The swirling white mist was torn apart by Brook's overwhelming aura. Winds howled, the air grew colder, and before the two Knights of God stood a towering figure—a death god born from hell itself.
"Huuu…"
The Death God Brook exhaled a stream of chilling white breath. Frost crept instantly across the ground before him, plants withered, birds dropped from the sky, and beasts collapsed lifeless where they stood. Wherever that breath touched, life itself vanished.
A black hole opened beside him, spilling forth torrents of Underworld water. The pitch-black flood surged toward Raphael and Gabriel with terrifying force.
The two knights dodged at their fastest speed, but droplets still splashed across their armored bodies. Smoke hissed as the Underworld water corroded through their Armament Haki, burning their defenses like acid.
"He's grown even stronger!" Gabriel gasped, an unfamiliar chill rising in his chest. It was as though a dark star pulsed before them, as though hell itself beckoned.
"This state won't last forever," Raphael said grimly, his veteran instincts steadying him. "There must be a time limit. We'll drag it out. Delay him until his strength fades, then we'll end this in one blow!"
While retreating, Raphael fired beam after beam of imprisoning golden light. He wasn't pressing for a decisive strike this time—only buying time.
The Death God Brook didn't speak. With a wave of his hand, he called forth fresh souls from the battlefield.
"Night Parade of One Hundred Souls!"
A tide of spirits erupted, forming twisted ghosts that surged forward, intercepting Raphael's golden light and escorting Brook's advance.
"Will you crush the souls of your own masters?"
Brook's voice, vast and spectral, echoed from every direction. The words struck Raphael and Gabriel like a hammer to the heart.
More than a dozen ghostly figures clad in Celestial Dragon finery lunged at the Knights.
"No! Your Highness!"
Their eyes widened as their own attacks shattered the souls of six Celestial Dragons in an instant.
"Congratulations," Brook's voice whispered like a curse, "you've destroyed your masters' souls. They'll never reincarnate. They're gone… forever."
The words gnawed at the knights' spirits, shaking their composure.
Brook had found their weakness—not in blade or fruit, but in faith. Break their belief, and their bodies would follow. These Celestial Dragon souls were useful indeed. Perhaps, Brook thought, he could turn this same method on the Navy itself.
Bury your masters, hounds of the Celestial Dragons.
Spotting the hesitation in their eyes, Brook seized the moment.
"Death God Form—Underworld Slash!"
The Seven-Star Demon Sword howled as Brook swung it down, wrapped in hellish energy that split the earth and roared toward the two Knights.
Here I come. Confinement Fruit. Weather Fruit. Both will be mine.
"Tenfold Imprisonment!"
"Thunderstorm: White Thunder!"
Raphael's entire body erupted with golden light, freezing the very air in place. Space itself seemed locked in chains.
At the same instant, Gabriel called forth the full fury of his Weather Fruit. From the storm above, a colossal bolt of white lightning fell, its power rivaling the Thunder Fruit itself.
Brook snarled, unleashing his Conqueror's Haki in a violent surge. The aura shattered Raphael's imprisonment, freeing him just in time to swing his blade. The Seven-Star Demon Sword split the descending lightning, detonating the heavens with a deafening crack.
The two Knights retreated once more, forcing distance. Their tactics were suffocating—Raphael binding, Gabriel striking—always wearing him down.
Brook prepared to lunge again, but then—
A piercing alarm blared from the golden ship overhead. His body stiffened. He knew that signal. Every member of the Hell Pirates did.
"Rocks! I'm pulling out! Stay here and you'll die!" Brook's voice thundered across the battlefield. His aura swelled, preparing one last strike before retreat. He couldn't leave these knights free to pursue.
"If you chase me," Brook warned coldly, "I'll shatter your masters' souls myself."
He raised his blade, gathering soul energy into one final, devastating slash. The Knights hesitated—just long enough. The strike landed, ripping screams of pain from both Raphael and Gabriel.
"Lie down!" Brook roared, pressing his attack.
But the golden ship's alarm screamed again, louder, sharper—Hiruba's double siren. It was the code they all feared most.
The Celestial Dragons' national treasure had been deployed. The suspected King of Heaven—Uranus—was coming. And fast.
Brook's grin widened as he stepped back. "I'll spare your lives today. The Imprisonment Fruit and the Weather Fruit… I'll take them later."
All around, the cadres of the Hell Pirates unleashed brutal covering attacks, breaking free of their opponents and racing for the golden ship.
"If you linger here, Rocks, you'll be left to die. That thing is coming, and I'm gone first!" Brook's laughter echoed as he turned away. "Kukulkan—avenge your Celestial Dragons yourself! Yohohoho!"
As the Hell Pirates pulled back, Brook hurled the tormented souls of slain Celestial Dragons toward the Navy Fleet Admiral and his knights—forcing them to face their own failures. Even Sengoku, Garp, Zephyr, and the CP0 commander were each haunted by one.
"That thing?!" Rocks' eyes narrowed. He still yearned for another mythical beast fruit, but Brook's warning was clear. If Uranus truly descended, none of them would leave alive.
"Rocks Pirates—retreat!!!"
Rocks bellowed in fury, swallowing another ES pill. His aura erupted once more, black hair flying, dark matter spilling from his body in torrents of rage.
-------------
The leaders of the Rocks Pirates swallowed their ES potions one after another. Their auras surged violently, overwhelming their opponents as they broke away and rushed toward their ships.
"I will never allow you pirates to escape!!"
