Chapter 4: Apprentice of the Rocks Pirates

—The Grand Line, at sea.

A massive pirate ship cut through the world’s most dangerous waters, its black flag billowing high. The figurehead, a grotesque skull, loomed over the waves, a fitting emblem for its infamous crew. Though only launched two weeks ago, the vessel already carried an air of menace.

But that was only natural—this was the ship of the Rocks Pirates.

Led by Rocks D. Xebec, the ruler of Hachinosu, and crewed by some of the worst criminals the world had ever seen, they were a nightmare given form.

The Marines had yet to take notice. Even most pirates had no clue they existed.

And so, for now, the crew lived in peace—

—A very, very bloody kind of peace.

"—HEY, LINLIN!! THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"

A furious voice thundered across the deck.

"Mmm~? Oh, Whitebeard~ What’s with that scary face? That’s no way to look at your dear crewmate, is it?"

The response was lazy, playful—completely at odds with the corpse at her feet.

"Oi… Whitebeard and Linlin are at it again…"

"Uhehe! Ain’t it fun?! Hope they kill each other!"

From a distance, the crew watched as two of the most dangerous people aboard—Edward Newgate and Charlotte Linlin—squared off.

And among them stood the man Linlin had just drained of his lifespan.

"DON’T GIVE ME THAT ‘CREWMATE’ BULLSHIT AFTER KILLIN’ ONE OF ‘EM, YOU PSYCHO!!"

"Tch… So noisy!! This idiot bumped into me! I was just enjoying a snack, y’know?! And he ruined my mood!! So I asked his soul how much longer he wanted to live!!"

"Over something that stupid?! And you call yourself a mother?!"

"HA~HAHAHAHAHAHA!! Don’t be so naive, Whitebeard!! Whether it’s my sweet little children or some snot-nosed apprentice, death is nothing new to me!!"

"! You—I oughta drown your ass right here!!"

"TRY IT IF YOU CAN!! HA~HAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

Linlin turned, snapping her fingers. "Now, hurry up and get rid of this eyesore, apprentice."

"! R-Right away…"

Without hesitation, a girl stepped forward, lifting the corpse like it was just another chore.

Linlin smirked, amused.

"MAMAMAMA… See, Whitebeard?! Even the apprentice is more used to this than you!! Get with the program!! We’re all friends here, aren’t we?! HA~HAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

Whitebeard scowled, grinding his teeth. "Yeah, sure!! Damn psychopath!!"

As Linlin sauntered off, the apprentice disappeared below deck, corpse in tow. Whitebeard reached for a nearby bottle of booze to calm his nerves—

"? Huh? Where’d it go?"

It was gone.

His frown deepened. He scanned the deck, but the bottle had vanished.

"—JIHHAHAHAHA… But y’know, Whitebeard, Linlin’s got a point…!"

"! Golden Lion… You here to piss me off too?"

Shiki dropped down from above, perching on the ship’s railing with a smirk. Unlike the fuming Whitebeard, he looked downright entertained.

"Nah, not at all… Just sayin’, no point gettin’ worked up over this. Gonna happen a lot more from now on. Bein’ all buddy-buddy is cute, but you’ll wear yourself out, y’know?"

"…Shut it. Just don’t kill crewmates in front of me. Even you ain’t safe if I catch you doin’ it, Golden Lion."

"JIHHAHAHA… We’re supposed to be allies, and you’re still pissin’ me off… Jihaha, do what you want. If you can."

With that, Shiki floated away, leaving Whitebeard scowling in his wake.

After a moment, he sighed, glancing around again.

"…Who the hell took my booze?"

Shaking his head, he stomped off to find another bottle.

"Oi, the apprentice’s hauling another corpse. Who died this time?"

"Dunno. If I don’t remember ‘em, must’ve been nobody important. Probably Linlin again."

"You say that, but what if it was you?"

"Me? Hahaha, nah. Only killed one guy today."

"GYAHAHAHA! Still killed someone, dumbass! So, how many’s that since we set sail?"

"Who the hell’s countin’? …Though that apprentice—both of ‘em, really—got some strength, huh?"

"They’re Zoan types, so stronger than your average brat. …Might even be able to kill you!"

"GYAHAHAHA! Good one! —If it wasn’t so damn boring!"

—CRUNCH.

Somewhere in the ship’s corridors, another body hit the floor.

A girl walking past didn’t even sigh—just let out a dry chuckle.

…I’m honored by the praise, I guess.

…Oh, and that makes 88—no, 89 dead crewmembers. Gotta haul this one too…

Nue, apprentice of the Rocks Pirates, updated the tally in her head.

What a pain.

---

One week had passed since leaving Hachinosu.

