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Chapter 140 - Chapter 140: Call Me When You See the Dome

In the waters of the Bristol Sea—the territory of the Hell Pirates—the Rocks Pirates' flagship, surged into the region at high speed. But the moment they crossed into enemy waters, their pace visibly slowed.

"Hahaha~ According to the latest intel, that old man Diger's fleet just entered Brook's territory," Miss Bakkin said with a sly grin, covering her red lips with one gloved hand. "That means our job here is done."

Though she lacked overwhelming combat ability, Bakkin served as the ship's navigator and strategist. She was deeply trusted by Rocks, and this entire operation was under her command.

Even the top officer—the warrior monk known as Scorpion Dragon—followed her orders without question. And Rocks, sitting nearby with arms crossed and eyes sharp, offered no objection.

Without their captain aboard, they had no intention of getting involved in a direct clash between the Diger Pirates and the Hell Pirates. If those two sea overlord decided to team up against them, things could turn ugly fast—especially since their enemies had both the Wind-Wind Fruit and a golden ship.

This operation was purely a show of force. Their goal was to bait Diger away so Rocks could launch a surprise attack on Willank and Saracha.

And now that Diger had taken the bait, there was no point in sticking around. The last thing they wanted was to provoke Brook and Diger into cooperating.

It was smarter to back off and let the two rivals go at each other's throats without distractions.

Miss Bakkin was no less shrewd than Higurashi—both ruthless, brilliant women who never moved without a calculated benefit in mind.

With the full support of Scorpion Dragon and other key members, The ship turned and began heading toward Saracha's territory under Bakkin's orders.

Diger had already shown up in Brook's waters. With that, Rocks should now have a clear path to crush Saracha of the Butcher Pirates. If they moved quickly, they might even get a slice of the spoils.

What Brook and Diger didn't expect was that the Rocks Pirates had already left Bristol Sea and were racing toward Saracha's base.

Brook had hoped the mere presence of the Rocks Pirates would scare Diger into backing off. Even though Brook strongly suspected this "Rocks" was a fake, Diger wasn't willing to take that risk.

Despite having captured Jack and Xiaofeng, Brook still wasn't confident in taking on the Diger Pirates.

Why? Because Whitebeard Newgate was currently guarding the Golden Island—and the Diger Pirates still had Barbosa, whose power was at least on par with Jack's. Plus, they had more high-ranking officers than the Hell Pirates.

Even with those two captures, Brook realized he was still a step short of crushing the Diger Pirates.

But once he mastered Conqueror's Haki, that gap would vanish.

For now, he needed more time. More growth.

---

Meanwhile, at Devil's Horn Island—

Rocks stood with a corpse hanging limply in one hand. The dead man wore Captain Saracha's signature coat and hat. Blood poured from every orifice on his face.

Rocks's expression was grim.

"Captain Rocks, Saracha and several of his top officers went missing earlier this morning. They're probably dead," said Wang Zhi, the great swordsman, as he sheathed his blade.

The Butcher Pirates' main base was a scene of carnage. Corpses littered the ground. Silver Axe and John were both drenched in blood, clearly having participated in a brutal slaughter.

"Forget Saracha. We're heading to Ice Island next," Rocks growled. "Let's see if Willank has more spine than this coward."

Without wasting a second, Rocks gave up on looting Saracha's ruins. He was now focused on Willank's domain—determined to wipe out the giants once and for all.

Captain John had greedily wanted to plunder Devil Horn Island before they left, but one glare from Rocks forced him to abandon the idea. As much as he hated to leave the treasures behind, he knew better than to push his luck.

After all, this was the headquarters of one of the Four Overlords.

---

Back on Squid Island—

The trio of Gold, Silver, and Bronze from Roger's crew were now walking around energetically again. Crocus had treated them with some ordinary blood-replenishing dandelions, which worked wonders for their injuries.

Brook thanked Roger's crew for their help, but the Roger Pirates had no intention of getting involved in a full-scale war between two Overlord-level crews. They politely excused themselves.

