Willank's fury boiled over. Since he was going to die anyway, he lifted his massive mace and began smashing everything in his treasure room. Jewels shattered. Berries spilled. Priceless artifacts crumbled.
"Even if I die, the Ice Demon Pirates will live on! Rocks, you want to erase our name from the seas? Keep dreaming!!"
Having cast aside all thoughts of survival, Willank charged at Rocks like a berserker. Silver Axe leapt in to block him, but with a single sweeping glance from Willank, he was sent flying like a ragdoll.
How could someone like Silver Axe—with a bounty of 500 million—possibly stop the captain of the Ice Demon Pirates, Willank, whose bounty soared to 1.1 billion?
"Did I make the wrong choice back then...?" Rocks muttered to himself. "It's a damn shame about the giant army. But I'd rather fix a mistake than cling to pride. I don't give a damn about these oversized ice giants!"
Regret only flashed across Rocks' eyes for a second. Then, his violent nature took over.
With a thunderous stomp, he launched forward like a black bullet, punching through the ground and creating a deep crater in his wake. His target: Willank's heart.
Sensing death bearing down on him, Willank roared and swung his mace down at Rocks' head. Even if he died, he'd buy time—time for his remaining people to escape.
CLANG!
Bloodshot eyes widened in horror as Willank watched his mighty mace pierced straight through by Rocks' fist.
What kind of monster is this?! What kind of hardened body... what kind of Armament Haki is this?!
Willank glanced down and saw a gaping hole torn through his chest. Blood surged out. His grip on life slipped.
How? How could the difference in strength be this huge...?
With a thunderous crash, Willank dropped to one knee. His vitality allowed him to hold his body up with his massive weapon, even as blood poured from his heart. Trembling all over, he muttered hoarsely:
"The giants… may look terrifying to the average man... but to you, we're just big, slow targets…"
Rocks stood tall, covered head to toe in Armament Haki. Not a scratch on him. No blood. Just cold indifference.
"You giants were never a threat to me."
He turned away, ignoring Willank completely. He had more important things to do—like wiping out the rest of the Ice Demon Pirates before they escaped.
"The Ice Demon Pirates… will live forever!!"
With one final breath, Willank swung his mace again in a last-ditch attack. Rocks blocked it and turned back, eyes full of rage.
BOOM!
He punched Willank's skull, blasting half his head clean off. The Ice Demon Pirate Captain was dead.
---
Outside, the older ice giant fell as well, cleaved apart by Wang Zhi's overwhelming sword aura. Yet even as he collapsed, a smile formed on his lips. He had lived long enough to see the Ice Demon Pirates' massive flag fluttering and their colossal ship sailing away.
Then, everything flipped upside down. His head hit the cold ground—and then he saw his body lying headless.
Ah... I've been beheaded, he thought with a strange calm.
His lips curled faintly one last time before everything faded to black.
Wang Zhi kicked aside the kneeling corpse and rushed forward. Elsewhere, two other ice giants were holding back the Rocks Pirates' elite, buying more time for their ship to escape.
The enormous pirate ship of the Ice Demon Pirates had already made it past the port.
Onboard, the fifteen young ice giants wept, staring at the island shrinking in the distance, hatred blazing in their eyes.
Wang Zhi, consumed by fury, swiftly finished off the last two ice giants within minutes.
"Wang Zhi! We'll make you pay!!"
A furious young voice echoed from the retreating ship, filled with seething rage.
Wang Zhi froze and stared at the disappearing vessel.
That voice—it struck him with unease.
Did I just let a monster slip away?
---
Moments later, Rocks strode over, face grim. When he saw only two fresh corpses on the shore, he quickly pieced together what had happened.
The mission had succeeded in one sense—Devil Horn Island, Saracha's base, was destroyed. Willank was killed. The Ice Demon Pirates were crushed.
But nothing new was conquered. No territory gained. It fell short of expectations.
Have the Diger Pirates and the Hell Pirates fallen out yet? Rocks wondered. If they're still united... then we're still outmatched.
Not far away, Captain John was busy looting the Ice Demon Pirates' treasure room. That idiot Silver Axe lay seriously wounded.
You idiot, Rocks thought, annoyed. You thought you could match Willank? If I didn't value your loyalty so much, I'd slap you myself.
