Pirate: I have a Hollow living inside me!

"Forget it, that kid always says 'since we're here, we might as well make the best of it.' I hope he doesn't cause too much of a commotion, or my little heart won't be able to take it..."

Old Duke still cares a lot about his adopted son.

After seeing the "fifth sea emperor" in the newspaper, his heart couldn't take it.

Why is that kid Rocks causing such a ruckus?

Hopefully, the next newspaper that arrives won't be so horrifying...

……

On the Black Demon.

Rayleigh is already coating the Black Demon.

The coating craftsman, Lao Lei, has excellent skills.

However, coating is a very time-consuming process, and even with overtime work, it still takes two days to complete...

The island is still under martial law, and there's nowhere to wander around. Interested members of the Blackwing Demon Adventurer Group are also helping out.

Rocks was one of them, working as Rayleigh's assistant.

"You learn really fast! I only said it once and you remembered it?"

Rayleigh was amazed by Rocks' learning speed; he only had to explain the coating technique once, and Rocks had already memorized it.

And you become very skilled after just two tries...

"Photographic memory".

Rocks was very quick-witted; he could remember things after seeing them once, and he also had strong physical talent, so he could learn things very quickly.

"They are truly blessed by nature."

Rayleigh remarked, "I also saw your battle with Kaido before. The fist that sent Kaido flying had the shadows of Garp and Zephyr in it..."

"Did you learn it after watching it?"

"After fighting them once, I remembered their attack techniques."

Locks didn't stop working; while applying the coating, he answered Rayleigh's question: "I developed it by combining my own understanding with trial and error."

"You're a monster!"

"It's alright, just average."

Rayleigh added, "I learned about Zephyr from the newspapers that you fought him before."

"As for Garp... there doesn't seem to be any record of him in the newspapers?"

"I happened to run into that old guy Garp in the East China Sea."

Rocks scoffed, "That old guy has no sportsmanship. After learning my name is Rocks, he wanted to take me back to Marine Headquarters to become a Marine..."

"Then I exchanged a few blows with him."

"That's the kind of thing that guy would do, even inviting pirates to join the Marines..."

"Let's not talk about that time. I'm not a pirate now, and I haven't done anything heinous."

"Heh, that's just how the World Government and the Navy are. They always try to treat anything or anyone they can't control as a threat..."

"Speaking of which, did the Navy cause you any trouble after the military service?"

Remembering this, Rocks asked curiously, "Kizaru and quite a few other Marines have discovered you, right?"

"After fighting Kaido, that old guy Garp came knocking on his door."

Rayleigh didn't stop working, and said with a smile, "But I'm a retired old man. I've posed no threat and haven't done anything wrong, so why bother me?"

"They'd love for me to behave myself."

"You guys are living a carefree life."

Rocks clicked his tongue and asked, "By the way, what happened in the final battle between Kaido and Garp? Did they manage to knock out their dog brains?"

"They destroyed another numbered island, and then Kaido was driven away."

Rayleigh said slowly, "That guy's title of 'Strongest Creature' isn't just for show. You can hurt him, but killing him won't be easy..."

At that time, Kaido fought Garp alone, and the battle was quite a spectacle.

Finally, Kizaru and Momousagi also joined the attack.

Knowing he was no match for them, Kaido didn't continue the fight and chose to leave the Sabaody Archipelago...

Lox agreed: "That guy's physique is indeed monstrous. He's still full of energy after taking so many of my attacks. If it really came down to a fight, I'd probably lose more often..."

"..."

Rayleigh glanced at Rocks, inwardly thinking, 'You have the nerve to call someone a monster? As if you're not one yourself…'

Kaido's physique is indeed monstrous; his ability to withstand blows and his endurance are far beyond that of ordinary people.

Even after being severely injured by Rocks, he still possessed formidable fighting power...

But you, Rocks, are a normal person?

Having been attacked by Kaido so many times, I don't know how many bones he broke.

