One Piece: Surrounded at Marineford? Just kidding!

Chapter 442: Rocks's original intention!

Roger and Rocks heard the "initial awakening state" clearly!

Roger wanted to get to the bottom of things.

What does "initial awakening state" mean?

Chen Ye didn't explain, just like before.

He just kept looking at the battlefield.

Luffy plummeted from mid-air. One foot landed on Nasujuro's blade. The other stomped on the spine of Broken Bone Horse. A deafening roar followed. The centaur-like monster was crushed into the ground. Pure white mist rose from Luffy's body, like a burning, cold flame.

Chen Ye's meaning is very clear!

Where is the answer?

See for yourself.

Rocks' gaze was fixed on Luffy.

Something was churning inside the pupil.

It's Nika and also Joy Boy.

This kid likely inherited the power of the two mentioned earlier.

At this moment, a rare somber expression appeared on Lockes' perpetually gloomy face.

Roger turned his head to look at him.

Something's wrong with Lox.

It wasn't jealousy. Nor was it resentment.

He felt as if he had been dragged into a deep well.

Locke finally spoke. His voice was like an echo seeping from the depths of a cave.

"Speaking of the legendary fruit."

He raised his chin.

"Back then, what I wanted wasn't just Nika."

His gaze pierced through the smoke of battle, landing on the gray horizon.

"Back then, I had several legendary fruits that I longed for. There was only one purpose: to counter that guy Im."

These words were spoken.

Chen Ye turned his head away.

Roger's smile vanished.

He didn't interrupt.

People like Rocks.

They don't easily talk about the past with outsiders.

Luffy's appearance touched a nerve.

Roger listened quietly.

Rocks' voice sank. Each word was like a cold iron chain being dragged out piece by piece from the deep well of memory.

"What a pity. I didn't get a single one before the Battle of God Valley."

His lips twitched.

A bitter smile.

I gave my all for that period.

The years that ultimately ended empty-handed.

"I searched the whole world. I checked every ancient document. I searched every clue in the legends. But I didn't get a single one."

Rocks clenched his fist.

The joints made a popping, cracking sound.

A dark red aura of dominance flickered between his fingers.

Two seconds later.

The fist loosened.

Sharp fingernails left deep crescent-shaped marks on the palm.

His gaze fell on Luffy again. His voice was cold and stern.

"Nika can disguise herself, so she can't be found. The other ones are either hidden or protected by something."

His Adam's apple bobbed.

"I once suspected that those legends were all false. They were just ancient texts used to fool people."

There was a self-deprecating tone in his voice.

A kind of self-deprecation that can only come after turning the page.

His gaze was fixed on Luffy.

now.

Luffy stepped on the back of the Sacred Boar of Vorchili.

It was launched into the air like a cannonball.

The white mist left long trails in the air.

Lockes stared at the trail, his voice barely audible.

"Until I saw this kid today."

He didn't say anything more.

But unspoken words lingered among the three.

What he pursued was not a fantasy.

But fate didn't choose him.

Roger looked at Rocks' profile.

He unusually refrained from making jokes.

"Um."

silence.

A muffled thud echoed from the battlefield.

Luffy slammed Peter Saint's worm-like head back into the ground. A shower of pebbles rained down.

The loud noise shifted Rocks's mood.

His speech regained its steady and powerful pace.

"Of the legendary fruits, I have only been able to obtain definite information about one of them."

He paused.

The sinister gaze shifted from Luffy, turning towards some unseen direction.

Deep within the Grand Line.

"The news about that fruit points to a place: the land of giants, Elbaf."

"Elbaf".

Roger raised an eyebrow.

He knows it too well.

He's been there.

His golden eyes gleamed. His lips parted and then closed.

He chose to wait.

Chen Ye stood slightly behind and to the side of the two. His hands were in his pockets. Stray strands of hair were blown about by the gust of air.

The light in his eyes dimmed.

Extremely short-lived.

