Holy Land Mary Geoise.
Imu gazed at the news about Rocks, a ripple flickering in his compound pupils.
A powerful member of the "D. Clan"—bearing a surname he'd never heard before.
He even dared to break into the Room of Flowers, claiming to admire Davy Jones.
It had to be another survivor of the "D." bloodline, hiding behind a changed surname.
"Gathering powerhouses everywhere..."
Imu skimmed the rest of the Rocks Pirates' roster.
A Gravity user, a Tremor-Tremor Fruit user, a Float-Float Fruit user... two Fish-Men... a truly formidable crew!
But still nothing to worry about—yet.
"Koyuki Fang Huo..."
"A Devil Fruit user who fears no Sea Stone—and wields multiple abilities?!"
Reading Fang Huo's file, Imu realized this pirate carried even more secrets than the D-named Rocks.
Had another destabilizing element appeared in the world?
"Gu Yue..."
Imu's gaze turned stern.
Could they be the ancient Moonfolk or Half-Moonfolk?
Or perhaps an ally of Joy Boy's samurai?
Kozuki, Amatsuki, Shimotsuki, Fugetsu, Ugetsu... and now Gu Yue?
Suddenly, Imu's interest in Koyuki Fang Huo eclipsed that in Rocks of the "D." Clan.
"Vegapunk! Dig up every scrap on Rocks D. Xebec!"
"We must learn his true surname!"
"And bring back that Koyuki Fang Huo—alive!"
"We must uncover how he ignores Sea Stone and wields more than one Devil Fruit power!"
Imu's voice echoed through the Five Elders' minds.
"Yes, Lord Imu!"
Saint Vegapunk and the others answered at once.
Moments later, the God's Knights deployed across the globe, hunting every trace of Rocks.
They had to find his homeland—and his family.
Meanwhile, Saint Saturn personally formed a CP0 task force to capture Koyuki Fang Huo.
Their mission: abduct the crew's "First Mate" from within the Rocks Pirates themselves.
"Lord Saturn, the Rocks Pirates are expanding rapidly!"
"Let's pose as powerful pirates, infiltrate them, seize Fang Huo, and break the crew apart."
"We can also secretly bribe their Executives."
With the special squad created, seasoned CP0 agents trotted out the agency's three favorite tricks.
These undercover tactics had never failed; success rates topped eighty percent.
Once targeted, few crews survived their schemes of sowing discord and tailored strikes.
"Approved."
Leaning on his wooden staff, Saint Saturn stamped the plan with his authority.
Previously, the unique user Koyuki Fang Huo had almost been delivered to Mary Geoise as a lab specimen.
Yet, by an outrageous coincidence, Rocks had swept in and snatched him away.
Such accidents mirrored the World Government's perpetual failure to secure the Sun God Nika Fruit.
After the Kingdom of Cang, Black Hand Pirate Island, and Kingdom of Ying incidents caused by the Rocks Pirates...
the World Government finally prepared to crush this pack of rogues.
Marine Headquarters received orders to focus its might on the Rocks Pirates.
At once, the God's Knights, CP0, and the Marines poured into the New World.
Not long after.
A flotilla sailing from G-5, G-11, and G-14 set out to hunt Rocks's crew.
Thirty battleships—led by an Admiral—steamed forth in force.
They were met with devastation and slaughter.
Rocks split six ships with one slash; Fang Huo's gravity crush erased five; Newgate's quake triggered a tsunami that swamped another five; Shiki levitated two and smashed them into two more, wrecking four in seconds...
"Silver Axe" Fierce, Babel, and Sunbell each sank a pair—what should have been a massacre became a counter-massacre.
Before the encirclement even formed, the Rocks Pirates' long-range onslaught obliterated half the fleet.
The surviving hulks fled; the Admiral himself limped away wounded, scarred for life.
Six Marine Vice Admirals perished, dozens of Rear Admirals and Captains with them—Rocks's name detonated across the globe.
No one dreamed a handful of pirates could be so terrifying.
Every officer wielded world-shattering might.
Above all, Rocks himself seemed a fiend from another dimension.
His slaying of an Admiral at Mary Geoise had been no hoax.
Receiving the carnage report, the World Government and Marine Headquarters issued but one order.
Unless two Admirals or more led the force, engagement with the Rocks Pirates was forbidden.
Against a crew with flying battleships, they would bide their time and strike elsewhere.
Days later.
In the mid-rear of the New World, upon an open sea...
"Shi-ha-ha-ha! My bounty's topped 500 million Berries!!"
"Golden Lion" Shiki roared, waving fresh newspapers and wanted posters.
The headlines screamed of the brutal Omaha Sea Battle.
The press now branded the Rocks Pirates the "World's Worst," the planet's number-one crew—every last member a savage butcher.
"Damn it! That bastard Shiki's bounty has passed mine!"
"Just because he lucked into a powerful Devil Fruit power!"
"Silver Axe" Fierce burned with resentment—what was so great about fruit-based destruction?
"Golden Lion" Shiki, Paramecia Float-Float Fruit user: Bounty 547 million Berries.
"Silver Axe" Fierce: Bounty 400 million Berries.
In that clash, Shiki's aerial havoc had outshone "Silver Axe"s performance.
Day by day, Shiki's meteoric rise closed—and even threatened to surpass—his own.
Craving a mighty Devil Fruit, "Silver Axe" Fierce itched with frustration.
"Ba-ha-ha, almost overtook that jerk Fierce!"
"Deep Sea Titan" Babel beamed at his new poster; sinking two warships and drowning two Rear Admirals had been worth it.
"Deep Sea Titan" Babel: Bounty 388 million Berries.
Next time he might outstrip "Silver Axe" Fierce—he was no weaker.
At sea, he held every advantage.
Fight on a pirate deck, and Babel was ten-to-one sure he'd leave "Silver Axe" Fierce a wreck at the ocean's bottom.
When Sunbell saw his updated poster, tears nearly welled—his bounty had soared.
Whether from the Rocks Pirates' notoriety or his own strength, he couldn't say.
"Tidal Sea Demon" Sunbell: Bounty 320 million Berries.
Only his epithet had changed—from "Tidal Sea Hero" to "Tidal Sea Demon," infuriating him.