Carlo looked directly in that direction, his eyes filled with a strong desire.
Whitebeard, who was ahead, glanced back at him. "That's right, he's Rocks, the one you want to challenge."
"Rocks? Where is Rocks?!"
On the deck behind him, Kaido, who had been sleeping soundly the whole way, suddenly jumped up from the deck, shouting loudly with a hoarse voice.
He seemed to have completely missed the immense pressure from earlier.
Carlo completely ignored his excited shouts.
His attention was fully focused on a certain spot on the island.
Whitebeard, on the other hand,
turned to look at Carlo.
Then he looked at Kaido, who had his spiked club on his shoulder, eager to get off the ship.
He grinned.
"Gurarararara, Rocks is on the island. Follow me."
The ship sailed into the harbor. Carlo and Kaido followed Whitebeard, officially stepping onto Hachinosu and walking towards the island.
The harbor and town were bustling.
Pirates were everywhere on the streets.
Fishmen, Longarm Tribe, Longleg Tribe, Buccaneers, various races.
People of all heights, sizes, fat and thin.
Carlo even saw several Giant Race pirates over twenty meters tall.
Even a giant like Kaido, seven meters tall, wasn't that conspicuous here.
Furthermore,
this place didn't seem to prohibit fighting on the island like Rocky Port did.
Because right on the street not far away, two gangs of pirates were currently fighting.
Dozens of people, led by their Captains, were hacking at each other, splattering blood everywhere.
Swords clashed, pirates screamed.
Some even pulled out handheld cannons, took out cannonballs, lit the fuses directly, and fired at the other side.
With a loud bang!
Smoke and fire exploded among the opposing pirates.
Immediately, several pirates' bodies were blown to pieces by the cannonballs.
The scene became incredibly bloody.
However, this chaotic scene, despite being full of danger, didn't cause much panic in the town.
Pirates passing by on the surrounding streets merely moved a little further away.
Most of them wore expressions of schadenfreude, watching the show and commenting, pointing fingers.
At the same time, they warily watched the passing pirate strangers around them, and even their own companions.
Even while gesticulating and commenting on the battle, they didn't forget to keep their hands at a distance most convenient for drawing a sword or gun.
Because at any moment, someone nearby could suddenly lash out without warning, attacking those next to them to snatch something they desired.
Even companions who had once fought side by side.
One second they might be laughing heartily with you, the next a knife could be ruthlessly plunged into your heart.
Then they would happily take the long-coveted treasures from their companion's cold corpse.
Such absurd situations would absolutely never be seen in a place like Marineford.
It possessed a unique kind of 'vitality'.
Perhaps it was because Whitebeard was leading the way.
Carlo and Kaido didn't encounter such situations.
This left Kaido, who was ready for a fight at any moment, somewhat disappointed.
Fortunately, his ultimate goal, like Carlo's, was Rocks on the island.
Therefore, he didn't pay too much attention to the surrounding pirates.
Whitebeard was clearly a celebrity on the island.
Seeing him lead Carlo and Kaido through the streets,
the surrounding pirates occasionally cast scrutinizing glances at Carlo and Kaido.
It was clear they were curious.
But no one came up to talk.
Meanwhile, on the other side, in a tavern at the foot of Skull Mountain.
More than a dozen pirates were standing or sitting on spacious sofas, chatting and eating and drinking.
The pirates included both men and women.
They varied in height, build, and even race.
But their common characteristic was that each of them exuded a powerful aura that warned others to keep their distance!
Even the few incredibly sexy and beautiful women were no exception.
Among these dozen strong, beast-like male and female pirates,
a man who wasn't particularly tall, just over three meters, and not exceptionally handsome, sat on the central sofa as if surrounded by stars.
He had wild, unruly hair interwoven with black and white.
There was a lightning-shaped tattoo on his left eye.
His feet were crossed and propped on the table in front of him.
He held a bottle of strong liquor and was drinking it heartily, head tilted back.
After he drained the bottle of strong liquor in one gulp,
he casually tossed the bottle onto the table, then stood up, a wild smile spreading across his stubbled lips.
"Wahahaahaha, Newgate is back, and it looks like he brought that rookie with him."
