First Division Captain of the Rocks Pirates—Edward Newgate!The most powerful and most trustworthy man in the crew… second only to Rocks himself.
"Hm? What's going on—did some new rookie pop up again?" Whitebeard asked with interest as he looked at the noisy pirates.
Even earlier, his Observation Haki had already caught fragments of what they were saying—something about a new pirate.
"Captain Whitebeard, look at the newspaper."
A low-ranking pirate shoved the paper into Whitebeard's hands. Whitebeard didn't stand on ceremony; he took it and started reading.
The more he read, the more his expression shifted.
When he finished, he let out a long breath.
"The sea… just produced a hell of a guy again. Did you report this to Rocks?"
Whitebeard looked up at the lackeys.
This rookie named Rono had awakened three-color advanced Haki. His strength was already impressive—but his potential was downright terrifying. And he liked going after Celestial Dragons.
Rocks would absolutely be interested in someone like that.
"Not yet… we haven't seen Admiral Rocks," the pirate answered honestly.
Just then, another pirate came sprinting up to Whitebeard, panting so hard he could barely speak—clearly something urgent.
"C-Captain Whitebeard! Admiral Rocks wants to see you—right now! He said it's extremely important!"
"I know. Take me to him." Whitebeard wasn't surprised at all. After reading the news, he'd already expected Rocks would call for him.
Sure enough, the moment Whitebeard met Rocks, Rocks cut straight to the point.
"Whitebeard. A new pirate showed up on the sea recently. You know about it?"
"I just found out." Whitebeard lifted the newspaper in his hand.
"Good." Rocks' eyes narrowed slightly. "What do you think of him?"
Whitebeard thought for a moment, then said slowly, "At seventeen, he awakened all three colors of Haki—and all three are already at advanced level. A talent like that appears once in decades. Give him time, and he will definitely grow into a monster."
Whitebeard paused.
There was one more sentence he considered… and chose not to say.
That given enough time—
Rono might even grow into a monster surpassing Rocks.
After hearing Whitebeard's evaluation, the corner of Rocks' mouth lifted into a subtle curve.
Who was Rocks?
The king of this era.
Even someone as strong as Whitebeard couldn't hide much in front of him.
Rocks understood exactly what Whitebeard hadn't said out loud.
This Rono… is stronger than I was at the same age. And someday, he might surpass me.
But Rocks didn't mind. Instead, he sounded genuinely amused.
"Interesting. It's rare for you to give someone that kind of praise."
Whitebeard usually carried himself with pride.
After all, besides Rocks himself, Whitebeard was the strongest in the Rocks Pirates.
In the entire crew, there were only a handful of people Whitebeard respected. And now he'd given a rookie brat that high of a rating—
which meant Rocks' guess was right.
This Rono was worth shaping.
And he would be a powerful tool in Rocks' future plan to flip the Celestial Dragons' rule upside down.
Rocks tossed a document at Whitebeard. "And there's this. Read it."
Just like the Marines, Rocks had investigated Rono's background.
As the New World's one and only king, Rocks was a major figure who "ate black and white alike"—his intelligence network covered the world. Getting Rono's history was easy.
"Watching his parents get killed by a Celestial Dragon with his own eyes… no wonder he targeted the Heavenly Tribute the moment he went to sea."
When Whitebeard finished the file, realization hit him.
So he was another one… another man who'd set his sights on the Celestial Dragons.
And in Whitebeard's heart, sympathy for Rono quietly rose.
Because more than anything, Whitebeard valued family.
Watching your parents die right in front of you…
If that happened to him, he knew he'd go insane.
Rocks nodded. "I like this guy. A genius like that shouldn't be roaming free. He belongs on the Rocks Pirates."
Rocks was brutal by nature—but he truly admired strong talent.
Otherwise, he never would've gathered monsters like Whitebeard, Golden Lion Shiki, Charlotte Linlin, and so many others.
You could even say: a huge portion of the sea's strongest people were gathered under the Rocks banner.
Whitebeard immediately understood where Rocks was going… and still couldn't help feeling annoyed.
"Why are you dragging me into this?"
"You know why." Rocks' voice stayed calm. "On this ship, you're the one I trust most. If you do it, I can rest easy."
Even with Whitebeard's sharp tone, Rocks didn't get angry.
That was Rocks' style—so long as you had strength, he tolerated flaws… even big ones.
But that same style also meant the Rocks Pirates were basically a pile of loose sand.
When Rocks was alive, he could suppress those monsters with sheer power.
But if Rocks ever died, the crew would instantly collapse and splinter apart—
the complete opposite of Roger's crew.
After hearing Rocks out, Whitebeard's expression softened a little.
It was true. There were too many unreliable bastards on this ship.
Golden Lion Shiki… Charlotte Linlin, that promiscuous lunatic… Wang Zhi, John, Silver Axe—
all of them were ambitious, all of them arrogant, none of them truly obedient. Not a single one was worthy of trust.
"What if he refuses to join?" Whitebeard asked.
Rocks gave a cold smile. The meaning couldn't have been clearer.
"Pirates have pirate rules."
The earliest members of the Rocks Pirates had all been "beaten in" one by one.
Whitebeard, Shiki, Charlotte Linlin—each of them joined after losing to Rocks.
"Fine." Whitebeard nodded. "I understand. I'll leave immediately."
He didn't waste time.
And truthfully, Whitebeard himself was also interested in Rono.
