One Piece: Nobody knows Devil Fruits better than me.

Chapter 286 The End of Rocks? David and the Promise!

Thirty-two years ago, in Elbaf.

Beneath the enormous 'Adam the Tree'.

"But everyone's gone."

The young man with the white beard held a wine glass, watching the two figures gradually fly away into the distance.

That was Big Mom riding away on a cloud, and Kaido transforming into a blue dragon and diving into the clouds.

"Ah, there's nothing we can do about it, things aren't like they used to be."

And beside him, Lox, who was also holding a bowl and gulping down his drink, said the same thing.

"Since he's someone I value, of course I should follow my heart and pursue my ambitions. Otherwise, what kind of pirate am I, hahahaha!"

Although his two former companions declined his invitation, Locke seemed unconcerned and laughed heartily.

"It's not necessarily related to ambition—suddenly asking someone to accompany you to cause a ruckus in the 'world,' even talking about going to your death, wouldn't a normal person go with you?"

The white-bearded man said helplessly.

"Huh?"

Upon hearing this, Lox's eyes widened: "But didn't you stay?"

Whitebeard: "."

Whitebeard twitched his lips and glanced sideways at Rocks.

"I just have a habit of staying until the very end when attending cocktail parties."

As he spoke, he drank another glass of wine.

His words seemed to indicate, rather ruthlessly, that he had no intention of joining Rocks in causing a ruckus.

But upon hearing this, Lockes chuckled.

He knew his old friend all too well—a seemingly rough and ruthless pirate, but in reality, a gentle and extremely righteous fellow.

"."

Looking at Rocks grinning in front of him, Whitebeard clearly knew that his plans could not be hidden from him.

"You bastard."

He shook his head helplessly, opened another jar of wine beside him, poured it out, and gulped it down.

Then he frowned.

"Why does this wine taste so strange?"

“Ah, that’s not a strange taste—this wine was prepared for someone else. He said he rarely drinks, so I specially prepared this jar.”

Upon hearing this, Lockes grinned.

Upon hearing this, the white-bearded man raised an eyebrow and asked, "Oh?"

"I don't recall having such a person."

Having Rocks prepare a special jar of sake for him was something that had never happened before in Whitebeard's memory.

"Hahahaha!"

Upon hearing this, Rocks burst into laughter: "After all, it was a life-saving favor, and besides, Newgate..."

He said earnestly, "That's an amazing guy, a 'monster' destined to change an era, or even change the world forever."

“I chose him as my partner to ‘turn the world upside down,’ and I’ve staked everything on that guy.”

The bandages wrapped around his left side swelled with his excitement.

"It's a pity he couldn't attend the banquet."

His name is Star Lord.

That concludes Lox's statement.

The white-bearded man raised an eyebrow: "Star Lord?"

He had never heard of this name before.

"Is he the reason you survived the Valley of the Gods?"

But he could deduce this fact from Lox's words.

“That’s right. Since you’re also planning to join, I’ll tell you about his situation!”

When Locke mentioned this, he also became excited.

"Newgate, you'll never believe it, that guy's abilities are simply incredible."

But before he could finish speaking, Whitebeard waved his hand.

"enough."

He spoke calmly, rejecting Locke's explanation: "You don't need to tell me secrets that sound complicated—I don't like keeping secrets for others; knowing the name is enough."

Upon hearing this, Rocks was also taken aback.

But he then chuckled and said, "I don't need you to keep any secrets, Newgate."

"If you get along well with someone and believe that he will change the world sooner or later, you might as well tell him. The Star Lord certainly won't care about these things."

His words contained a profound sense of trust.

Whitebeard remained silent for a moment after hearing this.

Then, he shook his head again; "Forget it, let's get straight to the point."

"What do you want me to do?"

He looked at the captain he had once followed, the man he had once regarded as an elder brother.

"Let me make this clear first, I've already promised Marco and the others that I'm going to build my own 'big family,' so I can't do something like dying with you."

