Chapter 380: Jaba's Astonishment
This pirate crew was fundamentally different from the previous Sea Emperor, Rocks.
The Rockefeller Pirates were bound by family and kinship, and the strength they could unleash far surpassed the scattered might of the Rocks Pirates.
And—nearly all of them possessed Devil Fruit abilities.
How Rockefeller Sharlo had gathered so many Devil Fruits remained a mystery.
The Rockefeller Pirates and Sharlo himself had kept their true strength too well hidden.
Everyone had been deceived by Sharlo's outward appearance.
In that moment, Rayleigh recalled the warning given to him long ago by his old friend Shakky:
> "Never underestimate Rockefeller Sharlo.
He's always lurking in the dark, waiting to take a bite out of you."
But—
> "What're you dazing off for?
Let me jog your memory!"
Bullet's figure appeared in front of Rayleigh,
his massive fist barreling toward Rayleigh's face.
Rayleigh's eyes widened, caught off guard.
Boom!
Rayleigh's body was sent flying.
He slammed into the ice and was half-buried in shards of frost.
Although Rayleigh and Bullet were of similar strength,
Rayleigh's momentary distraction had cost him dearly.
Bullet was furious.
To him, it was a grave insult that his opponent had dared to look away mid-fight.
"Cough, cough…"
A single hand reached out from the debris.
Rayleigh's bleeding face emerged as he pulled himself upright.
"You young people… no respect for your elders!
Sneaking up on an old man pushing fifty…"
Rayleigh stood, wiped the blood from his brow,
and his aura began to surge.
Conqueror's Haki flared up around him.
Bullet cracked his knuckles, a crooked grin on his lips.
"Then let's go all out."
He charged at Rayleigh again, fists launching into a flurry of attacks.
The battle between the two quickly reached a fever pitch, though no victor was in sight yet.
---
Meanwhile—
Kozuki Oden was fiercely clashing with Caesar.
"Heh, little brother! It's been six years!
I can't believe how much you've grown—and how powerful you've become!"
Oden marveled at Caesar's mighty half-dragon form.
"Ara ara! You still remember me?
I thought you'd forgotten all about that delicious oden of yours!"
Caesar hadn't forgotten the battle six years ago—
the moment his Conqueror's Haki had awakened.
It was the legendary clash between his father, Sharlo, and Whitebeard.
That memory had been etched into Caesar's soul forever.
"Hahaha! You like oden too?
After this fight, I'll cook you as much as you want!"
Oden beamed, overjoyed by the compliment.
"Then let's finish this quickly!"
Caesar grinned and swung his massive guan dao in a relentless flurry.
Though Caesar was not a traditional swordsman,
his brute strength alone made each strike terrifying.
And his guan dao wasn't just any weapon—
it had consumed a Devil Fruit: the Ton-Press Fruit.
Its ever-shifting weight struck with unpredictable force,
battering against Oden's twin swords and preventing him from mounting a strong offense.
Despite being only 14 years old,
Caesar's immense talent, raw power, and physique,
along with his awakened Mythical Zoan: Fish-Fish Fruit, Azure Dragon Form,
pushed his strength to a quasi-admiral level.
He couldn't defeat Oden easily, but neither could Oden break Caesar's defense.
> "This kid's a monster…"
Oden was in awe.
Six years ago, he'd been defeated in one blow by Sharlo.
Now, he couldn't even overcome Sharlo's son.
Was he getting weaker… or were they simply too strong?
---
Across the battlefield—
Roger vs. Sharlo
Rayleigh vs. Bullet
Oden vs. Caesar
Three critical fights raged across the ice,
so fierce that most pirates steered far clear to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
—
Elsewhere—
Roger Pirates' third-in-command Jaba looked at the girl standing before him and sighed.
"Little miss, you're no match for me.
Let's not fight and spoil the mood between our crews."
Clearly, Jaba didn't want to battle a young girl.
Especially not one who had just expended herself freezing the sea.
But Esdeath gritted her teeth.
She could feel the overwhelming pressure radiating from him—
comparable to Bullet.
Her icy blue Conqueror's Haki erupted, surging toward Jaba.
Jaba blinked in surprise.
> Another one?
Another Conqueror's Haki user?
He glanced around the battlefield—
Sharlo, locked in combat with Roger.
Bullet, trading blows with Rayleigh.
Caesar, evenly matched with Oden.
And now Esdeath, bursting with Conqueror's Haki as well.
> Four Haki monsters.
How did this crew even get along?
Jaba was baffled.
But suddenly—
Swish!
A blade of ice flashed.
Jaba reflexively raised one of his twin axes.
Clang!
Esdeath's rapier struck his weapon.
"Little miss…
Sneak attacks are very bad manners."
Jaba casually blocked the strike and pushed her back.
Esdeath was thrown ten steps away, her sword arm trembling.
She bit her lip in frustration.
Jaba's strength was borderline admiral-level.
As a mid-tier commander, she couldn't keep up.
As the eldest daughter of the Rockefeller family,
Esdeath always felt she should be the one protecting her younger siblings.
But lately…
She'd fallen behind.
Especially behind Caesar, two years her junior—
who spent his days lazing around, sleeping, yet still outpaced her in power.
Esdeath trained every day—
swordsmanship, combat, meditation…
Yet Caesar, who barely lifted a finger, kept leaping ahead.
Sometimes Sharlo himself wondered:
> "Is the world just feeding Caesar power on a silver platter?"
Despite her relentless effort,
Esdeath's growth couldn't keep up with raw talent.
That disparity tore at her spirit.
She wanted strength.
She needed the power to protect her siblings.
Before her, Jaba saw it clearly—
a girl who fought desperately, her strikes refined and deadly.
A true swordmaster.
Even Jaba had rarely seen someone so young wield a blade so skillfully.
> The Rockefeller Pirates truly were a den of monsters.
---
Read up to 30 Chapters ahead on patreon.com/Fanglin
[Please leave a 5 Star review and power stone for this novel]
*Thank you*