One piece: The Greatest Swordsman of the Rocks Era!

Rocks suddenly erupted with a monstrous, earth-shaking aura. Black and red lightning crackled around his body.

The shockwaves on the battlefield were instantly suppressed by his overwhelming presence, as if time itself had frozen.

Everything collapsed into stillness.

"Linlin, remember this you're getting off easy this time because Captain Rocks is here. Next time, you won't be so lucky!" Whitebeard withdrew his naginata, his fury still simmering, his words carrying a sharp warning.

Linlin snapped back without hesitation, "Newgate! You slashed me this isn't over!!"

The air was thick with gunpowder. Tensions could ignite in an instant.

Rocks stepped between them with a firm step, his gaze sharp and commanding as he barked, "Enough! Do you think today's chaos wasn't bad enough?!!"

"If anyone still wants to keep fighting then fight me instead!"

A black and red aura flared wildly around Rocks, the winds dancing to his will.

It was Conqueror's Haki!

Whitebeard shot Linlin a deadly glare before turning to Rocks. "I'm going to check on Ares."

Once Rocks nodded, he turned and left.

Linlin pouted with resentment, frustration written all over her face. She was clearly the biggest loser here Ares got everything, and she was left with nothing.

That priceless Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit…

What rotten luck!

Rocks frowned deeply, his voice stern. "Look at what you've caused. Stop using your little tricks. If you really want Ares in the future, wait until he grows up a bit and see if you can win him over properly."

He glanced around the entire area was now a wasteland.

The Skull Castle, which even the Marines had never managed to destroy, was now a pile of rubble thanks to his own crew.

Even parts of Hive Island's towns were flattened, crushed into dust.

Linlin fell silent, reflecting inwardly. "Maybe I was rushing a little too much… but that masculine aura Ares gives off, coupled with that strong, powerful body…"

"How could I possibly hold myself back?"

Every time she got close to Ares, she could barely control the urge to devour him.

To really enjoy him.

Just then

A group of strangely dressed, fierce-looking men walked toward Rocks.

The man in the lead had a vicious face and a shadowy expression. As he approached, he spoke coldly, "Rocks, you owe us an explanation."

"A large part of Hive Island has been destroyed including property owned by our underground forces. There should at least be some compensation, don't you think?"

These men were none other than the leaders of Hive Island's underground black market.

They had been rooted here for years, and most of the damaged buildings belonged to them.

The others standing behind him all stared at Rocks, demanding accountability and compensation.

After all, the battle had wrecked more than a few places.

Many valuable goods had been destroyed too Ares's rampage had caused them massive losses.

Rocks shot a cold glance at the man in the lead. The man instantly broke into a cold sweat, every hair on his body standing on end as an overwhelming terror surged through him.

A cruel smirk tugged at Rocks's lips as he sneered, "Compensation?"

"Everything on Hive Island belongs to me Rocks!!"

"That includes…"

"Your life!!!"

In a blur, he crossed the distance like a hunting hawk, appearing before the man in the blink of an eye.

He punched the man square in the chest.

Boom!!

The man's chest caved in with a sickening crunch of breaking bones, and he vomited blood as he was sent flying.

Rocks's fierce, beast-like gaze swept over the other leaders of the underground forces, making them all shiver uncontrollably.

"Yes, yes! Hive Island belongs entirely to you, Captain Rocks."

"We were just checking if you needed anything from us."

"Yeah, yeah! It was all that guy's idea it has nothing to do with us."

"…"

The rest of the men quickly plastered on flattering smiles, scrambling to distance themselves from the incident.

Rocks grinned as if he'd just done something trivial. "Zehehehe… Well then, I'll trouble you all to clean this place up and rebuild Skull Castle."

"Any problems with that?"

His sharp, glowing eyes were like a hungry wolf's, sending chills down their spines.

"No problem… no problem at all."

"No… no problem…"

"…"

Cold sweat poured down their faces as they rushed to agree.

Behind him, Linlin let out a disdainful chuckle. "Mama… mama… Captain Rocks isn't someone anyone can threaten."

"On this island, his word is absolute!"

Rocks walked away with Linlin.

The rest of the underground leaders were left exchanging miserable glances.

Not only did they fail to get any compensation they might end up footing the bill themselves.

Several hours passed.

The sun had slowly sunk into the sea.

Whitebeard and Golden Lion stood guard outside, while inside, Captain John was treating Ares.

Inside the room

"How strange."

"Ares's consciousness is completely unresponsive, almost like he's a vegetable."

After thoroughly examining Ares again, Captain John found his condition extremely concerning.

Physically, Ares was perfectly fine.

Even the damage from Rocks's punch was healing rapidly thanks to Ares's monstrous recovery rate.

There weren't even any scars left behind.

But what troubled John most was that Ares's consciousness seemed trapped in a deep, unshakable sleep. His bodily functions had also slowed dramatically.

In theory, Ares should have been able to wake up.

But John had tried every method he could think of and nothing worked.

His face clouded with worry as he sighed, "Looks like we'll just have to wait for Ares to wake up on his own."

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