Chapter 96: Tremor-Tremor Fruit
Hades sat alone inside the tavern.
Quietly drinking fine wine, Titan stood guard outside alone.
The Rocks Pirate Fleet from the Four Seas and the First Half of the Grand Line was still on their way back.
A grand banquet was essential, but it would have to wait until they returned.
The treasure had already begun to be divided.
Pirates streamed into the Exchange, trading their acquired treasure for Beli.
High-value treasures like gold, jewels, and antiques, and even Famous Swords and Devil Fruits, were transferred to Kronos Kingdom through the Exchange.
On Hachinosu Island now, only the Exchange controlled by Hades could handle such a massive amount of treasure.
Standing behind the Exchange was none other than Kronos Kingdom.
Having prepared in advance, Kronos Kingdom had already provided thirty billion Beli in cash.
This enormous amount of funds was personally guarded by "Jiu".
Stored within the space inside his body.
No one could plunder it from him.
The wealth obtained by the Rocks Pirates this time encompassed a full eleven World Government Member Nations.
Thirty billion Beli alone might not be enough.
Currently, the Kingdom was mobilizing funds as much as possible, transferring the Beli obtained through Four Seas trade.
Some of the treasure and antiques were of little value to pirates, but in the eyes of Nobles, wealthy individuals, and collectors, they were rare treasures.
If traded, they could fetch unimaginably high prices.
Kronos Kingdom happened to have the connections to send them to the Four Seas for auction, to yield greater profits.
As the Exchange got on track, professional personnel also moved in to manage it.
A more formalized Exchange seemed somewhat out of place in a chaotic land like Hachinosu.
Compared to the previous Exchange which belonged to the Underworld Forces, it was even more popular among pirates.
Had Kosa been eliminated by the era?
No, not at all!
He was just locked up in Impel Down.
If needed, they could just rescue him.
In the end, it was just a matter of willingness.
If they wanted to, Shiki and Rocks together, or even adding a few Cadres, could sweep through Impel Down.
On the festive island, the noise was incessant, and Hades seemed somewhat out of place.
He was thinking about what would happen next.
The Marines were not a match for the Rocks Pirates, but with the World Government stepping in, the Rocks Pirates would face their true enemies.
The Member Nations being breached did not affect the World Government's strength.
The conflict between the Member Nations and the World Government had nothing to do with the Rocks Pirates.
The Marines lost one Admiral Candidate, and another Admiral Candidate suffered a severe injury with a severed arm.
And the Rocks Pirates also lost a Top Tier Combatant.
Counting the two Army Generals reinforced by the World Government, as well as the CP0 Agents possibly lurking in the shadows.
The Rocks Pirates had clearly met their true opponents now, and subsequent actions would not be so easy.
However, this was temporarily unrelated to him.
Nor did it mean that adding some Combat Power would be enough to resist the Rocks Pirates.
Shiki and Newgate were still growing, and with Charlotte Linlin and Hades, the Rocks Pirates would soon reach a new peak.
Cheers erupted from the port.
Hades knew it was the Pirate Fleet from the Four Seas and the First Half of the Grand Line successfully returning.
What they brought back was naturally countless treasures.
Not long after, a tall figure strode into the tavern.
Titan, standing by the door, did not stop him.
Flowing golden long hair, a robust and powerful physique – the person who arrived was none other than Edward Newgate.
"Gurara la la! Hades, wanna see what I got this time?"
Newgate walked over with a laugh and sat beside Hades.
With a "boom", the large sack he was carrying slammed onto the ground, revealing the shimmering golden luster inside.
Facing Hades' calm gaze, Newgate finally reacted, gave an awkward laugh to himself, and unceremoniously took Hades' wine bottle to pour himself a large bowl of wine.
"Almost forgot, you don't care about this stuff at all."
"But, you better watch closely next. I got an incredible Ability."
Newgate quietly leaned his head towards Hades' ear, speaking mysteriously, seemingly with a hint of showing off.
The two had a good relationship.
Due to their personalities and deliberate efforts to befriend each other, they naturally grew closer in the atmosphere of the Rocks Pirates.
Hades was different from other pirates; there were no conflicts or clashes of interests.
"Oh!"
Newgate's words caught Hades' attention.
A new Ability, if he wasn't mistaken.
"Gurara la la! Feel it with your own body, Hades."
Newgate laughed heartily, swinging his fist, which shone with a white aura, containing a destructive strength.
Cracks appeared in the air, shattering like glass.
Newgate was indeed Newgate.
Not long after eating this Devil Fruit, he could already display considerable power.
This punch went straight towards Hades' head.
Sensing the danger, Hades instantly left his spot, avoiding the attack.
Noticing Hades' departure, Newgate controlled his fist, twisted his body, and burst forth with astonishing speed.
Hades had just landed ten meters away when Newgate simultaneously appeared before him, slamming down a domineering punch.
Although Hades could still avoid it, judging by Newgate's appearance, he wouldn't give up without a head-on collision.
He also wanted to witness the strength of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
At this moment, trying to build up power again was a bit slow, and simple defense wasn't Hades' style either.
Instinctively, Hades clenched his fist, his entire body's muscles tensing.
He raised his arm, using his elbow in an upward motion.
"Eight Extremities: Mountain Collapse!"
An invisible armor enveloped Hades' body, resisting the continuously surging tremor power.
Emitted Armament Haki, condensed to a single point through the elbow, combined with Inch Force, erupted with astonishing strength.
The collision between the two terrifying forces created shockwaves, and cracks continuously appeared in the ground beneath them.
Neither of them went all out; both sides were still relatively restrained.
Although the inside of the tavern was damaged beyond recognition, the main structure remained and could be salvaged and rebuilt.
In terms of pure strength, Hades was not Newgate's opponent.
If it were a real battle, Hades wouldn't clash head-on with Newgate like this.
The brief collision was merely to test Newgate's newly acquired Ability.
From the results, Newgate was very satisfied.
The current tremor power wasn't strong enough yet, unable to even break through Hades' Haki defense.
Giving the tavern owner some compensation Beli, Hades and Newgate moved to a different location.
The money was paid by Newgate; since the incident started because of him, he handled this aspect well.
In this operation, Newgate obtained the Ability of the Paramecia Type Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
This meant that Newgate was also officially rising within the Rocks Pirates, taking another step closer to becoming a Core Cadre.
Although with his potential he could certainly reach that level, the strength of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit would undoubtedly greatly shorten the time needed.
As a Monster from the same generation as Shiki, after Shiki gained the strength of the Float-Float Fruit and rapidly expanded his Faction, Newgate was undoubtedly suppressed.
The young Newgate undoubtedly possessed an extremely strong competitive spirit.
Greater strength, higher status, more wealth – this was the pursuit of all pirates.
In Hades' view, Newgate without the Tremor-Tremor Fruit seemed to be missing something.
Now that the final piece of the puzzle had appeared, what was truly missing was probably that iconic Whitebeard.
(end of chapter)