Chapter 19: Trial by Blood
Charlotte didn't want to say yes.
But when Rocks D. Xebec looked down on you with that glint in his eye—that cold, suffocating intent behind a smile that could break mountains—you said yes.
He wanted to live.
So he nodded.
Rocks let out a booming laugh. "Hahahaha! Welcome aboard, Charlotte!"
Charlotte gave a curt nod. No joy, no celebration—just calculation. This was a deal with the devil. And the devil had sharp teeth.
Edward Newgate—Whitebeard—watched in silence. He didn't care much for threats or tests. He cared for strength and family. This? This was politics.
Golden Lion Shiki puffed his cigar and chuckled, clearly amused.
Big Mom, still young and monstrous, munched on a stack of cakes with no concern for the blood about to be spilled.
Behind her, Kaido stood silently, like a great beast still leashed. His heavy gaze fell on Charlotte with curiosity—but said nothing.
Charlotte stepped aside quietly, observing each of them. Monsters, every one of them.
Rocks leapt from the ship to the dock, boots crunching the stone with thunderous weight.
"This is a fine little harbor," he mused, surveying the modest town beyond the docks. "Peaceful. Prosperous."
Charlotte's heart clenched.
He stepped forward. "Captain Rocks… Since I've joined your crew, I have one request."
Rocks turned. "Hoh? You want to bargain already?"
Charlotte stood firm. "This is my hometown. I joined you—so please, don't let anyone harm this island."
For a moment, there was silence. The wind tugged at sails and banners, and Charlotte could feel the weight of ten ships' worth of pirate eyes on him.
Rocks tilted his head. Then a grin split his face.
"Hahaha! That's fair." He clapped Charlotte on the shoulder. "You're one of us now."
Charlotte relaxed slightly—until Rocks leaned in.
"Of course, I won't lay a finger on your island… but my crew?" He gestured behind him toward the pirates pouring down the gangplanks. "You'll have to earn their respect."
Charlotte turned to see them—dozens, maybe hundreds, of ruthless pirates. Bloodthirsty eyes scanned the streets behind the port. Greedy grins. Twitching fingers. It was clear they saw the town as ripe for plundering.
Rocks stepped back and chuckled. "You want peace? Then prove you can protect it."
The message was crystal clear.
Charlotte's hand moved to his sword.
"If they want to steal, they'll have to take it from me."
He strode forward to meet the incoming pirates—nine of them leading the charge, each grinning and swaggering with weapons in hand.
Shiki watched the unfolding scene with amusement.
"Jihahaha! Whitebeard, I'll bet you he clears 'em all in under thirty minutes."
Whitebeard didn't respond. He simply sipped his sake, brow furrowed.
Shiki didn't mind. He was used to it. Edward was the only one on the crew he wouldn't dare cross.
Meanwhile, the nine pirates at the front burst into laughter.
"Who the hell do you think you are, kid? Trying to scare us with talk?" one of them growled, slamming a thick club into his palm.
"Come on, boys! Money! Women! Kill him and take everything!"
The dock shook with their charge.
One pirate raised a flintlock and fired.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Dozens of bullets screamed toward Charlotte.
He moved an inch.
That was all it took.
Every bullet missed—narrowly. He didn't blink. Didn't flinch. Just twisted his shoulders, shifted his weight, and let the bullets sail past with inhuman grace.
Kenbunshoku Haki—Observation Haki.
He'd sensed every shot before it was fired.
But those bullets had a destination.
Behind Charlotte stood the core of the Rocks Pirates—Shiki, Whitebeard, Big Mom, Kaido.
The golden lion grunted as he shifted his head aside and blew out a puff of smoke. "Tch. That bastard did it on purpose."
Whitebeard stepped forward and swatted the bullets out of the air with a casual backhand—every round shattered like dust.
Big Mom didn't even move. The bullets bounced off her skin with a ping and clattered harmlessly to the ground.
Kaido didn't blink.
"Monsters," Shiki muttered, slightly envious.
He glanced back at Charlotte, who now stood surrounded by pirates—and was already cutting them down.
There was no shouting, no screaming. Charlotte moved like a ghost, blade in hand, unleashing wave after wave of slashing energy. His Busoshoku Haki—Armament Haki—coated the blade in black lightning.
Ten meters. No pirate made it closer than that.
Limbs flew. Bodies collapsed. Blood sprayed the stone.
Charlotte showed no mercy.
It was a slaughter.
One pirate screamed, "Forget the treasure! I'm not dying for this!"
He turned to flee.
But Charlotte's sword glowed again—and a thirty-meter-wide flying slash tore through the air.
The fleeing pirates were swallowed whole by it.
Whitebeard's eyes narrowed. He put down his drink.
"Tch. He even killed the ones who surrendered."
He didn't like that. Newgate hated unnecessary bloodshed.
But no one replied. Not Shiki. Not Kaido. Not Linlin.
And certainly not Rocks, who was watching with an amused smirk on his face.
Charlotte kept going. He was a machine now—each cut precise, each movement deliberate. His slashes never touched the ships. Not once.
Even in bloodlust, he was in control.
Not a single cut hit a single plank of wood.
A hundred attacks. All stopped just a meter before the hulls.
Kaido raised an eyebrow.
"Impressive control," he muttered.
Shiki bit his cigar and nodded slowly. "Kid's a damn beast."
Charlotte's breath was steady. His face unreadable. His sword glowed with Haki as he delivered the final blow—sending the last pirate flying into the sea.
Then silence.
Over four hundred pirates lay scattered across the port. The stone was stained red. The few who had stayed on the ships didn't make a sound. None dared to move.
Charlotte stood in the center of the carnage, sword still humming with energy, then slowly sheathed it.
He turned and walked back to Rocks.
Rocks met him with a smile that nearly split his face.
Without a word, he grabbed Charlotte's wrist and raised it to the sky.
"Listen up!" he shouted, his voice booming across the harbor. "From this moment forward, Rockefeller Charlotte is the captain of the Eighth Division of the Rocks Pirates!"
He grinned wide.
"And one of my official top officers!"
There was no cheer. Just stunned silence.
Because the crew had just witnessed what it took to earn a title on Rocks' ship.
And none of them wanted to be the next to test that sword.
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