"Also, if you have any secrets that could pose a huge risk to my 'family,' don't tell me."

Yes.

He had no interest in secrets, star lords, or changing the world.

The only reason he stayed here was because of Lox.

However, at the same time, after the Battle of God Valley.

Whitebeard naturally understood that Rocks's 'ambition' was far greater than they had originally thought.

That directly involves the deepest part of the world, directly involves the secrets of 'God'.

Whitebeard was a pirate, and he didn't mind bringing his family along to plunder treasure.

Fighting, killing—I don't care about those things.

But in his attempt to change the world, he gets involved in the world's deepest secrets, ultimately bringing great danger to his family.

That's not something Whitebeard would do.

That is why—even though he had enough power, he never pursued the legend of Laugh Tale.

"Haha, of course!"

But upon hearing this, Lox didn't care at all.

He chose to respect Whitebeard and did not say anything more about the secrets or the Star Lord.

He raised his hand and extended his finger.

"I do have something to ask you."

He earnestly stated his request.

“As I just said, this banquet is my ‘last banquet,’ but that guy didn’t get the chance to attend.”

"So, when he reappears—I hope you will bring this jar of wine to him."

"After all, it's not appropriate to say goodbye without your 'partner' being there."

As he spoke, he patted the wine jar beside him.

"...Is that all?"

Upon hearing this, Whitebeard almost found it absurd.

"Of course it's not that simple."

Lockes nodded seriously, as if this was an incredibly important request, enough to determine the world's 'ownership': "Besides sending the wine, I also want you to tell him—my 'ending'."

He grinned and said what he wanted Whitebeard to do.

The more Rocks spoke, the more surprised Whitebeard became.

"Are you serious?"

He looked at Lox in disbelief.

Although I knew beforehand that the other party had said they were going to 'go to their death,' this was still far too extreme.

Upon hearing this, Lockes nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“Of course.” “I’m not going to make such a quiet exit—I’m Lox D. Giebeck.”

That concludes the discussion.

On the Moby Dick, beneath the Star Lord's mask.

Roy's expression was somewhat solemn.

By this point, he naturally understood what the cola-flavored liquor he had just drunk was all about.

Just like Lingling's guess.

At that banquet that year, one person ultimately chose to stay.

That was Whitebeard.

Although he did not intend to die with Rocks, he chose to stay.

This glass of wine is proof of that.

That was Rocks's 'farewell drink'.

Thirty years ago, it was given to Whitebeard by Roxton, and in this era, it has been handed over to him.

"Roger also learned of my existence through you?"

And for this long-standing question, Roy finally had an answer.

Based on Roger's message on Skypiea, this Pirate King clearly knew of his existence, but did not know the specifics.

This pirate king said he learned the news from someone else, and he wasn't even willing to share the source with his own crew—now it seems that the source of his information is very likely the person in front of him.

"what"

Upon hearing this, the white-bearded man grinned.

"Back when we were drinking, Roger told Old Man Laugh Tale the truth, and I, in turn, told him what Rocks had said."

As he spoke, his eyes were filled with memories.

Yes.

As Roger's enemy and friend, he never actually reached Laugh Tale.

But Roger did not hide the truth about the final island from him.

Even back then, Roger offered to tell Whitebeard the location of Laugh Tale, but Whitebeard refused—for the same reason he told Rocks.

All he cares about is his 'family', and he has no intention of dragging them into the biggest vortex in the world.

He had no interest in the truth of history, or the wars that swept the world.

Even so, after learning that the greatest secret of the world is hidden within Laugh Tale...

Whitebeard immediately recalled Rocks' words—in his view, Roger was undoubtedly the person destined to change the world in the future.

Therefore, he shared the existence of the Star Lord and Rocks's evaluation of the Star Lord with Roger as a way of repaying him.

"The day Roger spoke of, the day Laugh Tale awaited—is this the day he was waiting for?"

"That's why the twelve constellations and you have reappeared in this era."

Whitebeard said this.

That was clearly a very 'reasonable' reason in his view.

