Chapter 22 - John, I Don't Want to Lose!
"Captain John, you bastard!"
As he spoke, Renji flipped Captain John the middle finger. This guy was the biggest joker on the ship, and among the crew, Renji got along with him the best. They often teased each other.
But after Captain John's comment, Renji couldn't take it anymore. This guy didn't believe in his strength!
Captain John, in turn, flipped Renji the middle finger. At first, he didn't know what it meant when Renji did it, and he just laughed it off. But after learning the meaning behind the gesture, he couldn't let it slide. Now, he made sure to return the favor every chance he got!
"I'm serious. There's this kid named Kaido. He's apparently from the Oni tribe, and Rocks specifically asked for him. Whitebeard was sent to pick him up!"
Captain John glanced around, then whispered to Renji as if sharing a top-secret piece of information, afraid others might overhear. This was something he'd overheard with great difficulty.
"Don't overthink it. The captain probably didn't tell you because he didn't want you to worry. Besides Kaido, there are a few others who are eyeing your position. They're all gunning for it!"
Captain John took a swig of his drink and casually dropped this bombshell. Hearing this, Renji fell silent.
In the original timeline, there were likely only six division captains. Aside from himself, Rocks probably held similar captain challenges later. But the current six captains were undeniably strong.
Shiki, Whitebeard, and Big Mom were the three monsters of the Rocks Pirates. John the Giant was a master swordsman, Captain John's Haki was among the best on the ship, and Silver Axe possessed monstrous strength, capable of splitting mountains with a single swing of his axe, coupled with his formidable Armament Haki.
Even Kaido at this stage wouldn't be a match for these six. Kaido's true rise to power came after eating the Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryu. But Renji couldn't wait that long. The Uo Uo no Mi was obtained by Big Mom during the God Valley incident and later given to Kaido.
Renji's current strength wasn't enough to guarantee he could snatch it from Big Mom. Even if he could get his hands on Kuma's Nikyu Nikyu no Mi, he wasn't particularly interested in it.
His ideal setup was to have Blackbeard's unique body and eat three Devil Fruits: the Goro Goro no Mi (Logia), the Ope Ope no Mi (Paramecia), and the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika (Mythical Zoan). If the Nika fruit wasn't an option, he had three other Mythical Zoans in mind.
The first was the Batto Batto no Mi, Model: Vampire, granting immortality and life restoration. The second was the Tanuki Tanuki no Mi, Model: Bake-danuki, allowing the user to bring drawings and names to life, even creating Devil Fruit users—essentially a godlike ability. The third was the Nue Nue no Mi, Model: Nue, a fire-wrapped, dragon-like creature capable of discerning good from evil.
In Renji's eyes, these three fruits weren't far behind the Nika fruit, though they couldn't match its sheer absurdity. After all, the Nika fruit was essentially Oda's cheat code for his favorite character.
But the Nika fruit influenced its user and chose its own master. For 800 years, the World Government had failed to find it, and even when they did, Shanks ended up with it. This was essentially the Nika fruit's own choice.
So, whether he could find the Nika fruit or not, Renji didn't hold out much hope.
But right now, what Renji needed most was the Goro Goro no Mi.
In the early stages, the combat power boost from a Logia-type Devil Fruit was the most significant.
Whether it was the Ope Ope no Mi or a Zoan-type fruit, their early-stage improvements couldn't compare to a Logia, especially a top-tier one like the Goro Goro no Mi.
After learning that the Goro Goro no Mi was on Birka, Renji couldn't suppress the excitement in his heart. With the captain competition looming in just over a month, Renji was eager to give it a shot.
"What are you thinking? You don't actually believe you can improve that much in a month, do you? If you really think so, you should go talk to Rocks!"
"I don't want to sit around and become a laughingstock of the Rocks Pirates, John!"
Renji looked at Captain John with utmost seriousness. He had been promoted by Rocks himself, not because of his own strength.
To a large extent, it was due to his potential, and also because Rocks wanted to show others that loyalty and dedication could lead to success, just like Renji.
As a result, Renji received admiration, but even more so, envy.
Everyone knew that when Renji first joined, his strength was only at the level of a captain. After Rocks' special training, he reached rear admiral-level strength, but that was still far from enough. The other captains were at least mid-tier Warlord level, while Renji was only at rear admiral level.
Naturally, after the captain competition was announced, Renji became the prime target.
Becoming a captain and earning Rocks' favor by defeating Whitebeard would be ideal, but if they had the strength to defeat Whitebeard, they would have already been appointed as captains by Rocks.
The truth was, they simply weren't strong enough.
And Renji was the perfect target!
"Sigh... You're really stubborn, aren't you?" Captain John shook his head, took another swig of his drink, and then looked at Renji with a serious expression. "Do you need my help?"
When a man of the sea speaks earnestly about his struggles, even the most carefree pirate will listen intently, especially if that man is your friend!
Captain John could sense Renji's determination. Since Renji didn't want to give up, he wouldn't drag him off to drink either.
"I need to leave the crew for a while, Captain John. You've been to many places. Can you tell me how to get to Skypiea? I need to go there!"
Renji was gambling. If the Goro Goro no Mi was on Birka, then after eating it and combining it with the abilities from the Naruto world's Renji, he was confident he could make a name for himself in the upcoming battle.
But even if the Goro Goro no Mi wasn't there, he wouldn't panic too much. After all, he still had the Mangekyō Sharingan, which was powerful enough. As long as he could maintain his stamina to keep using the Mangekyō, he could remain undefeated.
But if there were more possibilities, Renji wouldn't cling solely to the Mangekyō's abilities.
"I have a map to Skypiea, but how are you planning to get there? Are you going to ask Shiki for help?"
Captain John loved collecting treasures, so he naturally kept Eternal Poses to various places for his treasure hunts.
(End of Chapter)
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