Hearing Rocks' domineering voice, Newgate felt extremely displeased despite having anticipated this outcome.
Uharu, beaten black and blue, cowered like a small-time thug facing a mafia boss, silently burying his head in the dirt to play dead.
He even scooped up piles of mud with his hands to bury his face.
He was too ashamed to meet Newgate's eyes.
"Even though Captain Uharu has already lost me in the bet, I still want to compete with you as a combatant of the Whale Pirates!"
"If I win, I win my freedom back. If I lose, I will willingly become your crew member from now on."
"Are you willing to accept this challenge?!"
Newgate was unwilling to let others control his future like this, and he glared coldly at Rocks.
He wanted to use his own fists to fight against fate.
"Worororo, you've got guts! As expected of the man destined to be a top Executive of the Rocks Pirates!"
"I accept!"
"The event and the rules are still yours to decide. I'm going to defeat you so thoroughly that you'll have no complaints!"
Rocks grinned and laughed loudly; he could already feel the astonishing aura emanating from Newgate.
This guy possessed the qualities of a King!
Perhaps Edward Newgate, this eighteen-year-old Little Giant, would awaken Conqueror's Haki even faster than Fang Huo.
That fellow Fang Huo still had too many distractions in his mind.
He was also focusing too much on Devil Fruits.
In that case, it would be somewhat detrimental to awakening the Three Types of Haki.
It seemed he needed to discipline Fang Huo more often.
Beating Fang Huo daily to squeeze out his potential.
Rocks couldn't imagine what heights Fang Huo would reach in the future, possessing nine Devil Fruit abilities and the Three Types of Haki.
Of course, with so many abilities to manage alongside the Three Types of Haki, could a brat like Fang Huo really master them all?
After all, a person's energy is limited; it is difficult to be a master of everything.
Being a jack of all trades often means being a master of none.
Every ability might end up being only half-baked.
"Then let's fight! Let me see how strong the 'World's Worst Pirate' really is!"
Edward Newgate activated his Tremor-Tremor Fruit ability, and a transparent, glowing sphere appeared around his fist.
At this time, Newgate had not yet obtained the Supreme Grade Blade, Murakumogiri.
His fists and the Tremor-Tremor Fruit ability were his strongest means of attack.
"Worororo, it really is the Tremor-Tremor Fruit ability, the one hailed as the strongest Paramecia type with the greatest destructive power!"
"Let's see how much of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's power you can bring out!"
Rocks laughed wildly. As a descendant of the Davy Clan, just like the future Blackbeard Teach, he had long ago memorized the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia cover to cover.
He had a very deep understanding of most Devil Fruit abilities.
This Edward Newgate, just as Fang Huo had predicted, possessed this powerful Tremor-Tremor Fruit ability.
Rocks just didn't understand why Fang Huo didn't covet the Tremor-Tremor Fruit and instead wanted that Magnet-Magnet Fruit.
Was it really just because Captain John would betray the Rocks Pirates in the future that Fang Huo set his sights on the Magnet-Magnet Fruit?
It seemed that Fang Huo still had some principles and a sense of loyalty; he didn't completely treat Rocks as his hired muscle.
At least he spared some thought for the expansion of the Rocks Pirates.
"Air Shatter!!"
"Hell: Roaring Cannon!"
Newgate took the initiative to attack, throwing a vibration-enhanced punch, while Rocks swung his saber with one hand, unleashing a terrifying shockwave from his 'Roaring Cannon' sword technique.
"BOOM!!!"
The tremor wave and the sword energy collided violently.
In an instant, the earth cracked, the sea overturned, and shockwaves spread rapidly in all directions... The terrifying destructive power made Babel and Sunbell's eyes widen.
This destructive power was simply unbelievable!
Uharu had thought Newgate had already surpassed him, but he truly didn't expect Newgate to have become this strong.
It turned out Newgate had been hiding most of his true strength!
He suddenly felt a twinge of envy and jealousy regarding the Devil Fruit Newgate had accidentally eaten.
To think he had completely surpassed him in just a few short years and was now countless times stronger.
"Ugh..."
The current Edward Newgate was still too young; he was no match for Rocks at all.
After only a second or two of stalemate,
Newgate was blasted away by Rocks' 'Roaring Cannon' sword technique, coughing up a large mouthful of blood.
His Little Giant body flew back hundreds of meters, carving a deep trench into the ground.
This scene was even more dramatic than when Roger used 'Kamusari' to instantly blow away Kozuki Oden.
"That guy Rocks! He's always so heavy-handed!"
Fang Huo began to complain. He had been beaten quite badly by Rocks these past few days and knew the feeling well.
Rocks, that brute, would even be heavy-handed with little kids like Loki, going so far as to cruelly stab Loki with several long swords without any mercy.
Newgate's eyes were filled with shock and disbelief.
Rocks' strength far exceeded his imagination!
"Worororo, not bad, not bad! Being able to take one of my moves makes you much stronger than that brat Fang Huo!"
Rocks was very satisfied with Newgate's immense strength and ability, immediately acknowledging this new member.
"Heh, why drag me into this? I wonder who it was that encountered Imu and only dared to leave some tough words before running away."
Fang Huo was a bit displeased by Rocks calling him out and muttered back.
"Brat, do you want to taste my Supreme Elbow Smash again?!"
Rocks glared fiercely at Fang Huo. Do I not need to save face?
Why bring that up!
"..."
Faced with Rocks' warning of an elbow smash, Fang Huo decisively followed his instincts and shut up. After all, that Supreme Elbow Smash really hurt!
It was probably dozens of times stronger than Garp's 'Fist of Love'.
Not only was it imbued with Armament Haki, but he would even use Haki infusion.
This brute was just that ruthless, with no sense of restraint!
Fang Huo chose to ignore Rocks' teasing gaze and flew over to Newgate's side, using his Gravity ability to make the injured Newgate float up.
"Hey, are you okay? This Captain of ours is so heavy-handed. After all, he can even take down a Marine Admiral; this was just a normal move for him."
"We'll be partners from now on!"
"If you're willing to call me Brother Huo, we'll be family!"
Fang Huo flew over and spoke casually, taking the initiative to build some goodwill with Newgate.
Since he hadn't chosen to kill Newgate to take the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, becoming good friends and partners with the loyal Newgate seemed like a good choice.
After all, Newgate valued loyalty and sentiment very highly.
"A brat like you wants to be my big brother? No way!"
Newgate coughed up some blood and spoke with a hint of annoyance.
However, his attitude towards Fang Huo had indeed become much friendlier.
Partners, family—these were the things he had always pursued!
"This is a healing medicine from Fish-Man Island."
Fang Huo handed some medicine to Newgate. Given Newgate's massive size, calling Fang Huo 'Big Brother' would indeed feel a bit awkward for him.
"Thanks."
Newgate did not refuse Fang Huo's kindness. He felt that this little guy who could 'order' Rocks around was very mysterious and sparked his curiosity.
"Is this your ability?"
Newgate felt weightless, floating in the air; it was quite a comfortable sensation.
"Paramecia Type: Gravity-Gravity Fruit. It's a pretty good Paramecia ability!"
Fang Huo smiled faintly. The Gravity ability he developed was more refined than Fujitora Issho's, with many practical daily applications.