Rody exhaled deeply, shutting out the world around him. He could feel his heartbeat — steady.
"Unshakable conviction… that is strength," he murmured. Haki wasn't just brute force; it was the will to stand unyielding, even when everything else broke.
He closed his eyes.
Images flickered through his mind — the time he'd been struck down by an opponent whose skin felt like iron, his fists bruising against their defense. He pictured his arm, not as flesh and blood, but as a spear forged in the heart of a furnace. Unbending. Absolute.
His breathing slowed, deepened. He pushed his will into his right arm, like forcing water through a narrow pipe. At first, nothing happened — just the faint tingling of strained muscles.
"Uhh…I'll try again."
Rody pictured himself standing against a storm, feet dug into the earth, refusing to move.
Buzz—
A faint hum filled the air as a thin layer of jet-black energy began to shimmer over his skin. It wasn't perfect — it flickered at the edges, unstable — but it was there. Heavy. Solid.
Rody opened his eyes slowly, watching the dense waves of energy coil around his hand like an invisible gauntlet. He could feel the power coursing, not like a gift, but like a muscle he had finally learned to flex.
He let out a long breath, a grin tugging at his lips.
Armament Haki… learned.
"So next is Conqueror's Haki."
If Armament Haki was binding spirit and will to one's body or blade, then Conqueror's Haki was unleashing will outward, overwhelming weaker minds until they foamed and collapsed.
"But how to trigger it?"
He remembered Doflamingo, who only awakened his under the fury and hate of near-death. It needed a clear enemy, a target to pour will upon.
"No matter. Until then, I'll temper Armament and Observation."
…
Grand Line, Fish-Man Island.
Aladdin, vice-captain of the Sun Pirates, passed a newspaper and bounty poster to Jinbei. "Boss, Arlong and Kuroobi, all of them, were killed by a human."
Jinbei took the paper, frown deepening as he read. Rody the Slaughterer—destroyer of the Great Axe Pirates, executioner of Arlong's crew, butcher of Colonel Nezumi's Marines. Suspected Devil Fruit user.
He set down the paper and raised the bounty notice. A red-haired man with markings across his face stared coldly back.
"Rody the Slaughterer. Fifty million Berries."
"And the former Arlong pirate thief, now his navigator—Cat Burglar Nami. Five million."
A long sigh escaped Jinbei's chest, his brows still furrowed.
"Boss, Arlong and the others were our kin. Shouldn't we take revenge?"
"Yes, Jinbei! They were our brothers!"
"And that human is a pirate besides!"
Jinbei lifted a hand. "Quiet." The crew hushed. His voice was heavy but calm. "Do not forget the teachings of Tiger and Queen Otohime. Among humans there are good and evil. Arlong chose his path, and this was the end he earned. As for this man Rody, I will watch him myself."
The crew fell silent. Jinbei gazed out at the far ocean. Arlong… if I had forced you to stay, would things have been different?
…
In the backstreets of Fish-Man Island, a filthy room reeked of salt and bitterness. Several fish-men gathered around as Hody Jones slammed down a newspaper and poster, driving a dagger through it. Rage twisted his face.
"Despicable human! How could you kill Arlong? You must have tricked him, cheated him, used coward's methods!"
"Yes! Hody, sir, there's no way a weak human could slay mighty Arlong!"
"Exactly! Humans are weak and base. They should be slaves of our noble race. He must have ambushed Arlong with some trick!"
Hody raised a hand, silencing them. He yanked the dagger free and held the perforated bounty in his hand.
"Pathetic human. When I rule Fish-Man Island, when I gather our warriors, we will march on the Red Line, topple the World Government, and enslave every human alive. Then I will take your head myself. Hahaha!"
…
Two days later, East Blue.
A seagull in a cap fluttered down to perch on Rody's railing and gave a neat salute.
Rody smirked. This world's beasts were strange—so many understood human speech.
Nami paid the News Coo a hundred-Berry coin and took a newspaper. The bird nodded, flapped its wings, and was gone.
"Rody! Look!" Nami's voice trembled between awe and exasperation. "We're wanted! You're fifty million, and I'm five million. Why am I wanted? I didn't do anything!" She held up the sheet and the posters.
Rody set down his drink, accepted the paper, and studied his bounty. "Mm. Good picture." He nodded, satisfied.
The newspaper's headlines caught his eye:
Cavendish enters the New World, hailed as the next rising star.
Whitebeard Pirates' 4th Division Commander Thatch killed by 2nd Division's Marshall D. Teach, who has defected.
Ace dispatched to hunt the traitor Teach.
"Oh. So Blackbeard already has the Yami Yami no Mi," Rody mused. "And the public still doesn't know Ace's lineage—not yet."
"Lord Rody," Mike said, stepping close with a bow. "There is an island ahead."
Mango Town.
Mike lowered the sails, while Nami steered the vessel neatly into port. The black hound stayed behind to guard the ship.
Three humans and two hounds disembarked. Nami linked her arm through Rody's as they strolled down the busy main street, Mike following with his butler's poise, the white hound carrying their packs.
Suddenly—
"That hair… those markings. It's him! The Slaughterer Rody—fifty million Berries!" a man shouted.
Instantly the lively street fell silent. Townsfolk trembled, staring, none daring a sound.
From the hushed crowd shuffled forth an old man with a cane. He bent low before Rody, voice quavering. "Lord Slaughterer, I am this town's mayor. If you need anything, speak and I shall provide."
"Oh? Do you have a Den Den Mushi?" Rody asked casually.
The mayor's head shook quickly. "No, my lord. Such devices are found only on the Grand Line, not in a small East Blue town like Mango."
"Figures," Rody murmured.
"Then tell me—do you have a skilled cook here?"
The mayor swallowed. "Yes… yesterday, a woman arrived claiming to be the East Blue's greatest chef." He dared not raise his eyes.