Chapter 285: Rocks' Ending? Davy and the Pact!
Thirty-two years ago, Elbaf.
Beneath the massive 'Treasure Tree Adam'.
"They've all left, you know."
A young Whitebeard, holding a wine cup, watched the two figures gradually flying away into the distant sky.
Those were Big Mom, who left riding a cloud, and Kaido, who transformed into an azure dragon and pierced through the clouds.
"Ah, it can't be helped... after all, things aren't the way they used to be."
Beside him, Rocks, who was also holding a bowl and gulping down wine, said this.
"Since they are people I value, of course they should follow their own hearts and pursue their own ambitions. Otherwise, what kind of pirates would they be? Hahahaha!"
Although those two former comrades rejected his invitation, Rocks clearly didn't care much about it, laughing heartily instead.
"It might not necessarily be about ambition—suddenly asking people to accompany you to wreak havoc on the 'World', talking about going to die... no normal person would go along with that, right?"
Whitebeard said helplessly.
"Eh?"
Hearing such words, Rocks' eyes widened: "But didn't you stay behind?"
Whitebeard: "..."
Whitebeard twitched his mouth and glanced sideways at Rocks.
"I'm just used to staying until the very end when attending a drinking party."
While speaking, he downed another cup of wine.
His words seemed to ruthlessly indicate that he, too, had no intention of going to wreak havoc with Rocks.
But hearing this, Rocks simply chuckled.
He understood this old buddy of his perfectly—a seemingly rough, cold, and terrifying great pirate, but in reality, a man who lived by loyalty and compassion to a fault.
"..."
Looking at the chuckling Rocks in front of him, Whitebeard clearly knew his intentions couldn't be hidden from the other party.
"You guy..."
He shook his head helplessly, opened another jar of wine nearby, poured it out, and gulped it down.
Then, he frowned.
"Why does this wine have a weird taste?"
"Ah, that's not a weird taste—this wine was prepared for someone else... he said he rarely drinks, so I specially prepared a jar like this."
Hearing this, Rocks grinned.
At his words, Whitebeard raised an eyebrow: "Oh?"
"I don't recall anyone like that."
For Rocks to specially prepare a custom jar of wine for someone—such a thing had never happened in Whitebeard's memory.
"Hahahaha!"
Hearing this, Rocks laughed loudly: "After all, it's a life-saving grace, and besides, Newgate..."
He said seriously: "That is an incredible guy, a 'monster' destined to change an era, or even change this world forever."
"I chose him as a partner to 'overturn the world' together with me, and I bet everything on that guy."
Even the bandages wrapping the left side of his body expanded with his excitement.
"It's a pity he couldn't come to attend the banquet."
"His name is... Star Lord."
At this point in Rocks' words.
Whitebeard also raised an eyebrow: "Star Lord?"
He had never heard this name.
"Is he the reason you survived God Valley?"
But he could guess this much from Rocks' words.
"That's right! Since you also plan to join, I'll tell you about his situation!"
Speaking of this, Rocks became excited.
"Newgate... you definitely won't believe it, that guy's ability is simply..."
But just as his words reached this point, Whitebeard waved his hand.
"Enough."
He spoke calmly, rejecting Rocks' explanation: "A secret that sounds like trouble just from the telling—you don't need to share it with me. I don't like keeping secrets for others. Knowing the name is enough."
Hearing this, Rocks was slightly stunned.
But then he laughed involuntarily: "There's actually no need for you to keep any secrets, Newgate."
"If you hit it off with a certain guy and believe he will eventually change the world too, there's no harm in telling him... Star Lord definitely wouldn't mind these things either."
His words carried a rather profound 'trust'.
After hearing this, Whitebeard remained silent for a moment.
Then, he still shook his head: "Save it. Just get straight to business."
"What do you want me to do?"
He looked at the captain he once followed, the man he once acknowledged as an older brother. Then he added firmly:
"Let me make it clear first—I have already promised Marco and the others. I'm going to build my own 'big family'. Accompanying you to die... I can't do that kind of thing."
"Also, if you hold any secrets that might bring huge risks to my 'family', don't tell me."
