As a shrewd and calculating Overlord, Diger Sparrow had long mastered the art of keeping his emotions hidden. His fury vanished in an instant. He tucked away his Haki, and the hall returned to silence.
But inwardly, he was boiling.
Xiao Feng. Antman. Willanniu. All dead.
Even with decades of blood and battle behind him, this kind of loss twisted his gut.
After issuing a few quiet orders to his subordinates, he turned and dragged away the guard who had failed to monitor the life papers. The moment Diger's aura faded from the room, another figure entered cautiously.
Amber.
She was visibly tense. Just earlier, in a desperate attempt to save her brother, she had threatened her indifferent future husband with the child growing in her womb.
And while Jack had saved her brother's life, she knew something in him had shifted—from indifference to contempt. If not for the baby, she was sure Jack would've killed her on the spot.
"Amber, isn't it?" Diger's voice was calm and fatherly. "I must have scared you. Don't worry. Your brother has received a light punishment. From now on, you and he will live in my palace. I'll have attendants take good care of you both."
He had originally planned to marry her off to Jack, cementing her place in the family. But now? Now she was just another name in a death ledger waiting for the ink to dry. Still, they could live comfortably—for a few more months.
Amber bowed gratefully, masking her turmoil. "Thank you, Lord Diger~"
As a descendant of the Sea King Clan, deception was in her blood. Lies were like second nature—smooth and believable.
But even she couldn't lie to herself.
She knew exactly what Diger and Jack now thought of her. Her one reckless move had flipped the tables. Had it not been for her idiotic brother, she might have secured Jack's favor and risen within the Sparrow household.
Now, she was living on borrowed time.
She wondered: Should she terminate the pregnancy? But doing so would seal her death—and likely her brother's, too. Perhaps even her clan would be implicated.
No. She could only survive until the child was born.
"Actually, Lord Diger," she said quickly, "my relationship with Albert is… not that close. I only said what I did out of desperation. If he broke any laws or disrespected the Pirate Code, I trust you'll handle him as you see fit."
She clung to the Pirate Code, knowing that Diger revered its authority. If she could appeal to his sense of order, she might still be able to shift his perception.
If things truly fell apart, she'd die with her child—but she wouldn't give the father and son the satisfaction of controlling her fate.
"Relax, Amber," Diger replied, eyes narrowing. "You're part of the family now."
He could sense her desperation to survive. Her instincts were sharp—no doubt why she'd lasted this long. And for the sake of his future grandson, he was willing to give her a little leeway.
Jack had grown up motherless. Perhaps, if Amber behaved, this child wouldn't suffer the same fate—at least not right away.
"Thank you, Lord Diger." Amber forced a warm smile, though the cold sweat on her back hadn't dried.
She had a talent for sensing danger—and today, she'd dodged a guillotine.
Once Diger's arrangements for Amber were in place, Jack tried to sneak off to party again—but this time, Diger stopped him.
"Xiao Feng and the others are dead. And you still have time to goof off?" Diger's tone turned bitter. "Do you understand what this means? The Diger Pirates are on the brink of collapse!"
Diger's voice echoed through the halls.
He had been considering disbanding his crew and retreating into obscurity after his grandchild was born. He was old. His ambition had dulled. But with the loss of three top officers in one blow, the dream of fading away quietly seemed even more distant.
"Wait… what?!" Jack blinked. "Xiao Feng is dead?! But I was drinking with him just last week!"
Diger ignored his idiotic son and summoned the core leaders for an emergency meeting.
The Diger Pirates were under siege—and they didn't even know who had struck the blow.
Was it Rocks? Brook? Had the Umit family aligned with the World Government?
Was this the work of the Navy or CP agents?
---
Meanwhile, on the Golden Island Sky Lab, the Wind Control Fruit had already been extracted from Xiao Feng's corpse and absorbed by Kirin Lion, greatly enhancing the island's aerial capabilities.
Even Kaido looked enviously at the other elite members of the Hell Pirates. So many of them had powerful Devil Fruits now. Even the Memory Seahorse was getting cocky.
