"scientific bandit?"
"Wahahaha, I just came up with this idea, I didn't expect that there would really be such an Executive in the future!"
Rocks placed increasing importance on Fang Huo; with this Prophet around, he would certainly be able to overthrow Imu and complete the Davy Clan's mission.
Then the Davy Clan could live openly under the sun, and would no longer be relentlessly hunted down and exterminated by the World Government.
Fang Huo did not mention Vegapunk, the world's number one scientist; after all, that guy was only 9 years old now, and it was unknown if he had even eaten the Brain-Brain Fruit yet.
As for guys like Vinsmoke Judge, Queen, and Caesar, they had only been born in the last year or two.
Under the admiring gazes of the others, the Gibeck's Sword sailed forward with the wind on the sea surface.
On the road to finding Gangster Shiki.
Babel and Newgate had a duel.
But unsurprisingly, Babel was soundly defeated.
Newgate used his strength to firmly secure his position in the Rocks Pirates.
With Fang Huo acting as the 'lubricant,' the atmosphere on the ship was currently quite harmonious, and there was no situation where Rocks let the Executives kill each other.
Fang Huo was working hard to develop his three abilities, while also having to endure Rocks' physical training and special Haki training, getting beaten up by Rocks for various reasons.
He wanted to guide Fang Huo onto the correct path of 'Physique Supremacy'!
Newgate would also challenge Rocks to learn the training methods for the Three Types of Haki.
He wanted to learn from Rocks, catch up to Rocks, and surpass Rocks!
But getting beaten up was inevitable.
Rocks was someone who treated everyone equally, and his strikes were extremely heavy.
But the results were very obvious!
Fang Huo, Newgate, Babel, and Sanbel all received visible enhancements.
---
Several months later!
"Damn!! This guy can really run!!"
In order to find Gangster Shiki, the flying underworld samurai, Rocks had accumulated quite a bit of anger.
"I didn't expect Kyo to have already developed a grudge against Shiki so early on!"
Fang Huo didn't expect that finding Shiki would take so much time.
No wonder the Rocks in the original timeline took eight years to recruit the six Executives: Newgate, Shiki, Stussy, Ganzi, Maron, and Wang Zhi.
During that time, there were many unruly powerhouses who were killed because they were unwilling to follow Rocks.
After visiting Harald in Elbaf, Rocks spent another four years subduing Executives like Charlotte Linlin, Long Bread, Captain John, Babel, and Gloriosa.
After occupying Hachinosu Island, guys like Kaido and Kyo came to join the Rocks Pirates.
The Rocks Pirates, with Hachinosu Island as their base, continued to develop for several more years before reaching their true peak.
---
Now Shiki and Kyo were chasing each other, playing a game of hide-and-seek.
At this time, the hard power of Kyo, the Gangster Killer, seemed to be slightly stronger than Shiki's, and it was always him hunting down Gangster Shiki.
Shiki, who possessed the Float-Float Fruit ability, had not yet grown up and could only avoid battle everywhere.
The two's grudge and hunt caused the Rocks Pirates to never be able to catch up with Shiki.
"When I catch them, I will definitely beat the crap out of them!!"
Rocks had his sights set on both Shiki and Kyo by now.
Especially after learning from Fang Huo that the Gangster Killer - Kyo would also join the Rocks Pirates in a dozen years or so.
Rocks was determined to beat this guy into submission in advance and take him under his command!
Fang Huo had no choice regarding the furious Rocks.
This reckless Captain insisted on catching Shiki and Kyo.
If they had gone to the West Blue first to find the Mafia boss Maron, or to find the Smuggler Ganzi, or even the Pirate Patriarch Wang Zhi, it would have been faster than constantly chasing Gangster Shiki.
However, this period of time was just right for Fang Huo and the others to get stronger and deepen the relationships between the crew members.
Fang Huo had already hit it off with Newgate, Babel, and Sanbel; the current communication and friendship among the four were quite good.
---
"Rocks, chasing like this is not a solution."
Fang Huo was a bit helpless about this hot-headed Captain; he had been chasing for months without ever thinking about changing targets first.
"Fang Huo, it's your prophecy that isn't working well, otherwise how could we chase for so long and still not catch them!!"
Rocks was already worked up over Shiki and was unwilling to give up at all, even complaining about Fang Huo's selectively ineffective prophetic ability.
"Everything in the world is changing, the future is always changing, and that is precisely the diversity and charm of the 'future'."
"If I told you one of the futures where we couldn't beat Imu at all, you probably wouldn't be convinced either..."
Fang Huo couldn't be bothered with Rocks' resentment; this guy was full of confidence that he would subdue Shiki in one go, but ended up being led around for months, so his mentality was somewhat explosive.
"Hmph! That future is probably where I was caught by Imu before I found the Sun God Nika Fruit and the Dark-Dark Fruit, right?"
Rocks knew that if he didn't obtain those two abilities, it was indeed impossible for him to be a match for Imu.
"Correct."
Fang Huo did not decisively reveal the information; he couldn't just say that Rocks' hometown, God Valley, had been discovered by the World Government, right?
"As expected! Without those two legendary abilities, it's impossible to beat that old monster!!"
Rocks' mentality finally calmed down; the small matter of Shiki and Kyo was not worth mentioning in front of the old monster Imu.
Wasting a little time, then so be it.
Anyway, they had plenty of time now!
"It still takes the first mate to be able to persuade the Captain."
Sanbel saw that Rocks, who had been keeping a cold face, finally restored his usual heroism and casualness, and the atmosphere on the ship relaxed quite a bit.
When Rocks was in a bad mood, the whole ship felt quite oppressive.
Those sailors and handymen were even more terrified, and even cooking almost became a problem; in the end, Fang Huo personally cooked a few times.
Everyone then discovered that Fang Huo had actually unlocked the chef skill.
However, Fang Huo didn't cook often; after all, little giants like Newgate, Babel, and Sanbel could all eat a lot.
Fang Huo was not willing to cook for these big eaters!
"Fang Huo, your gravity should be able to counter Shiki's Float-Float Fruit ability, right?"
Newgate felt it was a great pity that he couldn't eat Fang Huo's cooking; the food made by these handymen was indeed a bit ordinary.
Rocks needed to find some real chefs.
"The Float-Float Fruit ability is biased towards rules; it only needs to float up once, and it can keep floating, while my gravity requires continuous consumption of stamina to maintain a weightless state."
"Also, the term 'counter' is not accurate. In one sentence: whoever is stronger counters whoever!"
"If fire is strong enough, it can even counter water."
It wasn't that Fang Huo hadn't tried to make Gibeck's Sword float and move forward, but the stamina and focus consumed made it difficult for Fang Huo to concentrate on developing other abilities sometimes.
So, after playing with the flying version of Gibeck's Sword for only a few days, Fang Huo couldn't be bothered anymore.
Better to honestly sail on the sea surface.
Unless Shiki was found, it could be used as a means of pursuit.
"Exactly, if Haki is strong enough, it is enough to counter most Devil Fruit abilities."
"Conversely, if a Devil Fruit ability is developed strongly enough, it can also break through Haki's defense."
Rocks highly approved of Fang Huo's theory; there is no such thing as so many counters, everything is because you are not strong enough!
Just at this moment, Rocks suddenly looked into the distance.
A flying pirate ship was leisurely flying in the sky, which made Rocks instantly reveal a ferocious smile!