After Golden Lion Shiki was promoted to Grand Swordmaster, his strength soared. He had always been suppressed by Whitebeard before, and now he wanted to get back at Whitebeard.
It's a pity, even though Golden Lion's strength greatly increased, he still couldn't defeat Whitebeard.
After all, Whitebeard's strength was also constantly improving, not just standing still waiting for Golden Lion to catch up.
"What is it?"
"Kukukukuku, that Nox fellow has truly powerful sword road talent. I didn't expect him to be promoted to Grand Swordmaster after only being away for such a short time."
"After he comes back, I must experience his Sword Intent to see what it's like."
After Golden Lion saw Nox's news, he burst into laughter.
"I say, what about my previous suggestion?"
"How about you, me, plus Nox, go challenge Rocks?"
As his strength rapidly grew, Golden Lion's ambition also became increasingly vast.
He didn't want to continue working under Rocks anymore. He also wanted to form his own Pirate Crew and become a Captain himself.
But he couldn't defeat Rocks, so he thought of teaming up with Whitebeard and Nox to challenge Rocks.
On one hand, he wanted to see the gap between his strength and Rocks's strength with his own eyes.
On the other hand, if they successfully completed the challenge, or if Rocks couldn't overwhelm them, they would withdraw from the Rocks Pirates.
After all, they were all monsters and believed that their strength in the future would definitely not be inferior to Rocks's strength.
What they lacked was simply time. Once they fully matured, they could also reach Rocks's level of strength.
"Let's talk about it after Nox returns. Our strength isn't strong enough yet!"
Whitebeard also didn't refuse Golden Lion's suggestion, as he also didn't want to continue staying in the Rocks Pirates.
But Rocks's strength was something they all witnessed. Even Whitebeard didn't feel that he could survive in Rocks's hands.
"Kukukukuku, then it's settled. When our strength improves further in the future, we'll bring Nox along to give it a try."
Golden Lion felt relieved hearing Whitebeard say that.
He didn't believe that if they couldn't defeat him one-on-one now, could they not achieve victory three-on-one?
"I say, Wang Zhi, Nox has now become a Grand Swordmaster. Perhaps before long, he will surpass you."
John didn't even taste the fine wine anymore. Instead, he took out Nox's newspaper and handed it to Wang Zhi.
"What do you mean by this?"
Wang Zhi stared at John and said.
"What he means is that the three of us are old and will soon be surpassed by newcomers."
Silver Axe chimed in.
"Our current strength will reach its peak in a few more years. It's almost impossible to continue improving in this way."
John continued.
"You mean to say that you want to enhance our strength through Devil Fruit?"
Wang Zhi finally understood John's meaning.
None of the three of them were Devil Fruit users, and their physiques and Haki were difficult to improve further. Only Devil Fruit could rapidly increase their strength.
If it were before, they definitely wouldn't eat one, because they could still clearly feel that their strength could continue to improve.
But as they got older, their strength improved very slowly, or rather, it was close to stopping.
Coupled with the continuous rise of new Executive Officers like Nox, their previous reluctance to eat Devil Fruit gradually faded.
In the New World, strength is everything. Once strength falls behind, it means the arrival of death.
So now, after John's words, they all had the idea of eating Devil Fruit to increase their strength.
"Although Devil Fruit can increase our strength, do you have a Devil Fruit that suits you?"
Silver Axe asked.
A powerful Devil Fruit that suits oneself is very difficult to find. Silver Axe, at least, hadn't encountered one in all these years.
"Of course. Since I brought it up, I naturally have a way to get them."
"I've seen Captain Rocks's collection, and there are Devil Fruit suitable for us inside. As long as we go to Captain Rocks and pay some price, he should not be stingy."
John smiled.
Actually, this news was originally conveyed by Rocks to John, and then John was to convey it to Silver Axe and Wang Zhi.
The issue of the Rocks Pirates Executive Officers not being united was deliberately created by Rocks.
Maintaining hostility among the Executive Officers and then maintaining balance within that hostility is beneficial for Rocks to control the Pirate Crew.
It's just that now, with the rise of Nox, Whitebeard, Golden Lion, and Charlotte Linlin, the three of John, Silver Axe, and Wang Zhi have gradually been suppressed.
So Rocks had to think about increasing the strength of John and the others, and then continue to restore the balance.
"What Devil Fruit?"
Wang Zhi asked curiously.
"Paramecia-type Speed-Speed Fruit, Paramecia-type, Riki Riki Fruit!!"
John smiled mysteriously.
"They are actually two top-tier Paramecia-type Devil Fruit!!"
After Wang Zhi and Silver Axe heard about these two Devil Fruit, they said with extreme longing.
The Speed-Speed Fruit can increase the user's movement speed, reaction speed, attack speed, etc., which is very suitable for a crazy Swordsman like Wang Zhi.
The Riki Riki Fruit can enhance the user's physical strength, endurance, etc., which is very suitable for Silver Axe, who is naturally incredibly strong.
There was another Devil Fruit that John didn't mention, because that Devil Fruit was what he wanted.
Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Devil Form!!
This was the Devil Fruit he wanted, and it was also the Devil Fruit that Rocks had promised him.
Having become the overlord of the New World, the Rocks Pirates found it much easier to collect Devil Fruit than before.
Especially within those ancient kingdoms, there were always some precious Devil Fruit hidden, which were then plundered by Rocks.
This is why Rocks's treasure trove increased dramatically in a short period of time.
Nox, who fell asleep after being injured by Kong, slept for a full day and night before waking up.
When he woke up, what he saw was Athena meticulously taking care of him, wiping his body.
"Oh, you're awake!"
When Athena saw Nox open his eyes and look at her, Athena's face immediately turned red, and she became a little flustered.
At this time, Athena had changed into a pair of ultra-short shorts and was wearing white stockings.
She was wearing a black leather tight-fitting jacket on her upper body, which he had bought with Shakky back then, and she also had black bunny ears on her head.
This outfit allowed Nox to feast his eyes as soon as he woke up.
"Of course I'm awake. You've worked hard taking care of me, and now it's my turn to take care of you."
Saying that, Nox completely disregarded the bandages on his body, directly breaking them all off, revealing a body of strong muscles.
The injuries on his body had already completely healed while he was sleeping.