"Have I been too easy on you? Ask me again and I'll send you flying!" Raiver Sky's eyes turned cold.
The pirate captain was instantly terrified, his body trembling. He scrambled toward the helm, not daring to delay any longer, and steered the ship toward Hachinosu Island with all his might.
The next day, after a sleepless and nerve-wracking night of sailing by the pirate captain, the pirate ship finally arrived at the headquarters of the Rocks Pirates—Hachinosu Island.
This island was known as a "Pirate's Paradise," a gathering place for all pirates in the New World, filled with desire, violence, and chaos.
Rocks had chosen this place as his headquarters precisely because of its chaotic environment, which made it convenient for him to recruit ambitious and powerful individuals from all over the world.
The Rocks flag hanging on the ship allowed Raiver Sky and the others to pass through unimpeded, with no one approaching to investigate.
Just as they docked, a loud shout suddenly rang out.
"It's him! This kid killed dozens of our brothers! We can't let him get away!"
Seeing that he was back on his own turf, the pirate captain seized the moment while Raiver Sky was scanning the island and leaped off the ship.
He sprinted toward the shore, screaming at the top of his lungs to attract attention.
However, before his shouts could fully fade...
Voom—
A repulsive force shot out, arriving after he had started, piercing through the pirate captain's body and sending him flying three hundred meters away.
Soon, nearby pirates gathered at the sound of the commotion, their eyes fierce and filled with killing intent.
In their eyes, any provocation against the Rocks Pirates had to be paid for with blood.
Raiver Sky couldn't be bothered to waste time on these small fries. With a thought, his figure blurred and vanished from the spot.
[Space Leap] Teleport short distances at will, landing precisely at any designated point within line of sight!
After a few flickers, Raiver Sky had already crossed most of the harbor and the outer area, teleporting directly to the central region of Hachinosu Island, the symbol of its core power.
The very instant his figure solidified!
"Swish—!"
A massive, crescent-shaped golden Wave Cut shot out without warning from the gate of a bunker built into the mountainside, heading straight for Raiver Sky's face!
Raiver Sky remained expressionless. He raised his right hand, fingers slightly spread, and a translucent spatial barrier instantly formed in front of him.
[Void Barrier] Deploys a translucent spatial wall that can deflect any attack!
"Clang—!"
The golden Wave Cut slammed hard against the Void Barrier, creating a deafening noise as energy scattered in all directions.
It was ultimately deflected, flying diagonally into the sky and splitting the clouds in the distant horizon, leaving a huge gash.
Raiver Sky understood: it seemed that from the moment he set foot on the island, his every move had been watched by the upper echelons of the Rocks Pirates.
This level of vigilance and power was truly befitting of the New World's overlords.
The tremendous commotion from the deflected golden slash instantly attracted the attention of more pirates on Hachinosu Island, who began to surround him from all directions.
"If I'm not mistaken, kid, you're not one of us, are you?" a voice filled with oppressive power slowly rang out. "You've got some nerve, daring to barge in here all by yourself."
Accompanied by footsteps, the overlord who ruled the entire New World—Rocks D. Xebec—appeared, flanked by his Officers.
Beside him stood a bare-chested, blond-haired Edward Newgate, a snack-eating Charlotte Linlin, and the dual-wielding Golden Lion Shiki—the slash just now had clearly come from him.
These three were the core Officers of the Rocks Pirates, and also the strongest three among them.
The others were regular Officers.
"Not yet, but I will be soon," Raiver Sky said with a grin, facing a lineup that could make the seas tremble.
Everyone naturally heard the undisguised ambition and the underlying intent to join in his words.
"Hahahaha!" Rocks roared with laughter. "Big words, but if you don't have the strength to back them up, forget about joining us. You'll be lucky to leave here alive today!"
The surrounding Officers, like Silver Axe, John, and Wang Zhi, watched with amusement, sizing up this arrogant young man as if watching a show.
For the Rocks Pirates, who dominated the New World, they had seen plenty of pirates who recommended themselves, trying to climb to the top in a single step.
But most were overconfident fools whose final fate was invariably to be buried at sea, becoming food for fish.
Under Rocks's top-tier Observation Haki, Raiver Sky's presence was indeed much stronger than the previous challengers.
He also possessed a strange ability within him, but this only piqued Rocks's interest slightly; it was far from earning his serious attention.
"Gurararara... what an interesting kid," Edward Newgate said with his arms crossed, speculating, "To be able to deflect Shiki's casual strike so easily, it must be some kind of special Paramecia Type Devil Fruit Ability, right?"
