New World, New Beehive Island.
Although the Hell Pirates had pushed the Rocks Pirates into a dire position, Rocks' crew remained an overlord force that could not be underestimated.
Even now, there were still lawless pirates who rejected the peaceful and orderly life under Brook. These people chose to enter Rocks' territory, hoping to join him and fight freely. In their eyes, the Hell Pirates were no longer pirates at all. They looked more like another World Government. Only under Rocks could they fight like real pirates.
Rocks also held a New Year carnival.
For him, attacking God Valley and forcing the navy out of the New World had always been a dream. And although he hadn't gained much benefit, he had indeed accomplished several goals.
But his biggest frustration remained: Brook took advantage of the war and fattened the Hell Pirates instead, raising a monstrous beast that now suffocated him.
Recently, with Rocks' support, the Marshall D. Tim family had secretly begun researching black-tech medical techniques involving the use of two Devil Fruits. For this, Rocks didn't hesitate to sacrifice his own genes, all to cultivate stronger subordinates.
Under his harsh training, the three giants of the Rocks Pirates—Wang Zhi, Silver Axe, and John—finally reached a level just slightly weaker than the Four Hell Kings of the Hell Pirates.
Rocks had even helped John obtain the Paramecia Silver Silver Fruit, a counterpart to the Gold Gold Fruit, giving him control over silver. Both the Blade of the Gibek and John's personal ship were now covered in it.
Rocks' goal was simple: accelerate all of their awakenings.
Silver Axe's Titan Ape Zoan was the easiest to awaken.
Wang Zhi's Imprisonment Fruit and John's Silver Silver Fruit required more time and mastery.
They still couldn't defeat the Four Hell Kings, but they could at least fight them for days and delay their advance.
Yet Rocks knew this was still nowhere near enough.
At this rate, once the contract with Brook expired, the Rocks Pirates would be destroyed.
As for the next echelon, the five generals:
Jennifer, the giant warrior, had lucked out with a Mythical Zoan Holy Horse Fruit, but her talent held her back.
The Karns brothers wielded the Chaos Fruit, perfectly synchronized and extremely deadly. Their combined techniques approached Jennifer's level.
But Eric Dane and Miss Bakkin were noticeably weaker. It was uncertain whether they could even defeat Kaido from the Hell Pirates.
Meanwhile, the strength of Brook's newly recruited rookies had soared at terrifying speed.
Kaido and Kozuki Oden, both Mythical Zoan users, were monsters.
Borsalino, after obtaining the Flash Fruit, immediately surpassed most of Rocks' high ranks.
Even Fisher Tiger was outpacing rookies from every other crew, including Rocks' own.
Damn it. Rocks felt like Brook had an endless supply of monsters.
If he could recruit the Roger Pirates or Barbossa, he might stand a chance.
But the Roger Pirates were ghosts.
And Barbossa? No one even knew where he lived.
Now his only hope lay in Marshall D. Tim's experiments. If dual fruits became possible, the Rocks Pirates would undergo a monstrous evolution.
Especially Rocks himself. If he could wield two fruits, killing Brook would be trivial.
Recently, Miss Bakkin and Eric Dane had been hunting Kurt Wagner and the Colossus Piotr, aiming for the Warp-Warp Fruit and the Colossus Fruit.
Kurt escaped through a weakened encirclement during the New Year.
But the heavy and clumsy Colossus Piotr was captured, and the Colossus Fruit was given to Eric Dane.
Miss Bakkin wanted the Teleport Fruit for survival, but she failed again. If Kurt ran into Brook's territory, she might never see that fruit again.
At the New Year celebrations on New Beehive Island, there were no rules, no restraint.
Desire was the theme.
Even Rocks set aside his hatred for Brook and joined the revelry.
··
While some rejoiced, others fought for their lives.
North Blue.
A young man in a justice coat charged into a crowd of pirates during the New Year festival.
To him, pirates who lowered their guard were the easiest to kill.
Forget the New Year rule of no bloodshed.
Forget the tradition of peace.
If killing pirates meant trampling all customs, he would do it gladly.
His red shirt was soaked in blood. Young but powerfully built, he moved like a beast.
Under the festive lights, his resolute silhouette disappeared into the night.
East Blue.
Monkey D. Dragon stared at another batch of supplies left mysteriously at his home.
No doubt… sent by that shameless pirate overlord.
His father, Garp, still had no vacation. Rumor said he was stationed at the Sabaody Archipelago to maintain order.
"The intermediate Armament Haki training method… does he know I awakened Haki?"
Dragon scanned his surroundings nervously.
Someone was watching him.
Brook… that damn New World overlord…
Should he tell his father?
What if the navy learned he had connections to Brook?
What would happen to Garp's career?
Young Dragon could only move one step at a time.
West Blue, Castro Island, Capone Family.
"This year, aside from finding D clan members and Devil Fruits, Master Brook also wants us to locate a child named Gekko Moriah… four years old… with two horns?"
Capone El read the mission list with a headache.
Since joining the Hell Pirates, the Capone family had annihilated most of the West Blue mafia.
A little more effort and they would dominate the entire underworld.
North Blue, Germa 66, Vinsmoke Family.
"What nonsense is this! Find Devil Fruits, find the D clan—but now I'm supposed to find children too?
Four-year-old Ben Beckman? Newborns like Vista and Karasu? What even is this!"
The king nearly fainted from anger.
If Judge were not studying under the Hell Pirates, he would have refused the task outright.
South Blue, Kingdom of Sorbet.
World Economic News Agency, headquarters.
"The newly born royal heir, Bartholomew Kuma… and a three-year-old child named Kuzan?"
A middle-aged agent read the latest bounty list, completely bewildered.