Still, Rocks respected Silver Axe and Wang Zhi—they were promising new cadres. John, on the other hand? A greedy bastard. He looted Saracha's base last time. Now he's doing the same here.
If he wasn't strong, I would've fed him to the sea already.
---
"Captain Rocks! Willank's Den Den Mushi is still ringing!"
John came running, carrying the massive snail-phone. He handed it over and even held up the receiver with a helpful grin.
"Willank! You finally picked up? Are you still alive, or is this Rocks I'm speaking to?"
The voice on the other end—Diger—sounded cautious. After the last stunt with Brook's Den Den Mushi, he wasn't sure who was answering.
Rocks let out a cold laugh.
"Old man Diger, how'd you guess it was me? Willank's already gone to join Ewald in hell. You're next!"
Diger's silence was brief but heavy.
"You killed Saracha too?"
"I would've," Rocks snorted, "but that slippery bastard ran before I could finish the job."
He didn't bother lying—he knew Diger would find out soon anyway.
"Willank could've escaped too, if he'd listened to reason," Diger said bitterly. "I knew you'd pull something like this, Rocks. You got lucky."
So he's cutting Willank loose, Rocks thought. Fine. But if the Hell Pirates side with him... we're screwed.
Rocks sneered into the receiver. "Guess what, Diger? I know how much you care about your son. Better protect him well. Jack, right?"
He was taunting him—but deep down, he knew the worst-case scenario was unfolding. Diger and Brook hadn't turned on each other.
The Overlord Alliance—three top-tier pirate crews—was still holding strong.
We can't take them head-on… not yet. I need to break them apart from within. Otherwise, we wait for Diger to age... but the Hell Pirates? They're just getting started. That kid Jack is a rising lion.
Diger scoffed.
"Hmph. Because of you, I've decided to give the Conqueror's Infusion to the Hell Pirates. Let's see how long you last against that lion, Rocks. Hahaha!!"
-------------------------
After hearing what Diger said, even Rocks fell silent for a moment.
The four elite fighters of the Hell Pirates all possessed Conqueror's Haki. If they were properly nurtured, even the Rocks Pirates might one day be forced to step aside.
"How ruthless. Aren't you afraid that Brook will end up swallowing the entire Diger Pirates?" Rocks asked coldly.
He hadn't expected Diger to be making preparations to step down—to willingly raise a lion strong enough to stop him from unifying the New World.
"Anyway, I'm getting old, and my current crew isn't good enough to make it to the top. Worst-case scenario, I'll just follow the old Ice Demon's example and retire early," Diger replied, sounding almost at peace. "I'll disband the Diger Pirates before you get the chance to crush them like you did the Ice Demon Pirates. Then, I'll just leave you and Brook to duke it out yourselves."
Diger's attitude had changed. Once he gave up on competing for the New World, the weight on his shoulders vanished. Facing Rocks now, it felt like divine assistance was on his side—he was light and loose in every exchange.
"If you dare stand in the way of my conquest, even if you flee to the Four Blues to live in seclusion, I'll hunt you down. I'll tear you apart, skin your bones, and scatter your ashes!" Rocks threatened furiously.
For the first time in years, he felt true pressure. Diger was still alive—and worse, the Hell Pirates were rising fast. Could his dream of unifying the New World still become reality?
"Haha! Thanks for the warning," Diger laughed. "When the time comes, maybe I'll hide out in the Four Blues. If you've got the guts, come find me!"
With that, Diger hung up the Den Den Mushi. Rocks was so enraged that he smashed Willank's oversized personal Den Den Mushi into pieces. The entire Ice Island trembled from the surge of his furious Haki.
---
Meanwhile, on the other side of the sea, Golden Lion Shiki had split O'Hara Island apart and floated it next to Ballon Island's Sky Island. The headquarters of Moore Thomas' Economic News Agency was relocated right next to their Ballon Island branch.
This time, they weren't even bothering with Golden Island. Vegapunk and his fellow scientists remained to focus on their research, while the combat team boarded the golden ship and headed toward the waters of Devil Horn Island in Saracha's territory.
Out at sea, Teach Angel had already assembled a sizable force. Their goal: invade Saracha's territory and plant the flag of the Hell Pirates.
