Roger and Rayleigh were forced into the God Valley War with little choice. What a humiliating situation—they had gained nothing but a rubbing of the red Poneglyph, lost all their gold and silver treasures, and now were reduced to free muscle. To them, it was a staggering loss.
"Yohohoho! Roger, don't sulk. You won't be treated unfairly!" Brook laughed, his eerie voice cutting across the battlefield. "You'll get your share of the treasure! I won't let you take unnecessary risks. All you need to do is deal with Iron Fist Garp or Black Arm Zephyr!"
He divided the battlefield as though it were his stage, giving Roger's crew the physical monsters while he and Rocks set their sights on Devil Fruit users.
"Rocks, don't say I'm taking advantage," Brook added with mock courtesy. "Hoss, Youge, Golden Buddha Sengoku—pick first."
Rocks's eyes burned with fury, but Brook's words were coated in feigned fairness. After all, Brook had already captured Coss Davo. Giving Rocks priority now was both strategic and mocking.
"Hmph! Nonsense! The Admirals are mine. Sengoku too!" Rocks growled. His eyes gleamed with greed. The Mythical Zoan powers of the unicorn and the Buddha were far too tempting to leave behind. With the Rocks Pirates, the Hell Pirates, and even Roger's crew aligned, the Navy should have been crushed already.
After all, Admiral Coss Davo had been captured by Brook, Bloody Hand Braver had been slain by Brook, and Rocks himself had killed two God Knights. The balance of power had shifted entirely.
"Then let's make this quick," Brook said, smiling wickedly. "I still have Celestial Dragons to catch, yohoho!" His performance never stopped; even in the middle of war, he threw smoke bombs of misdirection. Redfield rolled his eyes, muttering curses under his breath.
Brook leaned toward Shiki, whispering. The Golden Lion scowled, then reluctantly flew toward the Celestial Dragons' highest palace instead of joining the fight.
The Navy, expecting the pirates to turn on one another, froze in horror. Instead of infighting, the three crews surged forward together.
Admiral Hoss's blood ran cold. "Retreat!" he roared. "Retreat, now!" One Hell Pirates crew was already nearly impossible to handle. Against three combined forces, the Navy would be slaughtered.
Panic erupted. Some CP0 agents had already fled, protecting a handful of Celestial Dragons. The rest—loyal dogs bred since childhood—chose to die alongside their masters, unwilling or unable to think otherwise.
"We can't let them escape!" Rocks bellowed, his blade gleaming. "Hoss and Sengoku must fall today, or this battle is worthless! Gold and jewels mean nothing. Strength is all that matters!" His hunger burned not for treasure, but for the Devil Fruits carried by the admirals.
Yet in the back of his mind, unease gnawed. The top-tier Devil Fruits hidden in God Valley—had Brook taken them? Or had the Celestial Dragons spirited them away first?
Brook, unconcerned with Rocks's obsession, ordered his Hell Pirates to hunt Youge. The man's speed was legendary, but Brook's crew swarmed him relentlessly, isolating him from the Rocks Pirates and the Navy.
The Roger Pirates proved just as cunning. They lured Garp with jeers and mockery, slowly drawing him toward a secret port near the Oro Jackson. If needed, they could break away and flee at any time.
Thus, in the chaos, the battlefield splintered: Roger's crew tied down Garp, Brook's crew encircled Youge, and Rocks was left gnashing his teeth.
"Damn them! Damn Brook, damn Roger!" Rocks seethed, his chest heaving.
Admiral Hoss, sensing the shift, felt a spark of hope. If I can delay them until Fleet Admir Kukulkan arrives, we can kill the Rocks Pirates here and now. The Hell Pirates were far more dangerous, their mobility too great to trap—but Rocks could still be bled dry.
"Scorpion Dragon is injured," Hoss ordered sharply. "Sengoku, strike him down quickly, then reinforce me. Zephyr, deal with Wang Zhi. Vice admirals—engage the rest of the pirate leaders!"
The Navy responded in unison, their morale clawing its way back from despair. If they couldn't win, then at least they could stall.
"Hahahaha! Yes, come to me!" Rocks roared, fury exploding outward. "Life or death, I'll crush you!" His rage was volcanic, his desire for the unicorn and Buddha fruits burning hotter than ever.
Above, Hoss transformed again, his body swelling into the colossal form of a winged unicorn bathed in radiant light. Holy beams lanced from his horn, hammering toward Rocks from the skies. Rocks snarled, shadows swirling to meet him. Their clash was apocalyptic, the sky itself trembling.
Meanwhile, Sengoku rushed the battered Scorpion Dragon, fists glowing with golden shockwaves. Wang Zhi attempted to intervene but was met with Zephyr's iron fists, their strikes colliding in bursts of flame and thunder.
Elsewhere, Monkey King Wizz, weakened by poison and grief for his fallen partner, was forced back by Rear Admiral Tsuru. Silver Axe, Captain John, Jennifer, the Karns brothers, and countless others found themselves locked in desperate combat against vice admirals and elite officers.
The battlefield became a whirlwind of blood and steel. Despite the pirates' numbers, the Navy fought with the desperation of the damned, dragging the fight into a stalemate.
Rocks's face twisted. "Brook! You vile snake! Roger! Cunning rats!"
He could see it now: had Brook and Roger brought their full force here, the Navy would already have been obliterated. Instead, they had carved out their own hunts, leaving Rocks to bleed against the strongest foes.
