"Marine support? As fast as ever!"
Rocks stood at the bow, his coat flapping wildly in the wind. He grinned like a demon.
"Alright men! Prepare to sally forth!"
"Sink them! Then plunder them!"
The Rocks Pirates didn't retreat. They sailed their massive fortress-ship straight into the heart of the Marine Grand Fleet's encirclement.
Rocks drew his sword. He didn't use a named technique; he simply swung.
BOOM!
The slash wasn't a blade of air; it was a cannon shot of pure pressure. A frontline warship exploded on impact, wood and steel turning to shrapnel.
Charlotte Linlin, cackling maniacally, surfed on Zeus. She crashed onto the deck of a heavy cruiser.
"Mamamama! Life or Treat?!"
Screams of terror erupted immediately.
Shiki the Golden Lion danced through the hail of cannonball fire. He drifted casually to the side of a warship and touched the hull with a single finger.
"Lion's Lift."
Gravity reversed. The massive battleship was ripped from the sea and hurled into the sky. Shiki flicked his wrist, and the ship flipped upside down like a toy, dumping hundreds of screaming Marines into the ocean below.
Whitebeard ignored the flashy displays. He saw a transport ship that looked laden with supplies. He leaped a thousand meters in a single bound, crashing onto the enemy deck and clearing a squad with a swing of his bisento.
The monsters were loose.
York, lacking a movement ability like flight or super-jumps, chose a different vantage point. He climbed to the top of the pirate ship's crow's nest.
"This view isn't bad," he muttered.
He clasped his hands together in prayer. His expression became solemn, dignified, and utterly holy.
"Holy Light Illumination."
FLASH!
A blinding, pure white light exploded from his body, covering the entire naval battlefield.
The effect was instant.
On the Marine ships, every soldier standing on deck—from Seamen to Commodores—stiffened. Their weapons clattered to the floor. Their faces, twisted in rage a moment ago, melted into expressions of euphoric bliss.
"Mmm... Ahh..."
"It feels... so good..."
"I can't... fight anymore..."
The effect didn't discriminate. On the pirate ship, the crew members of the Rocks Pirates also froze.
"York, you bastard! We got hit too!"
"Turn it off! My knees are weak!"
"Sorry!" York called out, his voice projecting over the chaos. "My ability is an Area of Effect strike! I can't target it precisely! You'll just have to endure the happiness!"
His apology sounded entirely insincere. In fact, he intensified the output, making himself shine like a miniature sun.
Whitebeard, mid-swing, felt his muscles relax against his will. A hint of apprehension flashed in his eyes.
'This ability... unless you break it with superior Haki or have absolutely no interest in women, you're a sitting duck.'
"HAAah!"
Shiki roared. A burst of Conqueror's Haki surged from his body, forcibly shattering the mental fog of the Holy Light.
"Annoying brat!"
Although the physiological reaction couldn't be completely eliminated, his mind cleared, and his movement returned.
Seeing this, Rocks, Whitebeard, Linlin, and the other executives flared their Haki, breaking free from the suppression. It proved that while the fruit was powerful, the top-tiers could resist it through sheer willpower.
Rocks watched this, secretly nodding.
'Good. My crew is strong.'
He made a mental note: In the future, if we recruit new members, resisting York's light will be the entry test. If they can't even handle a little pleasure, they're just fodder.
With the Marines incapacitated by "happiness," the battle became a massacre. The fleet was stripped of valuables and sunk to the bottom of the New World.
Marineford. Fleet Admiral's Office.
SLAM!
Admiral Sora smashed his fist onto the desk, cracking the wood.
"Who exactly is this York?! When did the Rocks Pirates get such a troublesome ability user?!"
On the desk lay a photograph taken by a brave Marine photographer at great risk.
It showed a handsome youth with windblown black hair, hands clasped in prayer. He radiated a sacred light, looking more like a saint than a pirate.
The name at the bottom read: Atlas D. York.
Sitting on the sofa was a younger Sengoku (currently a Vice Admiral). He held a copy of the photo, his brow furrowed.
"I feel like I've heard that name somewhere..."
"What?!" Sora looked up sharply. "Think hard, Sengoku! What is this kid's background?!"
Sengoku massaged his temples. "Don't rush me. I've definitely seen this face or heard the name... but the memory is fuzzy. It might take some time to recall."
Sora grunted and paced the room. "We can't wait for your memory. We need a strategy now."
The debriefing from the survivors was terrifying.
According to the reports, anyone illuminated by the light lost the will to fight.
However, those deep inside the engine rooms were unaffected.
More importantly... the soldiers who were "pure"—bachelors with no experience with women—were completely immune.
"As long as they are touched by the light, they fall..." Sora muttered. "This full-coverage strike is a strategic nightmare."
The Marines faced an impossible dilemma. Even knowing the weakness of the fruit, how could they counter it?
"We can't possibly create an entire battalion of virgins just to fight the Rocks Pirates, can we?!"
Sengoku looked up, deadpan. "Statistically, finding that many high-level combatants who are... inexperienced... is unlikely."
"Exactly! And even if we found them, what if they die? Where do we find a second batch?!"
The absurdity of the situation made the Admiral want to scream.
Finally, the High Command made a decision. They would temporarily halt the direct encirclement of the Rocks Pirates. Instead, they would use the World Government's favorite weapon: The Bounty System.
Given the brutal, "kill-or-be-killed" nature of the Rocks crew, if they inflated York's bounty high enough, his own crewmates might try to kill him for the money.
"Let them eat each other," Sora growled. "Issue the poster."
New World. Hachinosu (Beehive Island).
The Rocks Pirates returned victorious.
Shiki used his powers to lower the massive Punk Hazard Research Lab onto the back of the skull-shaped mountain. It settled with a heavy thud, expanding their base.
Inside the main hall, the Loot Distribution Meeting began.
The mountains of gold and treasure were divided.
The 14 Core Executives (excluding apprentices) each took one full share.
Shiki received a double share for the feat of transporting the facility.
That left a significant portion remaining.
Rocks stood up, holding a chest of jewels.
"For providing the critical intelligence that led to the Giants... York!"
He tossed the chest to the young man.
"You get a full Executive share!"
The crew grumbled but didn't object; the intel had been solid.
"And Kaido..." Rocks kicked a smaller bag of gold coins toward the horned teenager. "Half a share. Standard apprentice rate."
"Che," Kaido spat, but grabbed the bag anyway.
The remaining scraps were thrown to the hundreds of foot soldiers outside to fight over.
With the distribution complete, the meeting adjourned.
York hefted his treasure, his eyes drifting to a retreating figure. Stussy was walking away, her hips swaying. She hadn't reported to Whitebeard.
'Interesting,' York thought. 'Or maybe everyone here is just used to the constant threat of betrayal?'
He was snapped out of his thoughts by Kaido, who walked over holding a piece of paper.
"Hey! York!"
Kaido grinned, showing his sharp teeth.
"You're famous. Your first bounty poster is out!"
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