The next morning.
Ohara's residents and the scholars of the Tree of Knowledge woke to the island trembling beneath their feet. The entire landmass began to rise, soaring toward Reverse Mountain, the gateway to the Grand Line!
Panic gripped most of the islanders, but the Hell Pirates' samurai swordsmen and Seastone-armed gunners swiftly restored order. Kaido and Tiger, the crew's apprentice members, were dispatched to maintain calm.
"Gotta toughen up the young blood!" some of the lazier crew members declared, openly shirking duty. Instead, they lounged on the Golden Ark, sipping drinks, soaking in the sun, and admiring the view.
Golden Lion Shiki steered the floating island with his powers, while navigator Shakky monitored the winds, pushing Ohara's golden landmass to top speed with the aid of massive sails now dotting the island.
The island's expanded size slowed its pace, prompting Brook—still feeling "frail" from recent battles—to think of Orion's Wind-Wind Fruit.
No need for words. Once Vesper's crew fell, that fruit would belong to the Hell Pirates!
Brook glanced at Qilin Lion, a sly grin forming. Why not give the Wind-Wind Fruit to the beast? It'd become the king of the skies!
Even without Dr. Vegapunk's propulsion system, the Wind-Wind Fruit might let the Golden Ark cross the Calm Belt. Still, Brook had faith in Vegapunk's genius.
The West Sea was behind them now, though Brook regretted not visiting the Kano Country to see the One Treasure to Happo Navy—a pirate kingdom thriving for centuries, doubling as a World Government member nation, ruling both underworld and legitimate spheres.
The Happo Navy's twelfth-generation heir, Chinjao the Drill, was currently tearing through the New World, earning a solid reputation as a supernova with a bounty of three or four hundred million Belly.
Might as well meet these supernovas—Chinjao, Byrnndi World, Naguri, and that wandering Roger. Maybe recruit a couple as allied crews! After all, Naguri and Chinjao both wielded all three types of Haki.
Had Brook not trained Redfield and the others in Ryuo Haki early, unlocking their Devil Fruit potential and boosting their strength far beyond their peers, they wouldn't outshine these supernovas so drastically. Redfield, Shiki, Newgate, and Linlin's bounties wouldn't be skyrocketing, leaving their contemporaries in the dust!
Take Roger's crew. Without advanced three-type Haki training, they were just above-average supernovas.
Who knows if Roger's Voice of All Things Haki led him to some ancient training ground, unlocking top-tier Conqueror's Haki infusion? That's what let him rival Rocks a decade later!
Right now, Roger's crew hadn't made big waves. Their bounties were modest for a crew barely a year into the New World, lacking any Devil Fruit users. They relied on Brook's dual-Haki training methods.
But talent shines through. A genius like Roger or Rayleigh could turn basic Haki into a weapon, hammering supernovas like Naguri and World with just dual-Haki mastery.
...
"Conqueror's Haki users are tough to recruit. They don't just roll over like Shiki did!" Brook mused, perched atop the Tree of Knowledge. "But World, with his More-More Fruit? He's ripe for the picking. The guy's desperate to boost his bounty, attacking Celestial Dragon convoys, talking about taking them down, even shelling World Government nations!"
Brook was growing fond of this treetop vantage point. He'd have to build an observation deck here.
World had earned the title "World Destroyer." His More-More Fruit could enlarge objects a hundredfold—a regular cannonball became an island-shattering warhead!
"That guy's as reckless as Shiki, recruiting anyone who breathes. His ship's probably crawling with CP agents by now!"
In the original timeline, World's crew betrayed him, riddled with CP operatives wielding Rokushiki techniques like Shigan, poking holes in him. Was he drugged back then? His condition was off.
That's the price of blind recruitment. Without Brook's plot knowledge and Redfield's mind-reading, CP agent Stussy might've infiltrated the Hell Pirates!
The thought of the World Government and Navy's omnipresent spies sent shivers down Brook's spine. CP agents in World's crew, Drake among the Beasts Pirates, Corazon in the Donquixote Family, CP9 in Water Seven's shipyards, even Big News Morgans' reporters and queen Stussy—all undercover.
Brook wasn't about to let unknowns board his ship. Redfield was his final safeguard.
Ohara's population had swelled, increasing the risk of World Government infiltrators among the scholars. From day one, Brook had Antonio, the Den Den Mushi Fruit user, monitor the island's communications.
Antonio now controlled dozens of black eavesdropping Den Den Mushi, his own interception powers catching scholars secretly tipping off the Navy. Redfield's team had already rounded them up.
The Hell Pirates' presence in the West Sea was no secret, so a little exposure didn't matter. They were on the move, their position shifting constantly, and no one in the West Sea could challenge them.
The real question: where would the Navy ambush them? Antonio and Mortomas were on high alert, tracking the Admirals' movements.
Thanks to spy Den Den Mushi and news seagulls, they'd spotted a massive Navy buildup at Marine Headquarters, with all three Admirals converging on the Grand Line!
"Tricky situation. Three Admirals together? They're trying to block our return to the New World," Brook muttered, scanning Antonio and Mortomas' latest intel. The Celestial Dragons and Navy weren't keen on letting him slip away.
Meanwhile, Vesper's crew, led by Shirokiri, was stirring trouble in their territory. Rocks' crew lurked nearby, eyeing the Overlord Alliance's collapse, waiting for Vesper and the Hell Pirates to clash!
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