Regret crashed over him like a tidal wave. He cursed the day he allied with Brook. That damned bastard was the most despicable, shameless overlord he had ever met.
------------
While feigning weakness to lure away Iron Fist Garp, the Roger Pirates continued looting gold and silver from the Celestial Dragons' palaces. But in the process, they uncovered something even more shocking: countless slaves, imprisoned and tortured beyond recognition.
Soon, Garp stopped clashing with Roger's crew altogether. Instead, he followed them through the gilded halls, breaking chains and tearing open cages to free the wretched souls trapped inside.
Among the cries of gratitude from the liberated slaves, an unlikely bond began forming between pirate and marine. Roger and Garp—soldier and outlaw—recognized something in each other. But duty and position meant they could never truly stand side by side.
"Garp… after freeing them, can you guarantee their safety?" Roger asked grimly, glancing at the swelling crowd of rescued slaves. His ship, the Oro Jackson, could never carry so many.
"..."
For once, the fearless Garp was silent. As a vice admiral, he had no authority to release Celestial Dragon property branded with the Hoof of the Soaring Dragon. Even if freed, they would likely be hunted down again.
"Then give them to Brook," Roger said suddenly. "I've seen the way people live in Hell Pirates' territory. Brook will give these poor souls a real chance."
"I agree," Rayleigh added quickly. He, too, didn't want the burden of transporting so many. Not only was it impossible logistically, it would also paint an even bigger target on their backs.
Roger scowled. "Damn that Golden Lion. He's floating off with the Celestial Dragons' highest palace… and the red stone inside it! He already stole the Dragon Tomb on Dragonstone Island, and even took the dragon egg I had a connection with! I ought to beat him to a pulp!"
His frustration was clear, but there was no time to sulk. Roger turned back to the trembling slaves. His voice rang out, deep and magnetic, calming them.
"Listen! Find the blond man in the floating palace. Tell him Roger sent you, and he'll take you away. If he asks, tell him I owe him a favor."
The words steadied the slaves. For those branded as Celestial property, discovery meant death. But now they had hope.
"I am Vice Admiral Garp of the Navy Headquarters!" Garp shouted, stepping forward. "If you want to live, do as he says!" He clenched his teeth. One word to the Celestial Dragons and his career would be over—but he couldn't let these people be slaughtered again.
Moved by his authority, the slaves obeyed, even carrying the broken and bloodied on their backs as they fled toward Shiki's floating fortress.
"This island… it's even darker than Sabaody," Garp muttered bitterly as he watched them go.
Then he turned back to Roger. "Go too. Next time, I'll catch you myself."
"Ahahaha! I'll hold you to that, Garp!" Roger laughed, rallying his crew. "Everyone, back to the ship! We've taken enough!"
The Roger Pirates abandoned their prying at the palace walls and raced to the Oro Jackson, sails filling as they slipped away from God Valley. Once again, they had danced with death and survived.
Watching them go, Garp rushed back to the battlefield. The sight was grim. Scorpion Dragon lay collapsed, life hanging by a thread. Admiral Hoss bled heavily, Sengoku staggered with wounds, and Rocks was moving in for the kill.
Without hesitation, Garp leapt in, his fists blazing. With his arrival, the balance shifted—three against one, forcing Rocks back.
"Roger… next time, I'll kill you!" Rocks seethed. He could not fathom why Roger would release Garp unharmed. His fury toward Brook and Roger only grew.
The difference in crews was glaring. The Hell Pirates held their own against the Navy, while the Rocks Pirates floundered, their power gutted without Whitebeard, Big Mom, and Shiki at his side.
On the other side of the island, the Hell Pirates pursued the admiral candidate Youge.
(TL: Damn they used their whole crew to chase some admiral candidate and left rocks with the strongest foe ahahahah.)
"Yohohoho! You can't run forever, Youge!" Brook's voice echoed as he sped through the skies on Hera, his somersault cloud. Redfield, crackling with lightning, cut off escape from ahead. Whitebeard closed in from below, while Linlin pursued atop Zeus.
"Why me?! Why are all of you chasing me alone?!" Youge howled in disbelief. An entire pirate crew, overlords of the New World, hunting him down like prey. It was humiliation beyond words.
He darted through the battlefield as a streak of shadow, his Speed-Speed Fruit pushing his body to its limits. Yet the Hell Pirates closed in from every direction.
"Nothing personal," Brook called coldly. "Rocks wants the other admirals. You weren't his priority. That leaves you… to us."
Panic surged in Youge's chest. His ability had carried him to the rank of admiral candidate, proof of its potential. In the right hands, the Speed-Speed Fruit was more than flight—it was unstoppable power. If only he could awaken it fully.
But he hadn't. That single step short of awakening left him vulnerable. Against the Thunder Fruit's raw speed, against Brook's blade and Linlin's stormclouds, he was falling behind.
Am I really going to die here?
He thought of Coss Davo, captured. Braver, slain. If he survived, he would have been guaranteed the rank of admiral. His dream was within reach. And now—
Why? Why does fate mock me so?
<><><><><><>
Read Advanced Chapters on:
~ [email protected]/FanficLord03
~ Every 100 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter!
~ Push the story in the rankings using your
[Power Stones]
~ https://discord.gg/MntqcdpRZ9