He daydreamed about saying to Brook, "I don't care what animal it is—just give me the Mythical Zoan – Octopus Kraken Fruit!"
Xiao Feng, Antman, and Willanniu had all been killed. Their bodies were now preserved in cryo-containers by Vegapunk, awaiting the recovery of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit to be used in future experiments.
Back in Brook's floating command base, the Economic News Agency had just delivered the final version of a manipulated news headline:
"POLAR ORGANIZATION LEADER BEN LADEN CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE DEATH OF XIAO FENG AND OTHER DIGER PIRATE OFFICERS!"
"We will continue launching suicide strikes against pirates and corrupt Marines until the world is pure again. May peace come to all!"
The front page showed a rugged, bearded man wielding state-of-the-art firearms—posing heroically with an expression of divine justice.
The world wasn't sure if the group was real or fabricated—but that didn't matter.
People believed it.
Especially when the article included staged photos of supposed "Polar Organization agents" alongside Xiao Feng's wreckage.
Brook smirked. "If you want to fake a terrorist group, do it right."
Later, the news agency also published a "follow-up":
"Our reporters were kidnapped and forced to publish this article. Please forgive any inaccuracies—it was a matter of life or death."
Naturally, this only made the story more believable.
The Polar Organization was now famous.
They had—at least in public view—attacked an Overlord-level pirate crew. No simple gang could pull that off.
Brook then made a personal Den Den Mushi call to Diger to offer his condolences.
"Such a shame," Brook said in his usual jovial tone. "Xiao Feng was a real talent. You have my sympathies."
Diger gritted his teeth as he listened.
He hadn't been certain who was responsible before—but after hearing the call, seeing the media spin, and knowing Brook controlled the World Economic News Agency, everything fell into place.
It was Brook.
That laughing bastard had murdered his men—and then had the gall to send flowers.
Diger almost had a stroke right there.
But he couldn't act on it—not yet.
Amber's pregnancy changed everything.
He needed Brook and the Hell Pirates to help hold back the rising threat of Rocks. Just one year. That's all he needed—for the child to be born.
So, with gritted teeth, Diger agreed to reaffirm their "alliance."
The Den Den Mushi call ended with polite words and forced smiles.
But the moment the snail receiver dropped—
BOOM.
Diger erupted.
His Conqueror's Haki surged across Madagascar Island, splitting the sky and trembling the earth.
Somewhere, across the sea, Brook blinked in confusion.
"Yohoho~ Did I actually fool that old fox Diger?"
-------------------------
The news of the deaths of several high-ranking officers from the Diger Pirates spread like wildfire across the New World.
Even Rocks D. Xebec, perched atop his crumbling empire, considered seizing this opportunity to strike at Diger.
But one glance at the chaotic mess within his own territory made him abandon the idea.
He didn't know what the so-called Polar Organization was, but one thing was clear—this so-called "Rocks Fan Club" was targeting him. Their exposés had repeatedly revealed his location, sabotaging his plans to personally hunt Devil Fruit users.
Thanks to those damn seagull news birds and the moles within his ranks, every ambush he'd planned was ruined.
His location, always exposed.
His frustration boiled over. Now, instead of leading attacks himself, he could only assign underlings to track down Fruit users within his own territory.
But therein lay the problem—he didn't have enough men. His elite forces were spread too thin across too many islands. Now he realized, too late, just how vital a loyal intelligence network and a news agency were.
Ever since Rocks had ordered the shooting of seagull news birds, his entire fleet had been cut off from the flow of information. The World Government's Peace Dove messengers refused to enter the New World. News was scarce, and what little they did obtain had to be stolen or intercepted manually.
And so, the most powerful pirate crew in the world... became the blindest.
Now Rocks had to rely on his personal spies to secure basic intel—and even they had to physically raid merchant ships just to read a newspaper.
It was humiliating.
Brook had cornered the information economy, and Rocks could do nothing but grit his teeth.
