One Piece: Fist of the World

A Brutal Bargain

With a sudden step, Rhodes launched himself from the ground, instantly appearing above Laboon.

Boom!!

His clenched fist slammed down on Laboon's head.

"Ooooooh!"

After being hit hard on the head, Laboon let out a loud scream, his body swung violently, and he swung his head towards Rhodes with tremendous force.

Bang——

With his body in mid-air, Rhodes stomped down, and an invisible airwave spread out, allowing his body to change position freely in the air and avoid Laboon's impact. Immediately afterwards, another heavy punch hit Laboon's head.

"That's too much..."

"This kind of thing..."

Seeing Rhodes beating up the whale Laboon, everyone was stunned. Compared to the size of Laboon, Rhodes was tiny. But it was the tiny Rhodes who was currently delivering a beating to Laboon.

"This guy... is a monster!!" The tied-up Machete Borgman broke out in a sweat when he saw Rhodes's exaggerated fighting style.

"Very skilled in the Navy's Six Powers." Crocus picked up his glass and took a sip. Although the fight between Rhodes and Laboon seemed very noisy, he could feel that Rhodes was not trying to kill him. Moreover, compared to the damage Laboon suffered from crashing into the Red Line every day, Rhodes's fists were nothing. Compared to the battle, what concerned him more was the Six Powers of the Navy that Rhodes was proficient in using.

"What an amazing newcomer!"

"That's about it!" Rhodes punched down again, knocking Laboon to the bottom of the sea, and stomped his feet in the air to keep himself suspended.

"Ohhhhhh!!" Along with huge waves, Laboon rushed out from the bottom of the sea again, and his scarred head slammed into Rhodes fiercely.

"Stop it!" Instead of continuing to use Moonwalk to avoid Laboon's impact, Rhodes stretched out his hands, and all the Haki in his body surged out, releasing it the moment Laboon was about to hit him, blocking his attack.

Even the Armament Haki is so strong! Crocus paused for a moment, and an unspeakable meaning flashed in his eyes. Although he is young, he is very powerful, and he is not like other pirates who only know how to rob. This is what you wanted to see, Roger!

Laboon looked at the tiny human in front of him and did not continue to attack. The opponent simply stretched out his hands to block his full-strength attack, as if he were as indestructible as the Red Line. His biological instinct told him that the human in front of him was far more powerful than he was.

"Your companions have not abandoned you, nor have they died!" Facing Laboon's gaze, Rhodes spoke seriously.

Laboon was stunned for a moment.

"They just got lost on the Grand Line!"

"Let's make a deal! I will sail around the Grand Line to find your partner for you. Before we sail around and appear here again, you must not hit the Red Line again!"

Laboon stared blankly at the man in front of him, tears suddenly welling up in his eyes.

"Oh oh oh oh~~~" This time, the sound that Laboon made was one of joy.

"See?" After dealing with Laboon's affairs, Rhodes returned to the shore and patted Genos on the shoulder. "This is effective persuasion!"

Looking at Laboon, who was shouting happily on the shore, Genos shook his head. It can be considered as persuasion at least. At least the results were good.

But... "Is it true that his companion is still alive?" Genos asked. The others also turned to look at Rhodes, and there was a hint of anticipation in Crocus's eyes.

"Who knows, maybe." Brook should be in the Florian Triangle area now, right? Rhodes shook his head. "But we will definitely come back after going around in a circle!"

Crocus shook his head and drank the wine in his hand. It is indeed too greedy to hope that the Rumbar Pirates are still alive. However, this was also acceptable; at least Laboon would not hit the Red Line again.

Heading for Whiskey Peak

After having a good meal and a few drinks, Rhodes and his crew returned to the Polaris and hoisted the sails.

"Goodbye, Laboon!!"

"Wait for us to come back!"

"Bear will miss you!"

"Woof woof woof~~"

Looking at Laboon and Twin Capes Lighthouse getting smaller and smaller in sight, everyone waved goodbye.

"Law, how was the harvest?" Rhodes looked at Law, who was holding a few books.

"Very impressive!" Looking up from the notes in his hand, Law's face showed a look of admiration. "I didn't expect Mr. Crocus to have such great medical skills!"

"Of course. After all, he was once the ship's doctor on the Pirate King's ship."

"One Piece!!" Everyone was shocked! That ordinary-looking old man turned out to be a legendary figure!

"Then he has been to Laugh Tale!"

"Amazing!"

"Damn it, I should have asked him what the One Piece is!"

"Of course, it's only fun to find it yourself!"

"···"

Upon hearing Crocus's identity, the people on the boat suddenly became excited and wanted to drive the boat back.

"By the way, this is the Log Pose, right?" After a discussion, everyone turned their attention back to their routes. Nia pointed to a pointer placed in front of the rudder and asked Neru.

"Yes, and just to be on the safe side, I will have one person always here on the rudder."

"It's amazing! Look, the direction of the needle has changed!"

"It's the ocean current!" Neru calmly turned the rudder and readjusted the ship's course. "The climate, ocean currents, and magnetic fields along the Grand Line are all chaotic, so even if you have a recording needle, you have to be careful to adjust it, otherwise, you might deviate from the course if you're not careful."

"What a magical route!"

"On the Grand Line, the only thing you can trust is the direction of the needle."

"I just heard from Crocus that there are seven different routes in the Grand Line. Which one are we going to now?"

"Whiskey Peak!"

"What a strange name. Is there anything special about that island?"

"Certainly!" Rhodes leaned against the guardrail. "Baroque Works, you still remember it, right?"

"The organization that stole Cici?"

"Woof woof~~" Cici barked in cooperation.

"Baroque Works?" Robin spoke up and took over. The plan to join the Rhodes Pirates went too smoothly, so smoothly that it made her feel a little uneasy. Unlike those pirate groups that recruit crew members indiscriminately, they were obviously an elite pirate group. It could be seen from the interactions among the people on the boat that they had a very good relationship, and they were probably partners who had known each other for a long time. How could anyone not have any suspicion or guard against someone like me, who temporarily joined from another pirate group?

Although her heart was full of doubts, Robin still tried her best to demonstrate her abilities. "I know that it is a secret criminal organization. People in the organization call each other by code names. It seems that this company also does some bounty hunting work."

"And Whiskey Peak is one of the seven starting islands of the Grand Line. I'm sure it's a place they won't let go."

"Sharp!" Rhodes gave Robin a thumbs-up. "From now on, someone will share the work for you, Neru!" In addition to being a navigator and sniper, Neru also handled intelligence work.

"The situation is just as Robin said. Baroque Works actually dared to attack our partners on Tiger Shark Island."

"I hadn't joined you at that time..." Genos added.

"I will not let go of anyone who attacks my friends!" Rhodes pretended not to hear what Genos said.

"The people who started it have been killed, and even the fruit has been eaten by Penguin." Genos continued to add.

"Our first target is Whiskey Peak. We need to destroy the base of the Baroque Works there!"

"Station? They should be very rich!" Nia quickly noticed the appealing elements.

"Of course, all the wealth they plunder is also ours!!"

"So this is the point." Genos suddenly realized.

<><><><><>

Rhodes's unconventional "persuasion" of Laboon has set the stage for a unique promise. The crew has also learned about Crocus's legendary past and is now charting a course for Whiskey Peak, a known base for Baroque Works, a criminal organization. With Robin's intelligence and the crew's thirst for treasure, what kind of confrontation do you anticipate at Whiskey Peak, and how might this early Grand Line adventure further shape the Rhodes Pirates?