Garp grinned, showing his wide white teeth. The next moment, his pupils shrank to pinpoints as black and red lightning crackled around his fist. With a booming laugh, he drove his iron punch into the Scorpion Dragon's horn.
The holy horn, once gleaming black with haki, cracked under the pressure. In seconds, it shattered. The Scorpion Dragon's skull dented beneath Garp's fist, his eyes bulged, and blood gushed from his mouth and nose before his body was hurled back into the earth.
The island quaked violently. Even Rocks, locked in combat against three admirals, faltered for an instant, disturbed by the shock of the clash.
The two Knights of God glanced at each other, their expressions grim. They weren't celebrating Garp's victory over the Rocks Pirates' top officer. Instead, unease weighed on them.
That lightning—black and red.
Conqueror's Haki.
For years, Garp had hidden it. He'd never displayed such power, not once in his long career. To unleash it now raised questions none of the Celestial Dragons' loyal knights could ignore.
A D… hiding Conqueror's Haki inside the Navy itself? Impossible to overlook.
If Brook had been present, he might have smiled knowingly. As expected.
Even in the tales of the future, the so-called "Hero of the Marines" never openly used Conqueror's Haki. But hints were always there. When Luffy erupted with his conqueror's spirit, Garp had only muttered, "It really is an innate talent." His son Dragon and grandson Luffy both wielded it. Why not Garp himself?
He'd never feared the Celestial Dragons, even called them "trash" to their faces. He had faced Roger and Whitebeard, men crowned with Conqueror's Haki, and stood tall beside them. Could mere armament alone have carried him through those battles?
Perhaps Garp was like Zoro in later ages—someone who wielded Conqueror's Haki instinctively, even if he never called it by name.
The Navy's morale soared. The defeat of Scorpion Dragon, Rocks' top officer, ignited their spirits. Marines roared and pressed their attacks harder, blades and rifles flashing with newfound fury.
"Trash!!!"
Rocks bellowed, fury cracking through his voice. He had fought tooth and nail to secure the mythical Double-Winged Unicorn Fruit for Scorpion Dragon, envisioning him as the weapon to counter the Admirals. And yet—beaten. By a Vice Admiral!
His investment, his effort, his pride—shattered in an instant. And with Scorpion Dragon's fall, the Rocks Pirates' disadvantage deepened. Defeat no longer seemed a possibility; it was fast becoming reality.
"Why is this happening?!"
But then—
A monstrous aura surged from the pit where Scorpion Dragon had fallen. Dust scattered as the warrior monk staggered up. His eyebrows and elbow hair had turned stark white. Had he any hair left on his head, it too would have been snow pale.
"Brother Scorpion Dragon!" Monkey King Wizz cried, his face twisting with worry. He and Scorpion Dragon were more than comrades—they were the oldest of Rocks' crew, men who had followed him before he seized the throne of the New World. Unlike latecomers such as Silver Axe and Wang Zhi, their bond with Rocks was carved in blood.
Yet two days earlier, Brook had quietly sent Monkey King Wizz shipments of ES "holy medicine." Wizz, ever loyal to his brothers, shared the supply with Scorpion Dragon—and even handed some to Rocks himself, claiming they could be sold at a high price on the black market. It had been meant as a lifeline, a desperate card to stave off death.
But now, looking at Scorpion Dragon's pale hair and scarlet eyes, Wizz realized the truth.
This was no holy medicine. It was poison.
Scorpion Dragon's muscles bulged grotesquely. His eyes, once fierce but human, now glowed blood red. His aura swelled beyond reason.
"GARP!! I'LL KILL YOU!!!"
He vanished. In the next heartbeat, his fist smashed into Garp, sending the hero of the Navy crashing into the ground with an earth-shaking impact. Dust exploded skyward as the sound of brutal punches thundered from within.
The ground trembled beneath each blow. Marines and pirates alike froze, their eyes wide at the sheer savagery. The clash was no longer man versus man—it was monster against monster.
"Brother Scorpion Dragon!! I'll fight with you!!!"
Monkey King Wizz roared. He hurled five ES pills down his throat in one gulp. His body warped. Black fur sprouted and expanded, fangs lengthened, his Titan Ape form ballooning in size until he towered larger than even Sengoku's mythical golden Buddha. Yet his fur was streaked now with white and gray, evidence of his body's collapse.
The transformation pressed down on the battlefield like a second sun. Sengoku staggered back, haki surging to meet it, while Silver Axe leapt in beside Wizz to press the advantage.
"They've taken a drug that burns their lives to fuel their strength!" Sengoku shouted, his voice steady despite the danger. "Hold them off! Their power won't last forever. Endure, and justice will prevail!"
But his warning barely carried over the roar of chaos.
Scorpion Dragon and Wizz's madness spread like fire. Inspired, other captains and cadres pulled the ES pills from their belts and swallowed them. One by one, veins bulged, eyes reddened, and power surged. Their strength doubled, tripled—at the cost of their own lives.
Within minutes, the tide shifted. Pirates fought like demons, their frenzy overwhelming Marine lines. And in the center, Scorpion Dragon and Wizz rampaged, their blood-red eyes fixed only on destruction.
-------------
Far away on another battlefield, Brook's flying fleet remained locked in place by Navy Fleet Admiral Kukulkan. Yet Brook was not anxious in the slightest.
He had left his arrangements in motion, and he knew they would bear fruit. Under the threat of death, even the cadres and crew of the Rocks Pirates, who understood the dangers of the ES drug, had no choice but to fight desperately.
