Chapter 5:

I Accept, Captain Rocks!

One Piece: Red Dragon of the Rocks Era

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Time passed slowly.

After that burst of Conqueror's Haki, the nearby sea returned to calm, and the sky that had been dyed red gradually recovered its normal color.

"Hah."

"Not bad. The range of my Conqueror's Haki is getting wider."

"Time to get ready and find Edward Newgate."

"I heard he is on Hachinosu right now. It will still take some time to get there from here."

Caius nodded in satisfaction.

At this point, whether it was Newgate or the Golden Lion, their strength was basically on the same level. Otherwise, Rocks would never have acknowledged them later and forced invitations onto them.

Suddenly, Observation Haki picked up a large ship in the distance, one both strange and familiar, heading toward him.

At the bow stood an extraordinarily domineering man.

Caius froze for a moment.

Then a crazed smile spread across his face.

"Hahahahaha!"

"He is here."

"He finally came looking for me."

"Perfect timing."

"Rocks D. Xebec!"

The man standing at the distant bow noticed Caius's reaction as well. He immediately understood that he had been discovered.

"Jiehehehehe!"

Before long, the Rocks pirate ship arrived not far in front of Caius.

Rocks stood at the very front of the bow, a fierce red light flickering in his eyes.

The many crew members aboard the ship stared at Caius with greedy interest. Without their captain's order, however, they could only remain where they were.

"Caius Redgrave!"

"Join my pirate crew!"

"I can make you my vice captain. Gold, silver, treasure... you can take half of it."

"Help me rule this sea, and then the entire world!"

"Jihahahahaha!"

Rocks spread his arms wide, and his domineering laughter rolled across the sea.

"Rocks!"

Caius looked at that overwhelmingly tyrannical figure. The corners of his mouth rose in a wild grin as he roared the name back.

His body flashed, and he instantly appeared aboard the pirate ship, standing close enough to look Rocks in the eye.

The two men stared at one another.

The silence lasted a full three minutes.

In the end, Rocks lost patience first and extended his right hand.

"Well? Join my crew."

Caius looked at the hand in front of him.

Endless golden Divine Flame erupted from his body, fierce and surging.

As the temperature climbed, scorching heat filled the air.

The range of the flames continued to expand. The ordinary pirates of the Rocks crew were elites, but even they could not withstand it. Divine Flame curled and spiraled around Caius, the heat rising to a terrifying degree.

Moisture evaporated from the air with a sharp hiss.

One crew member after another began collapsing. Rocks's face darkened.

"Hmph. That is enough, kid."

"These people may not be that strong, but they are loyal to me. I am satisfied with them."

"So stop."

The right hand he had extended was instantly wrapped in glossy black Armament Haki, then layered with Conqueror's Haki. He raised it as if to smash it down onto Caius's head.

"Hegemon Fist!"

Caius watched the incoming fist and answered just as decisively with Conqueror's coating. He had no intention of being stubborn enough to take that terrifying punch directly.

The collision erupted.

The shockwave blew the pirates behind them away, and the ship itself sank lower into the sea.

On closer inspection, their fists had never actually touched.

This was a clash unique to Conqueror's coating, a contest of control over Conqueror's Haki. Whoever exhausted his Haki first would lose.

"Kid, you are excellent."

"Worthy of the vice captain I chose."

"But this still is not enough."

"Your power is too weak!"

The moment Rocks finished speaking, Caius felt an irresistible force erupt from the other man's fist. His entire body was blasted backward several steps before he managed to steady himself.

"Rocks, you really live up to your name."

"It would take at least three Marine Admirals to hold you down, and even then, they might not win."

"Terrifying. Truly terrifying."

"But I will not lose that easily."

The Divine Flame that had just disappeared emerged around him once more, its temperature countless times higher than before.

Caius entered his hybrid form.

His Conqueror's coating and raw strength were temporarily inferior. In that case, he would test this form instead.

Once he felt the all-around boost of the hybrid form, his confidence returned.

Now it was time to decide the outcome.

"Divine Flame: Dragon Fist!"

He did not use a long-range attack. Instead, he wrapped Divine Flame around his Conqueror-coated fist, forming something almost like a fire fist.

When the punch shot forward, its tremendous force made the space around it ripple in layers.

It looked as if a little more power would shatter space itself and expose what lay beneath.

Caius had absolute confidence in this punch.

Even if it could not kill Rocks, it should be able to injure him badly.

"Captain Rocks, watch out!"

Wang Zhi, who had stayed silent aboard the ship in heavy armor, could not hold back his worried shout.

He had always trusted his captain's strength, but if Rocks failed to take this move properly, he would definitely be hurt. It might not be fatal, but it would not be light.

Rocks's eyes narrowed.

"Good kid."

"You are aiming for this captain's life."

"In that case, I will not hold back either."

The moment he finished speaking, black energy poured from his body and spread around him. His frame rose higher and higher.

The darkness devoured the surrounding light.

Feeling all of it, Rocks drove the Power Fruit even further, forcibly increasing his strength tenfold. His fist clenched, and an arrogant grin cut across his face.

"Darkness: Tenfold Hegemon Fist!"

The instant that punch came out, space twisted violently out of shape.

Then the two fists collided again.

This time, space finally failed to endure it.

A pitch-black hole split open in front of both men, but neither of them cared.

In their eyes, only the other existed.

After the clash continued for a while, Caius lost.

He lost to Conqueror's Haki and raw strength.

High-level Conqueror's Haki was still not enough. If he wanted to close the distance with Rocks, he had to reach the top tier.

And that was only for the present.

Once the Rocks Pirates were officially founded and Rocks's ambition reached its absolute peak, his Conqueror's Haki would definitely break past its limits.

Caius still had to work harder.

As for strength, his current body had not yet reached its natural peak for his age. It could still grow with time.

With the system's help, he believed that would take no more than five years.

That meant there was no need to worry about Observation Haki, Armament Haki, Devil Fruit development, or anything else that had not yet reached the summit.

With the system and his own effort, he would catch up soon enough.

Back to the fight.

The battle ended there.

If they truly kept fighting, it would take a very long time, so both men tacitly chose not to continue.

"Jihahahahaha!"

"Well, kid? Join my pirate crew and become my vice captain."

Rocks planted his hands on his hips and laughed loudly.

"You really are worthy of the name Rocks."

"Since I lost, I accept."

"Captain Rocks."

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