Regret came too late.
"Rocks attacked God Valley?!"
Golden Lion's expression cleared in an instant. He immediately understood why Fleet Admiral "Steel Bone" Kong was willing to bargain with him.
That place…
It was called God Valley, a so-called "holy canyon," but in truth it was where Celestial Dragons gathered.
Those self-proclaimed "gods"…
valued their own lives above everything else.
If they were attacked…
they would definitely call the Navy for help at the first opportunity.
Golden Lion instantly felt this was a perfect opening and said, "Ares, this operation is probably Rocks's scheme. This is a good chance."
"If we agree to the Navy's terms, we can save Kaido too. It's hugely beneficial for us!"
God Valley…
Of course they had to go!
Ares knew that during the God Valley incident, the Celestial Dragons had prepared six top-tier Devil Fruits.
One of them…
was Bartholomew Kuma's Nikyu Nikyu no Mi!
As for the other five…
every single one was a top-tier fruit, not inferior to the Paw-Paw Fruit in the slightest. Any one of them could create a powerful fighter.
And…
Ares was extremely interested in Bartholomew Kuma himself.
The man who would later become a Shichibukai, then be remodeled into a machine.
If Ares could recruit him…
he would absolutely be capable of standing on his own in the future!
And if he could seize a few more Devil Fruits…
maybe…
he could create a pirate crew even stronger than the Rocks Pirates!
After a brief pause, Ares replied to Fleet Admiral Kong, "Fine. I agree!"
The moment Ares agreed, Kong let out a long breath.
He immediately ordered the fighting to stop.
And Kaido, moved to tears, cried like the world was ending, "Waaah! Ares, big bro… it's all because I'm not strong enough yet!!!"
"..."
Beside him, the CP0 chief, Claude, kicked Kaido once. "Oi. Stop crying pearls. Get up!"
Several CP0 agents each held an end of the Seastone chains, escorting Kaido onto a Marine warship.
With every step, the shackles clattered loudly.
Golden Lion and Ares boarded the deck with Slardar, along with several of Golden Lion's trusted subordinates.
The other pirates fled, scrambling back to their own ships and running for their lives.
After some basic treatment, Slardar was no longer in immediate danger, though he remained unconscious.
On the deck…
Fleet Admiral "Steel Bone" Kong faced Golden Lion and Ares head-on, accompanied by Sengoku, Garp, Zephyr, several Marine Vice Admirals, and members of CP0.
The air was suffocating.
Ares spoke first. "Once we reach God Valley, you release Kaido."
"The Marines will honor our deal," Kong replied, arms crossed, eyes locked on Ares, vigilance written all over his face.
In front of this monster, the Marines couldn't afford to relax for even a second.
Under Golden Lion Shiki's power, the massive warship floated into the air and sped toward God Valley along the route the Marines had prepared.
…
Time rewound.
Before Rocks arrived at God Valley
"Captain Rocks! The Den Den Mushi picked up a distress signal. It seems to be from slaves inside God Valley!"
On the deck…
monsters stood shoulder to shoulder.
Rocks wore a black captain's cloak and asked in a low voice, "What did the distress signal say?"
A subordinate hurriedly reported, "It was sent by a little girl. She said God Valley is holding a hunting festival. The World Government has hidden six top-tier Devil Fruits on the island as prizes for the hunt!!"
Boom!
The moment that bombshell dropped, the deck exploded into chaos!
Wang Zhi: "Six top-tier Devil Fruits?! Oi, oi if the World Government values them, they've got to be insanely strong!"
Silver Axe: "Of course! Not just any fruit can catch a Celestial Dragon's eye. They don't even look at ordinary Devil Fruits."
"They'll even feed trash fruits to slaves for fun!"
"Only truly top-tier Devil Fruits are worth their attention!"
Charlotte Linlin, all curves and heat, laughed, "Mamamama…"
"Top-tier fruits are either Logia or Mythical Zoan. Let's go take them!"
Whitebeard's eyes lit up, and he laughed, "Gurararara if they're top-tier, I'm interested too!"
"..."
Every pirate on deck was fired up, like they'd been injected with adrenaline. They wanted to storm God Valley right now and rip those fruits away.
Rocks's arrogant face split into a wide grin. "Ze hahaha… there's nothing more exciting than this!"
"These fruits will belong to the Rocks Pirates!"
Top-tier Devil Fruits.
Six of them at once!
Rocks barked, "Oi! You brats, sail faster!"
"Don't let those Celestial Dragon scum ruin our fruits!"
"OHHHH!"
"OHHHH!"
The pirates cheered wildly.
Newgate spoke up, "Captain Rocks, should we tell Shiki and Ares too? Once they finish their task, they can rush over and regroup with us."
Them?
They were probably already buried under the Navy's layers of encirclement.
Still barely hanging on.
Later…
Shiki and Ares might spend the rest of their lives rotting in Impel Down.
Rocks grinned. "Fine."
He looked toward Kurozumi Semimaru.
"Oi, Semimaru. With news this good, how could we not inform Shiki and Ares?"
"Go tell them."
Kurozumi Semimaru froze for a beat, then smiled warmly. "Captain, I'll contact them right away."
He turned and walked into the cabin, sneering inside.
"Tensetsu's brat… the Navy has laid heavy forces at G1. It was meant for Captain Rocks, but you'll have to jump into it for him."
"Ares, once you die… the Tensetsu bloodline will vanish from this sea completely. Become history."
"The Kurozumi clan's downfall… it all happened because of your Tensetsu!"
"When Captain Rocks conquers the sea, he'll support the Kurozumi clan as Wano's Shogun…"
He stayed in the cabin for a while.
But he never contacted Shiki or Ares.
When he returned to the deck, Kurozumi Semimaru wore a fake smile. "Captain, I've already informed Shiki and Ares. They said once they destroy Marine G1, they'll come immediately."
"Ze hahaha " Rocks laughed loudly. "Oi, you brats, did you hear that?!"
"Get your blood pumping!"
"Don't let Shiki and Ares steal the spotlight!!"
The pirates erupted into even louder celebration.
But Whitebeard frowned slightly, feeling something was off.
This Kurozumi Semimaru who had suddenly appeared…
That name felt familiar.
He just couldn't remember where he'd heard it.
The ship accelerated.
And as the Rocks Pirates reached God Valley, the curtain rose on a war.
Rocks thrust an arm into the air and roared, "Listen up, you brats!!"
"Whatever Devil Fruit you grab…"
"is yours!"
"Go!"
"Hungry wolves teach those high-and-mighty Celestial Dragons a lesson!"
"Tell them…"
"Pirates are the true masters of this sea!!"
Every pirate surged into the island like wolves on the hunt.
All aiming for those six top-tier Devil Fruits ready to seize them by force!
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