Seeing Brook's eerie grin, both Kurozumi Higurashi, who had been laughing just moments before, and Kurozumi Semimaru, calmly strumming his pipa, suddenly had a very bad feeling.
"Thanks so much for locking yourselves up!" Brook said with a chuckle, strolling over casually.
He bent down and effortlessly lifted the transparent, semi-spherical barrier off the ground. It might've been heavy and sealed tight, but with only two old folks inside and Brook's strength, it was child's play.
"Since you're both being so cooperative, I'll make you a nice Coke shake!"
Brook hoisted the barrier high and began to shake it violently, spinning it like a blender. Inside, the Kurozumi siblings were tossed around, their bodies floating, the world spinning, and their souls practically leaving their bodies.
If I open the barrier, Brook'll kill me. If I don't, he'll torture me to death.
Ha! You two old geezers really think I'm some naive fool from the 21st century who doesn't know how to adapt?
You think I'd be as dumb as Kozuki Oden?
If Rocks hadn't been on his way, and I had a bit more time, I would've starved you both to death—let you understand what real strength looks like when it blocks a spring.
I, Brook, have a hundred ways to kill you. To keep it simple, I'd toss your barrier into the sea and let you play your pipa underwater until you choked!
Or better yet, grill it over charcoal and freeze it later—see if that barrier of yours can block everything. It can't even block sound, so let's see if it can block thermal transfer. Boiling frog style.
Yeah, sure, I know your Barrier-Barrier Fruit can repel magma. But I'm not just gonna hit you once—I'll boil you, relentlessly. Let's see how long that thing holds.
Seeing Semimaru still gritting his teeth and holding out, refusing to deactivate the barrier, Brook casually tossed them onto Hera, the Somersault Cloud, and transported them—barrier and all—back to the golden ship.
"Mission complete. And in style, too. Barrier Fruit and Clone Fruit—two for the price of one! Can't beat that!"
The other members of the Rocks Pirates, though desperate to help the Kurozumi siblings, were too tied up in their own fights.
Especially Golden Lion Shiki—he was practically out of breath under the relentless fists and iron headbutts of the martial monk, Scorpion Dragon.
"Why does this freak keep headbutting my lungs?!" Shiki gasped, frustrated.
Even his Armament Haki couldn't block those blows. That wasn't a normal iron head—it was like a goddamn wrecking ball.
The truth was, Scorpion Dragon didn't use the elegant Wano-style Ryuo Haki like Shiki did. He followed the sea's mainstream style—brute force Armament Haki, trained and built over years.
Imagine Haki like water and your body like a container. Scorpion Dragon's container was full. His Haki overflowed, flowing freely and creating outward attacks naturally.
Shiki? He was still half-baked.
Wano's Ryuo was more like forcing open a tap on a barrel of wine—pulling Haki outward through technique rather than raw power. Sure, every cat and dog in Wano could use it, but that didn't mean they could go toe-to-toe with top-tier pirates.
Take Luffy, for example. His Haki output in Gear Fourth was monstrous, but he always had to rest because he ran out of Haki. Too much output, not enough storage.
Barrett, the Devil's Heir, on the other hand—his Haki could coat a whole island. He had the body of a beast and Haki to match.
Zoro's black blade? Cut through Pica's hardened defense. Katakuri's fists? Bent Luffy's bones.
The real monsters—Roger, Whitebeard, Aokiji, Akainu—had quality Haki. They fought for days without tiring.
Ace and Jinbe? Probably just brawling on pure stamina.
Back on the battlefield, Shiki was getting pummeled by Scorpion Dragon because of his pride. Despite having the means to fight from a distance, he kept going toe-to-toe with a tank. Classic case of letting ego run the show.
Brook, having secured the Kurozumi siblings, returned to the ship and resumed his Coke shake torture. He wasn't stopping until they passed out.
Eventually, maybe because they realized escape was hopeless, Semimaru finally gave in. The barrier broke. Brook had them both fitted with seastone cuffs and locked away in the Parrot's castle.
Brook took one last glance at the battlefield. Golden Lion Shiki was now in desperate need of help. Whitebeard Newgate and Salman were fighting evenly. Redfield and Linlin were holding their own against multiple opponents.
As for the others? Their fights were intense and even. Brook's one-sided beatdown had been the only real domination.
Then again, it was kind of shameless—overlord Brook beating up two elderly folks. No honor among thieves, clearly.
Brook didn't plan to help Shiki anytime soon, either. That guy needed to be knocked down a peg or two.
Also, Scorpion Dragon was a monster of stamina and brute force—perfectly suited for dragging a fight into a war of attrition.
Besides, Brook had his eyes on something else.
He wanted a new Devil Fruit.
Rocks was coming, so he had to act fast. Either injure everyone slightly… or take someone out completely.
There were several options:
Rocket Jonas, user of the Jet-Jet Fruit. Could blast compressed air from his limbs to accelerate. Weak Fruit, but strong fighter.
Monkey King Wizz, user of the Ancient Zoan Titan Ape. Pure offense and defense, a walking beast. Brutal fists, powerful body.
Skullbelt Salman, user of an unknown Paramecia-type Fruit. Controlled skulls of creatures he killed. Attacked with flying skull bites. Big guy, strong body, deadly in both long and short-range combat.
Of all of them, Brook was especially curious about Skullbelt's bone-controlling powers. But he was no pushover.
While Brook was still debating his next move, Shiki suddenly got launched through the air, coughing up blood from another devastating iron headbutt.
Brook sighed. "Dumbass. You can fly and control the terrain, but you keep charging a tank like some kind of honorable warrior? This ain't a pride match, it's a battlefield."
