Pirate: I have a Hollow living inside me

Rayleigh realized what was going on: "You've landed on the Sky Island?"

Xia Qi has access to some intelligence channels.

In addition, Rayleigh had already paid some attention to Rocks and his group, and knew a little about Rocks' whereabouts.

From this, we can make a simple deduction.

It's very likely that Rocks and his crew spent the six months or so they were missing on the Sky Island...

And it might be a sky island they visited, where there's a huge amount of gold!

"..."

Rocks was surprised by Rayleigh's quick thinking and made no attempt to hide it: "Indeed, I went to the Sky Island and saw the ancient writing left by Roger there."

"so it is."

Rayleigh nodded slightly: "You have a historian on your ship who can read ancient texts."

Rayleigh looked at Rocks: "Now that you've seen the ancient writing left by Roger, you should also have seen the record on that Poneglyph, right?"

"Are you planning to go find one of the ancient weapons, 'Poseidon'?"

Lox said directly, "I'd like to see her, but I'm not interested in her power."

Rayleigh paused for a moment: "You know about Aquaman's situation?"

"The elders in the family know some things, and you learn them after hearing them a lot."

Lox smiled mysteriously: "It's not like you Rogers are the only ones who know some of the secrets."

"Although I don't know as much as you do, there are no secrets that stay hidden forever. Besides this channel, there might be other channels..."

Rayleigh said, "I'm a little curious about your elders..."

He was very curious about Rocks' elders.

Not only did they cultivate a powerful figure like Rocks, but they also gained knowledge of some hidden matters...

He's definitely a remarkable guy.

Could it be some ancient monster that was once hidden in the Locusts World?

Otherwise, it would be impossible to know so many hidden things!

Lox chuckled, "He's a rather low-key person, so I won't say anything to avoid causing him trouble. He's the kind of person who dislikes trouble..."

Old Duke is a pretty good card to play.

They can pin everything on him...

If old Duke knew about these things, he would definitely give Rocks a good scolding.

He doesn't know anything!

"He seems to be a very important person."

Rayleigh sighed, then shook his head and said, "Since you don't want to talk about it, then I won't ask."

"Let's go, kid. Let Old Lei, the coating craftsman, show off his skills. He'll guarantee you a smooth journey to Fishman Island."

"Then I'll leave it to Senior Rayleigh."

*Sizzle!*

Space was torn open, and after saying goodbye to Shakky, Rocks stepped into the spatial rift together with Rayleigh, who was wearing coating tools...

Looking at the healed spatial rift, Shakky stroked her chin: "Should we have someone investigate the elders behind Brother Lox? I'm getting quite curious..."

Finally, Shakky shook her head: "Yeah, forget it. The person who can train Brother Rocks is not someone that ordinary people can mess with..."

Meanwhile, on a distant island in the East China Sea, old Duke sneezed several times in a row. Rubbing his nose, he muttered, "Who on earth is nagging me? I've been sneezing a lot lately..."

"Could it be that brat Rocks?"

"Speaking of which, we haven't heard from that kid Rocks lately. Is he going to hide for another few months? That's not like him."

"Is he holding back something big?"

"Well, that kid always says 'since we're here, let's 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 handle 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.

How could Rocks cause such a ruckus?

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

……

On the Black Demon.

Rayleigh has already started 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 Adventure 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 intelligent; he could remember things after seeing them once. He was also physically gifted and could learn things very quickly.

"They are truly blessed by nature."

Rayleigh remarked, "I also saw your fight with Kaido. The punch that sent Kaido flying had echoes of Garp and Zephyr..."

"Did you learn that after watching it?"

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

Rocks didn't stop working, answering Rayleigh's question while applying the coating: "I developed it by combining my own understanding and figuring it out myself."

"You're a monster!"

"It's alright, just so-so."

Rayleigh added, "I know from the newspapers that you fought Zefa."

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

"I ran into that old guy Kapna by chance when I was in the East China Sea."

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

"Then I exchanged a few blows with him."

"That's the kind of thing that guy would do, inviting Hailey to..."

"Let's not talk about that time anymore. I'm not Hai Ni now, and I haven't done anything immoral."

"Heh, that's just how the World Government and 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 afterward, senior?"

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

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

Rayleigh didn't stop working either, and said with a smile, "But I'm a retired old guy. I haven't threatened you or done anything, so why are you bothering me?"

"They would love for me to be more obedient."

"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 knock the dog's brains out?"

"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 isn't 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 stopped fighting 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 we really fought, I'd be more likely to lose..."

"..."

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

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

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

But you, Rocks, are a normal person?

Having withstood so many attacks from Kaido, I don't know how many bones he broke.

Didn't they recover quickly?

If it weren't for the fact that the "process" of Lox's restoration was different from that of the guys in Holy Mariejois.

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

Suppressing his inner complaints, Rayleigh said, "You must have only recently awakened your Devil Fruit, right? You don't have enough control over that power yet, and it won't last long due to excessive consumption."

"Once you fully grasp the power of awakening, you will experience the accumulation of time and effort over time..."

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

Rocks, having exhausted his power, truly reached the "top" level.

The only thing lacking is the ability to fully utilize that power, which would have significant side effects.

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

"If it's the awakening of the Devil Fruit, then I'm already 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 some people mistake his Hollowfication Stage 3 for the awakening of the Devil Fruit?

It's clearly still a long way off!

Only when Rocks truly awakens the Devil Fruit and completely subdues the Blackwing Great Demon Hollow will he feel that he is 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 someone who has awakened their Devil Fruit would possess such 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 levels of ability are assessed at different stages."

"The first stage is to build a foundation for the Devil Fruit's abilities, using the accumulated power to enhance my physical functions, allowing me to better utilize them."

"The second stage is the process of countering the Devil Fruit's power. The accumulated power will manifest as a cloak of flames, and my condition will improve once again."

"The third stage involves touching upon a deeper level of power from the Blackwing Demon Fruit, a more profound exploration of the accumulated power. In this state, my strength will increase dramatically."

"In my mind, the fourth stage is the complete subjugation of the Blackwing Demon Fruit's awakened state. Of course, I haven't reached that level yet..."

Rayleigh was stunned: "..."

However, one thing has been confirmed—Rocks's state was not the awakening of his Devil Fruit!

I underestimated Rocks!