The Hell Pirates' recent battles hadn't earned Brook, Redfield, or Linlin any major bounty hikes—just a token 10 million Belly each. Still, they joined the crew's raucous celebration with gusto. Meanwhile, Tiger slipped away to double down on his training, ever the stoic warrior.
The Normandy Island showdown that followed was a chaotic mess, almost a farce. The Hell Pirates made a tactical retreat to raid Rocks' territory, but no high-ranking officers fell, so bounties stayed stagnant.
Then came the bombshell: Brook, teaming up with Vesper against Rocks, saw his bounty skyrocket to a staggering 2.21 billion Belly, surpassing Saracha's 2.2 billion. Overnight, he cemented his place as one of the New World's three dominant overlords.
Redfield, holding his own against the monk-warrior Skal, saw his bounty climb to 1.06 billion, solidifying his role as the Hell Pirates' undisputed second-in-command.
This left Golden Lion Shiki seething. His once-equal standing was gone, overshadowed by Newgate to boot. It stung, but Brook's unwavering trust and encouragement kept him grounded. The crew's top four fighters—Brook, Redfield, Newgate, and Linlin—now formed a clear hierarchy, with the rest of the crew setting their own goals to climb the ranks.
...
When Charlotte Linlin spotted the familiar Island floating among the sky islands, she was over the moon. With a wave of her hand, she transformed a forest into a legion of Homies, bursting into song with unrestrained joy.
At Brook's suggestion, she renamed the Island to Whole Cake Island, kicking off her grand Homie transformation project. It was also a chance to hone her Soul-Soul Fruit powers, especially since she'd slipped to the bottom of the top four fighters.
Bounties didn't faze Linlin much, though. Her focus was entirely on Whole Cake Island. She planned to celebrate her eighteenth birthday there, a milestone that would mark the start of her dream with Brook: building Totto Land, a utopia where all races could coexist in harmony.
She'd also started thinking about having kids. Brook had mentioned that eighteen was old enough to "make babies," and the idea thrilled her. But lately, she'd noticed Brook spending a lot of time with Stussy and Angelie. They'd vanish together, supposedly to "play poker," only to reappear looking oddly satisfied, their lips sometimes red and swollen. Were they eating spicy food? Linlin wasn't a fan of spicy—she preferred sweets. Did Brook have any ice cream or giant popsicles to share?
Her vision for Whole Cake Island was a fairytale kingdom brimming with desserts and joyful songs. Everything was shaping up just the way she wanted!
...
Meanwhile, Golden Lion Shiki had turned into a battle junkie. Every day, he challenged Redfield and Newgate, sparring to sharpen his skills and reclaim his pride. He couldn't accept that they'd surpassed him.
"We're all Conqueror's Haki awakeners, all with top-tier Devil Fruits, and we learned Ryuo and Conqueror's Haki Coiling together. So why are they stronger?!"
Shiki racked his brain, searching for answers. He was no less talented, so the truth hit hard: Redfield and Newgate must be sacrificing sleep to train harder in secret. They were grinding!
The realization numbed him. Were they all becoming workaholics? To outshine his rivals and crush their smug attitudes, Shiki resolved to match their hustle, squeezing every second out of his day for training.
...
Brook, meanwhile, had pushed his Fruit to a new level, generating high-quality Aura on his own. It wasn't quite as potent as the energies from the Yellow Springs itself, but it was close enough.
Once he awakened his fruit, the aura would likely rival the real thing. He gazed at his wraith generals—Dawei, Brelco, Calypso, Dalma—all pirates with bounties over 500 million. As Brook grew stronger, these spirits regained more of their original combat prowess, now capable of physical attacks.
The deeper Brook developed his fruit, the stronger his ghostly generals became, their power scaling with his own. He was on the verge of commanding a truly fearsome army.
He still had Sandy to claim, a potential new wraith general. Vegapunk, following Brook's theories, was perfecting a Seastone-based Devil Fruit recycling chamber to maximize the success rate of fruit reclamation.
Sandy and the Kurozumi siblings—Higurashi and Semimaru—weren't truly loyal to Rocks. They'd joined his crew for status or manipulation, not devotion. If Brook moved to kill them, they'd likely surrender. But Brook wasn't after their loyalty—he wanted their Devil Fruits. The Kurozumi siblings, nearing fifty, were mediocre in strength and scheming to boot. Better to pass their fruits to younger, more promising talents.
Sandy was a powerhouse, and Brook considered recruiting him. But his history of betraying Rocks suggested he could turn on Brook too. Using the Memory Seahorse to erase Sandy's memories risked future complications—his fame made him too recognizable, and external information could spark doubts.
Only Qilin Lion, Parrot, and Streusen had undergone memory erasure in the Hell Pirates. Qilin Lion and Parrot were nobodies outside the crew, and Streusen, valuing his life, took pride in his role without questioning his lost memories. From bounties and newspapers, he knew he'd once run with Linlin. Losing a few memories didn't change much—he was still rolling with her and Brook.
Brook decided to abandon memory erasure as a recruitment tactic. With the Hell Pirates' growing dominance, it was no longer necessary. Unless he could get his hands on the Memory-Memory Fruit—then he might reconsider.
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+300 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg