Compared to the urgency of the Navy, the Rocks Pirates were clearly much more relaxed.
On the second day after taking down the Navy branch, at noon.
Under a cloudless sky, the sun hung high, radiating intense heat.
On the calm sea, the Rocks ship sailed steadily.
At this moment, on the deck of the ship, there was a shirtless man.
Engaged in a back-and-forth exercise, running from the bow to the stern, he had already completed countless laps.
"Commander Bob, working out again!"
"The commander is so disciplined!"
"Judging by the usual routine, this must be the final phase!"
"..."
The crew members, seeing Bob exercising, chattered among themselves.
They seemed to have long grown accustomed to it.
Since setting sail.
Bob had discovered a serious problem.
On the ship, exercising was a very luxurious activity.
Push-ups and sit-ups were manageable.
But a ten-kilometer run had become a challenge.
To maintain his daily exercise routine and break through his limits sooner, Bob had no choice but to run back and forth on the deck every day.
However, this brought another issue.
He was prone to being watched by others. "Gihahahah!"
"Yo! Bob, running again!"
Just as Bob was sweating profusely during his workout, a slightly hoarse voice rang out.
No need to guess! Just by the laughter, Bob knew it was that guy, Golden Lion.
Following the sound, at this moment, Golden Lion was holding a cigar in his mouth, arms crossed, leisurely walking over.
"I say, you come to watch me exercise every day, aren't you tired?"
"Is my physique that attractive, are you gay or something?"
Bob was somewhat helpless, shaking his head as Golden Lion approached.
This wasn't the first time he had come.
Ever since he saw Bob running on the ship, he had been coming almost daily to observe.
They say moderate fitness attracts the opposite sex, while excessive fitness attracts the same sex.
But Bob wasn't doing that much exercise! In this pirate world, this amount was just the basics.
"Get lost!"
"Kid, who do you think you are to tell me what to do!"
Golden Lion exhaled a puff of smoke, answering irritably.
His main purpose for watching Bob exercise wasn't to admire his muscles.
He was just curious about why Bob's martial arts and physique were so strong.
Yet, his daily workouts were only of this volume.
And they were some of the most basic exercises.
Thus, driven by curiosity, Golden Lion wanted to find the answer by observing Bob's workout methods.
However, after several days, he hadn't discovered anything special.
"Really, how did you grow strong if you only train like this?"
Golden Lion rested his chin on his hand, pacing back and forth in front of Bob, as if admiring a piece of art.
Feeling Golden Lion's intense gaze, Bob couldn't help but feel a chill.
Damn! What's going on in Golden Lion's head...
"Bob, fight me!"
Suddenly, Golden Lion blinked, his eyes gleaming as he made a startling proposal.
Some of the nearby pirates were visibly stunned by this.
The shift in topic was too abrupt! One moment they were chatting, the next he's challenging him?
"Get lost!"
Hearing this, Bob rolled his eyes, looking at him as if he were crazy.
"Gihahahah!"
"Bob, don't be so quick to refuse!"
"In the Rocks Pirates, commanders have the right to challenge each other! This is to ensure the strength level of the commanders!"
"Moreover,"
"As a commander of the Rocks Pirates, you need a real fight!"
Golden Lion wasn't angered by Bob's attitude instead, he continued to speak.
Indeed, since joining the Rocks Pirates, Bob's strength had been widely criticized.
Although he had defeated Kaido in their previous battle, a fight with a mere apprentice crew member couldn't prove he had the strength of a captain.
In subsequent performances, Bob had only shown a glimpse of his abilities.
His strength was hard to convince others of, which could easily lead to unnecessary trouble in the Rocks Pirates, where strength was respected.
Thinking of this, Bob's eyes shifted, and he asked a crucial question.
"What are the conditions?"
"The condition is... if you lose, you must tell me the secret of how you became so strong!"
Golden Lion narrowed his eyes, revealing his ultimate goal.
Since he couldn't figure it out, he decided to communicate directly with the person involved.
"And if you lose?"
Bob's eyes flickered slightly as he looked at Golden Lion, not directly answering his question but instead asking in return.
"Hahaha! What a joke, me lose?"
"Don't think that just because you killed a vice admiral, you're something special. These branch office guys, I can cut down several with a single slash!"
Golden Lion seemed to have heard the biggest joke, laughing so hard he doubled over, his body shaking with laughter.
After a while, he finally stopped laughing and continued.
"If I lose, you can set any condition you want!"
"Oh!"
Bob raised an eyebrow upon hearing this; it seemed like a very tempting condition.
He thought to himself that the secret to his strength was just doing those exercises, so it really didn't make much difference.
Besides, the Saitama physique couldn't be imitated by others.
After some consideration, Bob said, "I accept your challenge!"
"Gihahaha!"
"Kid, I'm looking forward to your secret!"
Golden Lion laughed heartily, patting Bob on the shoulder.
He didn't even consider the possibility of losing.
What a joke.
In the Rocks Pirates, apart from Rocks himself, Golden Lion didn't believe anyone could defeat him. Not even Whitebeard.
So he was already confident he could get Bob's secret.
Meanwhile, the pirates who were watching Bob train, upon hearing the conversation between Bob and Golden Lion, were all shocked.
A battle between two commanders was no simple fight.
Thus, spreading the word among themselves, it didn't take long for the news to spread throughout the entire ship.
The deck was crowded with people, all looking at Bob and Golden Lion with expressions of anticipation for the show.