Fujitora Issho, the blind man with the Gravity ability, usually taps his Supreme Grade Blade, Gokudo Kaisen, on the ground as a walking stick—an oddly mischievous habit.
Of course, perhaps he simply wants to feel the earth beneath his feet and avoid drawing attention.
But Fang Huo was different; with Rocks backing him, he wasn't afraid to flaunt his powers.
He loved showing off, loved looking cool in front of crowds, and it came effortlessly... With countless anime and novel techniques for reference, Fang Huo's grasp of gravity was probably a whole dimension above Fujitora's.
Anti-gravity and weight reduction were already basic moves for him.
Pushed to the limit, this Gravity ability could even outclass the Float-Float Fruit.
"Gravity? Not bad at all!"
Newgate knew Devil Fruits well; he had met plenty of weak and bizarre users.
He was thankful his Tremor-Tremor power was mighty—after all, a person could eat only one Devil Fruit in their life.
If you ended up with a weak ability, you'd lose more than you gained.
You'd also lose the ability to swim, becoming a hammer in the water.
For pirates who lived and fought on the sea, that was a heavy blow.
"Newgate, welcome aboard. As long as you're strong enough, Rocks is actually easy to talk to."
"Congrats on joining the world's top pirate crew—you're about to see the truth of this world and its peak monsters."
"The life ahead will be a hundred, no, a thousand times more exciting than what you've known."
Fang Huo watched Newgate drink the healing potion he offered and spoke cheerfully.
"The truth of the world?"
Newgate raised an eyebrow, puzzled. He was just an ordinary pirate; the so-called truth didn't interest him.
"You'll understand later."
Fang Huo floated Newgate back with him.
"Worororo, have you surrendered yet, Edward Newgate?!"
Rocks looked at the young Little Giant; if Newgate still refused, Rocks would beat him into submission and drag him aboard by force—
even if it meant wiping out the entire Whale Pirates to make Newgate kneel.
"Let them go. I'll board your ship."
Newgate glanced at Captain Uharu, who was playing dead, and sighed inwardly.
He suddenly realized he felt more comfortable with Fang Huo than with his own Captain.
"Worororo, I don't think much of them either!"
"Then this Davy Back Fight ends here!"
"Uharu, are you dead? If not, get over here and finish the game!"
"I'm a man who truly respects contracts."
In a good mood, Rocks agreed to Newgate's request and yelled at the feigning-dead Uharu.
"Not dead, not dead! Coming right away!"
Uharu scrambled up and ran over, half-crawling.
Watching him, Newgate sighed again; years of camaraderie evaporated in an instant.
In truth, as his own strength had grown, Uharu had long begun to guard against him.
Mutiny by First Mates and Executives wasn't rare on these seas.
To preserve Uharu's authority as Captain, Newgate had even deliberately hidden most of his power.
Perhaps leaving now was for the best.
Just as Fang Huo said, his future wasn't with the Whale Pirates.
"Worororo, I declare this Davy Back Fight over! From today on, Edward Newgate is my crewmate!"
Rocks announced loudly; Uharu nodded frantically, not daring to utter a word of dissent.
Rocks hadn't taken their ship or flag—which was already a mercy.
"Then scram!"
With a wave, Rocks drove off the pathetic Whale Pirates.
Newgate watched their ship fade into the horizon, feeling both loss and rebirth.
He looked at the mighty Rocks; perhaps, besides finding his family, he now had another goal—
to grow strong enough to fight Rocks, and even defeat him!
"Worororo, I like that look in your eyes! Want to beat me? I'll be waiting!"
Seeing Newgate's resolve, Rocks didn't feel threatened; instead, he encouraged him.
He sensed that without the worthless Uharu holding him back, the Little Giant would soon awaken Conqueror's Haki.
"I will!"
Newgate met Rocks's gaze without fear, his spirit surging like a dragon freed into the sea.
If Captain Uharu was a shallow shoal limiting Newgate's spirit—
then Captain Rocks was an entire ocean, letting him grow while his back remained far out of reach.
"Worororo, if you can't get stronger, I won't even bother with you!"
"Get stronger; I'll show you the pinnacle of this world."
Rocks laughed heartily, more pleased with his new recruit by the minute.
His Rocks Pirates now had the Seer Fang Huo for brains and Newgate the Tremor-Tremor user for brawn—they'd rise even faster!
"To welcome Newgate—it's feast time!"
"Newgate, this is Babel and Sunbell, both full-fledged members of the Rocks Pirates!"
Fang Huo, acting as the Chief Strategist, helped Newgate blend into the crew.
While the newborn Rocks Pirates hadn't yet fully embraced the law of the jungle, the new recruits were still relatively normal, and Fang Huo felt he could still steer them.
After all, he planned to stay with the Rocks Pirates for a long time.
He had no desire to see them slaughter each other day in and day out!
Newgate greeted Babel and Sunbell.
Sunbell was friendly; Babel's eyes, however, burned with a challenging light.
His goal was to become infamous across the seas, a villain like Rocks who could make the World Government tremble.
As the top delinquent of the Fish-Man District, he'd always believed Fish-Men were superior to humans.
If he couldn't beat the monster Rocks, surely he could beat this young Little Giant.
"Bahahaha, let's spar sometime, Little Giant!"
Babel issued the duel invitation straight to Newgate.
Rocks loved the competitive atmosphere; conflict bred strength, so he didn't stop it.
"From now on, every new Executive gets a welcome feast—and no trash talk that ruins the party."
Fang Huo frowned at the reckless Babel.
What pirate crew challenges a newcomer on their very first day?
"Chief Strategist, it's not trash talk—I'm serious. Rocks said the strong rule on this ship."
"We need to know where everyone stands, right?"
"It determines how the loot gets split!"
Babel respected the Seer, Fang Huo, but that didn't mean he'd treat a newcomer the same way.
"Worororo, Babel's right."
Not only did Rocks not stop it, he fanned the flames, shooting Fang Huo a wicked grin—
clearly plotting another chance to beat the strategist up!
"Then fight whenever you want. Newgate..."
"Oh, and just call the Captain by his name; he doesn't care about formalities."
Fang Huo shrugged; he probably couldn't change Rocks' "might makes right" rule—after all, that was the Captain's creed.
100 POWER STONE = EXTRA 1 CHAPTER