Brook didn't try to stop them. He simply asked Shakky to give them several dozen kilograms of gold as a parting gift.

Rayleigh accepted the gold with a reluctant smile, but Shakky wasn't in the mood for small talk.

Her attention was focused entirely on the giant syringes filled with blood drawn from Jack and Xiao Feng. Each was as thick as a calf and full of top-tier pirate blood.

They were priceless.

"Roger," Brook called out as the Roger Pirates prepared to leave, "if you ever come across a massive egg—something abnormal—use your Observation Haki and call me. Seriously. Let me know."

Brook was obsessed with the strange giant egg sitting on the Oro Jackson—the ship that would soon become Roger's flagship. The egg took up over half the deck, and it clearly wasn't from any normal creature.

No one knew where Roger had found it.

But Brook had a theory.

He believed that during the Summit War, when the Red Hair Pirates intercepted Kaido one day and appeared at Marineford the next, it wasn't just fast travel.

Brook suspected Shanks had inherited the giant egg—and whatever lived inside it. Judging from the dragon-head design of Red Force, Shanks's ship, that egg might have contained a dragon.

A dragon strong enough to let the Red Hair Pirates cross the Red Line and the Calm Belt without resistance.

Was it true? Who knew. But Brook's obsession with that egg only grew stronger.

"Egg? Giant egg? Sure, if I see one, I'll call you," Roger replied with a chuckle, not really understanding but amused nonetheless. In his eyes, Brook was just as much of a mystery as the egg itself.

After their recent battles, both sides needed rest. The Roger Pirates departed, not wanting to stick around for the incoming Diger Pirates.

Brook and the others returned to the golden ship, preparing for what came next.

They would observe.

If anything looked suspicious, they would retreat immediately.

The last thing Brook wanted was to run into a freakish Devil Fruit user with abilities he couldn't counter—especially in Diger's crew.

---------------

Hiruba activated his Glare-Glare Fruit, keeping a sharp eye on the movements of both pirate crews while also scanning for any signs of the real Rocks.

Thanks to Brook's efforts, the Hell Pirates' surveillance system had now evolved into a Skynet-like global web. Antonio's spy Transponder Snails, Moore Thomas' Seagull News Birds, and now Hiruba's Glare-Glare Fruit created a trinity of intelligence tools that could pinpoint targets with deadly accuracy.

Most of the major pirates, supernovas, and even Admirals were already being tracked by the Seagull News Birds. As for VIPs like royalty or government officials, they had a better chance of being spied on through the Spy Snails—distributed under the guise of "newspaper subscription raffles."

Even the top brass at Marine Headquarters were "randomly" winning these raffles—part of a larger plan to sneak more spy snails into their operations. Eventually, even kings and high-ranking officials from various countries were targeted, all to gather critical intel on things like Devil Fruits, rare treasures, and confidential secrets.

This massive intelligence network was Brook's brainchild. Antonio and Moore Thomas improved and executed the plan, while Stussy, assigned as Antonio's deputy, lent her expertise in espionage to further solidify their reach.

Brook was now on the hunt for more talent—not just to build a crew, but to expand what was fast becoming the prototype of a full-blown pirate empire.

Backed by the secret support of the Hell Pirates, the Umit Family—rulers of the underworld transport business—had already absorbed the New World Dispatch Company. Their sights were now set on crushing the World Transport Company and becoming an underground monopoly.

The alliance between the Umit Family and Moore Thomas pushed rapid expansions across their industries. Their rise in influence even shook old powerhouses like the Du Family of the currency world and the Dracula Family in the assassination business.

Major players in the entertainment and commodity markets were now scrambling to find new backers or alliances, fearing a hostile takeover. They could all sense it—some unknown titan had entered the game.

Despite being branded a pirate, Brook was more of a developer at heart. He even supported Charlotte Linlin's vision of a utopia where all races coexisted peacefully.

