Brook burst out laughing at Hoss's furious curse.
"Yohohoho! As long as I don't die, I'll never need a burial place. As long as I don't grow old, I'll never know old age!"
His mocking tone rang through the battlefield as he tossed Bloody Hand Braver's broken body toward the Musketeers' camp. His men immediately collected it for their grisly purposes.
"You even desecrate the corpse?!" Hoss's voice trembled with rage. The man who had always carried himself as a calm, good-natured veteran lost his composure entirely. His fear of Brook dissolved into pure hatred. This pirate was beyond forgiveness—vicious, unprincipled, and merciless, a monster who played with both the living and the dead.
Brook sneered, his voice like ice. "This is called making the best use of everything. And I still plan to add you to my underworld collection, Hoss. Don't run too far."
Brook's heart was cold as winter. To family, he gave warmth like spring. To enemies, he offered only death. There would be no mercy.
Riding the somersault cloud Hera, Brook soared after the white-winged unicorn holy horse. The goat-horned demon form of Coss Davo had already been captured. Now it was Hoss's turn. One admiral was not enough. Today, the navy would be crippled.
"Admiral Hoss, retreat! We must fall back now!" Sengoku's voice cracked like thunder. He could see the truth—the battle was lost. If they stayed, they would all be buried here.
"You go first! I'll hold the rear!" Hoss barked back. His eyes lingered on Sengoku, Zephyr, and the other rising stars. They were the navy's future. He would shoulder this failure alone. When he returned, he would face the Celestial Dragons' wrath, the accusations, the punishment. It was his misjudgment. His responsibility. His fate.
"Heraaah!!"
The white horse Hoss burst forward in his awakened form, a towering, double-winged unicorn more than ten meters tall. White holy light blazed from the horn on his brow and speared toward Brook like a divine judgment.
Brook grinned, unshaken. "Yohoho! Even if your holy light restrains my soul and the energy of my Seven Star Demon Sword, I still wield the three types of Haki!"
His blade lost its eerie glow, now wrapped in Armament and Conqueror's Haki. He slashed directly into the beam of holy light, sparks of black and white clashing violently.
"Retreat! Youge, Zephyr—fall back!" Sengoku roared, taking command. They had lost too much already. With Coss Davo captured, if Hoss fell here as well, the navy's upper ranks would collapse into a chasm.
"Hahahaha! You think you can just leave?"
Golden Lion Shiki's laughter rang, ragged with exhaustion. His golden robe was torn, his body covered in cuts. Youge wasn't faring any better. Their duel had ended in near parity, both bloodied, both stubbornly alive.
Redfield abandoned his fight with Zephyr entirely. "Pointless," he muttered. The martial artist was tough, but yielded no profit. Better to help Brook bring down an admiral than waste time. His lightning-imbued spear crackled as he turned.
The ground shook violently. Rocks and Roger's three-way clash with Garp shifted toward their side, dragging the storm of battle closer. A suffocating aura fell over all combatants.
Rocks's eyes burned as he glared at Kaido and Oden, the two children who had just awakened their Conqueror's Haki. His gut twisted. None of his cadres had awakened, yet Brook's ship overflowed with kings. His men, meanwhile, were busy hauling treasure back to their ships like greedy rats. His fury boiled.
No devil fruits in his grasp. Only corpses of Celestial Dragons to show. Brook had tricked him again.
"Brook!" Rocks's voice was raw, his aura flaring. "Hand over half of the devil fruits you stole from the Celestial Dragons!" His eyes were red, wild with humiliation. All his plans—all his efforts—had become Brook's dowry.
Brook tilted his head, feigning confusion. "Brother Rocks, what are you saying? You arrived before me. And now you demand I share my spoils? Yohoho! I haven't even asked you to split your treasures yet." His mocking laugh cut like a knife. Inside, his resolve hardened. He would never give anything back.
"Stop pretending!" Rocks roared, his blade vibrating with rage. "You want to keep it all for yourself? You think I don't see through you?"
Rocks had first suspected Roger's crew, but when he saw they carried no devil fruits, the truth became undeniable. It was Brook. Always Brook.
Brook's smile widened, cold and sharp. "I truly don't know what you mean. I only know this—many Celestial Dragons escaped, and your own Captain John and Bakin are bursting with loot. Or… do you mean to break our covenant here and now?"
Hoss, panting, used the distraction to retreat into the navy camp. Rage burned in him—if Rocks hadn't arrived, Brook might have finished him.
Before Rocks could retort, Brook's eyes shifted slyly. "Yohoho~. But look here—Roger, isn't it? You came too. Judging by your faces, you've scored quite a prize."
Roger laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "Ah, nothing much. Just a little gold… and a rubbing of some ancient stone."
Brook's smile sharpened. "A red stone, perhaps?"
Roger's eyes widened. "How do you know that?"
Rocks's killing intent exploded like a tidal wave. "Are you fools ignoring me?!" His fury shook the palaces. Enough of Brook's games. Enough of thieves and lies.
The battlefield froze, four forces now locked in a deadly stalemate. The navy pulled back under Hoss's command, Sengoku and Zephyr regrouping, waiting for reinforcements. Roger's crew edged toward Brook, the weakest here but instinctively drawn to the lesser evil.
Rocks glared at Brook, blood and fury dripping from every word.
"I said it once—I never took any devil fruits from the Celestial Dragons!" Brook declared, voice clear and arrogant. "What others snatched has nothing to do with me. Yohoho!"
His blade glowed with black and red lightning, his presence undaunted. Rocks was wounded, Roger was destiny's child, and the navy was reeling. The Hell Pirates stood tall, not beneath any flag.
Brook's grin cut across the chaos. "I have never had a devil fruit. And yet, here I stand, reaping the souls of gods."