Didn't they recover and get cured very quickly?

If it weren't for the fact that Lox's "recovery process" was different from that of the guys in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise.

He even suspected that Rocks might be connected to that group...

Suppressing his inner complaints, Rayleigh said, "You probably only recently awakened your Devil Fruit, right? Your control over that power isn't quite there yet, and it won't last long due to excessive consumption."

"Once you can wield the power of awakening more freely, you might very well become another 'strongest creature.' All you lack is the accumulation of time..."

Through that previous battle, he had a clear understanding of Rocks' strength.

Rocks, having awakened his Devil Fruit powers, truly reached the "top tier".

The only shortcomings are the lack of skill in wielding that power and the excessive consumption of its side effects.

Once Locus overcomes this side effect, he will truly reach the "top" level, and not just touch upon it...

"If it were a Devil Fruit awakening, I would already be a 'god'. How could a 'god' only be this level?"

Lox said noncommittally, "I can go wherever I want and do whatever I want then."

"The 'goals' I set for myself are not so easy to achieve."

Why do people always mistake his Hollowfication Stage 3 for Devil Fruit awakening?

It's clearly still a long way off!

Only by truly awakening his Devil Fruit and completely subduing the Black Winged Great Demon Hollow will Rocks consider himself a "god"!

It hasn't gotten to that point yet!

"You're saying your Devil Fruit hasn't awakened yet?"

Rayleigh was stunned: "You're not kidding, are you?"

"That state doesn't look normal at all; only the awakening of a Devil Fruit could give someone that kind of exaggerated power!"

"Of course not, it's just a further development of the ability."

Rocks said calmly, "Do you understand gear shifting and transformation?"

"Different stages will occur depending on the degree to which the ability is used."

"The first stage is the basic application of Devil Fruit abilities, using the accumulated power to strengthen physical functions so that I can perform better."

"The second stage involves a deeper application of Devil Fruit abilities. The accumulated power will manifest as a cloak of flames, and my condition will be enhanced once again."

"The third stage touches on a deeper level of the power of the Black Wing Demon Fruit, and is a more in-depth application of the accumulated power. It will form a 'Demon Garment' made of power, and my strength will be greatly enhanced in this state."

"In my vision, the fourth stage is to completely subdue the awakened state of the Blackwing Demon Fruit. Of course, I haven't reached that level yet..."

Rayleigh was stunned: "..."

However, one thing is confirmed—Rocks' state was not a Devil Fruit awakening!

I underestimated Rocks!

Chapter 196 The latest newspaper issue! Attention from all sides, bigwigs!

With the help of Rocks, Robin, and others, the Black Demon was coated in just over half a day.

"In just half a day, you've learned almost everything about my cooking skills..."

Looking at the Black Demon with its coating completed, Rayleigh remarked to Rocks and Robin:

"If you both retire in the future, you can both come here and become coating craftsmen..."

Both of them have photographic memories and are exceptionally intelligent.

In just half a day, he learned almost all of the skills of Lao Lei, the coating craftsman.

His intelligence made him, as the "teacher," feel very unfulfilled.

If he were to take on any "disciples" in the future, he absolutely could not accept those who were too clever...

“I would never come to a place like this if I were to retire.”

Rocks shrugged: "I'm not like you. The World Government and the Navy will let you go and will definitely not watch me get away with it."

Robin smiled and said, "My captain killed two Celestial Dragons. Unless we take down the World Government, we'll probably never have a peaceful life."

"Haha, it's enough that you all understand this."

Rayleigh laughed: "Don't die at the hands of the World Government. I want to see if you can achieve your goal."

"If I can do that, I will have witnessed history."

"Then you just watch, Senior Rayleigh. No one can stop me from doing what I set my mind to."

Rocks remained confident and continued, "Thank you very much, Senior Rayleigh, for coating us. It's time for us to leave now. Until we meet again."

"Ah."

Rayleigh nodded and chuckled, "Let this old fellow see just how far you can go."