C11 Rodney Vs Ace

Chaos erupted outside, accompanied by Luffy's loud shouts. Rodney quickly thought to himself, "System, exchange for 'Konoha Sword Technique,' 'Chun Dance,' 'Wind Escape,' and 'Water Rushing Wave'!"

He had just received eight hundred Mission Points: five hundred for the Konoha Sword Technique, fifty for the Chun Dance, one hundred and fifty for the Wind Escape, and one hundred for the Water Rushing Wave. Eight hundred and ten Mission Points were gone in an instant.

At that moment, Luffy charged back in, ready to strike. Ace quickly stepped in front of Rodney and cautioned, "Hold on, Luffy, you're no match for him."

It would be tough for Luffy to take down Rodney now, even with Garp's help. Rodney would still give him a thrashing, and Ace couldn't stand by and watch his brother get pushed around.

"Get out of the way! Ace, I need to get revenge for you!" Luffy exclaimed, his anger flaring. They were brothers, ready to face both good times and bad together!

"I know, but you're not his match!" Ace replied, shaking his head. Rodney was a decent guy, albeit a bit greedy. From the recent fight, it was clear he hadn't used his full strength. Luffy would just end up getting a beating.

"But..." Luffy began, only to be cut off by Garp, who said, "Enough, Luffy. Mr. Rodney may not have your physical strength, but he's got a sharper mind. You'd easily be at a disadvantage in a fight."

"Grandpa, he attacked Ace!" Luffy was stubborn to the core, and once he set his mind on something, not even Garp could sway him. Like his unwavering desire to become the Pirate King, no amount of discipline from Garp since childhood had made a dent—true to the Monkey family lineage.

"In that case, I was ready to give you a beating to show you that brute force leads to a dead end. But now, I'm more interested in testing my new abilities." Once Luffy set his sights on something, no amount of societal beatings would change his mind, so a beating would be pointless.

Persistence is commendable, but it becomes a nuisance when your enemy is just as relentless.

"Hey, Luffy, hurry up and figure out how to untie me. You can't take him on by yourself." Ace, catching a glimpse of the spinning Magatama in Rodney's eyes, felt a moment of disorientation before insisting, "Quick, find someone to untie me!"

Rodney mused to himself that the system had undergone significant modifications to fit into this world, noting that even the art of illusion had been weakened. The Sharingan not only allowed for insight and replication but also for dispelling and penetrating illusions.

Originally, the release of an illusion relied on disrupting an enemy's chakra to obscure their senses. But in a world without chakra, how could it be utilized? The system adapted by substituting spiritual energy for chakra. An illusion could only take effect on those with weaker spiritual energy than the caster's. Those with comparable spiritual energy would experience mere confusion, while those with greater spiritual energy would be unaffected.

The emergence of the Three-magatama Sharingan significantly increased Rodney's chakra and mental strength, boosting it from 0.8 to 1.4, a substantial leap. The Sharingan's compatibility with his body allowed for effortless control and significantly reduced chakra consumption, unlike Kakashi, who suffered from chronic depletion due to not having the Uchiha bloodline.

"Oh, I'll just give him a thrashing first..." Luffy's eyes locked with Rodney's and he was ensnared by the illusion. At fourteen, Luffy's mental strength was no match for Rodney, and his Haoushoku Haki was far from awakening. He had no choice but to succumb to the illusion and dream.

"Hey, Mr. Rodney, what have you done to my grandson?" Garp asked, surprised by Luffy's inert state and oblivious to the manifestation of Haoushoku Haki.

Rodney concealed his Sharingan, his eyes returning to their deep black color. "Just a little trick of mine; he'll be fine after a nap," he explained. Luffy then collapsed to the ground and fell into a deep sleep, chuckling to himself, "Meat! Lots of meat! Hehehe..."

"Hahaha, is that so? Come on, I'll take you somewhere else. Ace, keep up," Garp said, leading the way with Luffy in tow.

"Let's go," Rodney said, striding ahead, with Ace following behind, somewhat unwillingly.