So far, the voyage had been peaceful—just a bit of naval combat, no major incidents.

…What, the crew killing each other?

They stopped counting that as an incident by day three.

It was just daily life.

Hilarious, in a way.

…If you ignored the bodies.

Average deaths per day: ~10. Today was actually on the lighter side. The first day had been brutal—around 20 dead, thanks to Rocks letting them go at it unchecked.

Since then, her main job had been cleanup duty.

Specialized corpse disposal.

She’d gotten pretty good at it.

As that now-dead crewman had pointed out, she was a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user. Carrying a body or two wasn’t an issue.

(Though corpses did feel heavier for some reason.)

And while her ability had made her a monster back home, here?

It barely stood out.

The Rocks Pirates had plenty of Devil Fruit users.

This was the New World, after all.

So she and Kaido just… blended in.

(Well, their abilities were rare, but still.)

Speaking of Kaido—he was probably in the cargo hold.

She descended the stairs, weaving through barrels and crates until she reached the back.

Then, she called out.

"……Kaidou~ I'm back~~~"

"—Took you long enough."

As expected, Kaidou was sprawled out in the cargo hold, comfortably nestled among the barrels. He sat up when he saw me—but I just shot him a deadpan look.

"'Took me long enough'? Really? Instead of lazing around, how about helping? It’s a pain going back and forth, you know?"

"Maybe later. …So, did it work?"

"That’s not the point—! …But yeah, it worked. And it was nerve-wracking—here, look!"

I rolled my eyes at Kaidou, relieved that he was (thankfully) sober enough to hold a normal conversation, then pulled something out from my coat and waved it in front of him.

Kaidou’s usual scowl vanished in an instant, his eyes lighting up.

"Ooooh! That’s—?!"

"Heheh! What do you think?! The bottle of booze I swiped from Whitebeard in the chaos! And it’s barely touched—still almost full!"

"You’re a genius, Nue!! WORORORORO!! Finally, we can drink!!"

That’s right—the bottle in my hand was Whitebeard’s liquor.

I’d stolen it using my ability.

The reason? Simple. Kaidou and I wanted a drink.

Turns out, the Rocks Pirates—maybe all pirate crews—didn’t just hand out booze to apprentices.

We were at the absolute bottom of the hierarchy. Unless you were someone like Whitebeard, Linlin, or Shiki, you weren’t getting free drinks.

The last time we’d had any was three days ago. Even then, the senior crewmembers had hoarded most of it.

Kaidou had been furious.

And me? After dealing with mountains of corpses every morning, I’d had a sudden thought—Man, I could really use a drink.

So, we’d hatched a plan.

(Well, I had. Kaidou’s ideas were all just variations of "beat ‘em up and take it," so I was the brains and the brawn here.)

"All thanks to my ability! You better be grateful!"

"WORORORORO!! You’re a legend, Nue!! The best!!"

"Heheh, praise me more~"

I knew I was acting weird, but whatever. We needed this.

And honestly? My ability was perfect for this kind of thing.

It had worked scarily well.

To put it simply, I’d planted a Seed of the Unknown on Whitebeard’s bottle when he set it down.

The Seed of the Unknown was a shapeless thing—a byproduct of my ability.

By embedding it, I could erase an object’s "identity"—stealing away its shape, sound, scent, and other defining traits, leaving only its function intact.

For example, if I—an innocent, adorable girl—held a knife and embedded it with a Seed, anyone looking would just see me holding some kind of stick. Their brains would fill in the gaps, making the knife look harmless.

That’s how I’d stolen the booze.

(Though, to be fair, Whitebeard had been distracted. If he’d been paying attention, it might not have worked.)

And sure, it didn’t work as well on people who already knew the object’s true form.

But still—I could manipulate perception to some extent.

(Still need more training to push its limits…)

But that didn’t matter right now.

Right now, we had booze.

"Alright, let’s get started!!"

"WORORORO!! Drink up!!"

We plopped down in the cargo hold, sitting cross-legged among the barrels as we started our little party.

(Yes, we were surrounded by corpses. No, we didn’t care.)

"Ahhhh… So goooood…!"

"WORORORORO!! You’re already slurring!!"

"I’m not drunk! But… sigh… I needed this!"

No glasses, so we just passed the bottle back and forth, chugging straight from it.

This was what life was about.

"—Hey!? Kaidou, you’re drinking too much!! Let go!!"

"—Hah!? The hell, Nue!? You tryin’ to steal my booze!?"

"Excuse me!? I stole this, so technically, it’s mine! You should be thanking me for sharing!! Bleh!"

"The hell did you just say!? Gimme that!!"