Yes.
He was not interested in any secrets, any Star Lord, or changing the world.
The reason he stayed here was merely because of Rocks as a person.
But at the same time, after the battle of God Valley, Whitebeard naturally understood that Rocks' 'ambition' was far greater than they had originally thought.
It reached into the deepest parts of the world, touching on the secrets of 'God' itself.
Whitebeard is a pirate; he doesn't mind taking his family to plunder treasure.
Fighting, killing—he doesn't mind those.
But getting involved in the world's deepest secrets to change the world, ultimately bringing enormous danger to his family?
That kind of thing is not something Whitebeard would do.
Because of this—even though he had enough strength, he never pursued the legend of Laugh Tale.
"Hahaha, but of course!"
Hearing this, Rocks didn't mind at all.
He chose to respect Whitebeard and didn't mention any more secrets or anything about Star Lord.
He raised his hand and extended a finger.
"I do have a favor to ask of you."
He seriously stated his request.
"I said it just now—this banquet is my 'final banquet', but that guy didn't have the chance to attend."
"So, when he appears again—I hope you can give this jar of wine to him."
"After all, a farewell just isn't complete without a 'partner' present."
While speaking, he patted the wine jar beside him.
"...Just this?"
Hearing these words, Whitebeard found it almost absurd.
"Of course it's not that simple."
Rocks nodded seriously, as if this was an incredibly important request that could determine the 'ownership' of the world: "Besides delivering the wine, I also hope you tell him—my 'ending'."
He grinned and stated what he hoped Whitebeard would do.
And the more Rocks spoke, the more surprised Whitebeard's expression became.
"Are you serious?"
He looked at Rocks in disbelief.
Although he knew early on that the other party said he was going to 'die', this was simply too extreme.
Hearing this, Rocks nodded as a matter of course.
"But of course."
"I won't make such a plain and ordinary exit—I am Rocks D. Xebec, after all."
At this point.
On the Moby Dick, beneath Star Lord's mask.
Roy's expression was solemn.
Arriving at this moment, he naturally understood what was up with that jar of cola-flavored wine he had just drunk.
Just as Linlin had guessed.
During that banquet back then, one person ultimately chose to stay.
That was Whitebeard.
Although he didn't plan to go to his death with Rocks, he chose to stay.
This cup of wine was the clear proof.
That was Rocks' 'farewell wine'.
Entrusted to Whitebeard thirty years ago, it was handed to him in this era.
"...Roger also learned of my existence through you?"
And regarding this long-standing doubt, Roy finally had an answer.
According to Roger's message left on the Sky Island, this Pirate King clearly knew of his existence but did not know the specific details.
Roger had said he learned the news from another person, and wasn't even willing to share the source with his own crewmates—looking at it now, the source of his information was most likely the man right in front of him.
"Ah..."
Hearing this, Whitebeard also grinned.
"When drinking back then, Roger told this old man the truth about Laugh Tale, and this old man told him what Rocks said..."
He spoke like this, his eyes full of reminiscence.
Yes.
As Roger's enemy and good friend, although he had never reached Laugh Tale, Roger did not hide the truth of that final island from him.
Even in the past, Roger had proactively offered to tell Whitebeard the location of Laugh Tale, but Whitebeard refused—the reason was the same as what he had told Rocks.
He only cared about his own 'family' and did not intend to drag them into the world's largest maelstrom.
The truth of history, a war sweeping the world—he had no interest in participating in such things.
But even so, after learning the world's greatest secret hidden in Laugh Tale, Whitebeard immediately thought of Rocks' words—in his eyes, Roger was naturally the person destined to change the world.
So, he shared the existence of Star Lord and Rocks' evaluation of him with Roger as a form of repayment.
"What Roger said, the promised day that Laugh Tale is waiting for... is this era, right?"
"That is why you and The Zodiac reappeared in this era."
Whitebeard said this.
That was clearly a very 'reasonable' explanation in his eyes.
No, actually the promised day is still a few years away—and I didn't reappear in this era; I have always lived in this era.
Roy thought to himself, but clearly didn't say it out loud.
