"Hey, rookie, stop aiming for their limbs. Aim for their heads. Don't hesitate. Kill them," said a marine who was standing beside Dragon.
"Y… yes, sir," Dragon replied.
After a moment of hesitation, he decided to ask a question.
"Why kill them, sir?" Dragon said while focusing on the fleeing pirates, firing multiple bullets as he spoke.
"Wouldn't it be better to capture them and throw them into Impel Down? Not all of them, but some might change. Why don't we at least try that?"
"Change?" the marine scoffed. "Hah. They can change, sure, but we don't have that kind of time."
Replied his companion, his name's kanji, and He's in higher position than dragon. Kanji wears a white cape around his neck, a navy uniform, and he has slim build. He wears glasses, and instead of weapons, he uses his bare fists to kill pirates.
"They're criminals," he continued coldly. "People who've committed countless crimes. It's only natural that they die."
"I see," Dragon said, his expression serious. "But killing them outright is still barbaric, don't you think? Every human life has value."
"I don't agree with you," kanji replied, glancing at the pirates being slaughtered. Screams echoed through the battlefield, rising and falling like waves.
"Maybe human life has value, but on the sea, it means nothing. People die every day. Killed by bandits, pirates, disease, accidents, Sea Kings, wild beasts, slavery, wars. This sea itself is a graveyard for humans."
Kanji said with a rare sigh.
"And their lives being 'valuable' doesn't change the fact that they've committed heinous crimes, and would commit them again the moment they got the chance."
"That's not what I'm trying to say, sir," Dragon replied, speaking faster now, his voice firm. "I'm saying we should promote peace instead of violence. Yes, killing is sometimes necessary, but we can still choose imprisonment. We can make them reflect on their actions."
He didn't stop.
"And by that logic, the World Government and the Marines should also be held accountable. As for the World Government, I don't think I even need to explain, slavery, wars, blackmailing allied nations, Buster Call genocides, Celestial Dragons doing whatever they want."
He continued relentlessly.
"And the Marines aren't clean either. Every system has its bugs. Corrupt officers. Psychopaths who join just so they can kill legally. Rape. Extortion. Bribes. Marines secretly helping pirates. All of it exists."
Every word Dragon spoke was blunt, direct, and true.
"ENOUGH!!!" Kanji suddenly roared.
"Your duty as a marine soldier is to uphold justice, not to preach about pirates," he said sharply. "Your job is to kill. We are a marine organization funded by the World Government. The World Government is our superior authority."
His gaze hardened.
"You cannot go against them. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir," Dragon replied quietly, his voice weakened.
"That's good," kanji said, his tone softening slightly. "I'm saying this for your own good."
As they were talking to each other, suddenly
BOOM!
A few meters away, the ground exploded violently. debris was blasted into the air as a massive figure emerged from the crater.
Rocks stood there.
His towering form loomed over the battlefield, wings spread wide, horns curling from his forehead, his presence crushing everything around him.
"Who is that?!" a pirate shouted in terror.
"W...wait… isn't that Rocks?" another pirate yelled loudly. "The captain of the Rocks Pirates?!"
"Yes, it's him!" someone else replied. "But what happened to him? He looks completely different from before. Did he eat a Devil Fruit? Is this because of his devil fruit?"
"Maybe," another pirate said, forcing a grin. "But we're finally saved. This is our chance to escape. Rocks will obviously target the Marines, right?"
He smirked,.until he looked beside him.
His companion's body had been cleaved cleanly in half.
Blood sprayed as the upper half slid away from the lower.
A moment later, the pirate felt a strange sensation, his vision spinning violently. His own body collapsed to the ground.
So… this is death, he realized.
Before he could think anything else, darkness swallowed him.
BOOM!
"ROAAWWW—!"
An overwhelming burst of Conqueror's Haki erupted from Rocks, flooding the battlefield like a tidal wave.
Marines and pirates alike collapsed instantly, their bodies dropping unconscious as the ground trembled beneath the pressure.
Rocks moved.
His massive figure surged forward, sword swinging wildly and mercilessly.
Pirates.
Marines.
Animals.
Anyone who stood in his path, He cut them down without hesitation.
Blood stained the ground as bodies fell in every direction.
BOOM!
Suddenly, Rocks felt a tremendous haki behind him.
A powerful Haki surged toward his back.
He turned, And saw Garp and Roger standing there.
"That's enough, Rocks!" Garp roared as he launched himself forward, his fist coated in immense Haki.