Inspired by Lilin's dream, Brook planned to evolve the Hell Pirates into a true pirate empire—and would call it none other than the World of Nations.

As Brook pondered his ambitions, time passed quickly. Hiruba's voice suddenly echoed—

"The Diger Pirates are getting close!"

The crew aboard the golden ship immediately tensed up. The true powerhouse of the New World, Captain Diger, was about to arrive.

Brook took to the sky on his Somersault Cloud, Hera, choosing to meet him out at sea rather than on the island. Perched on his shoulder was his parrot who had eaten the Castle Fruit, and beside him stood Redfield.

Charlotte Linlin hovered nearby on the thundercloud Zeus, while the Golden Lion Shiki floated with crossed arms and swords at his side, cigar between his lips, staring out over the ocean.

Soon, a formidable pirate fleet came into view. The massive flagship—The Emperor's Codex—cut through the sea with authority. Its grand pirate flag, bearing the crest of the Emperor Pirates, shimmered with what looked like actual gold thread.

It was as extravagant as it was powerful, covered in enormous gemstones—easily rivaling, if not surpassing, the grandeur of Brook's golden ship.

Seeing Brook and the others waiting on the open sea, Diger ordered his fleet to stop. No pleasantries. No stepping onto the island. This was business.

"Yohoho~! Captain Diger! It's been so long since Longwater Island. I missed you!" Brook grinned, waving from the clouds.

He hadn't forgotten how Diger embarrassed them at Longwater Island. Today was payback time.

"I know who you are, Brook. Let's cut the crap. Where's Jack?!" Diger's sharp eyes scanned the group. Only four of them? Was this a bait-and-switch?

"One at a time. First, hand over the Devil Fruits!" Brook said smoothly.

With a nod from Brook, one of the Wano's Musketeer tossed Xiaofeng out. Cuffed in Sea-Prism Stone, he shrank to just a few centimeters in size, then immediately reverted to normal as he hit the Somersault Cloud.

"You've really lucked out with your crew's Devil Fruits... I'm getting jealous," Diger muttered. Brook's forces were filled with monsters—Haki masters and rare fruit users.

He tossed a heavy box toward Brook. It zipped through the air with surprising speed. Golden Lion Shiki intercepted and opened it—three common Zoan-type Devil Fruits lay inside.

Shiki gave a slight nod. Brook, satisfied, hurled Xiaofeng over like a sack of potatoes—exactly the same way Diger had done. Xiaofeng's face burned with humiliation as he was treated like cargo in front of the entire Diger Pirate crew.

Diger caught him gently and set him down.

"Sea-Prism Stone? Where's the key?" he asked coldly.

"Relax," Brook replied with a smirk. "We still have Jack and the others. Consider the cuffs a bonus—two free pairs. Real bargain."

Brook signaled the musketeers again. They threw out a handful of pale, malnourished underlings onto a rickety little ship Shiki had prepped.

"These guys donated plenty of blood for us," Brook said with a laugh. "Fatten them up, and maybe they'll be good for another donation. Consider them... honorary ghost soldiers!"

Diger's eyes narrowed. He didn't like being toyed with.

"Now," Brook said, lifting Jack, "hand over the training method for Conqueror's Haki Infusion. Don't test my patience."

Brook's tone turned icy as he tightened his grip on Jack. One wrong move, and Jack was dead.

A murmur spread through the Diger Pirates' fleet. Their captain was about to give away something that few in the world possessed—the secret to wielding Conqueror's Haki Infusion.

Some couldn't believe it. Barbossa, one of Diger's senior officers, clenched his fists. His expression darkened.

Saracha from the Butcher Pirates had once begged Diger for that same technique—offering an entire island in return—and had been flat-out rejected. Now Brook was getting it through blackmail?

The entire crew stewed in frustration. Even if they hadn't awakened the Conqueror's Haki themselves, they knew its value.

Handing it over now felt like a betrayal.

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