Chapter 381: Stories to go with wine, the more you talk the more there is
Even for Rocks, who had run rampant across the four seas, what was happening right now was an unprecedented experience for him.
Originally, he had almost implicitly accepted his own death.
Although he was unwilling to die at the hands of that group of scoundrels who were like trash, that's just how the sea is.
Even the most outstanding sailor might die in an ordinary storm, and the most experienced captain couldn't avoid the hidden reefs concealed within a certain wave.
On the sea, no one knows whether accidents or fun will come first.
A pirate like Rocks had already put his life on the line the moment he set out to sea.
So although regretful, he had originally accepted his death.
But what made him feel unbelievable were the events that happened subsequently.
A guy who suddenly appeared, covered in starlight—those God's Knights who were explicitly mentioned as "unkillable" in the knowledge passed down within the D Clan, died like ants by his hands.
But this wasn't the crux.
The true crux was...
"The Abyss..."
Rocks was very certain of who the opponent that guy calling himself "Star Lord" ultimately faced was—he had just been "Black Turn Dominated" by the Abyss before, he wouldn't mistake it.
Moreover, unlike the Abyss that descended through Saturn at that time, even Rocks could tell that the Abyss descending through Gloriosa—He was far stronger than when descending through Saturn.
But even so, that guy called Star Lord still successfully took him and escaped, even...
"You can absorb the power of the Abyss..."
Rocks's gaze looked at the Star Lord in front of him, carrying disbelief: "Are you the Joy Boy of this era?"
"The Joy Boy of this era hasn't been born yet—you know this better than I do."
And at this time, having confirmed that the small island they were on was already far away from where Imu was fixed, Roy casually said: "I am not Joy Boy. If you insist on saying it—I am just an 'accident'."
While speaking, he looked at Rocks.
He had to admit, even though he had been chasing the whereabouts and footsteps of this great pirate for a very long time.
But when he truly saw the other party with his own eyes, Roy found that his heart was far calmer than he estimated.
"Accident?"
Rocks grinned and forced himself to sit up: "Indeed quite an accident—to think there's actually a guy like you in this world... But anyway, surviving is a good thing."
Enduring the pain coming from within his body, he greedily smelled the scent of the sea breeze—that was the scent of freedom.
"Don't be so quick to say words of gratitude."
Roy waved his hand casually, and then casually sat down in front of Rocks: "I don't have much time, so let's skip the useless talk."
He got straight to the point—just as mentioned before, having come to this era utilizing an ability, the time he could stay here was only five hours.
Within these five hours, he naturally had many things to ask and understand.
And the first among them was...
"What's going on with your soul?"
Roy's gaze looked at Rocks.
And in his field of vision, through the power of the "Underworld Fruit", he could clearly see.
Rocks's soul was actually visibly incomplete.
That soul which should originally be an integrated whole, was separated layer upon layer in the middle.
And at this time, clumps of pitch-black power were continuously squirming deep within the soul, like maggots boring out from a corpse.
And Roy had actually seen similar bizarre souls—one of them was Harald, who had resurrected from the dead and seemed to have a part of his soul modified by Imu.
The other was Rocks's son, Teach, who devoured and accommodated the souls of his mother and two younger sisters.
"Not much time?"
And Rocks originally seemed surprised by Roy's words, but then he seemed to realize something and looked at Roy: "You're not from this era? Time-Time Fruit?"
Clearly, as the strongest of this generation's D Clan, Rocks knew of the existence of the Time-Time Fruit, or at least had read the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia.
But then, he surprisingly didn't ask further, but directly spoke up instead.
"You can see my soul... very ugly, right?"
"That is exactly the evidence that we, the 'D'—are cursed."
Cursed?
As soon as these words came out, Roy was also stunned.
Then he immediately reacted: "Davy Jones?"
And after hearing this, Rocks grinned: "Yeah..."
He was indeed an extremely decisive person.
Even though right now he still didn't know Roy's specific identity, and hadn't even seen Roy's true face.
But he had already confirmed that Roy was an enemy of the Abyss—that was enough.
So at this time, he didn't hide anything about his situation either.
The D Clan is a cursed clan.
This saying was not merely manifested in or originating from the disasters brought to the world by the cooperation between Davy Jones and Imu in the past, but a curse that truly existed.
"Davy Jones signed a contract with the Abyss—the Abyss would give him the world he wanted, would give him powerful strength and authority. 'Davy' would become the spokesperson for the Abyss, and even his physique and power would become inclined towards the Abyss."
"From the time he signed the contract, our bloodline suffered that curse."
Rocks calmly stated the sorrowful destiny of the D Clan.
And almost the instant he heard this, Roy understood.
"Celestial Dragons".
This term surfaced in his mind.
