"Damn it, they actually dare to interfere with our hunting game!"
"God Knights! Kill all of these ignorant fools who don't know their place!"
Figarland Garling's longsword pointed straight toward the harbor.
Even though Garp, before taking his leave, had warned them not to go to Hachinosu to cause trouble, the arrogant and conceited Celestial Dragons clearly hadn't expected that they would hit an iron wall this time.
Before Rocks appeared, they had long grown used to seeing pirates as nothing more than bands of wandering thieves.
Every kingdom unable to pay the Heavenly Tribute—no matter what reason its citizens had for going to sea—was labeled as pirates.
Because of that, after meeting Celestial Dragons, the Marines were always terrified, as if they had seen Death itself.
And it was precisely this extreme fear that created the overlords of this age.
The battle had already fallen into complete chaos.
Powerful fighters appeared at every harbor.
"Let those slaves escape!"
Garp charged in at the very front.
His adjutant Bogard and the veteran Marines followed close behind.
"I told you not to provoke the cursed Hachinosu, you trash!"
Bang!
The young Garp threw a punch that sent the pirate before him flying.
"Where is Roger? I'll deal with him myself!"
The last time they met was ages ago, yet neither of them had ever been normal—
Even back in the East Blue, the two of them always caused trouble.
Who could have imagined they'd keep fighting all the way to the New World, both becoming monsters in their own right?
At the main harbor, the Rocks Pirates unleashed their insane power.
Sharn's Demon Compass stopped spinning again.
[A singular point of destiny has appeared—new choices unlocked.]
[Choice 1: Take advantage of the chaos and kill a few slaves — Reward: An automatic rifle produced ten years from now.]
[Choice 2: Slaughter five hundred Marines to demonstrate pirate power — Reward: The Sharp Blade "Kagenami".]
[Choice 3: Randomly kill one Celestial Dragon — Reward: Martial techniques "Tempest Kick" and "Iron Body".]
"Tempest Kick, Shigan, and Iron Body... these are the simplest foundations for learning Armament Haki," Sharn murmured to himself.
"But I still prefer a fight where fists crash against flesh — that's the most thrilling kind of battle!"
"Choice 3! Don't pretend to be anything else, you stupid compass!"
The compass flashed rapidly and confirmed his decision.
[Choice confirmed.]
From now on, as long as he completed the objective, he would gain the reward.
Although Tempest Kick didn't seem impressive, mastering it would bring him one step closer to Armament Haki.
In battle, combining it with Shigan and Soru would make his moves even deadlier.
Sharn began cutting down every Marine and Celestial guard he came across.
For ordinary soldiers, this war was pure chaos —
Earth-shaking tremors, massive clashes everywhere, no safe foothold.
Most of the weaker fighters were instantly crushed by the blows of these monstrous pirates.
The battlefield before them looked like the end of the world.
"Don't slack off! Keep fighting!"
Figarland Garling stepped over the corpses of Celestial guards.
Those guards wore finely made armor—normal swords couldn't even dent it.
In this era of flintlock guns, Celestial soldiers had no fear of pirates.
But against the lunatics of the Rocks Pirates, that arrogance was useless.
One punch from them could dent steel, even shatter it.
The old ways of fighting no longer worked.
Killing them was like autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves.
"Hey! Block them! Don't let those filthy, disgusting pirates come near me!"
A fat Celestial Dragon with a small mustache screamed hysterically.
When he saw the Rocks Pirates charging toward him, even his throat tightened with terror.
He wanted to run—
But escaping that easily? Impossible.
Treasure chests were being snatched up by the big names at lightning speed.
Even the slaves tried to take advantage of the chaos.
The God Knights weren't enough to stop the Rocks Pirates,
and on top of that, the Roger Pirates had also joined the fray!
Although they hated Rocks, they hated the Celestial Dragons even more.
Sharn gathered electric current at his fingertips, ready to deliver a killing blow.
"Electro-Shigan!"
Slash!
Two Celestial guards stepped forward to protect the pig-faced Celestial Dragon—
but Sharn's electric finger pierced right through them.
"Soru!"
In the blink of an eye, he appeared before the Celestial Dragon.
Others were desperately fleeing.
The guards kept dying, the Marine defense line was breaking apart.
The God Knights had completely underestimated the real Rocks Pirates.
Garling could see the battlefield spinning out of control,
yet his arrogance as a "god" only made him roar in fury.
