When the golden ship returned to Ballon Island, the New Year celebrations on Sky Island were nearly ready. Doragonzo Island and Hell Island below were also lively and bustling with activity.
Leaders from every island within the Hell Pirates' territory had gathered—not only to greet Brook, the Overlord of the New World, with New Year blessings, but also to offer tributes and gifts.
Tourists from all corners of the sea flocked to the islands to sightsee and shop. Under the Hell Pirates' rule, the New World had become more peaceful and stable than ever before. With stability came thriving commerce, and with most of the underground world now under Brook's control, countless industries flourished even more.
Only the Celestial Dragon families continued their dark trades—assassination and organ trafficking—yet they had cleverly shifted all trouble to Rocks' territory and the Grand Line.
This caused large populations to flee Rocks' rule, with many migrating into Brook's territory, forcing Rocks to finally ease his brutal, high-pressure commands.
With Rocks struggling to retain people, the dark underworld regained access to his territory. Even the Hell Pirates' merchant caravans traveled openly across Rocks' lands—and no one dared interfere.
The Hell Pirates were developing rapidly, but quietly, so were the Rocks Pirates. They consolidated territory, strengthened cadres, and searched for Devil Fruits suitable for their core fighters.
Wang Zhi, Silver Axe, and John rose to become the three giants of the Rocks Pirates.
Jennifer, Miss Bakkin, Eric Dane, and the Karns brothers became the five generals.
However, ever since news spread that the ancient weapon Pluton was in Brook's hands, no pirate with half a brain dared join the Rocks Pirates. Everyone knew they would eventually be destroyed by the Hell Pirates. Even without Pluton, the Hell Pirates' current strength was enough to crush Rocks.
Joining the Rocks Pirates was equivalent to signing one's own death warrant.
Unable to recruit new elites, Rocks could only strengthen the cadres he already had. Even so, he remained the world's strongest pirate, his bounty still ranked first, his influence still massive.
But with the Hell Pirates suppressing the New World, and the Marines slaughtering new pirates the moment they entered the Grand Line, almost no new pirates reached the New World this year.
Both overlord crews were forced to develop talents from within their own territories.
Rocks was still hunting two powerful men—Naguri and Barbossa. One was an awakened conqueror's Haki user, the other the third-in-command of the Diger Pirates. Both were terrifying.
Meanwhile, the Roger Pirates had vanished completely. Rumors said they were seen on the final island of the New World.
And thus, the New Year arrived—peaceful on the surface, turbulent beneath.
---
January 1, 1476 of the Sea Circle Calendar.
Even pirates set aside their weapons and lived like ordinary people on this day, enjoying a carefree New Year.
The Hell Pirates hosted their New Year celebration on Doragonzo Island, joining their many subordinates in grand festivities. Brook and the core figures sat on the high platform watching tributes and performances from many races—a true gathering of all peoples. The Hell Pirates had achieved real coexistence.
"Yohoho~, Redfield, Newgate, Shiki… when are you planning to get married and have kids?" Brook asked as he watched Newgate play with Hades and Osiris. Even little Kanna, the ice dragon, was perched on Redfield's shoulders. Shiki had even put out his cigar and was staring at the newborns in their cribs.
Brook didn't want his strongest brothers to leave no descendants behind.
"Gurara~ don't worry, Brother Brook," Newgate laughed. "I'm happy like this. Watching these nephews and nieces grow up is enough for me."
He loved children and treasured family, yet simply refused to find a woman. No one knew why.
"I'll think about it," Redfield replied, expression stiff, using his usual universal excuse.
"I'm still young," Shiki protested immediately. "Let me reach forty first. Didn't you only have kids at forty, Brother Brook?"
Shiki dodged Brook's attempt without effort. After all, women would only slow the speed of his blade. His dream was to become as strong as the Five Elders; he'd think about marriage only after reaching that height.
"Ah~, I'm doing this for all of you," Brook sighed like a worried father fretting over his unmarried sons.
"That's right," Shakky chimed in. "I already introduced girls from Nine Snake Island to you. Even if you don't want marriage, at least leave some strong offspring for our Kingdom of Women."
She eyed their bloodlines shamelessly. Since Kuja warriors borrowed seeds from other islands anyway, why not from the top cadres of the Hell Pirates?
If Redfield, Newgate, or Shiki left even one daughter in Amazon Lily, the next generation of Kuja would be unparalleled.
"Exactly," Brook replied with a grin. "Look at how motivated Hiruba and Scaredo are. Even Antonio gets it."
Brook didn't mind at all if his men left children in Amazon Lily—love might even bloom. If the Kuja didn't forbid marriage, Brook would have arranged weddings immediately.
But the ones getting a bargain were the cadres themselves. Brook even wanted his own team of elite Kuja warriors as personal guards, but Shakky rejected the idea.
Still, some Kuja were actively showing interest in Brook. Boa's family, for example, was full of powerful beauties and had produced queens for generations. Rumor said Shakky herself was once part of that family before being exiled—Brook planned to investigate this personally.
"How about this!" Brook finally declared.
"From now on, the three of you will go to Nine Snake Island once a month. That's my order—and also a benefit to you, yohoho!"
He decided to force them to go socialize, enjoy themselves, and maybe even spark romance. Amazon Lily still forbade men from entering, so the Kuja warriors would be the ones leaving the island to meet them.
The Kuja also appeared regularly on the Pirate Guild's mission board, taking suppression and plunder missions to sustain themselves. Of course, the Hell Pirates provided large subsidies of supplies and treasure to Shakky, captain of the second division.
Redfield, Newgate, and Shiki could only accept Brook's order helplessly—while Hiruba and Streusen watched them with burning envy.