"Ah—hey, no fair using brute force—! Ugh, you—!"

—Oh no, he’s gonna take it!!

I lunged, wrapping my arms around the bottle in a death grip.

Kaidou responded by grabbing me along with it, swinging me around like a ragdoll.

"Let go!! Gimme the booze!!"

"Nooooooo!!"

A desperate struggle. A battle of wills.

Even if I’d chosen to follow Kaidou, this was war.

But I was losing.

I couldn’t overpower him. Eventually, he’d rip it from my hands.

…Dammit…! What do I do—!?

Just as I was scrambling for a solution—

"—GYAHAHAHA!! Now this is entertainment!!"

"Huh!?"

"Wha—!?"

That voice—demonic, unforgettable.

My blood ran cold as I turned my head.

There, looming over us, was our captain—

Rocks D. Xebec.

"C-C-Captain!? T-This is...!"

"Boss...!"

"GYAHAHA! What’s with the faces? Keep fightin’ over it if ya want! I ain’t mad...!"

No way...! He’s just smiling, but the pressure is terrifying...! Am I gonna die? Please don’t kill me...!

"W-Well... This booze is, uh..."

"—Ah, I know. You stole it from Newgate, right?"

H-He already knows!?

...Welp. I’m dead. Game over. No continues. (Last words.)

"I-I’m sorry..."

"Hah? ...GYAHAHAHA!! What the hell are you apologizin’ for?!"

"...Huh?"

"...What do you mean, Boss...?"

Rocks paused, as if confused by the apology, then laughed it off.

Kaidou and I exchanged glances, baffled. Then, with that same demonic grin, Rocks pointed at the bottle in my hands.

"That booze is yours now. You took it from Whitebeard. Ain’t no reason to apologize. It’s yours."

"...B-But I just stole it..."

"Don’t matter how ya got it! Listen up! There ain’t no word for ‘dishonorable’ in a pirate’s dictionary!! Survive, take what ya want—that’s all that matters!!"

"!!"

"...!!"

I—no, both of us—fell silent.

His words were simple, but they carried the weight of someone who had lived as a pirate at the highest level.

"You’re apprentices now, but if you wanna be real pirates, remember this... GYAHAHAHA! It’s one of the most important things for chasin’ your dreams...!"

"Dreams..."

"…………"

The word settled deep in my chest.

With that, Captain Rocks turned and started walking away.

...Wait, why did he even come down here?

Did he just feel like talking to us?

I glanced at Kaidou, who looked just as lost in thought—though maybe he was just rolling with it.

I hesitated to say anything while the captain was still here, so I just watched him leave.

"—Ah?"

Then—suddenly, Rocks stopped.

He turned his head slightly, staring into space.

...What’s up with him?

Gathering my courage, I spoke. "...Uh, Captain? Is something—"

"—GYAHAHAHA! They’re coming...!"

"Huh? Coming?"

I had no idea what he meant. All I could do was repeat his words.

But Rocks’ grin widened.

"...You two, finish that booze and get your asses up on deck!! Unless ya wanna miss the party...?"

"Hah!?"

With one last laugh, Rocks disappeared up the stairs.

Leaving just me and Kaidou.

After a beat, Kaidou finally muttered, "...The hell was that?"

"No clue... But it’s a captain’s order. Here, drink up first—"

I handed him the bottle, letting him take the last swigs to avoid another fight.

Once he was done, he tossed the empty bottle onto the floor.

"...Y’know, we’re the ones who have to clean this up later. Maybe don’t throw it on the ground?"

"...Shut up. Let’s go. Captain’s orders."

"Yeah, yeah. No idea what’s going on, but let’s go."

And with that, we headed to the deck.

Still wondering what Rocks had meant.

The Party Begins

But we found out real quick.

"—Well?! See it yet?!"

"...!! —There! Just like the captain said! A pirate ship at nine o’clock!!"

"GYAHAHAHA!! Knew it! Saw it comin’ from a mile away!!"

"...! Ah—"

The crew had gathered on deck, and the lookout had just spotted an enemy ship approaching.

Watching it all unfold, I finally understood what Rocks had sensed earlier.

Haki.

Of course—among all the monsters on this ship, Captain Rocks was the strongest. His Observation Haki was on another level.

"Alright, you bastards! Enemy ship’s closing in!! Battle stations!!!"

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

At Rocks’ command, the crew sprang into action.

As I joined the fray, something lingered in my mind—something I had once considered, then pushed aside.

Haki...

Maybe I really should learn to use it after all...

I stole a glance at Kaidou. He was grinning fearlessly, his iron club slung over his shoulder like this was just another day.

What should I do?

As we closed in on the enemy ship, I found myself thinking about it again.