"Anyone who dares to strike at a Celestial Dragon—kill them all!"
"Kill!"
The first to respond was Sharn.
Electricity flashed from his fingertip, piercing through the Celestial's oxygen mask.
The man didn't even have time to close his mouth or hold his breath—
he only wanted to breathe a little longer, to live a few more seconds.
"Kill the Celestial Dragons! Take God Valley! Seize every Devil Fruit and treasure!"
Rocks bellowed, punching a God Knight into the sky.
He grabbed one treasure chest.
Before anyone could react, he had already swallowed the Devil Fruit inside.
"You… aren't you already a Devil Fruit user?"
Garling turned to face him.
"Who said a man can only eat one Devil Fruit?" Rocks grinned.
His Haki exploded outward in full force.
A strange aura swirled around him—pink light interwoven with darkness.
The Love-Love (Mero Mero no Mi) was an exceptionally rare power—
even Blackbeard once dreamed of making it his third fruit.
Who could have imagined that Rocks was already such an abomination?
The more beautiful the woman, the stronger the power;
the greater the man's spirit, the mightier his strength.
Crack!
In an instant, countless Marines, slaves, civilians, and Celestials were turned to stone.
Darkness crept forth.
Rocks smiled as he tore the petrified figures apart,
shattering them into fragments. Rocks' overwhelming Conqueror's Haki and abyssal Darkness twisted the fruit's 'love' condition—terror and awe counted as binding.
At that moment, God Valley truly fell into darkness.
"Garling! Are you ready to face the end?"
No one was more terrifying than Rocks.
Even Whitebeard didn't know of the Dark-Dark Fruit yet—
because Rocks had eaten it long ago.
A mutated body capable of handling two Devil Fruits.
It was this abnormality that Blackbeard would later attempt to replicate.
Darkness. Petrification. Supreme Haki.
That was Rocks D. Xebec.
And because he could completely counter other Devil Fruit users,
he gathered countless powerful pirates under his banner.
Garling's defeat was inevitable—
otherwise Garp and Roger would never have needed to fight together.
The so-called "king among the Celestial Dragons"
was defeated by the man who sought to become King of the World.
"Kill them! Let these beasts feel our wrath!"
Rocks' fists clashed with Garling's sword.
The knight could not withstand the blows at all.
In the distance—
"I am a Celestial Dragon!"
"You filthy commoners will die miserable deaths!"
"Help! Help me! God Knights!"
Sharn thrust out his finger,
and the Celestial Dragon's head exploded on the spot.
The pirates erupted in cheers.
In that instant, the so-called gods had fallen—
and the slaves went mad.
"Well done! Kid, you've got potential to be an intern crewman!"
"Without the courage to slay gods, you'll never reach the top!"
"Besides, Celestial Dragons aren't gods at all!"
Rocks' strength was overwhelming.
Every punch hammered Garling deeper into despair.
Whenever the knight tried to escape,
the darkness pulled him back in.
With his domineering spirit and the Love-Love (Mero Mero no Mi) amplifying his Haki,
Rocks' power reached a terrifying peak.
"You dare steal from me, Garling? Who do you think you are?"
Rocks' attacks grew even more savage—
one final punch hit Garling in the stomach,
sending him flying into the depths of the valley.
Amid the roaring battlefield, Sharn's ears buzzed.
The compass activated, granting its reward.
His limits were once again pushed higher.
With new techniques learned, his overall strength grew stronger still.
The addition of Iron Body boosted his defense to new heights.
Before awakening Armament Haki, there were three key foundations:
Defense — Iron Body.
Offense — Tempest Kick.
Ranged — Shigan.
Mastering all three was the gateway to true Armament Haki.
Sharn kicked a guard away.
Then, a powerful voice came from nearby.
"You kid—are you one of Rocks' new interns?"
Garp had broken through the crowd,
his iron fist already swinging toward Sharn.
"Garp!"
Roger rushed into the fight,
still young, without his trademark mustache.
His blade swung in a wide arc.
Sharn immediately used Soru to dodge.
At that instant, a massive Haki shockwave blasted across the plaza.
"Roger!"
Garp hadn't expected so many stones to fly from the explosion.
Dust and debris filled the air.
Haki shockwaves collided wildly,
Devil Fruit powers filled the sky in a storm of chaos.
God Valley had become a living hell.
And no one knew exactly when it started—
but the Celestial Dragons had already begun to cry and tremble.
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