The noise outside grew louder, and Luffy was shouting furiously. Rodney, wasting no time, mentally addressed the system: "Exchange for 'Leaf Style Sword Art,' 'Dance of the Camellias,' 'Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere,' and 'Water Release: Water Collision Wave!'"
The system responded instantly, and Rodney's score was credited with 800 points: 500 for "Leaf Style Sword Art", 50 for "Dance of the Camellias", and the remaining 150 for "Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere" and "Water Release: Water Collision Wave".
Rodney now had 810 points for completed missions. At that moment, Luffy launched another attack. Ace, like lightning, stood in front of Rodney, blocking his path. "Wait, Luffy, you're no match for him," he said calmly.
Luffy was determined to avenge his brother, but even Garp knew it wouldn't be easy. Rodney had just defeated Ace with ease, and even he, Garp himself, would have a hard time dealing with him. Luffy couldn't just stand by and watch his brother being bullied.
"Get out of my way, Ace! I want to avenge you!" Luffy shouted angrily. Like brothers, they shared both joys and sorrows.
"I understand, but you're no match for him," Ace shook his head. He knew Rodney had still been holding back during their previous battle, and Luffy would lose if he decided to fight now.
"But..." Luffy wanted to object, but Garp interrupted him: "Okay, Luffy. Rodney may not be as physically strong as you, but his mind is sharper. You won't have a hard time defeating him."
"Grandpa, he beat Ace!" Luffy was stubborn, just like his determination to become the Pirate King. It was in his blood, like a true Deuce.
"Since that's the case, I originally planned to beat you up to teach you that recklessness leads to death. But now I want to test my new ability," Rodney declared confidently. Luffy's unwavering convictions made him immune to any blows from society.
Perseverance is admirable, but persistent enemies can be quite annoying.
"Hey, Luffy, find a way to untie me quickly. You can't handle him alone," Ace pleaded, watching Rodney's Sharingan spin. Momentarily distracted, he added, "Find someone to untie me, huh?"
Rodney thought, "To adapt to this world, many changes have been made to the system, including the abandonment of illusions."
In addition to enhanced vision and replication, the Sharingan also had the ability to create illusions and see through them.
In this world, creating illusions required disrupting the opponent's chakra, blinding their senses. However, since there was no chakra in this world, Rodney wondered how he could use this ability.
Therefore, the system replaced it with spiritual energy. Illusions could only be cast on enemies with weaker mental strength. Those with comparable mental strength experienced only a short-term trance, and those with stronger mental strength were unaffected by the illusions.
Acquiring the Sharingan greatly increased Rodney's chakra and mental strength, raising it from 0.8 Kakashi to 1.4 Kakashi.
Because the Sharingan was compatible with him, Rodney could freely activate and deactivate it, significantly reducing his chakra consumption compared to Kakashi, who lacked Uchiha blood and suffered from prolonged chakra depletion.
"Oh, first I'll beat you, and then..." Luffy's eyes met Rodney's, and he fell into a hallucination. Luffy, who was only fourteen years old, was no match for Rodney's strength of spirit. He hadn't yet awakened his Haki, so he could only obediently immerse himself in the illusion and dream.
"Hey, Rodney, what did you do to my grandson?" Garp was surprised by Luffy's sudden stupor and didn't notice the appearance of Haki.
Rodney hid his Sharingan, and his eyes returned to their usual black color. He replied casually, "Just a little trick to make him sleep. He'll be fine."
Luffy collapsed to the ground, waking up from his slumber, and exclaimed, "Meat! So much meat! Heh-heh..."
"Bwahahahaha, really?" Garp laughed. "Okay, let's go. I'll take you somewhere else, and you, Ace, follow us."
He walked forward, carrying Luffy.
"Let's go," Rodney said and walked away, and Ace reluctantly followed him.
Garp took them to Bogard and asked for the key to remove Ace's seastone cuffs. As soon as Ace was freed, he felt his strength returning, and a flame blazing across his body.
"The 'Fire Devil Fruit' is truly incredible. Vice Admiral Garp, your grandson is truly amazing," Bogard remarked sincerely.
"Bwahahahaha, it's just a small thing, a small thing," Garp boasted proudly about his grandson's promising future.
- Rodney!!! - As soon as Ace was free, he wanted to fight Rodney again.
— Firearms!
Sparks flew from Ace's fingertips, but Rodney easily dodged them and landed confidently in the open sea.
— Standing... on water? How is that possible? Does he have a Devil Fruit?
- It's very convenient for chasing pirates.
- Fire fist!
Ace struck with lightning speed and a withering pulse. Rodney quickly applied the hand seals he'd been practicing for decades. "Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
A huge amount of water burst out of his mouth, reminiscent of a river during the rainy season.
The clash of fire and water produced white vapor. Rodney quickly formed another seal. "Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!"
The wind technique tore through the water vapor and pierced Ace's body, leaving several holes and a mark on the ground behind him.
— "Water Release: Water Body!"
The seawater condensed into five water clones, which staggered toward Ace. Each clone drew short knives from their feet and pounced on him. Having learned from their previous encounter, Ace didn't give the water clones a single chance to plot against him. He destroyed four of them with long-range attacks, but realized there were none left.
Where did they go?
"Over here!" A figure suddenly jumped out from under Ace's feet. The dagger in their hands glinted coldly in the sun, stabbing him repeatedly.
- "Dance of the camellias!"
This was a Kaguya clan technique, known for its gentle yet incredibly fast attacks. Underestimating an opponent meant certain death. Unfortunately, Ace's Flame Fruit made him immune to such attacks. Even if his body was pierced, it had no effect.
The blow landed on Rodney's body, engulfed in flames, but Ace soon discovered he had missed his target. Rodney had turned into a puddle of liquid.
Accident!
His ankle suddenly twitched, as if something had grabbed his leg. He felt a momentary weakness in his body.
Ace looked down to find that the sea shackles that had been taken from him a moment ago were now shackling his legs.
"Damn it!" he blurted out, admitting defeat in this one-on-one fight. "I didn't even have to give it my all," he muttered, holding back his disappointment.
"Ha-ha-ha, Ace," Garp laughed, watching Rodney rise from the ground. "A Devil Fruit ability isn't everything. Rodney may not be as physically strong as you, but his techniques are far superior to yours." Garp, pleased with the result, turned to the victor. "Rodney, you did well! Would you like to join the Marines?"
"Thank you for the compliment, Vice Admiral Garp," Rodney smiled, ignoring the offer. "Perhaps we should continue our agreement?"
"Sure, what do you want to learn?" Garp offered generously.
"I've already mastered Sora," Rodney began. "Naturally, I want to master the advanced version: Geppo. Let's start with that."
"Vice Admiral Garp," Bogard, the adjutant, felt it necessary to remind him, "is it appropriate to teach Mr. Rodney so many Rokushiki techniques?"
Rodney, with a serious expression on his face, replied:
"Adjutant Bogard, you're mistaken. The Rokushiki technique is no secret in this world. Many pirates in the New World have encountered Rokushiki users many times. Besides, I'm not a pirate, so there's no harm in learning them."
Deserters in the Marine Corps also mastered Rokushiki techniques to varying degrees. This was common, especially in the New World.
So it could be considered an open secret. If they had paid attention to every detail, they would have had to be vigilant about many other things as well.