A three-year-old child… worth ten million berries?
What kind of madness was this?
------------
Many of Brook's missing person missions were extremely private and were only handed to trustworthy leaders across the seas.
The children on his list would all become famous figures in the future. If they were brought in early and trained from childhood, would they grow even stronger than their original selves?
Imu… you pushed me to this.
If my background can't compare to yours, then I'll simply gather the next generation's strongest and raise them myself.
When the day comes, we'll settle everything in a life-and-death battle.
Aokiji from the South Blue needed no explanation—he had clear potential to become an admiral.
Ben Beckman from the North Blue also showed remarkable talent. He would one day become Red Hair Shanks' vice captain, a man who dared to aim a gun at Kizaru himself.
As for the future Seven Warlords members Bartholomew Kuma, Gekko Moriah, Karas of the Revolutionary Army, and Vista of Newgate's Fifth Division…
It would be great if Brook could find them early.
But even if he couldn't, he knew he would eventually pick up these talents once they began making names for themselves.
In short, no one would escape his net.
The festive New Year passed quickly.
On January 10, 1476 of the Sea Calendar, under Brook's watchful gaze, the golden egg in Ariel's arms cracked open.
A young goldfish mermaid was born.
The birth of Otohime signaled that the Sea King of this era, Poseidon, would soon reincarnate.
Two hundred years ago, the turmoil caused by the robots attacking the Holy Land seemed to carry the influence of the previous generation's Poseidon.
From the ancient conversation among the giant sea kings, Brook learned that their previous counterattack had ended in failure.
Therefore, all hope had been placed on the Poseidon born in this era.
Because another king would also be born.
This time… they must succeed.
However, Brook noticed something odd.
Otohime's life force right now was extremely strong.
But in the original timeline, Princess Otohime later became fragile and easily injured. Why?
Did she weaken after giving birth to Poseidon?
Did Shirahoshi's birth drain Otohime's Poseidon bloodline and nearly all her vitality, all to create the strongest Poseidon in history?
Thinking of this, Brook held his adopted daughter Otohime with a hint of reluctance.
She carried the burden of giving birth to Poseidon… becoming the mother of a king was not a blessing.
Brook lifted the infant Otohime. She had inherited Ariel's rare observation Haki talent.
In this lifetime, he would never allow Otohime to die young.
"Brother Brook, Otohime will definitely become a powerful mermaid warrior like you!"
Ariel looked at him with sparkling eyes. In her heart, Otohime was the child of her and Lord Brook. She forced herself to forget the truth.
"Well, she should awaken that special observation Haki like you. As for being a warrior, let nature take its course. She's more suited to becoming a great orator like her mother."
Brook gently stroked Ariel's golden hair. The sensation made her mermaid tail sway quickly as she basked in his affection.
"Mm, I'll listen to you, Brother Brook. There's something else. The whale shark people on Fishman Street you asked me to watch—they're pregnant. Six or seven months now. The baby should be born in about three months."
Ariel now handled the Hell Pirates' affairs on Fishman Island and oversaw many mermaid selections.
"Just keep an eye on them. No need to interfere too much."
Brook smiled.
That unborn baby should be Jinbe.
But with the Hell Pirates' current lineup, they weren't lacking in talent.
Let Jinbe grow naturally until he was seven or eight years old.
Then he could be trained.
"Yes, I understand."
Ariel answered softly. She didn't want to leave Ballon Island, but she also refused to be a decoration. She planned to return to Fishman Island in a few months to continue her work and win the full loyalty of the Fishman race for Lord Brook.
After Ariel took Otohime back to feed her, Brook began planning his next move.
He would eventually explore the Endless Earth on the moon and the colossal ruins on the final island.
He also had to guard against the Rocks Pirates, Imu, and the World Government. One mistake could be fatal.
"We still have to wait for the Pluton battleship's modifications. Without it, landing on the final island and the moon feels too risky."
To be honest, Brook still feared death.
Both the moon and the final island held unpredictable dangers. Without perfect preparation, he refused to gamble his life.
"Forget it. Let's stabilize for a few years. I'm still growing. If anyone should be in a hurry, it's Imu. As long as the World Government stays quiet, I'll keep getting stronger—slow and steady—even if it takes until Hades and the second generation all grow up."
Brook relaxed for now.
He ordered Moore Thomas and Antonio to continue monitoring Marijoa, attempting to infiltrate Pangu City's intelligence network using Den Den Mushi, News Birds, and spies.
Antonio's special Den Den Mushi were being smuggled into the Sabaody Archipelago, slipping into Marijoa through merchant routes and noble channels, slowly replacing the Celestial Dragons' own communication network.
Brook also assigned sniper Hiruba the task of monitoring the Holy Land every day.
His most dangerous enemies were Imu and the Five Elders.
The Marine Headquarters and Rocks Pirates were secondary.
Still, Brook never underestimated either side.
He always kept watch over the three giants and generals of the Rocks Pirates, except for the mysterious D lineage.
As for the navy, following the world conscription, they now intended to launch a pirate-versus-pirate plan.
The prototype of the future Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Their idea was to pacify "good pirates" who were forced into piracy—like the Dorodo Pirates, who rebelled due to tyrant kings, or pirate hunters who became pirates after killing corrupt naval officers.
The Marine Headquarters even held "rehabilitation trials," removing bounties from certain strong "good pirates" and hiring them as naval mercenaries to suppress violent pirates.
Even Brook had to admit the navy's move was brilliant.
It weakened pirate forces on two fronts.
At this rate, no promising pirate would reach the New World for years.
Supernovas arriving at the Sabaody Archipelago might drop to zero.
The navy's purge was simply too brutal for any newcomer to survive.
<><><><><>
[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]