------------
Holy Land Marijoa.
The Celestial Dragon families had gathered for their New Year celebration. Their banquet was as extravagant as ever, with rare delicacies and fine wines sourced from every corner of the world, filling the grand hall with dazzling colors and intoxicating aromas.
Exotic servants moved silently between the tables, trained to absolute obedience.
In the main hall, young Celestial Dragons chatted freely—discussing which slave was the strongest, which slave girl was the most beautiful, who owned the rarest treasure.
But in a separate conference room, the nineteen Celestial Dragon patriarchs were holding a supreme meeting to arrange this year's Heavenly Gold Mission.
Though they possessed endless wealth and absolute power, they still "worked" two to three hours a day—an amount they considered unbearably exhausting.
Such was the "burden" of being a patriarch.
A middle-aged Celestial Dragon leader glanced at two elder patriarchs in the room and immediately frowned.
"Patriarch Walton, Patriarch Koch… why do the two of you look so much younger?"
These two elders belonged to the Family that had secretly traded with Brook. Even though they had dyed their hair white again, the changes from the Return-Return Fruit—healthier skin, sharper expressions—were too obvious to hide.
"Haha~, I just obtained some treasures recently. They restored some of my vitality," Walton replied casually. He had no intention of explaining further. What, introduce Brook to the other Celestial Dragons? Absolutely not.
If every Celestial Dragon obtained a pure gold ring and froze their aging, then what meaning would there be in the arduous struggle Walton and Koch went through to acquire one?
"Hmph! I don't care what treasures you found," Patriarch Adams snapped. "But the Five Elders informed me yesterday that you borrowed two Logia Type Devil Fruits from the World Government treasury… claiming you wanted to admire them. You even injured two officials. Explain yourselves."
Among the nineteen families, the Adams family held the highest military authority and the strongest influence.
Walton and Koch were simply merchants in comparison—far beneath them.
"Humph! Are you questioning me, brat of the Adams family?" Walton scoffed. As the eldest patriarch present, he would not accept being scolded by someone younger.
"That's right! Your Adams family's navy has suffered defeat after defeat. Do you know how much damage those failures caused the World Government and us Celestial Dragons?" Patriarch Koch added, seizing the opportunity to stir trouble.
He intended to downplay the Devil Fruit incident. The last thing he wanted was for the truth to spread.
"Enough! You three, stop fighting. We must settle the Heavenly Tribute issue first!"
The good-natured Donquixote patriarch and the Figarland patriarch stepped in to prevent an outright brawl.
"It is because of the heavy losses," Patriarch Adams said coldly, "that we need those strategic-level Logia Devil Fruits. Return them immediately."
Walton didn't even blink. "They're gone. Patriarch Koch and I fed them to two slaves and had them duel. Both died. They were rubbish."
That was the excuse they had prepared.
No one here could imagine the truth—that the fruits had already been traded to Brook.
"What!!! You used Logia Devil Fruits for entertainment?"
Adams shot up from his chair, trembling with fury. Two Logia Type fruits meant two potential admirals.
"That's exactly what happened," Koch replied lazily. "At worst, we will compensate. Do you want a few Devil Fruits? Or are you planning to pluck them off the sky?"
He didn't care about consequences. They already had pure gold rings. Their youth was far more precious than any Devil Fruit.
"You! You two old fools! I should report you to Lord Imu! You're unfit to be patriarchs!"
"Watch your tone, Adams brat. Is this how the younger generation speaks to elders?"
Walton and Koch immediately used their seniority as a shield.
Even though the Adams family was the strongest branch, two united elder patriarchs could still suppress them.
Sensing that the argument was escalating dangerously, the other clans intervened.
"It's only two Devil Fruits."
"Every family can contribute one to compensate."
"One fruit is only worth a few hundred million berries anyway."
To them, Devil Fruits were pocket change—mere luxuries.
Adams gritted his teeth. "We will settle this later. For now, the important matter: with the New World member nations gone, the Four Seas and Grand Line kingdoms must increase their Heavenly Tribute quotas to maintain prior totals. Any objections?"
"None!"
"Let the lower creatures pay more."
"They won't dare refuse."
"If they do, the navy will destroy them!"
"And we're running low on slaves anyway!"
"Since the New World Navy has withdrawn," the Donquixote patriarch added, "why not reduce the navy's military spending instead of forcing the allied nations to pay more?"
He was instantly ridiculed.
"What nonsense!"
"Typical Donquixote idealism."
"Why should we care if countries go bankrupt?"
In the end, the Heavenly Tribute was increased by 20% to compensate for the New World's disappearance.
Twenty percent sounded small—but the sum was massive enough to crush dozens of nations and plunge weaker kingdoms into instant bankruptcy.
After the meeting concluded, several sharp-eyed patriarchs immediately surrounded Walton and Koch, pressuring them for information about their sudden youthfulness.
The Celestial Dragons were obsessed with longevity. They had long offered a five-billion-berry bounty for the Operation Fruit that granted immortality. Any method of extending lifespan would attract a frenzy.
Walton and Koch quietly pulled a few trusted families aside to talk privately. Their eyes gleamed with renewed ambition.
They were already planning their next move.
Top-level Devil Fruits from the World Government treasury…
If they could acquire more, along with pure gold, their families would only grow stronger and stronger.
<><><><><>
[P@treon Christmas Discount: 20% OFF]
[Check Out My Patreon For +40 Advance Chapters On All My Fanfics!]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]
[Every 100 Power Stones = +1 Bonus Chapter]
[Join Our Discord Community For Updates & Events]
[https://discord.gg/MntqcdpRZ9]