The crackling fires and plumes of smoke that covered the town of Spider Miles painted a scene of pure chaos as Rocks twisted his boot further into the neck of his downed opponent.
The remaining Germa soldiers stared at him with a mix of fear and anger, their standard load out of a sawed off shotgun in one hand and a great sword in the other matching the tales he had heard about them.
Despite the intimidating appearance of their weapons though, the smoke pouring in from the town they were trying to burn down heavily obscured both his and their vision, and Rocks was confident that there was no way for them to accurately hit him without risking injuring one of their allies.
He quickly circled around the troops, their rigid formation making them easy to box in. He had begun to recover some of his physical prowess since his return from death, and the pace he was moving at would be difficult for the average soldier's eyes to keep up with. By the time a couple of the Germa troops had managed to train their weapons on him, Xebec leaped over a dozen feet into the air, hoisting Eclipse behind his head as he aimed at the crowd of troops below him.
"Madhouse!" Rocks shouted as a burst of Haki from the bottom of his feet rocketed him toward the ground.
Just before he made contact, he delivered a violent bash to the ground with his sword, the shockwaves knocking all of the troops off of their feet and into the various burning buildings around them. Though he was breathing heavily and he felt a heavy strain on his muscles, Rocks was satisfied with his current output. While he was still a far cry from his form at God Valley, the progress he was making was promising. Looking around and confirming that none of the troops appeared to be in fighting shape, Rocks turned his attention to the most chaotic scene in the sea of chaos that he was in.
Roughly a mile north of his location, 2 massive Hakis were clashing, though it was clear from the differing levels of energies that one of them was winning quickly.
"That'll be our boy," Rocks said to himself as he ran toward the source of the clash.
The streets of Spider Miles proper were no better off than the port outside of them. Every building was at least partially engulfed in flames, and the bodies of pirates and civilians alike littered the streets. He was aware enough to know that Germa was a real organization, but the tales of their cruelty were mostly still a myth to him. But as he saw the stomach churning nature of their methods, he could understand why the history of the kingdom is considered by most to simply be a scary bedtime story.
As he carried on through the streets, an occasional passing swing from Eclipse would save a civilian from a pirate or Germa soldier here and there, and the grateful innocents would make Xebec shake his head at his own actions.
"Teech is making me soft," he muttered to himself with a smile as he continued to propel himself forward.
Despite his actions, it was very clear that Spider Miles would be lost to the chaos. A town with so few resources would be lucky to survive a mid tier crew from the Grand Line, but a direct raid from Germa was basically a death sentence. Xebec did his best as he continued through town to point any civilians he could away from the chaos, but his mission took priority, and he never broke stride as he continued toward the sources of clashing Haki.
After running through the chaos for what felt like hours, Rocks found himself on the outskirts of town. Looking past the broken gate that used to serve as the southeast entrance, a spark of light caught his eye. A clearing a few dozen yards away from the town's border was the source, and Rocks held a firm grip on his sword as he started his approach.
The closer that he came to the clearing, the louder the sounds of combat grew. The exchange of fists, the clash of metal, and the sounds of environmental destruction echoed throughout the outskirts of the city. Rocks hovered his other hand near the flintlock that hung off of his hip, and made a point to quiet his footsteps as he came within earshot of the combatants.
"Why are you here?! What could we possibly have that you want?!" One voice shouted, the pitch of it indicating that it belonged to a young man.
"I have no reason to tell you anything, you little pest," another voice said, the booming deepness of it indicating that it belonged to someone much older. Peering through the bushes that he had crouched behind, Rocks got a clear look at the source of the Haki clash he had felt earlier.
On one knee and panting heavily was a young man no older than 20. His bulky frame made him initially appear much older, but his baby face was a dead giveaway. The dirty and tattered clothing he wore would indicate that he was one of the members of the village, though it was clear who his opponent was. Before him stood a towering figure, his flowing blonde hair and curly mustache being the most hair on a human that Rocks had seen while not being disgustingly unkempt. His appearance was strangely regal for his bloodthirsty actions, especially considering he held a spear in each hand that were both roughly the size of his younger opponent's entire body.
With a burst of speed that Rocks hadn't been confident the young man still had in him, he dashed right up to within inches of his opponent's face.
"Stop!" He shouted as a burst of Conquerors Haki erupted from his body.
The crackles of black lighting shot out from his body, and Rocks could hardly contain his surprise at a kid nearly half his age emanating the Color of the Supreme King. He sighed as he saw the results though, wincing slightly as the kid's head was violently grabbed and shoved into the dirt.
"Will isn't everything, peasant," the towering soldier snarled. "Sometimes you're just too weak."
In the span of an instant, three events took place.
The young man closed his eyes in defeat.
The germa soldier stabbed his spear toward the young man's eye.
And Rocks shot out from the bushes like a cannonball, saving the young man's life as he passed out and cracking the Germa soldier through several trees with a Haki infused blow from Eclipse.