had already been exposed on Trebol's body, and the traces of death points were faintly revealed. Unfortunately, the opponent always maintained an elemental state, and his body was constantly changing irregularly. The death points rose and fell, making it difficult for Damon to grasp them accurately.
Damon approached Trebol, clenching his fist, and streaks of reddish-purple lightning flashed across his face.
"Thunder Bagua!"
With a loud shout, Damon's right fist, covered in Armament Haki, slammed down from the death line, crushing and exploding all the slime in front of him, revealing a face full of shock underneath.
Trebol looked on in disbelief and exclaimed:
"How do you know Kaido's signature move?"
Unfortunately, his confusion was destined to remain unanswered, and it became his last words before his death.
With devastating force, the right fist, wreathed in crimson and purple lightning, pierced straight through Trebol's chest. Faced with this right fist covered in Armament Haki, Trebol's elemental transformation became a colossal joke.
The slumped corpse fell into the endless sea of shadows, and Damon's eyes flickered slightly.
Shadow Alchemy absorbed the corpses of enemies, with a chance to acquire their abilities.
Just now, the shadow stripped the Sticky Fruit of its "sticky" property, but did not inherit its other abilities or the Devil Fruit's flaws.
In an instant, the shadow sea, which was originally like thick ink, changed slightly, becoming like a sticky, ink-colored liquid with a viscosity that was unimaginable to ordinary people.
Anyone who stood on this sea of shadows would find their feet stuck to the ground as if by superglue.
As the most important transit point between Paradise and the New World, the Sabaody Archipelago had become a hub for the eyes and ears of many powerful forces.
When Damon destroyed the auction that Doflamingo was behind in the Sabaody Archipelago, the eyes and ears of various forces reported the situation in real time. However, neither the World Government nor the Navy showed any intention of stopping him. On the contrary, they were happy to see it happen, and it was as if they were sitting on the sidelines watching the tigers fight.
It was likely that the previous incident where Doflamingo, the Heavenly Demon, kidnapped the Celestial Gold and forced the World Government to appoint him as one of the Shichibukai greatly angered the World Government and the Five Elders.
If it weren't for the fact that Doflamingo was a Celestial Dragon, any other pirate who dared to do this would have been dealt with by a triple Buster Call, and there wouldn't have been so much trouble.
For this reason, the World Government and the Navy were happy to see Doflamingo suffer a setback.
The navy stationed in the Sabaody Archipelago would at most step in to maintain order, and then let the situation develop as it would.
That being said, it didn't mean they wouldn't be monitoring the area.
The Navy remotely monitored everything happening here by monitoring Den Den Mushi.
When Damon, using the alias of the pirate Dragon Ash, proclaimed himself the successor to the Will of Rocks, the Navy stationed in the Sabaody Archipelago immediately realized that the situation was beyond their control.
Through layers of reporting, even Fleet Admiral Sengoku, who was originally in a meeting discussing the next Shichibukai member, urgently interrupted the meeting and, together with Vice Admiral Tsuru, Garp, and a group of old friends, paid close attention to the battle between Damon and Trebol.
After the battle, the Fleet Admiral frowned deeply.
"Thunder Bagua? This is Kaido's signature move, and no outsider could ever learn it."
"Could this person really be the inheritor of the will of Rocks?"
Fleet Admiral Sengoku's gaze fell upon Admiral Kizaru, who was drinking tea and reading a newspaper, and he said in a deep voice:
"Regardless of whether this matter is true or false, this person is definitely a great scourge."
"Borsalino, you are the fastest, and you can arrest this person before he escapes from Sabaody Archipelago. This mission is entrusted to you."
Admiral Kizaru took a sip of green tea and said with a helpless expression:
"It's almost time to get off work, and people still have to do their jobs. What a hassle."
The country of Wano, Onigashima.
Dark clouds loomed over the city, threatening to crush it. The sky was shrouded in dark clouds for thousands of miles, with flashes of lightning and thunder.
A flash of lightning illuminated a huge, imposing figure, casting a long, slanted shadow on the ground.
The burly giant sat cross-legged on the ground, with dragon horns on his head, black hair flowing down his shoulders, dragon whiskers on his lips, and his upper body bare. His left arm was adorned with dragon scale tattoos, and an X-shaped scar was clearly visible on his right abdomen.
Kaido of the Beasts untied the sake gourd from his waist, tilted his head back and drank the fine sake brewed in Wano Country. As he listened to his subordinates reporting on the interesting events that had occurred in the Sabaody Archipelago, his expression gradually became serious.
"Thunder Bagua?"
"Who exactly is trying to harm me behind my back?"
Kaido of the Beasts subconsciously thought of his rebellious son Yamato. Despite having a name given to him by Kaido, Yamato preferred to live as Kozuki Oden. If anyone were to steal and pass on his Thunder Bagua technique, Yamato would be the prime suspect.
Thinking about it this way, Kaido of the Beasts felt disheartened, and even the pleasure he had felt from making a deal with Doflamingo of the Heavenly Demon a while ago faded considerably.
"No!"
"It's also possible that a successor to the will of Rocks has truly appeared!"
Kaido of the Beasts suddenly stood up, his back to the thunderous lightning, his face hidden in darkness, with only his eyes wide open like copper bells, looking quite frightening.
Kaido of the Beasts took out a Den Den Mushi and gave the order:
"King, you must go to the Sabaody Archipelago immediately. Be quick, you must bring back a pirate named Dragon Ash before the Navy does!"
"Understood."
King's words were concise and to the point.