Lox's gaze was unfocused.

His gaze drifted to the distant past.

The sound became rough, like weathered stone.

"I visited Elbaf back in the day."

He paused for a second.

"I contacted Harald about that fruit."

When he pronounced the name "Harald," the curve of his lips was straight.

A restrained respect.

For someone like Lox.

This is already the highest level of recognition.

Lockes continued. Every word sounded like it had been honed from calluses.

"I advised Harald to eat the fruit."

His brow furrowed slightly.

"With his strength, his status among the giants, and the power of that fruit, he'll have an extra trump card when fighting Im."

The phrase "one more trump card" is used to describe the situation.

He spoke very harshly.

This revealed his urgency back then.

He's making plans.

He is building a force to fight against Im.

The sound stopped.

An indescribable smile appeared on Rocks' lips.

Admiration. Helplessness. Confusion.

"But the reply he received was that Harald said he was not worthy of the fruit."

Rocks shook his head.

The movements are very slow.

"The mighty King of the Giant Kingdom. The strongest warrior of Elbaf. One of the top three legends in the history of the giants. He said he was not worthy."

The last four words.

He bit down hard.

A perplexing situation that remains unresolved to this day.

Roger fell silent. His fingers stopped rubbing.

That fruit.

Like Nika.

They will choose their own owner.

The topic of Lox then shifted to Harald.

The coldness in his brows softened slightly.

A hint of warmth surfaced in his sinister eyes.

Not friendly.

It's a kind of lingering concern that one is unwilling to acknowledge.

He said it softly, as if talking to himself.

"Speaking of Harald, I don't recall ever seeing him in this timeline."

Rocks turned his head. His gaze passed over Roger's shoulder and landed on Chen Ye.

His gaze towards Chen Ye was filled with emotion. He spoke even more slowly.

It's like peeling off an old cloth.

"In that time and space, in my era, after the Great Battle of God Valley, I secretly sent my people to Elbaf for refuge."

He paused for a moment. His lips tightened and then relaxed.

"For safety reasons, I did not show myself at the time. I only arranged everything in secret."

Locke's fingers rubbed the coarse cloth on his sleeve.

A small action.

It revealed the turmoil in his heart.

The corners of his mouth twitched very faintly.

That doesn't count as a laugh.

It's just a relaxation of facial muscles.

But on this face.

It was more moving than anyone else's laughter.

"Harald did take them in. He didn't ask any unnecessary questions."

He paused. His voice was hoarse.

"So I've always owed that guy a favor. In that timeline, I never had the chance to say it to his face."

Rocks clenched his fist and then relaxed it.

The joints creaked.

His tone was filled with anticipation.

"This space-time."

"I really need to catch up with that guy. Have a drink. Make up for what I owe him."

Chen Ye listened quietly the whole time.

He didn't interrupt. He didn't nod. He didn't change his posture.

His expression was indifferent.

But when Lox said those words...

The smile on Chen Ye's face disappeared.

It was as if it had been wiped away by a hand.

Instead.

It is a quiet complexity.

Chen Ye shook his head.

The movements were very gentle.

Almost non-existent.

But Roger and Rocks both saw it.

Clear.

Without omission.

It's been captured.

Rocks abruptly stopped speaking.

The sound was cut off in his throat.

He frowned sharply.

His sinister gaze fixed on Chen Ye.

Pupil constriction.

Chen Ye and Rocks looked at each other.

Moment.

very short.

But Lockes read something in those calm eyes that he didn't want to read.

Chen Ye spoke.

The voice was not loud.

There was no build-up.

There was no euphemism.

Each word fell smoothly.

One word at a time.

It hit them both in the chest.

"Then I'm afraid... you won't be able to see him."

Luffy's laughter echoed across the battlefield.

The booming sounds of the Five Elders shattering and reforming continued.

But these voices.

At this moment.

They all became background noise.

Lox stood still.

There was no action taken.

Like a statue frozen in time.