Garp took them to Bogart to retrieve the keys for Ace's Sea Building Stone handcuffs. Once freed, Ace felt his strength return and flames erupted from his body.

"So it's the Nature Type Fruit Ability? Quite an impressive power. Vice Admiral Garp's grandson is truly formidable," Bogart remarked with genuine admiration.

"Hahaha, it's just a trifle, really, hahaha!" Garp couldn't help but feel a swell of pride for his grandson's accomplishments.

"Rodney!"

"Fire Gun!"

Sparks flew from his fingertips but Rodney easily dodged them, the sparks harmlessly hitting the open sea.

"Standing on the water?!"

"How can that be?!"

"Is he an Ability User?"

The marines spectating the battle couldn't contain their amazement. Even Garp and Bogart watched with keen interest, recognizing how useful this power could be in pursuing pirates.

"Fire Fist!"

A fiery fist charged with intense heat hurtled towards Rodney.

With the agility of a man who had been single for decades, Rodney formed a seal. "Water Escape: Water Rushing Wave!"

He expelled a torrent of water, resembling a river during the rainy season.

Flame met water, creating billows of white steam. Without missing a beat, Rodney formed another seal. "Wind Escape: Vacuum Jade!"

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

The air, compressed by Chakra, turned into a rapid barrage of air bullets that pierced through the steam, striking Ace and leaving several holes in his body, as well as marks on the ground behind him.

"Water Clone!"

Seawater took the shape of five Water Clones, which dashed alongside him towards Ace. Each clone drew a short knife from their leg, encircling Ace in a coordinated assault.

Ace, having been outmaneuvered once, wasn't about to let the Water Clones get the upper hand again. He destroyed four with ranged attacks, only to find none remained.

Where had they gone?

"Right here!" From beneath the ground at his feet, a figure burst forth, the short knife in hand glinting brilliantly in the sunlight as it thrust repeatedly at him!

Dance of Chun!

This technique, reminiscent of the Naruto Clan's Kimimaro, was deceptively gentle yet incredibly swift and deadly. A moment's underestimation could lead to a fatal outcome.

Unfortunately for Rodney, Ace's Nature Type Fruit was an insurmountable bug; piercing his body proved futile.

A fiery punch landed on Rodney, flames engulfing him, only to reveal that he hadn't hit his target at all, but instead struck a liquid mirage.

Splash!

Ace felt a sudden tightness around his ankle, as if something had latched onto his foot. A wave of weakness washed over him, and glancing down, he saw the Sea Building Stone handcuffs that he had just removed now clasped around his feet.

"Damn it!" Ace realized he had been bested once more, and in a one-on-one fight no less. Despite not having tapped into his full potential, he had been defeated, leaving him feeling deeply frustrated.

"Hahaha, Ace, your Fruit Ability isn't everything. Rodney may not be as strong as you, but his tactics are evidently far superior," Garp chuckled, watching Rodney emerge from the earth. "Well done, Mr. Rodney. Would you consider joining the Navy?"

"Thanks for the compliment, Vice Admiral Garp. Should we talk about fulfilling your promise now?" Rodney replied with a smile, deftly sidestepping Garp's recruitment attempt.

"Of course. What would you like to learn?" Garp asked magnanimously.

"I've mastered the shaving technique already. Now, I'd like to learn the advanced version of Rankyaku, along with another Rankyaku."

"Vice Admiral, is it really appropriate to teach Mr. Rodney so many of the Six Moves?" Bogart, as the deputy, felt compelled to remind Garp, a Navy vice admiral, about protocol.

Rodney responded earnestly, "Lieutenant Bogart, you are mistaken. The Navy's Six Moves aren't exactly top secret, are they? Many Pirates in the New World are familiar with the Six Moves, and since I'm not a pirate, there's no issue with me learning them."

Indeed, there were defectors from the Navy who had become Pirates, many of whom had learned the Six Moves and subsequently taught them to their crews. While this might be rare in the earlier parts of the Great Voyage, it was quite common in the New World.

Thus, this 'secret' wasn't much of a secret at all. When it came down to it, there wasn't much to fuss over.