"Captain Brook, we've spotted a ship belonging to the Rocks Pirates. Are we really going to engage them?" Hiruba asked, his voice tinged with excitement.
These weren't just any enemies—these were the Rocks Pirates' elite. While Rocks himself was far off at Ice Island and unlikely to intervene, the unit was led by the fearsome warrior monk, Scorpion Dragon—a force to be reckoned with.
"Yohoho! Since Rocks isn't around, how can we not take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?" Brook chuckled, jaw rattling.
When Hiruba informed him that the Ship of Rocks Pirates had not yet regrouped with Rocks and was instead plundering Saracha's territory, Brook's urge to act flared immediately.
"HAHAHA! That's what I like to hear, Brother Brook! But... can I take the monk Scorpion Dragon? His bounty is 1.1 billion, and I need to prove myself!"
Shiki grinned wildly. He hadn't forgotten the last time Jack had outshined him. Now, he wanted to redeem himself.
Redfield, however, rolled his eyes. He'd witnessed how badly Shiki got beat by Jack. Did this guy have any self-awareness?
"Come on, Hiruba. Tell me exactly who's aboard their ship right now," Brook instructed.
"Yes, Captain! The highest bounty belongs to Scorpion Dragon, the warrior monk—1.1 billion berries. Next is Skull-Belt Sawujing at 900 million, Monkey King Wizz at 710 million, Saxe Way at 700 million, Rocket Jonas at 600 million, and Giant Warrior Jennifer at 550 million.
There's also Kurozumi Higurashi, who's been impersonating Rocks—she and his brother Kurozumi Semimaru have no bounties, but they're dangerous. Finally, there's the ship's helmswoman Miss Bakkin. She's got a 200 million berry bounty, but even Scorpion Dragon listens to her commands.
From what I observed, she's the one directing the raids on Saracha's islands. She's loaded with gold and silver—an absolute money-hungry maniac. She might even outmatch Shakky in that department!"
Hiruba's rundown was clear: the Rocks Pirates still had insane depth. With the three new core members Rocks had brought in, their forces currently outclassed the Hell Pirates.
Brook's own group had the four top fighters, but none of his other crew had bounties over 500 million. The middle-level forces were still developing. Only Teach Angel and Bull from the allied Ewald Pirates had crossed that 500 million line—barely enough to support them.
"Hey! Don't just drag me into this outta nowhere!" Shakky shouted, slapping Hiruba on the head. "I'm not some greedy hag—I just want our pet to have a warm, happy home!"
Brook ignored the squabble. "This time, my main target is Kurozumi Semimaru. That Barrier Fruit of his is said to be the strongest defense. I want to test that claim. Can you all handle the rest?"
"Gurarara~! Brook, there's no such thing as the 'strongest defense'—just people who haven't met someone like me yet," Whitebeard declared, cracking his knuckles.
Newgate didn't buy the hype about the Barrier Fruit. He was eager to use his Tremor Fruit to prove it could be broken.
"He's right," Shiki added, brushing back his mane. "Unbreakable defense? Please. That just means you haven't been hit hard enough!"
Brook considered their words. They had a point. In the original timeline, Bartolomeo's Barrier was broken by Uta's Song Fruit, proving the defense wasn't absolute.
"I don't care if it's 'unbreakable' or not. That guy is my target. Got it?"
Brook wasn't going to keep debating the issue. His role was to assign the tasks.
It was the perfect moment to strike—Miss Bakkin, that greedy vulture, was currently running the Ship's operations. Her obsession with wealth had made her careless. She was looting Saracha's islands openly instead of regrouping with Rocks.
In the original history, this crazy old woman dared to charge into the New World with Whitebeard Jr. Edward Weevil to claim Whitebeard's territories and inheritance.
With excellent navigation skills and a sharp mind, she was more than just a greedy woman—she was the Rocks Pirates' navigator, and very capable. In many ways, she was this era's twisted version of Nami.
The golden ship sped toward the island under attack by the Rocks Pirates. Brook's goal was clear: intercept their cadres, take what they could, and come away with a major win.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Check my Pâtreon for (40) advanced chapters
Pâtreon .com/Fanficlord03
Change (â) to (a)
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
https://discord.gg/MntqcdpRZ9