No, actually the appointed day is still a few years away—and I'm not reappearing in this era, but rather I've always lived in this era.

Roy thought to himself, but obviously didn't say it aloud.

Because he had already realized it at that moment.

Due to the influence of Lox, and his butterfly effect.

The gears of fate have been set in motion.

so.
What did you and Rocks do? What was his fate?

He did not deny it, but simply asked the question.

obviously.

That was the most crucial part of the story Whitebeard told.

"Gurrahrah—I didn't do anything!"

"I merely attacked a ship carrying World Government dignitaries near the Red Line, and incidentally used my abilities to influence the Red Line, drawing Sengoku and Zephyr, who were stationed in Mary Geoise and Marineford, over there."

Whitebeard directly stated what he had done.

"."

The Star Lord didn't speak, he just looked at the white beard.

At the same time, dealing with two admirals is indeed a necessary setup to deal with Whitebeard, who, even in his old age, illness, and serious injuries, still challenged the entire Marine Headquarters with his own strength.

But that's not the main point.

"attract?"

This word is clearly the key.

At least for now, a bold guess had already formed in Roy's mind.

Since it's about attraction, it means that Whitebeard's actions were just a 'feint'.

"Yes."

At this moment, Whitebeard's words also confirmed Roy's guess.

"While I was drawing the attention of the Navy and the World Government, Rocks infiltrated Mary Geoise."

"He infiltrated 'Pangu City,' and I don't know his specific goal, but it should be related to that 'god.'"

At this point, Whitebeard picked up his wine glass again and gulped down a few more mouthfuls.

"Ha, this is all I know of his end."

"!!!"

That concludes the discussion.

Beneath the Star Lord's mask, Roy's expression suddenly hardened.

Within Pangaea City, in places related to 'Imu'.

"Among the flowers."

This is almost the only answer.

Yes—Lox's ending was that he infiltrated the flower garden.

And it was at this moment that Roy almost instinctively remembered something else.

That was the scene he saw inside the Flower Room when he 'peeked' into it through Doflamingo's memories.

Within that 'divine realm' that symbolizes the authority of Im, there are two enormous slash marks—one leading to the headquarters of the Knights of the Gods, 'Shangra,' and the other to a mysterious coffin.

He was already very curious about who left those two slash marks.

Now it seems...
"It was left behind by Rocks!?"

Loy has almost definitively determined what Rocks ultimately did.

After his final party in Elbaf, he asked Whitebeard to draw the attention of the Marines and the World Government, and then infiltrated the Flower Room, where he even fought Im and left that slash mark.

"Was it really one last time causing chaos in the 'world'?"

Roy pondered this, but something still felt off.

According to his current speculation, the power Im possessed within the Flower Realm, if not at its peak, was definitely far beyond normal 'binding'—it should be a realm beyond mortals.

Even if Rocks himself was at the limit of this ocean's strength, he would probably be no match for Im in this state.

"No, that's not right."

But soon, Roy thought of something else.

That is, in the original story, Rocks had actually entered the 'Flower Room' in the past to confront Im.

He even told Im, "I will come back again," before storming out of Mary Geoise and taking down a general in the process.

Throughout the entire original story, Im never laid a hand on Rocks—which, upon closer examination, is quite strange.

Roy vaguely guessed the truth: "Is it because he is of the David family bloodline?"

As far as he knows, Lox's ancestor, Davy Jones, as the 'first cursed one' who brought the Abyss into existence, had a contract with Im that was an almost equal 'agreement'.

Judging from the Celestial Dragons' situation, agreements and contracts are likely to be passed down along with bloodlines.

Roy thought of the plot of God Valley in the original work—the people of the David clan were 'blackened and dominated' by Im, but in the end, it was actually Rocks himself who killed them.

"Im cannot personally attack the David family. Or at least, there are limitations to his ability to do so? He cannot take their lives?"

"And Locus, by taking advantage of this 'restriction' imposed on Im, entered the Flower Chamber, and what did he do there?"

(End of this chapter)