-------------------------
The golden lion, Shiki, was knocked to the ground. Gritting his teeth, he narrowly dodged several devastating strikes from the Scorpion Dragon before launching himself back into the sky. His face was pale as he interrupted the Scorpion Dragon's relentless combo assault.
"Howl—!"
Brook soared past Hera on his Somersault Cloud. Reacting instantly, the Martial Monk Scorpion Dragon clashed head-on with him. There was a sharp, explosive collision—Brook's Seven Star Sword against the Monk's ironclad fist.
Soul Devil Cry: Rapid Spirit Slash!
Martial Monk Technique: Enlightened King Fist!
Brook calmly slid the Seven Star Sword back into its scabbard. A chilling, jagged scar of sword energy, dozens of meters long, split the ground behind the Scorpion Dragon.
The monk glanced at his armament-coated fist, which looked intact. But his expression twisted with discomfort. Why did it hurt so much?
"Sword energy? That's just the appetizer. The real pain comes from the Soul Slash," Brook said with a faint grin. "The last guy who took one of those was Admiral Kong."
Scorpion Dragon's right hand trembled violently, even as the Armament Haki still flowed over it. His face had gone noticeably pale.
"You actually cut through flowing Haki with that… soul slash? That's impossible! Captain Rocks said Haki was absolute! No Devil Fruit can bypass it!"
Rage flared in the monk's eyes, but the sharp, tearing pain in his fist made it hard to argue. His hand felt like it had been sliced in half, though it still looked untouched on the outside.
"Yohoho~ Consider yourself lucky to experience a soul slash that ignores your fancy Haki defense," Brook chuckled as he leapt from Hera and charged forward. His form moved low to the ground, his left hand gripping the sword while his right held the glowing hilt. A dark blue spectral aura began to bleed out from the scabbard, chilling the air.
Soul Demon Slash: Seven-Star Spirit-Shattering Blade!
Seeing Brook charge again, the monk wasn't about to gamble twice. He immediately thrust his palms into the ground.
Martial Monk Technique: Earth-Splitting Palm!
Chunks of earth exploded upward, forming a massive wall to block Brook's advance. Taking the opportunity, Scorpion Dragon dashed off toward the other members of the Hell Pirates, clearly aiming to capture someone to use as leverage.
CLANG!
Brook sliced clean through the wall and burst through, eyes glowing an eerie blue. The veins on his body shimmered with ghostly light, and icy mist curled in his wake as his blade sliced through the air.
Sensing the chill on his back, Scorpion Dragon didn't hesitate. He dove to the side, rolled a few times, then scrambled up and kept running.
Brook blinked in surprise. The monk had actually dodged that? Was it pure instinct? Observation Haki? But no… the kind that predicts the future requires a calm state of mind, and this guy looked anything but calm.
No, it had to be battle instinct—honed from years of near-death fights. After all, Scorpion Dragon had survived multiple clashes with Diger. The man clearly had a knack for staying alive.
"Brook," the monk barked from a distance, "are you declaring all-out war against the Rocks Pirates?"
His voice was cautious now. That Soul Slash was unnatural. It didn't obey the rules of combat he understood. Until he figured it out, he wasn't planning on testing it again—especially not with his fist still throbbing in agony.
"Yohoho~ Aren't you the ones who barged into Overlord Alliance territory? You guys have slaughtered civilians like it's a damn buffet. It's pissing me off just thinking about it."
Brook wasn't interested in arguing. He didn't know when Rocks would arrive, but Hiruba hadn't sounded the alarm yet. That meant the enemy was still a ways off.
Scorpion Dragon cursed under his breath. Why had he listened to that hag Bakkin and wasted time looting and burning instead of heading straight to the rendezvous point?
Wait—where was Bakkin?
He glanced around but didn't see her anywhere. Had she already slithered back to town to hide?
That seemed likely. Brook did say they'd killed civilians. Maybe she ran back to use them as meat shields. All they had to do now was hold out until Rocks showed up. Why fight fair when you could fight dirty?
"Listen up, Rocks Pirates! Fall back to town! We'll play tug-of-war with them till the Captain gets here!"
Without looking back, the Scorpion Monk bolted toward the town. He didn't give a damn about collateral damage. If Brook wanted to be a hero, then he wouldn't dare kill civilians.
Meanwhile, the other pirates quickly caught on to his plan. He was planning to hide among civilians? But… wasn't this Saracha's territory? Would that really work on Brook?
Regardless, they started retreating from the port, heading back toward the town. Most of the island's residents were still hiding in terror inside their homes. They had hoped the pirates would just leave after looting, but now there was another battle. Their panic worsened.
"This damn Butcher Pirates! We've been paying monthly protection fees, and now they won't even lift a finger!" the locals cursed. The island's lords and rich families were all blaming Saracha, calling him a useless coward.
As for Miss Bakin? She had hidden in town. After calling Rocks and realizing he wouldn't arrive soon—and that escape by ship was suicide—she immediately slithered back into the streets.
The smartest member of the Rocks Pirates, she valued survival above all else. She had wealth to enjoy, after all. Why should she die for someone else's fight?
"I'm just a poor, helpless little woman," she whispered to herself with a smirk. "I have no business meddling in the affairs of monsters like them."
But now, thanks to Scorpion Dragon's "brilliant" strategy, the fight had come back to town, dragging her right into the chaos again.
"Tch… fine then. If you're going to town, I'm heading back to the port," she muttered. "Maybe I can sneak aboard the ship and sail off to meet up with Rocks myself. That treasure's not going to enjoy itself!"
Little did she know, a parrot had already landed on their ship and it was watching everything.
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