Because right now he also realized—due to Rocks' influence and his own butterfly effect, the gears of fate had already been set in motion.
Therefore...
"What did you and Rocks do? What is his ending?"
He didn't deny it, just asked this question.
Clearly, that was the most crucial part of the story Whitebeard was telling.
"Gurararara—this old man didn't actually do much!"
"This old man merely attacked a ship carrying World Government dignitaries near the Red Line, and incidentally used his ability to affect the Red Line, drawing out Sengoku and Zephyr who were stationed at Mary Geoise and Marineford. That's all."
Whitebeard directly stated what he had done.
"..."
Star Lord didn't speak, just looking at Whitebeard.
Simultaneously dealing with two Admirals... well, for the Whitebeard in the original story who challenged the entire Marine Headquarters alone even while aged, gravely ill, and heavily injured, this was indeed the necessary force to contain him.
But that wasn't the main point.
"Drawing out?"
This word was clearly the key.
At least at this moment, a bold guess was already forming in Roy's mind.
Since it was drawing them out, it meant Whitebeard's actions were merely a 'feint'.
"Exactly."
At this moment, Whitebeard's words corroborated Roy's guess.
"While this old man attracted the attention of the Marines and the World Government, Rocks... infiltrated Mary Geoise."
"He infiltrated 'Pangaea Castle'. I am not clear on his specific target, but it should be related to that 'God'."
Speaking of this, Whitebeard picked up his wine cup again and gulped down a few mouthfuls.
"Hah... this is his ending, as far as this old man knows."
"!!!"
At this point, beneath Star Lord's mask, Roy's expression suddenly grew solemn.
Within Pangaea Castle, a place related to 'Imu'.
"The Room of Flowers."
This was almost the only answer.
Yes—Rocks' ending was actually infiltrating the Room of Flowers.
And at that exact moment, Roy almost instinctively recalled another matter.
That was the scene he had seen inside the Room of Flowers when he 'peeked' into it through Doflamingo's memory.
In that 'divine domain' symbolizing Imu's authority, there were two massive slash marks—the traces revealed by those two slash marks, one led to the God's Knights headquarters 'Shangri-La', and the other led to a mysterious coffin.
He had been very curious at the time about who left those two slash marks.
Looking at it now...
"They were left by Rocks!?"
Roy nearly pieced together what Rocks had actually done in the end.
After that final drinking party in Elbaf, he asked Whitebeard to attract the attention of the Marines and the World Government, then infiltrated the Room of Flowers himself, and even fought Imu there, leaving behind those slash marks?
"He really wreaked havoc on the 'World' one last time?"
Roy pondered this, but then felt something was wrong.
Because according to his current guess, the power Imu possessed within the Room of Flowers, even if not at its peak state, definitely far exceeded normal 'restraints'—it should be a realm surpassing mortals.
Even if Rocks' own strength was the limit of this sea, he probably wouldn't have stood a chance against Imu in that state.
"No... that's not right."
But quickly, Roy thought of something else—a crucial detail from the original story.
In the original story, Rocks had actually entered the 'Room of Flowers' in the past to face Imu directly. He even told Imu 'I will be back', and only then fought his way out of Mary Geoise, taking down an Admiral on his way out.
And throughout that entire sequence in the original story, Imu never made a move against Rocks—thinking carefully about it, this was inherently bizarre.
Roy vaguely guessed the truth: "Is it because he has the bloodline of the Davy clan?"
Based on what he currently knew, Rocks' ancestor, Davy Jones, as the 'first cursed one' who brought the Abyss into being, signed a contract with Imu that was almost an equal 'pact'.
And looking at the situation of the Celestial Dragons, pacts and contracts were highly likely to be passed down along with the bloodline.
Roy thought of the plot of God Valley in the original story—the members of the Davy clan were subjected to 'Black Transmutation Control' by Imu, but the one who ultimately killed them was actually Rocks himself.
"Imu cannot personally take action against the Davy clan... or rather, there are at least restrictions on taking action against them? He cannot take their lives?"
"And Rocks, leveraging this 'restriction' placed on Imu, entered the Room of Flowers and did something there?"
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