Neither Rocks nor the Officers had any intention of acting immediately. To deal with a challenger of this level, they were far from needing to get involved personally.
Someone wanting to show off or uphold the crew's prestige would naturally step forward.
The central area of Hachinosu Island was usually the domain of the Officers and elite crew members.
Only when a summons was issued or a special event occurred were Squad Captains and outstanding official crew members allowed to enter.
At this moment, a large number of pirates who had heard the commotion had gathered. They had personally witnessed Raiver Sky deflecting Officer Shiki's powerful slash.
The ordinary crew members, who knew they could never withstand such a blow, had complicated expressions. They couldn't help but feel a mix of envy and awe toward the powerful figure in the center of the field.
This was the weak's instinctive desire to become strong.
"Hmph, a bunch of good-for-nothings, getting scared like this by some unknown kid!"
A Squad Captain, confident in his own strength, stepped out from the crowd, his face filled with disdain and anger. "Kid, let me see just what gives you the guts to storm this island alone!"
"Oh?" Raiver Sky gave a cold smile. "So, you're very brave, are you?"
"Of course I'm brave!" the pirate captain introduced himself loudly. "Remember my name. I'm Zaos, a user of the Zoan-type Bird-Bird Fruit, Golden Eagle Form! My bounty is 510 million Belly!"
Before his voice had faded, Zaos abruptly activated his Devil Fruit Ability.
His body rapidly expanded, and with a tearing sound, a pair of golden wings unfurled from his back. His hands transformed into sharp talons, and in an instant, he took on a half-man, half-eagle form!
The greatly enhanced physical attributes in his half-beast form, especially his speed and strength, filled Zaos with confidence.
He firmly believed that with the powerful physique and strength granted by his Zoan Type, he could definitely tear this arrogant young man to shreds!
"Golden Eagle Form? I think it's more fitting if you read it backward!"
Raiver Sky couldn't help but quip. At the same time, he raised his right hand and made a grasping motion in the air toward the charging eagle-man.
Voom—
An irresistible gravitational force instantly locked onto Zaos.
Suddenly, the eagle-man Zaos, who had been charging forward, felt his body lose control and was involuntarily pulled rapidly toward Raiver Sky.
"What?!" Zaos was greatly alarmed. He flapped his wings desperately but couldn't escape this bizarre force at all.
At the critical moment, his combat instincts kicked in. He quickly coated his sharp, hard beak with Armament Haki, intending to use the momentum of being pulled in to pierce his opponent's chest in one fell swoop.
However, Raiver Sky had already seen through his intentions.
Just as Zaos was pulled to within a few meters, his beak about to strike...
Raiver Sky's right hand suddenly clenched into a fist and he raised it high. A ball of impact force condensed on his fist, and he threw a punch!
Swoosh—BOOM—!!!
A powerful shockwave erupted with Raiver Sky's fist at its center!
The surrounding air, compressed to the extreme, suddenly exploded, and even space itself trembled violently for a moment.
Zaos's Armament Haki-coated beak bore the brunt of the attack. In the face of the terrifying shockwave, his so-called Haki defense was as fragile as paper, shattering instantly!
Bang—
Raiver Sky's fist slammed into Zaos's chest. His sternum caved in instantly, and blood mixed with fragments of internal organs spewed from his mouth and nose.
Zaos was sent flying backward, crashing heavily onto the hard ground dozens of meters away, creating a deep crater. Dust filled the air, his fate unknown.
The spectating pirates all retreated to avoid being hit by the residual shockwave.
They were shocked to find that Squad Captain Zaos hadn't even lasted three seconds.
"Gurararara..." Newgate analyzed. "First, he used an ability similar to gravity to forcibly pull that Zaos fellow over, disrupting his flight rhythm and attack posture. Then he used a stronger shockwave to blast him away, creating a dual internal and external impact. A nice combination, quite interesting."
Shiki, with a cigar in his mouth, glanced at the motionless Zaos in the deep pit, his tone laced with contempt. "Whose subordinate is this? Someone of this level can be a captain? He can't even take a single punch. When did our crew's standards get so low?"
This remark made the Officer Wang Zhi, standing nearby, look a little embarrassed.
Zaos was one of his captains.
However, on second thought, if he could recruit this young man with the strange ability into his own ranks, it would perfectly compensate for the loss of strength from the vacant captain position.
In the Rocks Pirates, the law of the jungle was perfectly normal. The fall of the old often meant the rise of the new.
"My apologies, I didn't expect him to be so fragile," Raiver Sky said, spreading his hands in feigned regret. "Just tell him to be more careful in his next life."