Yes.
Davy Jones was Imu's first collaborator, the sinner who first signed a contract with Him, leading to Imu's power being able to affect the real world.
But at the same time, he was essentially the first "Celestial Dragon"—that is, a person who spoke in the name of God and stood above all living beings utilizing the power of God.
Although what he and Imu signed at that time was not a contract, but an "agreement of cooperation".
But essentially, the D Clan was still tainted by the Abyss.
Roy even remembered something from this—that is, Rocks was an enemy of Imu, but the names of his attack moves were almost all "Abyssal XX".
Clearly, this was exactly the evidence that the D Clan was cursed.
"According to the agreement, the Abyss cannot kill us—but He can bestow upon us the 'Power of the Abyss', and we cannot refuse."
Rocks's expression was very calm.
"Our souls will be soaked in that deep Abyssal prison, with no way to be freed."
"I hid for many years, but..."
Speaking up to this point, he also smiled bitterly and looked at his chest—there was still a faint, almost invisible gap there.
That was exactly the trace left when Imu applied Black Turn Domination on him earlier.
And hearing this, Roy also understood.
Davy Jones utilized Imu's power and became the "First King".
But at that time, he clearly didn't expect that one day he would cross swords with Imu.
So when establishing the agreement, he was highly likely caught in a loophole by Imu.
Imu would not harm Davy, but could bestow upon them the "Power of the Abyss"—so back then, Rocks could leave the Room of Flowers safely without being attacked by Imu.
And judging from the situations of Harald and the Celestial Dragons, the Abyssal Power itself would gradually draw a person's mind closer towards Imu's side.
In other words, to Imu, the D Clan was very easy to apply "Black Turn Domination" on.
Moreover, once Black Turn Domination was completed, then due to the agreement between Imu and Davy Jones back then, this domination would directly penetrate deep into the soul.
In other words...
"Before, after the Fish-Men of Fish-Man Island were subjected to Black Turn Domination, it could be removed by beating them to the brink of death."
"But for Rocks, although this method can free his body from Black Turn, his soul will still be continuously eroded by Imu's power, and... it's very difficult to remove."
Roy's brows furrowed slightly.
The effect Rocks's soul was suffering right now came from the agreement established by the not-yet-"shackled" Imu and Davy Jones back then—that initial agreement highly likely possessed power far exceeding any contract thereafter.
The Source Energy of Lineage Factor contained within must be very powerful, which was highly likely impossible for the current Roy to resolve.
Especially under the circumstances that the Aster was not by Roy's side right now, he couldn't borrow power from that Ark of Stars, and could even only stay here for five hours.
"Hahaha, no need to worry."
But at this moment, Rocks seemed to see through Roy's thoughts.
"The fact that you could save me is already an unexpected joy!"
"My ability can ensure my body stays healthy. According to the current rate of soul erosion... mm, I probably have about a year left, it's plenty of time."
He grinned in satisfaction, as if not worried about his physical condition in the slightest.
"Also, what you did in God's Valley just now, and the words you spoke to the Abyss... heh, truly not bad—I declare, from today onwards, you are my companion!"
While speaking excitedly, he wiped his mouth: "Too bad there's no wine, we can't drink a cup of 'sworn brotherhood wine'."
He muttered to himself like this.
And this bizarre thick-headedness also made Roy stun for a moment, then he shook his head helplessly—the brains of these great pirates on this sea really were generally not quite normal.
However...
"If you're talking about wine, it's not like I don't have any."
He said with a weird expression, and then raised his hand and gave a flick.
The next moment, two giant wine bowls and a jug of fine wine were abruptly tossed out from his hand, landing between the two of them.
That was none other than the jug of wine and wine cups Whitebeard gave him when he visited the Moby Dick earlier.
"Oh? Carrying wine and wine cups with you? Not bad—I acknowledge you even more, hahahaha!"
"At the end of every adventure, it won't do without wine!"
And seeing the wine jug and wine cups, Rocks widened his nose and sniffed, then gave a thumbs up in satisfaction, picked up the wine jug and poured a full cup for himself and Roy.
"Come on, cheers—to us still being alive!"
Hearing this, Roy looked at this great pirate and also shook his head helplessly: "Do you need me to remind you again? You won't live for much longer."
"Hahaha, don't say such mood-killing things, at least I'm still alive right now!"
The two clinked cups and each downed the wine in one gulp.
"Hah~ Refreshing!"
Rocks let out a breath in satisfaction and wiped the corner of his mouth.
Then, his eyes looked at Roy again: "Now that we have wine, we're just short of a few interesting stories to go with it."
He said cheerfully, but there was distinct curiosity and anticipation in his eyes.
"Tell me—companion, why did you appear here?"
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