"This... this..."
"They're fighting!"
Ozz's kick was heavy and brutal.
Although he had not used his full Haki or Devil Fruit power, his raw monstrous strength alone was enough to send a Sea King flying.
Even with Kaido's powerful Oni physique, that kick still left his head ringing.
"Hey! Was the fight earlier not enough for you?!"
Whitebeard gritted his teeth as he spoke, his expression clearly showing a headache.
"Even among rookies, there are levels, huh..."
A young Shiki bit down on his cigar, happily watching the show with a grin.
"Kaido! Stop causing trouble for Ozz!"
As Kaido's big sister figure, Linlin was even more direct. She immediately stood on Ozz's side and scolded Kaido.
After all, she was still thinking of borrowing Ozz, a seed whose physique rivaled her own, to give birth to the future King of the World.
"Damn it..."
Kaido spat out a mouthful of blood and raised his head from the floor, gritting his teeth as he looked at the black-haired young man in military uniform, who was not much older than himself.
He felt unwilling.
But the moment he met Ozz's eyes, even he, the strongest rookie, could not help breaking into cold sweat.
Because compared to earlier, that young man, who had not changed expression even when surrounded by so many captains of the Rocks Pirates, was now full of killing intent.
Kaido had no choice but to suspect that if he had really done something to Gick earlier, then maybe...
Good Boy Kaido behaved.
No matter what he thought inside, at least on the surface, he no longer said or did anything.
With a black shoe print still stamped on his face, he went off to drink.
In the world of pirates, revenge could be taken anytime.
He was still young. He still had a long road of getting stronger ahead of him.
...
After Ozz had subdued Charlotte Linlin, wounded Whitebeard and Golden Lion, and then given Kaido that kick, this strange and unfamiliar "rookie" completely established one unshakable impression among the unruly pirates of the Rocks Pirates.
He was a monster they absolutely could not provoke.
"Hey, Newgate. This Ozz guy seems a little different..."
Shiki, with twin swords at his waist, walked over to Whitebeard and struck up a conversation as if by accident.
Whitebeard was not particularly fond of him. He took a drink and answered casually.
"Gulp, gulp, gulp..."
"That's not something we need to worry about. Let Rocks get the headache."
Shiki did not care about his attitude. After all, Newgate's ability countered him in certain ways.
He grinned and said, "Looks like the Rocks Pirates are going to have another captain. Tch, splitting the treasure one more way really is annoying."
Of course, he was only saying it.
True strong ones always recognized each other.
And Ozz had already displayed strength worthy of respect.
At this moment, Ozz was sitting on the returning Rocks Pirates ship, facing the sea breeze.
Beside him, the burly man Gick came over.
"Lord Ozz, why did you stand up for me? And why did you not kill me in the earlier battle..."
"Could it be that we have some kind of connection? After all, the surname Dotor is not exactly common!"
Ozz's care for him could no longer even be called subtle. It was completely displayed in the open.
While Gick felt excited, he was also confused.
Ozz's answer was simple.
"Don't ask. I'll tell you naturally in the future."
Gick believed that "whatever the strong say is the truth," so from then on, he stopped asking.
He silently left his original unit and moved over to Ozz's side.
As for Ozz, he was actually very interested in this era.
Captain Roger sometimes talked to them about that pirate age when heroes rose everywhere.
And there was one name that could never be avoided in this era.
Rocks.
Suddenly remembering that the old man seemed to be Rocks's number one fan, Ozz could not help smiling as he asked,
"By the way..."
"Captain Ozz, you can just call me Little Gick."
Although Ozz was not yet a captain, Gick felt it was only a matter of time.
After all, he was even stronger than the captains.
"..."
The corner of Ozz's mouth twitched, but he continued asking anyway.
"What do you think of Rocks?"
Gick clearly had not expected Ozz to ask this question.
But in the next moment, his eyes began to shine.
"Oh! You mean Captain Rocks!"
Ozz did not know if it was his imagination, but the moment that man was mentioned, the old man's eyes seemed to carry light.
It felt strangely familiar.
This...
He remembered.
Wasn't this exactly like the way Bartolomeo looked at Luffy?
"Captain Rocks is the most domineering man I have ever seen! Even among those captains, every single one of them monsters among monsters..."
When it came to his admiration for Rocks, old Gick could talk endlessly.
Unlike most of the cannon fodder in the Rocks Pirates, who both feared and respected Rocks, Gick's feelings were pure longing and worship.
Perhaps people always yearned most for what they lacked.
Gick's physical talent could not be called high. At most, he was a little stronger than ordinary people.
That was also why his progress in Haki and martial arts was extremely slow.
His current strength was probably only about the level of Bellamy after the two-year timeskip.
He did have both types of basic Haki, but if he ran into a slightly stronger Haki user, he would go down in one punch.
Because he was trapped in a situation where he could not become truly strong, it was only natural for him to yearn for and pay attention to real monsters and true powerhouses.
And Rocks, who was openly known as the strongest man in the world right now, was undoubtedly the highest mountain in Gick's heart.
That was why he had gone through so much effort, even willingly becoming an ordinary combatant on Rocks's ship, instead of returning to the Four Seas or the first half of the Grand Line to act like a big fish in a small pond.
Seeing the old man like this, Ozz more or less understood.
He understood why, after the Rocks Pirates disbanded, this burly man lost his spirit and became that small, thin, dried-up old man in his later years.
When a person lost their ideals and spirit, not only would their strength fail to remain, but after entering old age, they would lose most of it. Even their appearance would change drastically.
The turning point for all of this was that war one year later.
The God Valley War.
It scattered the Rocks Pirates.
It also scattered the passion and dreams in old Gick's heart.
After all, he had witnessed someone like Rocks, that revered overlord, being reduced to a monster under the control of a black brick.
How could the old man's will not shatter after seeing that?
Imu, huh...
A mechanics-type monster. Ozz knew a little about that person's true nature.
Ozz sighed, then revealed a heartfelt smile.
Since he had come here, he might as well give this world's old man a new emotional pillar.
A grandson who would not be weaker than Rocks in the future.
How did that sound?
After all, only a mechanics-type monster could counter another mechanics-type monster.
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