BOOM!
Garp's punch slammed directly into Rocks' face with full force. Rocks' body was sent flying backward, crashing through debris , yet when he stopped, his face regenerated within seconds, the damage vanishing.
Rocks rose slowly and tightened his grip on his sword.
"Rocks," Roger said grimly, tossing his straw hat aside as he pulled out his sword — Ace.
His eyes burned with determination. "I don't know what happened to you, but I can't let you run amok like this. I won't let you go after my crew."
"Hah," Garp scoffed as he threw his cape aside and cracked his fists together, Haki crackling violently around them. "It's time you stop, Rocks. You've been running around making a mess long enough."
His gaze hardened.
"It's about time I put an end to you."
Both Dragon and kanji were knocked unconscious by the sheer pressure of Rocks' Haki. It was pure luck that they were still breathing.
Suddenly, Bogard appeared out of nowhere. Without wasting a second, he grabbed both Dragon and kanji, lifting them over his shoulders.
He immediately began retreating toward the Navy ships, fleeing the battlefield.
Bogard already knew, this island would not survive what was coming next.
———
Elsewhere
"Hah… hah…"
Shiki panted heavily, veins bulging on his forehead, his expression twisted in rage.
"What the hell is this?!" he shouted furiously at the remaining Rocks Pirates. "No matter how many times I cut that bat-looking thing, it just won't die! Same with that woman from earlier!"
"I know, right?" Big Mom agreed, clearly frustrated. She was just as shocked. "No matter how many times we hit them, they regenerate instantly. It's a headache. They just won't die."
"Same here," Edward said as he appeared beside them. He rested his naginata on his shoulder and looked around calmly.
Suddenly, Gunko's voice echoed directly inside God knights minds.
"Listen, everyone," Gunko said in her usual cold tone. "The mission is complete. The Great One has ordered us to retreat."
"Got it," they all replied.
One by one, their figures vanished from God Valley.
All of them were teleported back to Mariejois.
"Wait , fuck! You can't just leave like that!" Shiki yelled angrily, his voice echoing into empty air.
"Leave it, Shiki. You can't stop them. It seems they weren't actually here to fight us. They were just buying time, holding us off." Edward said calmly as he turned around and began walking away from the island.
He had already sensed it, Roger, Garp, and Rocks were clashing with eachother.
He didn't want to get dragged into that.
Edward was tired. Tired of violence. Tired of Shiki. Tired of the constant bickering within the Rocks Pirates. He wanted something else now, a crew of his own, a family.
Big Mom, Shiki, and the rest of the Rocks Pirates also began leaving the island.
"So this whole thing failed," Shiki muttered bitterly as he walked away. "We didn't get any treasure, we couldn't even find Shakky, and we wasted manpower. Tch… what a joke."
Big Mom also turned to leave. "Hey, Kaido, let's go. There's no point staying here anymore," she said, heading toward their ships.
"But what about the Devil Fruit you promised me?" Kaido asked, still staring in the direction where Roger, Garp, and Rocks were fighting. "And shouldn't we help Captain Rocks?"
"You still remember that?" Big Mom replied casually. "Fine, I'll find your Devil Fruit and give it to you later. As for Rocks, no. I'm not interested in dying." With that, she broke into a run toward their ships.
---
"Hah… hah…"
Garp and Roger both panted heavily as they faced Rocks.
"This guy really got something insane, huh?" Garp said as he pushed himself up from the ground. "Either he ate a Devil Fruit, or something else happened to him. He suddenly got way stronger, but it looks like he lost his senses."
Everything around them had already been completely destroyed.
"Yeah," Roger replied quietly. "That's probably why he's gone berserk."
"If we want to kill him," Garp continued, rotating his arm slowly, "we need to break through his Haki defense and hit him with everything we've got. We'll have to surpass our limits. You understand, Roger?"
"…Yeah," Roger said softly. Tears streamed down his face as he wiped them away. "I never thought there'd come a day where I'd have to kill him."
"Don't cry, you idiot," Garp snapped.
His Haki exploded violently around him.
"INFINITUM EXPLOSION!!!" Garp roared as countless Haki-coated fists rained down on Rocks.
"ACE!!!" Roger shouted, unleashing his strongest attack at the same time.
BOOM!
The entire God Valley Island shook violently as massive cracks spread across the land.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
BOOM!
Explosions erupted again and again.
After a few seconds, more explosions followed.