Overall, the four Devil Fruits collected by the Frank Family were quite impressive in strength.
Among the three that had been identified so far, aside from the slightly weaker Rust-Rust Fruit, the remaining Ancient Type and Logia Type were astonishingly valuable, worthy of the Frank Family's centuries of accumulation.
However, only one of these three fruits was useful to Brian, which left him somewhat disappointed. He could only pin his final hopes on the last remaining fruit.
Rustle rustle~
Brian looked at the final box, which was the most exquisite and high-end among the six. Opening it revealed a banana-shaped Devil Fruit inside.
Brian flipped through the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia in his hand, carefully comparing the fruit to the entries. This time, he turned significantly more pages than before—twelve in total—before finally stopping.
Reading the description in the encyclopedia, Brian could hardly believe his eyes.
"Did I just wish for a final surprise and it actually happened?"
"Is my luck a bit too good?"
The Devil Fruit in his hand was clearly labeled: [Zoan Mythical Creature Type Cat-Cat Fruit Griffin Form]
The Griffin, a Mythical Zoan that had never appeared in the original storyline. Legend described it as a creature adept at soaring through the skies, with the lower body of a lion and the wings of an eagle, capable of controlling the wind and possessing extreme speed!
"Excellent! Once the Griffin Girl transformation is successful, I'll have a top-tier fighter under my command."
"Plus, there's the Wyvern. Today has been truly rewarding."
Previously, Brian only had four Beast Girls with Rear Admiral-level strength from Common Type fruits, making it easy to crush ordinary pirates. They weren't even weaker than some medium-sized pirate crews, especially with him around.
However, since joining the Rocks Pirates a few days ago, Brian's sense of urgency had noticeably increased.
The Rocks Pirates were full of monsters, from the captain down to the top executives—none of them were easy to deal with. The forces under these top executives were equally formidable, all possessing strength close to that of Yonko Commander-level.
For example, Shiki's First Division Commander, or Kaido beside Charlotte Linlin.
As for Whitebeard, he was an exception—a freak. He didn't have any outstanding subordinates, but he alone was enough, making him incomparable.
If Brian were to clash with these executives, he could handle them himself, but what about his subordinates?
In such situations, he needed a subordinate who could hold their own.
Moreover, the time for the God Valley War was drawing closer.
Once the God Valley War truly began, having stronger and more numerous subordinates would allow him to reap greater rewards.
There were too many valuable things at God Valley.
The Griffin Fruit appeared under these circumstances, completely eliminating Brian's worries.
Closing the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, Brian looked at the three neatly stacked Devil Fruit boxes beside him and said:
"Number One, make preparations. We set sail tomorrow and return to base."
"Take all the treasures back with us."
He needed to transform the three Beast Girls as quickly as possible.
"Yes, Master."
After leaving the treasure room to Number One to handle, Brian left alone with the three non-Zoan-type Devil Fruits.
After exiting, he left the villa and headed toward the central hall.
Tap tap
"Hey, Brian, you're just in time."
Brian, who had originally intended to find Rocks, entered the central hall only to discover that Shiki, that old fellow, was also there.
Shiki noticed Brian immediately and raised a hand in greeting.
"You old coot are here too."
Brian greeted Shiki, then turned to Rocks and stated his purpose.
"Captain, since I've just joined the crew, is there anything I need to do next?"
"Oh? Brian, do you have plans?"
Rocks, seated in the main chair, looked at Brian, his mind turning to the matter Shiki had just brought up.
"Yes, I plan to return to my base. I've been away for quite a while and need to handle some matters there."
"That works out perfectly. I have a mission for you both."
"Since both you and Shiki are here, I'll assign it to you. This way, you can also make your trip back."
"What's the mission?"
"Shiki, you explain it. This mission will be handled by you and Brian."
Rocks looked toward Shiki as he spoke.
"Gyahahaha, no problem, Captain."
"Brian, since you're new, you might not be fully aware of our crew's traditions."
"As the current number one pirate crew in the New World, we do have enemies—namely, the World Government and the Marines."
"Especially those two bastards, Sengoku and Garp from the Marines. They've caused us plenty of trouble over the years."
"Just the other day, that shameless Sengoku ambushed one of our black markets. Damn that old fool."
Mentioning this, Shiki was wide awake.
Indeed, as the top pirate crew, the Rocks Pirates had long been under heavy surveillance by the Marines.
Especially in the past year, the Marines had intensified their operations against them, much to Rocks' displeasure.
To prepare for the upcoming events at God Valley a year later, Rocks had been making various advance arrangements and didn't want the Marines disrupting his plans.
Thus, the top members of the Rocks Pirates had been retaliating relentlessly, even targeting the World Government directly.
This, in turn, pressured the World Government to lean harder on the Marines, who then intensified their focus on the Rocks Pirates.
A vicious cycle had formed, seemingly impossible to break.
This situation was no exception.
About a week prior, the Marines had launched a surprise attack, destroying one of the Rocks Pirates' black market strongholds in the front half of the New World.
If Shiki hadn't arrived in time, John, who was guarding the island, might have been killed by Sengoku.
Rocks, synonymous with holding grudges, was not one to let such an offense slide.
He had summoned Shiki today specifically to plan a heavy counterblow against the Marines, and Brian had simply happened to arrive at the right time.
"We lost a black market, one of our top sources of income."
"So the Captain has decided to retaliate against the Marines. Everything from the Celestial Tribute to Marine branches is now a target."
"This mission has three objectives: two Marine branches in the New World, and a shipment of Celestial Tribute belonging to the Celestial Dragons."
"The mission at the Marine branch was snatched up by Newgate and Linlin, so all we have left is the Celestial Tribute raid mission."
"Seriously, those two are so quick. I wanted to face off against the Marines again too."
Brian suddenly realized why he hadn't seen Whitebeard and the others earlier—they were out on a mission.
Only Shiki, being the slowest, ended up with the Celestial Tribute mission.
"Fine, I'll go with you. Give me the location, and I'll meet up with you after returning to base."
"Then it's settled. We'll meet at this
location one week from now."
Shiki handed Brian an Eternal Pose.
With no objections from Rocks, the mission was confirmed.
Early the next morning, Brian and his crew set sail from Hachinosu on their pirate ship.