The sudden prompt sound left Yuno stunned.
"Join the Marine Headquarters or the Rocks Pirates!?"
The task had been triggered at the perfect time.
Yuno of the Navy Headquarters didn't even hesitate. He had official duties to attend to, his freedom was restricted, and there were countless useless Celestial Dragons trampling over him.
Now that we've come to this sea, we should do whatever we want!
The Rocks Pirates?
Don't let me down!
The murderous intent in Yuno's heart gradually faded—but his eyes remained icy cold.
Aren't these pirates from the Rocks Pirates? Perfect. They can take me straight to Rocks' base.
In a flash, Yuno's mind raced.
He leaped into the air, swung his right hand, and the green fire coalesced into a long, flaming whip that lashed fiercely at the dozen or so pirates who had just jumped onto the deck.
"Ah—!"
More than a dozen men were grievously wounded in an instant. Deep burns, exposing bone, marred their bodies.
Plop! Plop!
They all tumbled into the sea, sending up great splashes. It was unclear whether any of them survived.
Yuno landed directly on the pirate ship and yanked Gas toward him with the whip.
"Ahh… it hurts!"
"Impossible! How can a boy your age be this strong!?"
Gas stared in utter disbelief, screaming wildly.
The Yuno before him looked no older than seventeen or eighteen—but his strength rivaled that of the Rocks Pirates' elite crew members.
"Hm?"
Yuno's eyes flashed with cold intent. In one swift motion, he retracted the green fire whip.
"No, no! Don't… don't kill me!"
"I'll give you… all my treasure…!"
The searing flames scorched Gas's skin and flesh, thick smoke rising from his body, carrying with it the acrid stench of burning meat.
"You want to live?"
"Then take me to the Rocks Pirates' headquarters."
Yuno released the flaming whip and sat down calmly on the deck.
"What?"
"I said—set sail. Now. Take me to your base camp."
Meeting Yuno's indifferent gaze, Gas trembled in fear. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he obeyed and steered the ship away.
Feeling Yuno's eyes boring into his back, Gas didn't dare try any tricks. He handled the rudder honestly and without delay.
......
The next morning.
After sailing through the night, they finally arrived at Honeycomb Island.
Honeycomb Island was a notorious gathering place for pirates in the New World—famously dubbed "Pirates' Paradise."
Rocks had chosen this location as his base precisely to recruit powerful pirates to his cause.
At that moment, Yuno performed his daily check-in.
"Ding! Today's check-in is successful!"
"Host has received a reward: Complete Encyclopedia of Fire Skills!"
"All skills have been automatically granted to the host!"
In the next instant, a flood of fire-based techniques poured into his consciousness. His body absorbed them seamlessly, forging muscle memory as if he'd trained in them for years—refined through countless trials until they reached perfection.
This truly surprised Yuno. He'd assumed, like in the original story, that such skills would need to be developed gradually. He never expected the system to skip all that and grant mastery instantly.
Of course, this was only the method of using the skill. To truly unleash it, what was needed was the ability to control the flame—and that could only be achieved through continuous practice and accumulation.
Even if he had mastered the complete encyclopedia of fire techniques, some intermediate and advanced skills still couldn't be performed with Yuno's current physical strength and level of fire control.
But for now, joining the Rocks Pirates was more than enough.
Yuno couldn't help but smile. Standing on the bow of the boat, he watched as a black dot in the distance grew larger and larger.
The boat bore the Rocks Pirates' logo, so no one stopped it—and it docked directly at the shore.
"This guy stole our prey and killed more than a dozen of our trainee crew members! We absolutely cannot let him go!"
As if seeing hope, Gas leapt off the boat and ran wildly while shouting.
Pirates along the nearby coast heard the commotion and rushed over, all furious and ready to act.
"A bunch of noobs…"
"Elementalization!"
Yuno was too lazy to waste time fighting trainee crew members, so he transformed into a stream of green flame and shot toward the center of Honeycomb Island.
Just as he neared the central area, a crescent-shaped golden slash suddenly shot out from the gate of the central castle.
The sword energy arrived before its wielder—so fast that one couldn't even sense the presence of the person who had drawn the blade.
"Observation Haki, huh…"
Yuno's eyes flickered. He instantly transformed into his elemental form and dispersed to evade the attack.
Sure enough, he'd been noticed by the top leaders of the Rocks Pirates the moment he set foot on the island.
It seemed the top leaders were at least proficient in two types of Haki—and even a few core cadres mastered all three.
The crescent-shaped slash tore through the clouds, ripping open a massive hole in the sky.
The tremendous disturbance drew pirates from all around, converging toward the central area.
"Boy, you're not from our crew, are you?"
Accompanied by the sound of footsteps, Rocks emerged, flanked by several others.
He was of average height, with a hedgehog-like afro and an air of quiet confidence that nonetheless overwhelmed everyone around him.
Beside him stood the towering, bare-chested Newgate, his golden crescent moon beard glinting in the light; Charlotte Linlin, endlessly munching on desserts; and Shiki—the lion-like man with a mane of golden hair—gripping his massive swords, Sakuraju and Kuki.
It seemed the sword slash had come from Golden Lion Shiki himself.
"Just because it's not now doesn't mean it won't be in the future!"
Yuno didn't state his purpose outright.
The members of the Rocks Pirates weren't fools—they understood exactly what he meant.
"Hahahahaha! You're young, and your Devil Fruit ability is pretty good—but that's not enough. Without real strength, it'll be hard to leave this island alive, let alone join us!"
Rocks laughed.
The onlookers merely watched with amusement, as if they could see right through Yuno.
This sort of thing wasn't uncommon among the Rocks Pirates. As the strongest crew dominating the New World, countless pirates dreamed of joining them.
With no official recruitment for a long time, some arrogant, self-proclaimed pirates had resorted to breaking into Hachinos Island to force an audition. But lacking true strength, their fates were predictable.
Through his Observation Haki, Rocks sensed that Yuno's aura was stronger than Gas's had been. That sparked a flicker of interest—but not enough to earn his full attention.
Yuno grinned.
The right medicine for the right condition—simple and effective!