I agreed to win with Roger, but the guy I met was too young Chapter 016

The surface of the sea trembled.

Rhett stood at the bow of the small boat he had bought. He had borrowed money for it, as he figured there was a high probability the boat wouldn’t survive this test.

His hands gripped the hilt of Black Tide. The greatsword dragged diagonally across the deck.

“Kid, it’s not too late to turn back now,” Rayleigh asked calmly.

Rayleigh, Roger, and Jabba stood on another small boat behind him, providing cover for Rhett.

Rhett didn’t answer. His knuckles trembled slightly with excitement.

The waves suddenly exploded.

The dog-headed Sea King leaped out of the water, its splash pouring onto the deck like a torrential rain.

Rhett moved.

His movements were slow—at least, they appeared that way.

There was no fancy leap, no dazzling Haki, just a simple drag of Black Tide from the deck.

The Sea King opened its gigantic maw, its shadow engulfing the entire bow of the boat.

It intended to swallow Rhett whole with its immense size.

Rhett swung Black Tide violently, the greatsword smashing towards the Sea King’s lower jaw with a dull whoosh. “Thud!” With a muffled sound, the monster’s head was knocked sideways, and several broken fangs flew out.

Rhett felt truly exhilarated. Who would dare call Rhett a ‘little weakling’ now?

But this was only the beginning.

The Sea King roared in pain, its massive tail stirring up a huge wave that crashed towards Rhett’s small sailboat. You destroy my boat, so you won’t live either. Just as the giant wave was about to strike, he gripped the sword with both hands, delivering a powerful upward slash. Black Tide’s blade split the incoming wave in two.

Before the seawater had fully fallen, Rhett had already leaped up, using the momentum. Black Tide drew a heavy arc in his hands, heavily striking the Sea King’s left eye. “Pfft,” a sound escaped.

The dog-headed Sea King let out a deafening roar, twisting its body frantically.

Rhett was flung away, but he adjusted his posture in mid-air, Black Tide slashing along the monster’s back scales. Sparks flew, and the tough scales were dented.

“Again!” Rhett spat out the blood from his mouth and charged at the Sea King once more. This time, he changed his strategy, no longer aiming for a one-hit kill, but instead delivering continuous heavy blows with Black Tide.

Left slash! Right chop! Right chop! Right chop!

Each strike was unpretentious but carried astonishing destructive power. Black Tide’s blade glowed faintly red from the high-speed friction, and the Sea King’s scales began to crack under the continuous assault.

Finally, after the seventeenth heavy blow, the Sea King’s movements noticeably slowed. Rhett seized the opportunity, raising Black Tide high with all his might, then bringing it down with the force of a mountain cleaving strike.

“Dong!”

This blow directly split the Sea King’s skull. The Sea King’s massive body stiffened for a moment, then slowly sank into the sea, stirring up huge waves.

Rhett leaped onto Rayleigh’s small boat with Black Tide on his shoulder, and the boat visibly sank deeper into the water.

At any time, in any place, Shipwright Rhett would appear promptly.

“Fog Sea · Floating Platform!”

After using his ability, Rhett let out a sigh of relief.

His arms trembled uncontrollably, his palms were bloody, and all his muscles protested the excessive exertion.

Rayleigh walked over, looked at the sinking Sea King’s corpse, then at Rhett’s hands.

“How was it?” Rayleigh asked.

“Feels great,” Rhett said, his eyes full of excitement.

Half a year passed quickly.

Rhett’s special training during this period had made him grow a lot. Not only had he made significant progress in physical combat and the use of Haki, but also in speed, strength, and the three types of Haki. He had learned Tekkai, Soru, and Geppo from the Six Powers, essentially reaching the strength of an elite Marine Colonel. A 7-year-old Colonel was simply absurd to imagine.

Before the morning mist had fully dispersed, the sound of hammering echoed from the dock of Tom’s Shipyard. When Rhett and the others dragged the greatsword Black Tide into the dock, Tom was personally making the final adjustments, a cigar in his mouth.

“Kid, you’ve come just in time!” Tom was very excited. “Come and see your new home!”

Rhett looked up, his breath involuntarily catching—

The Oro Jackson lay quietly on the slipway, the morning light gilding it with a golden edge. It was even more magnificent than he remembered, its sleek hull lines seemingly capable of cutting through any storm.

Walking into the bottom of the ship’s hold,

“The quality of the Adam Wood is truly extraordinary,” Rayleigh had appeared behind Rhett at some point, his eyes behind his lenses gleaming with satisfaction.

Roger darted forward: “Kuhahaha! This is truly worthy of being the pirate ship of our Roger Pirates!”

Tom was basking in the praise when he suddenly shouted, “Damn Roger—don’t touch that! The railing’s paint isn’t dry yet!”

Roger sheepishly jumped down: “My bad, old man, hahahaha.”

But Uncle Tom wasn’t willing to let him off, scolding Roger until he went to a corner of the ship and drew circles. Tom felt his mood improve.

“Hey, kid,” Tom suddenly pressed Rhett’s shoulder. “Want to test the hardness of your Black Tide and the new ship?”

Before Rhett could react, Tom grabbed him and threw him towards the ship’s hull: “Try to cut it with all your might!”

Uncle Tom, are you a warrior? Rhett and the sword weighed nearly 600 pounds, and he just threw him over.

Rhett was a bit worried, the parting with Merry had truly brought tears to his eyes: “Uncle, didn’t you say the keel is the most important part of the ship?”

Tom looked at Rhett with disdain: “Are you looking down on Adam Wood, which is known as the strongest timber, or are you overestimating your strength? In the vast ocean, natural disasters like tsunamis and tornadoes, which one is weaker than you?”

Rhett thought about it, and he was right. If he could easily cut through Adam Wood with one swing, he would have already dominated the seas.

Rhett leaped into the air, drawing Black Tide. The greatsword drew a heavy arc in mid-air—

“Clang!!!”

Although it looked like wood, it emitted a deafening metallic clang.

Black Tide was bounced off, and there was no trace of where it had struck the keel.

“How about that? After my special treatment plus the wood’s inherent hardness,” Tom stroked his beard proudly, “My craftsmanship isn’t…”

His words abruptly stopped.

Because Rhett, caressing the hull, suddenly discovered a line of small characters carved into the keel:

(In a dubbed movie voice) Rhett read out each word: “To the future Pirate Kings—Tom.”

“Hey! Who told you to read that out loud!” Tom’s face turned red as he chased after Rhett.

Roger stood at the bow, laughing, the sea breeze making his red cape flap wildly: “Set sail, mates! Let the world hear our voices!”

Under the gaze of the residents of Water 7, the Oro Jackson slowly sailed out of the dock. Sunlight pierced through the morning mist, gilding the dark hull with flowing golden edges.

Rhett stood at the stern, watching the island gradually shrink, suddenly remembering himself half a year ago, dragging Black Tide and crawling on the beach.

“What are you thinking about?” Jabba patted his shoulder.

Rhett smiled, resting Black Tide on his shoulder: “I’m thinking about whether I can split a wave with one sword next time I encounter a Sea King.”

Rayleigh appeared behind them at some point: “First, pay back the money you owe for buying the boat.”

“Eh?! That boat was clearly shattered by the Sea King, you should go find him…”

“Shut up, kid. Three thousand more sword swings for extra training.”

“Yes…”