When beasts are trapped, their counterattack is ferocious. And against the Rocks Pirates—already monsters in their own right—the navy was guaranteed to suffer heavy losses.
Brook was keenly aware of Rocks' nature. That man was the king of the New World, and if driven into a corner, he could very well drag down an admiral with him. Brook had never underestimated him.
Let the bullets fly for a while.
The war between the New World's overlord and the main force of the navy would not end quickly. Brook intended to let them clash until the battlefield was filled with corpses. Sooner or later, he would swoop in. Every fallen soul, every broken body, would become his wealth.
For now, he allowed himself to be "intercepted" in this sea region by Kukulkan. Semi-voluntarily, of course. After all, who could say whether the Hell Pirates would eventually tear through the storm blockade conjured by Kukulkan and Gabriel?
With the combined power of the Quetzalcoatl fruit and Gabriel's Weather fruit, they could maintain this raging maelstrom for days, maybe longer.
By then, the navy's main force under Kong should have already dealt a fatal blow to the Rocks Pirates. Perhaps even annihilate them. That would mean the World Government's mission was complete—possibly beyond their wildest expectations.
"Brother Brook, this old admiral is despicable! He doesn't even dare face us head-on!"
Golden Lion Shiki snarled, pacing restlessly across the deck. His temper boiled hotter with each passing hour. Kukulkan and Gabriel had kept their distance, hiding within storms, harassing the fleet with thunder and waves. Days had passed, and they were still trapped in this sea.
Shiki clenched his twin swords. "Why don't we just land the flying fleet and let my golden ships chase those cowards down? I'll carve them to pieces myself!"
Brook, seated calmly on the deck with his hand resting lightly on the Seven Star Demon Sword, chuckled. "Can your golden ships, even with the Wind Control Fruit, match the speed and agility of a mythical beast like Quetzalcoatl?" His voice was faint, mocking. "Even a lion must admit when it cannot catch the serpent."
Shiki gritted his teeth, knowing Brook was right. No matter how strong his Float-Float power, it couldn't match the sheer natural speed of Kukulkan's transformed body.
The others aboard the fleet shared the same frustration. They were Hell Pirates—commanders who had torn apart admirals, slaughtered Celestial Dragons, and humbled the World Government. And yet, here they were, tied down, unable to advance or retreat.
Brook raised his head slightly, the faintest of smiles curling across his lips. "Don't worry. I haven't forgotten the battlefield over there. So much wealth, so many corpses waiting to be harvested… I would never give it up. Just be patient. Reinforcements are already on their way."
That calm confidence was enough to ease his men. As long as Brook sat among them, no storm could shake their faith.
Let Kukulkan posture for now. Time, as always, would turn in Brook's favor.
Elsewhere, closer to the Hive…
On a guard island near Beehive Island, the air trembled with violent haki. The collision of two Conqueror's Haki shook the very land itself, splitting stone and sky.
"Roger!!!"
A resentful, grief-stricken roar cut through the battlefield. A tall man with long, sharp eyebrows and a pipe clenched between his teeth surged forward with killing intent. His body was littered with wounds, deep sword marks crisscrossing his skin.
Opposite him stood a man wielding the supreme blade Ace, eyes burning with intensity.
"Naguri!" Roger bellowed, his voice iron-clad with conviction. "I'm a pirate too!! Don't think I'll hold back against you!"
The two captains clashed again, sparks bursting with every strike.
Both the Roger Pirates and the Naguri Pirates had come here with the same ambition: to exploit Rocks' absence and infiltrate his base, Beehive Island. Roger sought the poneglyphs, while Naguri sought to master Conqueror's Haki entanglement.
But fate played its hand cruelly. Their paths collided on this guard island, and blood was spilled.
Naguri's crew had already plundered the civilians, their hands red with slaughter. In their frenzy, they even injured the lookout of the Roger Pirates.
That was enough. Rayleigh and Gaban flew into a rage, their blades flashing as they carved through Naguri's men. Within hours, the Naguri Pirates were nearly annihilated, their corpses littering the island.
"Filthy butchers," Rayleigh spat, his sword dripping crimson. "Even pirates should have a line they don't cross."
Gaban crushed another foe with his twin axes. "Those people were innocent. For that—you all die here."
By the end, only Naguri himself remained. Bleeding, broken, and howling with hatred, he hurled himself into the sea and vanished into the mist.
The Roger Pirates did not give chase. They had no time.
The battle had alerted Rocks' defenders. Roger tightened his grip on Ace. "To Hive! Now!"
His men nodded, following their captain into the lion's den. On Beehive Island, the Rocks Pirates' cadres still held their posts, and steel met steel in brutal combat.
Through sheer willpower and bloodshed, Roger finally reached his goal. Hidden deep within the hive's labyrinth, he uncovered two ordinary poneglyphs. Quickly, he made rubbings of their inscriptions, then seized whatever treasure he could before retreating.
They had succeeded, but the cost was steep.
Roger's crew knew they had stirred a hornet's nest. They had defied Rocks once in the Valley of the Gods. Now they had plundered his lair directly. This was no minor insult. This was war.
The Naguri Pirates were gone, wiped from the New World. Naguri himself, lost to the waves. The Roger Pirates vanished into hiding, awaiting Rocks' inevitable vengeance.
And Rocks, still battling the navy, had yet to hear the news.
If he had, his fury might have split the seas in half.
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