Hachinosu Island. The Tavern.
Whitebeard sat at a corner table, a massive sake cup in hand. He had already stashed his share of the loot and came here to drink in peace.
Stussy sat across from him, pouting. Her beautiful face was twisted with resentment.
"That brat York... he ambushed me at Punk Hazard! With that disgusting Devil Fruit ability of his, you can imagine what he was trying to do!"
"Oh~ You mentioned that on the ship."
Whitebeard took a calm sip of sake, acting as if Stussy's complaint was as trivial as the weather.
"Newgate~~"
Stussy stomped her foot under the table, her voice dripping with frustration.
"Why aren't you reacting at all?! I'm your woman!"
"Huh? Since when were you my woman?"
Whitebeard looked genuinely puzzled.
Stussy's face turned red—from anger or embarrassment, it was hard to tell. She aggressively turned her head away.
"If you keep this up, I won't talk to you anymore!"
"Gurarara. If you don't want to talk, then don't."
"Newgate!!"
"I actually think that kid York is pretty good," Whitebeard mused, ignoring her outburst. "He's young, gutsy, and his Devil Fruit ability is potent. I just don't know about his Haki yet."
Stussy was completely enraged. She slammed her hands on the table and stormed out of her seat.
"You pay for today's drinks yourself!!"
"Hey! Wait! Wait a minute!!"
Skull Mountain. Exterior.
"Hey! York! Your bounty poster is out!"
Before York could even stash his treasure chest in his quarters, Rocks walked over, waving a newspaper and a wanted poster.
"Guess how much your bounty is, kid."
"I can't guess," York shrugged. "But considering the threat level, it should be at least 100 Million Berries."
He did the math. His ability had a massive Area of Effect (AOE). Against anyone without strong Haki, it was an instant kill—or rather, an instant incapacitation.
The World Government assigned bounties based on threat level, not just raw combat power. Therefore, York's starting bounty would likely exceed the initial bounties of monsters like Charlotte Linlin or Kaido.
"Wahahaha! Try higher!"
Rocks laughed heartily and slapped the poster against York's chest.
"600,000,000 Berries!!"
"How much? Six hundred million?!"
York was genuinely surprised. He looked at the number under his picture—a photo of him clasping his hands in prayer, radiating holy light.
Six hundred million for a first bounty?
What was the World Government thinking? He knew the inflation of the "Great Pirate Era" hadn't started yet. In this era, 600 million was a massive sum, usually reserved for veteran captains.
York's eyes narrowed.
Something is off.
"Could it be... they want to paint a target on my back?"
"Wahahaha! Exactly!" Rocks grinned.
York took the newspaper. The World Government hadn't just issued a bounty; they had published a "warning." The article detailed his ability's weakness.
Warning: The 'Demon Monk' Atlas D. York possesses the ability to incapacitate targets with light. However, reports indicate that individuals with strong willpower (Haki) or those who are 'pure of heart' (Virgins) are immune to his effects.
"Heh! They really want me dead," York sneered. "They effectively told every pirate in the New World: 'If you want 600 million, just send a Haki master or a virgin to kill him.'"
"Wahahahahaha! Are they that afraid of your ability?" Rocks laughed. "But it makes things interesting!"
Suddenly, Rocks stopped laughing. His expression shifted to serious.
"I heard you made a move against Buckingham Stussy at Punk Hazard?"
"Ah~ Is there a problem?"
York didn't flinch. He looked the Captain in the eye.
"Kaido didn't mention any rule against attacking comrades. Or are you, Rocks, trying to establish that rule today?"
"No, not at all."
Rocks shook his head, his wild hair swaying.
"I'm just here to tell you to restrain yourself while on this island."
"This is the territory I worked hard to claim. I don't want it turned into a ruin because you idiots can't keep it in your pants or your scabbards."
York sneered internally. Who was it that almost caused a civil war over a speech about giants just a few days ago?
However, since Rocks himself came to deliver the warning, York nodded.
"I can't attack Stussy on Hachinosu. But it's fine elsewhere, right?"
"And not on my ship either!" Rocks added.
"Only those two places? Anywhere else?"
"No! Just the island and the ship! Anywhere else, do whatever you want."
York nodded. "Understood."
He quickly stashed his treasure and then turned back to Rocks.
"Captain. Earlier at Punk Hazard, you said you'd teach me Advanced Haki. When do we start?"
"Quite impatient, kid."
"Of course! The sooner I get stronger, the safer I am."
"That makes sense!"
Rocks grinned. It was a terrifying, feral grin.
"Lesson starts now."
SHING!
In the blink of an eye, Rocks drew his sword.
Black and red lightning—Conqueror's Haki infused with Armament Haki—coiled around the blade. He didn't hold back. He swung directly at York.
"DIE!!"
BOOM!
The world turned white.
With a deafening explosion, York was launched backward like a cannonball.
He crashed through a stone pillar.
Then a house.
Then a warehouse.
He plowed a trench through the residential district, knocking over countless pirates along the way, before finally embedding himself deep into the outer wall of a building in the town center.
From the foot of Skull Mountain to the town center—he had flown across nearly a quarter of the island.
"This... this is..."
"Is that the new guy? The 600 Million Berry rookie?!"
"Internal conflict?"
"He was taken out in one hit?!"
"Someone bring that brat back to me in one piece!!" Rocks' voice boomed over the island's broadcast speakers.
The pirates trembled. No one dared disobey. They carefully pried the unconscious, bleeding York from the wall, laid him on a stretcher, and carried him back to the mountain.
"Get a doctor! Patch him up! We continue tomorrow!"
...When York woke up, he was wrapped head-to-toe in bandages like a mummy.
"He's really ruthless... that bastard Rocks!"
Every bone in his body ached. Now he knew who Kaido learned his "teaching method" from. This was the original Thunder Bagua education style.
But, to be fair...
York closed his eyes. The memory of that slash was burned into his mind. The feeling of Rocks' Conqueror's Haki crushing him... the flow of the Armament...
He had gained some insight.
Before this, York's training had always been self-taught.
Armament Haki: Learned by getting hit. He relied on the instinct of "I don't want to die," eventually mastering the basic Hardening and Imbuing.
Observation Haki: Learned by getting hit with sticks while blindfolded. He relied on pure reflex. Limited to basic evasion.
Conqueror's Haki: This was different. He awakened it the moment he realized he had transmigrated to One Piece. It was born of his sheer ambition. Currently, he could release it to knock out fodder, but he was far from the advanced "Coating" that Rocks used.
And then there was his Devil Fruit.
The Happy-Happy Fruit.
It wasn't found in a chest. It wasn't stolen from an enemy.
He had created it.
In his desperate desire for power, he had taken a normal, small sweet melon. He held it, and purely through the force of his obsession—his will to twist reality—he wished the power into existence.
"I want to be happy. I want to make others happy. I want the power of that anime I watched..."
His desire was so strong it overwrote the laws of nature.
That's why his fruit was so outrageous. It broke the standard rules because it was born from a transmigrator's broken logic.
"Pain is temporary," York muttered through his bandages. "Power is eternal."
"Tomorrow... I go back for round two."
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