"Let's go! Let's go out and see!"
The moment the man stepped out of the tavern,
Carlo, a thousand meters away, seemed to sense something.
Then, under Whitebeard's astonished gaze, Carlo bypassed him and Kaido, and walked ahead first.
Seeing Carlo's actions,
Kaido couldn't help but snort coldly.
"Hmph! Does he want to challenge Rocks first?"
"Impossible! The first one to challenge Rocks will be me!"
He also quickened his pace, following Carlo, striding forward together.
But Kaido soon froze.
He looked at Carlo, who was walking to his right, somewhat bewildered.
"Is this guy... crazy?"
Carlo was still walking forward.
But his direction was so straight that he wouldn't turn even a tiny bit.
Even if other pirates were walking ahead, he didn't look sideways, didn't stop, and just crashed straight into them!
Kaido saw a pirate, with a long sword at his waist, drinking.
He was sent flying by Carlo's collision.
He fell face-first onto the street ahead, his wine bottle shattered, and he, like the bottle, wore a bewildered expression.
But Carlo, who had knocked the pirate flying, seemed completely oblivious, as if the man didn't exist in his eyes, and continued to stride forward.
His raised right foot stepped on the face of the unlucky pirate, walking over him.
Carlo's crazy actions immediately drew the attention of the surrounding pirates.
It was only then that
the pirate, who had been knocked flying and then stepped on by Carlo, finally came to his senses.
Immediately enraged, his face flushed red as he roared, drew the long sword from his waist, and charged at Carlo.
"Kid! You're looking for death!!"
"Boom!"
A large hand slapped down from above, pressing onto his face, instantly causing his features to burst.
Two angry eyeballs popped out from his ruptured eye sockets with a squelch, flying away like bullets.
With a bang!
The pirate's headless corpse crashed backward onto the street, a gush of hot blood, squeezed out like a high-pressure water jet, instantly stained a dozen meters of the road!
Carlo withdrew his hand as if swatting an insignificant fly.
His feet still didn't stop.
Instead, his speed increased!
He started to sprint.
Each step covered over ten meters, his eyes seemingly vacant, as he charged straight ahead.
Even if there were more pirates blocking his way ahead, even if there were tall buildings further in the distance, he showed no intention of slowing down.
He just madly, as if possessed, charged forward at full speed!
"Damn it! Arrogant bastard who looks down on everyone! Shoot! Kill him!"
Carlo's frantic actions infuriated the pirates in front of him.
Immediately, more than a dozen of them drew their flintlock pistols, aimed at him, and pulled the triggers.
"Bang bang bang!"
A dozen bullets left the barrels, whistling towards Carlo.
Some of them were even imbued with black Armament Haki!
Clearly, there were masters of Armament Haki among those pirates.
But Carlo completely ignored them.
His speed surged, his entire being almost turning into a blurred afterimage, as he bravely charged straight into the whistling bullets!
"Boom!!"
A violent current of air exploded on the street.
The flagstone road beneath Carlo's feet shattered with a roar as he stepped!
The densely fired bullets, amidst the exclamations of the surrounding pirates, didn't even get close to Carlo's body before they were deflected by the air he displaced, whistling through the pirates who had fired them.
Even worse, before these pirates could even scream, Carlo had already crashed into them head-on, irresistibly colliding with them under their terrified gazes.
"Crackling!"
Amidst the hair-raising sound of bones shattering, a dozen twisted bodies were thrown into the air.
Immediately after, there was another earth-shattering explosion!
The multi-story building at the end of the street rumbled, shaking violently as if exploding, with rolling dust rising into the sky!
Vaguely, a human-shaped hole could be seen, piercing straight through the entire building.
No!
Not just one building!
"Boom boom boom boom boom—!"
A series of explosions erupted one after another.
Under Kaido's dumbfounded gaze, one building after another violently vibrated, pierced through like candied haws by Carlo's straight charge.
He carved a path of rolling dust in the direction of Skull Mountain.
At the same time, in his ears, and in the ears of all the pirates, an earth-shattering roar was heard.
"Rocks!! Come fight me!!"