Rono's parents were killed, and he retaliated against the Celestial Dragons—
that alone proved he was someone like Whitebeard: a man who valued family deeply.
Finding someone like that wasn't easy.
Because in the Rocks Pirates…
there wasn't a single person like that.
Watching Whitebeard's back as he left, Rocks felt a sudden, bitter sadness.
A crew this enormous… and only one dependable member.
If Whitebeard didn't exist, who else could Rocks even send?
No one.
He'd have to go personally.
But then Rocks' eyes hardened.
"It doesn't matter," he muttered, killing intent surging like a tide. "As long as I can drag those Celestial Dragons down from Mary Geoise… I'll do whatever it takes."
That kind of murderous aura didn't come from nowhere.
Without killing tens of thousands—maybe even hundreds of thousands—no one carried a presence like that.
...
"Five hundred million… that really is unexpected."
East Blue.Rono looked at his wanted poster and smiled.
A first bounty of 500,000,000 Beli even surprised him.
Even forty years later, five hundred million was still basically the threshold to step into the ranks of true big-name pirates.
"Roger's probably feeling pretty annoyed right now," Rono muttered.
He kept reading.
The newspaper had actually listed Roger as his crewmate, with a bounty of 300,000,000 Beli.
Rono nearly laughed out loud.
The future Pirate King once being labeled his crewman…
That feeling wasn't bad at all.
In fact, only a few days after the Heavenly Tribute incident, Rono and Roger had already said their goodbyes.
Roger had his own journey.
And now that Roger had money, he didn't need to keep hitching rides on Rono's ship anymore.
One more thing: the World Government had deliberately leaked the news that Rono possessed the Mera Mera no Mi.
They wanted to create trouble—bait pirates who coveted the fruit into hunting him.
But what they didn't understand was:
Rono wanted strong opponents to come.
More strong people meant more chances to pick up abilities.
Unfortunately, for several days straight, the groups that showed up were all bottom-tier East Blue pirates.
As for real powerhouses—
one, the Mera Mera no Mi wasn't worth their attention; two, anyone strong enough to care also understood exactly what a 500 million bounty represented.
But these low-level pirates—too scared to even enter the Grand Line—still screamed about killing Rono and stealing the Mera Mera no Mi.
They'd bullied civilians in East Blue for too long. They had no accurate understanding of what true strength looked like.
Rono had no choice but to eliminate them all—every last piece of trash that preyed on common people.
Because even though he'd become a pirate…
Rono was born a commoner.
He wouldn't do things that harmed common folk.
"I wonder how long ago that Celestial Dragon left… At this speed, I should be able to catch him."
After casually cleaning up the lackeys, Rono stared out at the distant sea, killing intent burning in his eyes.
Ever since he'd picked up Roger's Voice of All Things, Rono had been searching nonstop for the Celestial Dragon's trace.
Voice of All Things belonged to the realm of God-tier Observation Haki.
It could communicate—mind to mind—with different forms of life, and even with "non-living" things.
Which meant Rono could communicate with nearby sea creatures…
and use them to locate the Celestial Dragon's exact position.
After speaking with nearby sea life through the Voice of All Things, Rono confirmed the Celestial Dragon's location.
That bastard hadn't gone far.
As long as Rono kept moving along this route—
he would definitely catch up.
Aboard the Revenge, with the ship pushed to full speed, Rono used the time to check his System panel.
[Host: Rono][Age: 17][Strength: (Mid-tier Shichibukai level)][Speed: (Mid-tier Shichibukai level)][Stamina: (Mid-tier Shichibukai level)][Haki: Conqueror's Haki (Advanced), Armament Haki (Advanced), Observation Haki (Advanced)][Other Abilities: Swordsmanship (Advanced)! Combat Experience (Advanced)!][Devil Fruit Ability: Mera Mera no Mi · Absorb][God-tier Ability: Voice of All Things!]
Compared to his strength during the fight with Roger, he'd improved again—significantly.
First, he'd picked up Roger's God-tier Observation Haki: Voice of All Things.
Second, he had absorbed the Mera Mera no Mi ability, boosting his destructive power even further.
At this point, his overall level was roughly around the likes of Doflamingo and Bartholomew Kuma—
basically equivalent to a Yonko Commander.
And on top of that, he now had a blade that truly fit his hand:
A Great Grade Sword among the Twenty-One—Kotetsu.
With all of that…
even Roger right now might not be able to defeat him.
Rono was satisfied with the result.
He'd only been at sea for a little over ten days—
and he'd jumped from Lieutenant Colonel level to Shichibukai level, rising like a rocket. It was insane.
"As long as there isn't an Admiral-level powerhouse nearby, I can at least catch up to that Celestial Dragon, kill him, and retreat safely."
"No… even if there is an Admiral, I should still be able to kill that Celestial Dragon—though escaping would probably cost me something."
Rono made a rough estimate of his current combat power.
If he ran into an Admiral-level fighter now, he should still have the strength to fight.
And that wasn't even accounting for the System's full "cheats" and potential mid-battle pickups.
In fact, if he truly faced an Admiral-level opponent, Rono might not only be able to fight—
he might even pick up powerful abilities and rapidly advance into Admiral level himself.
But realistically, the highest probability was this:
There wouldn't be any Admiral guarding that Celestial Dragon at all.
Usually it would just be several Vice Admiral–level CP0.
Because Admirals were rare across the entire sea—
how could they possibly stand at a Celestial Dragon's side at all times?