---------------
Rocks's face darkened to the point of collapse. If all the top-level Devil Fruits had truly fallen into Brook's hands, then what position would he, Rocks, hold in the new world?
The thought gnawed at him. When the Conqueror's Haki contract expired, that day would spell the destruction of the Rocks Pirates. Worse—Brook might not even wait. With his schemes and tricks, he could easily twist the contract's wording, using proxy wars or manipulation to kill Rocks before the deadline.
"Brook," Rocks growled, his voice low and dangerous, "having an appetite too big for your own belly is dangerous. Do you intend to face the World Government and the Celestial Dragons alone?"
His words dripped with venom. He wanted the Devil Fruits, but had no clear way to pry them from Brook.
Brook's face twisted into fury, his acting flawless. "Rocks! Stop turning thief into accuser! You were the first to break into this place, and now you want to claim every Devil Fruit for yourself?!" His righteous roar carried across the battlefield, painting himself as the wronged party.
Rocks staggered at the audacity. His chest heaved with rage. "You…!" His hand tightened on the Blade of Gibek, veins bulging along his forehead. His liver felt as though it would burst from sheer fury.
Brook pressed the attack, words sharp as blades. "And let's not pretend you're empty-handed! Your men have hauled away more than enough spoils. If you had even a shred of conscience, you'd share with me. We still have to see each other in the future, don't we?"
It was shameless. It was outrageous. It was… effective.
Rocks's nose steamed like a bull ready to charge, mist pouring from his nostrils. The hand gripping his blade trembled—not from fear, but from the volcanic wrath threatening to consume him.
"You were the first to strike. Don't tell me you found nothing!" Brook's voice sharpened, calm in tone but loaded with accusation. "Do you expect us to believe that the Celestial Dragons who withdrew carried all the Devil Fruits away?"
The words, delivered with such conviction, were enough to cloud the battlefield. Even Roger, standing nearby, felt doubt creep into his chest. Could Brook truly be telling the truth?
"I landed at a secret port behind God Valley," Roger finally spoke, scratching the back of his head. "The ships there… they'd vanished. It looks like a group of Celestial Dragons escaped."
His voice was dry, his smile weaker than usual. He wanted no part in this standoff. The longer they lingered, the closer the Navy reinforcements drew.
Rocks turned on him, his rage boiling over. "Then what did you take from the highest palace? Hand it over. All of it!"
Roger's men shuffled nervously. Outnumbered and outclassed, they reluctantly piled up the treasures they had snatched—gilded ornaments, jeweled chests, priceless artifacts. Yet Roger kept one secret close: the rubbing of the red Poneglyph. That, he would never surrender.
Rocks rifled through the pile, his expression twisting darker with every passing second. No Devil Fruits. Not even scraps. His gut churned. Could they have been eaten already?
Roger bristled, his hand tightening on his sword. "We went straight to the highest palace after landing. We saw no Devil Fruits. I swear it on my Conqueror's Haki—if I lie, then may my Haki collapse and vanish forever!"
The words rang with conviction. His eyes burned with fury at the insult of Rocks's suspicion.
Rocks faltered, doubt gnawing at the edges of his certainty. How?
Brook's laughter cut through the tension. "Well, well, Rocks… do you have some secret you're hiding? You've been fixated on Devil Fruits from the very start. You lured me here to fight the Navy and slaughter Celestial Dragons—but was treasure just the cover? Is there something here you're desperate for?"
His eyes narrowed, feigning innocence. His tone, however, was dripping with accusation. His performance was so convincing that even Rocks himself faltered.
"You… you used me!" Brook roared suddenly, his tone flipping like a knife. "You dragged me into this war for your own hidden goal, while pretending treasure was a side job! You're the real thief here!"
His rage seemed genuine. His aura flared with fury so real that even Rocks hesitated.
Brook then gasped, his expression shifting into mock greed. "Wait… could it be that the retreating Celestial Dragons carried off the greatest treasure? Then I'll chase them down myself!"
He spun, signaling to his crew, as if ready to take flight in pursuit.
Rocks's breath caught. Could he really be innocent? For just a moment, uncertainty took root.
"Captain Brook! Take us with you!" Rayleigh shouted suddenly. The Roger Pirates had no illusions—they were caught between giants, and the best chance of survival was to fly under the Golden Lion's wings alongside Brook's crew.
Rocks, grinding his teeth, shifted tactics. "Brook, you've already captured Coss Davo. Help me seize Hoss as well."
Brook turned, sneer still fixed on his face. "Hmph. I'm chasing Celestial Dragons. Whatever prize has captured your heart, Rocks, you can keep it. My eyes are elsewhere."
His defiance left Rocks trembling with humiliation. He wanted to kill Brook here and now, contract be damned. But his body ached with injuries, and the Conqueror's oath shackled his hand.
Roger tried to slip away, but Brook's voice boomed across the battlefield. "Yohoho! Roger, don't run! You came here, you stay here. Work for us. Consider it your penance!"
Roger's crew grimaced. Freedom was their dream, but survival came first.
Rocks roared, "Brook! Have you forgotten our covenant? One of its terms was to drive the Navy out of the New World! You can't abandon it now!"
Brook paused, his grin stretching thin. At last, he spoke. "Very well. Whoever captures a Devil Fruit user owns them. No sharing. No debate. Do you agree?"
Rocks's face twisted in agony, humiliation burning like fire in his gut. This day had been nothing but defeat after defeat. And yet, with the Navy still looming, he had no choice.
"…Fine." His voice cracked. "I agree."
Brook's grin widened. "Then let's finish this. Together, we'll slaughter the Navy!"
His sword flared with black-red lightning. Behind him, his crew howled in frenzy. Even Roger's men were swept into the torrent, caught in Brook's net.
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