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Chapter 10: The Great Battle Is About to Begin! Facing the Marines
Rocks' figure.
At some point, he had appeared at the bow of the ship.
When his calm voice fell, he glanced at Shiki and Lotte on the deck.
He had naturally witnessed the scene between Shiki and Lotte earlier.
A surge of astonishment rose in his heart.
He hadn't expected that, in addition to such astonishing Haki talent, Lotte also possessed swordsmanship talent surpassing even Golden Lion's.
Combining these two,
Along with that absolutely bizarre Devil Fruit ability,
Lotte's future prospects were truly limitless!
This realization filled Rocks with quiet delight. If Lotte could grow strong enough to draw the Marines' attention, the success rate of his plans would increase dramatically.
Shiki's expression changed when he saw Rocks.
Though the man was nominally his captain,
Shiki had joined purely for his own ambitions from the very beginning.
He had only stayed in the Rocks Pirates
Because of Rocks' overwhelming strength and the powerful subordinates around him.
Inviting Lotte right in front of Rocks
Was something Shiki felt his current strength didn't justify being so blatant about.
He decided inwardly: after dealing with these Marines, he'd find another chance to approach Lotte.
With a light tap of his foot, Shiki's figure vanished from the spot.
Lotte's gaze turned toward the distant, faintly visible line of Marine warships.
He raised an eyebrow slightly.
He hadn't expected the Marines to show up so quickly. Did they really have the confidence to face Rocks head-on?
In Lotte's view,
While Marine Headquarters' strength was undoubtedly solid,
Compared to the current Rocks Pirates dominating the seas, they had no real advantage beyond sheer numbers of cannon fodder.
In the God Valley battle,
If not for the World Government's direct intervention,
The Marines alone would have struggled to completely destroy the Rocks Pirates.
"Jie hahaha! The Marines actually dare target the Rocks Pirates? Has Steel Bone Kong finally gone senile?"
"Let's give those guys a painful lesson this time!"
"Right after recruiting new blood, the Marines come knocking—are they just here to die?"
The cadres gathered at the bow upon hearing this.
Looking at the approaching pirate ships in the distance, excitement lit up their faces.
For these great pirates,
Mere treasure no longer satisfied them. Only making their name resound across the seas was the true goal!
If they could crush these Marines,
The Rocks Pirates' bounties would skyrocket even higher!
Rocks remained silent.
He simply stared quietly at the distant warships.
With his top-tier Observation Haki, he sensed the powerful auras emanating from them.
These were definitely not the usual small fries.
One aura in particular was so strong
That it even surpassed some of the Admirals he had faced in the past.
In the entire Marine Headquarters, only one person could achieve that.
The pinnacle of Marine Headquarters.
The current Fleet Admiral—Steel Bone Kong!
A ferocious grin slowly spread across Rocks' face.
"Hahahaha! That old bastard finally couldn't sit still anymore?!"
"Listen up, boys! Today we show no mercy to these Marines. Let them learn the price of provoking us on these seas!"
The other pirates gripped their weapons excitedly.
Staring at the approaching Marines, they readied themselves for battle.
...
On the Marine warship.
Fleet Admiral Steel Bone Kong, clad in his Marine coat,
Led the current Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals—Garp, Sengoku, Tsuru—and the rest of the force
Toward the distant Rocks Pirate fleet. A grave look flickered in his eyes.
Ever since learning of the Rocks Pirates' recruitment drive, he had planted spies on that island.
Though many died during the final assessment,
A few had successfully infiltrated as trainee crew members.
That was how he could track the pirate ships' location so quickly.
Steel Bone Kong stared fixedly at Rocks standing at the bow in the distance, subconsciously clenching his fist and narrowing his eyes.
"Rocks... we finally meet."
As his calm voice carried across,
The pirates on the Rocks ships also noticed the Marine coat on Steel Bone Kong, with its prominent medals of merit. Their pupils contracted slightly.
They clearly recognized the current Fleet Admiral.
In the past,
Seeing the Fleet Admiral leading such a fleet would have made them avoid direct confrontation at all costs.
But things were completely different now!
Their pirate crew had the man who ruled the seas—Rocks!
Even the Fleet Admiral was nothing to fear!
Rocks heard the hidden anger in Steel Bone Kong's tone. He simply crossed his arms over his chest and grinned viciously.
"Jie hahaha! Steel Bone Kong, this is our first time meeting face-to-face, isn't it?"
"What's wrong? Finally couldn't hold back and came to reclaim some pride for the Marines?"
"With that aging body of yours?"
"Where are those other useless Admirals? I kinda miss the feel of beating them senseless!"
His wildly arrogant voice
Steadied the slightly panicked pirates.
Their boss was Rocks!
Even those so-called highest powers of Marine Headquarters—the Admirals—had never gained any advantage against the Rocks Pirates!
Only their captain, Rocks,
Was the true overlord of these seas right now!
Steel Bone Kong frowned upon hearing this. He clenched his fist, Conqueror's Haki coating it as an extremely powerful aura erupted from his body.
His expression flickered between light and shadow.
Though he had come primarily to probe Rocks' strength this time,
He hadn't expected the man to be this arrogant—from start to finish, Rocks hadn't taken the Marines seriously at all!
"You're just a pirate. Do you really think you're the king of the seas?!"
"Hand over the treasure you plundered from the affiliated nations earlier."
"If you do, I'll let you leave."
As long as he could recover the treasure the Rocks Pirates had looted from the affiliated nations,
He'd have something to report back to the World Government.
Starting a full-scale battle at this point
Would have to wait until Garp, Sengoku, and the others had fully matured.
Rocks paused for a moment, then burst into loud laughter again.
"I'm Rocks!"
"Once a pirate swallows something, there's no such thing as spitting it back out!"
"You don't even understand that basic principle? What a pathetic Fleet Admiral you are!"
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