SIX PATH SAGE OF THE ROCKS PIRATES

"Oi, you lot! What are you staring at?! Help me out!" Anos bellowed, his voice carrying across the deck. His crew flinched, hesitant to approach the battle unfolding before them.

Anos didn't want to admit it, but the power radiating from Kaito was beyond anything he had encountered. A cold sweat dripped down his face as the realization dawned—he was completely outmatched.

As a pirate, defeat meant more than humiliation—it was a death sentence.

"Attack together!" Anos barked. "We've got the numbers; he can't take us all!"

"That's right! He's only one man!" one pirate shouted, rallying the others.

The crew roared in agreement, weapons gleaming as they charged toward Kaito. Steel flashed, muskets clicked, and a chaotic chorus of battle cries filled the air. Yet, Kaito stood still, his gaze sharp as a blade.

"The outcome of battle isn't determined by numbers," he said coldly, his tone carrying an eerie calm. Kaito tilted his head slightly, his lips curling into a faint smirk.

Suddenly, a powerful shockwave erupted from him, a ripple of energy invisible to the eye but undeniable in force.

Conqueror's Haki.

The crew froze mid-charge. The air grew heavy, suffocating, as though an invisible hand gripped their throats. Many pirates staggered, their weapons clattering to the ground. Some collapsed outright, their eyes rolling back, unconscious before they hit the deck.

The sound of bodies dropping echoed like a drumbeat. "Boom! Boom! Boom!"

"What is this…?!" one pirate gasped, trembling.

"That's… Conqueror's Haki!" another cried out, barely able to stand. "This guy… He's no ordinary pirate! Only those destined to rule can awaken that power!"

"How can someone so young… have this kind of strength?!"

The pirates who remained standing were seasoned veterans, their wills forged by countless battles. Even so, they were barely hanging on. The overwhelming aura of Kaito's Haki seeped into their very souls, leaving them shaken and defenseless.

Anos, the captain with a bounty of 300 million berries, had once been confident in his status. But now, his bravado shattered. His body trembled uncontrollably as Kaito turned his gaze toward him.

"W-Wait!" Anos stammered, his voice cracking. "I'll surrender! You can be the captain—take my ship! I'll serve as your vice-captain!"

Kaito's expression remained cold, unimpressed. "Vice-captain? You think you're worthy of standing beside me?"

Anos's jaw clenched as fear overtook him. Despite his own bounty surpassing Kaito's 100 million berries, the gap in power was undeniable. Kaito didn't need a crew, nor was he looking to share leadership. His strength alone was more than enough to command attention.

"Please!" Anos begged, sweat pouring down his face. "I'll give you everything on the ship! Treasure, weapons—anything you want!"

Kaito's gaze didn't waver. "I'm not interested in gold."

"We… We have a Devil Fruit on board!" Anos blurted out, desperation lacing his voice.

At this, Kaito paused, raising an eyebrow.

Devil Fruits, rare and coveted, held the power to turn the tides of fate.

"Oh?" Kaito said softly, his curiosity piqued.

The trembling Anos clung to this slim hope, but the pressure of Kaito's Haki didn't ease. He could barely move, his knees buckling as his lower body sank deeper into the cracked deck beneath him.

Kaito's smirk widened. "Let's see if your life is worth that fruit."

Another reason Kaito had ventured onto the Grand Line was his relentless pursuit of a Devil Fruit.

He wasn't seeking just any power; he had a unique goal in mind. If he could find a suitable Devil Fruit, Kaito believed he could bind the Nine Tails sealed within him, unlocking a devastating synergy between his inherited chakra and the mystical abilities of the Fruit.

But the seas weren't kind to dreamers. For over a year, Kaito had scoured the oceans, clashing with pirate crews, marines, and bounty hunters alike. Yet, the Devil Fruit eluded him.

Now, hearing Anos mention that one was aboard his ship, Kaito's eyes gleamed with renewed interest.

"This is all just a misunderstanding," Anos stammered, his grin a pitiful mask of desperation. "Let me go, and I'll give you everything—the treasure, the Devil Fruit—you can have it all!"

If he could go back in time, Anos would have done anything to avoid Kaito's ship. His greed and overconfidence had led him to this moment—a fatal misstep.

Now, everything he had accumulated over years of ruthless plundering—the jewels, the riches, and even the Devil Fruit, which could fetch untold wealth—would slip through his fingers.

Kaito's response was ice-cold. "If I kill you, doesn't all of that become mine anyway?"

The words hung in the air like a death sentence. Before Anos could plead further, Kaito's muscles tensed, veins bulging as he gripped his blade.

"Boom!!!"

Kaito's blade, wreathed in a fusion of Armament Haki and his chakra-infused strength, slashed downward. The impact shattered the defensive Haki encasing Anos's arm, carving a deep wound through his flesh.

Anos howled in pain, forced to withdraw his mangled arm.

"You bastard!" he roared, his voice laced with both fury and terror.

"It's over," Kaito said coldly, his eyes devoid of pity.

In a single, fluid motion, Kaito raised his blade high and struck. The edge cleaved through Anos's torso effortlessly, splitting him in two.

Blood sprayed like mist, staining the deck crimson.

The remaining pirates, frozen in shock, could do nothing but watch their captain's demise.

"The captain… is dead!" one stammered, his voice trembling.

"We… we shouldn't have provoked him," another whispered.

"If we hadn't crossed paths with this monster, we'd all be rich by now!"

"Curse the helmsman!" someone cried. "If he hadn't steered us into Kaito's path—"

But it was too late for regrets. The crew's once-proud captain, a pirate worth 300 million berries, had been reduced to a lifeless corpse.

Fear consumed the remaining pirates as they realized their fate was sealed.

"Shing!!!"

Kaito didn't give them time to flee or surrender. A blinding arc of sword energy erupted from his blade, slicing through the air. The cut was precise and lethal—every pirate's head fell from their shoulders in an instant, their bodies crumpling to the blood-soaked deck.

The ship was silent, save for the soft creak of the mast in the wind.

"Ding! Congratulations to the Host for gaining 20 Sage Body progress."

The mechanical voice echoed in Kaito's mind, a reminder of his system's function.

There were only two ways to progress in developing the Sage Body: rigorous training or the heat of battle.

Kaito sheathed his blade, his expression unreadable as he stared at the Devil Fruit glinting among the treasure. Another step closer to his goal.