Admiral Kukulkan, fully transformed into a colossal Quetzalcoatl, spread his wings across the battlefield and clashed against Rocks' swirling dark matter. Mintaro, one of the Knights of God, charged fearlessly into the black torrent to face Rocks head-on—only to be struck down in an instant.
Rocks, empowered once more by the deadly ES pill, struck like a demon. His single blow shattered Mintaro's defenses, leaving the knight vomiting blood before he was hurled into the ruins.
At that moment, Rocks looked less like a man and more like a god of war. The drug burned through his body, pushing his strength to its absolute peak. His ambition blazed higher still—he wanted to kill Kukulkan here and now, seize the Quetzalcoatl Fruit.
"Rocks! I don't have time to waste on you! If you don't retreat now, you'll die here!"
Brook's sharp command cut across the battlefield. He caught the anxious look on sniper Hiruba's face and knew the warning was real—the situation was worsening by the second. Wasting no more time on Rocks, Brook gathered the Hell Pirates back to the golden ship.
Even as he pulled back, Brook sent the tormented souls of the Celestial Dragons surging toward the navy's officers, forcing hesitation into their ranks and buying the Rocks Pirates precious breathing room. Redfield's thunderous strikes added more pressure, driving back Sengoku and Garp.
Seeing the Hell Pirates withdraw, Rocks snarled. His greed for the Quetzalcoatl Fruit flared—but he knew the truth. Without Brook's golden ship, his pirates would be slaughtered here. Reluctantly, he unleashed a tidal wave of dark matter, blotting out half the Valley of the Gods to shield his retreat.
"Hahaha! Kukulkan! I'll kill you next time!!"
Rocks' dark blade cut deep into the colossal serpent, forcing the Admiral's Quetzalcoatl form crashing into the ground. If Brook had stayed, Rocks would have gambled everything to claim that fruit.
With no choice left, Rocks turned back. The golden ship was already soaring away. Gritting his teeth, he gathered his crew onto his ship and ordered a full retreat.
"We can't let them escape!!"
Quetzalcoatl Kukulkan roared, taking to the skies to pursue. Other naval officers scrambled to their ships and set sail to give chase.
But the sea itself turned against them. The ground shook violently, cracks split the waves, and titanic tsunamis rose—Whitebeard Newgate had unleashed the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. The quakes shattered the navy's pursuit lines, saving the Rocks Pirates from certain doom.
Brook smirked in satisfaction. Babysitting Rocks was annoying, but it gave him exactly what he wanted: the time and cover to escape with his treasures and stolen Devil Fruits intact.
The navy's fleet lay in disarray, its strongest admirals battered and bleeding. The Knights of God were wounded, yet Kukulkan still seethed with rage. He wanted to pursue alone, to slaughter the Rocks Pirates with his own hands.
But Sengoku and the CP0 commander stepped in, blocking his path.
"Fleet Admiral," Sengoku urged, his face grim, "if you chase them alone and Brook turns back with his golden ship, you'll be walking into an ambush. The navy cannot afford to lose you."
The weight of his words was undeniable. Two admirals and two admiral candidates had already fallen here. If the Fleet Admiral himself perished, the navy would be crippled beyond repair.
Kukulkan's chest heaved with fury. He had lived more than eighty years, his strength still unmatched, yet this war had scarred him with failure. Countless Celestial Dragons dead, the navy's prestige shattered—all under his watch.
"Damn it! I will destroy Rocks and Brook at any cost!!"
But the CP0 commander's cold voice cut in from behind his mask. "Now is not the time. We must restore what strength remains, conceal the truth, and stabilize the World Government. If the world learns what happened here, chaos will erupt. Pirates and rebels will crawl from every corner."
The commander ground his teeth, but even he could see the chain of disaster already forming.
"I'll speak with the Five Elders," Kukulkan finally muttered. "We must elect two new admirals immediately… or the navy's morale will collapse."
But even as they spoke, a vast shadow fell across the battlefield. The clouds above churned and split. A monstrous silhouette loomed within the storm, casting the island in darkness.
"That's… the national treasure."
Gabriel, battered yet unbowed, placed a hand to his chest and bowed deeply toward the shadow. His voice trembled as much from reverence as regret. If only it had come sooner, he thought, the two pirate overlords would never have escaped.
Did the Hell Pirates know it was coming? Their golden ship had sounded the alarm twice. Was it foresight—or betrayal from someone within Marijoa itself?
The other Knights of God bowed as well, their faces grim. One by one, the navy's Admiral followed suit, saluting the colossal figure hidden in the clouds.
Far away, in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, atop the Empty Throne, a lone figure gazed at the unfolding storm.
"…Late again?" Imu murmured softly.
Their slender fingers brushed across the ancient map spread before them, marking Hive Island, Hatchinos, Doragonzo Island. Reports from the Valley of the Gods lay scattered at their feet.
Brook, captain of the Hell Pirates, cunning and ruthless, with six awakened conquerors under his command—slaughterer of Celestial Dragons. His crimes could not be forgiven.
Rocks D. Xebec, child of the accursed D clan, wielder of the Dark-Dark Fruit, stronger even than Brook. A natural enemy of the gods.
The pests of this age had grown too bold. They would have to be erased.
But the price of awakening the "national treasure" was steep. The sacrifices of the Celestial Dragons this day had provided barely enough energy for a single strike—enough to obliterate one island.
Imu's crimson eyes lingered on the map, cold and calculating.
"Now… which pirate island shall vanish first?"
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