Two years of constant war had bloated Rocks' territory beyond control. His empire was too vast to defend properly. His early battles with the Diger Pirates had already cost him valuable subordinates, and in their place had risen powerful new threats—three pseudo-Overlords and a rising crew of monsters: The Hell Pirates.
Worse yet, while Rocks gained land, Brook gained loyal commanders.
Despite his smaller domain, Brook's crew now boasted more elite officers—each with unique, terrifying Devil Fruit powers. His top four fighters alone had awakened Conqueror's Haki and possessed mastery over their Fruits.
Rocks found himself, for the first time in years, envious.
The Diger Pirates were weakening. Rocks estimated they had less than two years left. Even if he didn't strike, Brook would.
And when the Hell Pirates crushed the Diger Pirates, Brook's crew might become so powerful that even Rocks would be forced to tread carefully.
In a rare moment of weakness, Rocks even entertained a ridiculous thought—what if he teamed up with Diger to destroy Brook?
But he laughed that idea away almost immediately.
He didn't trust Diger. He didn't trust anyone.
If he couldn't rely on others, then he'd rely on himself. Once more, Rocks threw himself into isolation, entering intensive training—determined to sharpen his three types of Haki and master his Devil Fruit to its limits.
If he couldn't win with an army, he'd dominate with sheer, absolute power.
---
Several days later, Brook confirmed that neither Rocks nor Diger intended to make a move.
Time to act.
With the Wind Control Fruit now in his arsenal, travel across the seas had become faster than ever. Brook set his next plan in motion—a return trip to the Grand Line to capture new territory.
This time, they left Golden Island behind and traveled light.
Sailing aboard the golden spaceship, the crew launched silently into the skies. Sparks flew. Lightning cracked. The wind howled.
Redfield and Charlotte Linlin provided thunder-fire propulsion, while Shiki and Kirin Lion combined weightless floating and wind-based acceleration. The entire ship blazed through the sky like a meteor.
"THIS IS AMAZING!!!"
The crew's cheers echoed across the clouds. If not for the structural limits of the spaceship, they would've pushed even faster.
"Captain Brook!" shouted Tom. "This ship's design can't handle this level of propulsion anymore. I propose a second transformation—something more streamlined. When we return to Sky Island, Dr. Vegapunk and I will begin the redesign immediately!"
Brook's grin widened. "Do as you see fit. Make it stronger. If need be, rebuild it entirely. Use Adam wood and hard-light alloy. Vegapunk might even replicate the Lunarian lightning condensers from the Moon People!"
With Tom, the world's greatest shipwright, and Vegapunk, the world's most brilliant scientist, Brook felt unstoppable. This next ship wouldn't just be a beauty—it would be the fastest battleship in the world.
Not gold-plated. Not decorative.
Pure power. Pure performance.
"Aye, Captain!" Tom saluted and immediately began sketching.
---
Their next target: Trans Town..
Home to the rare IQ plants, these strange herbs could trigger rapid evolution in animals—sometimes granting them elemental abilities like lightning or fire.
The possibilities? Endless.
Brook's eyes gleamed.
If Vegapunk could refine the IQ compounds, perhaps he could enhance Brook's beast troops: Memory Seahorse, Parrot, and Kirin Lion. With elemental enhancements, they'd rival Mythical Zoan users!
And if Vegapunk ever created a version of the IQ potion that worked on humans…
Brook would have a weapon far more stable than Caesar Clown's artificial Devil Fruits.
Even if that failed, Brook still had his growing beast armies: the kung fu manatees, the island of rare beasts, and his baboon army—Zoro-copycats who learned by imitation.
Just imagine: a Fire Baboon Army and a Thunder Manatee Battalion. The New World wouldn't know what hit it.
---
Trans Town was still a wild, untamed land.
Populated by a semi-humanoid species known as Chiropterans, the islanders lived an agricultural lifestyle—waking with the sun, resting with the moon.
Their civilization coexisted with terrifying beasts, kept at bay by natural repellents like the DaftGreen tree. Though its bark was toxic, it released a pungent aroma that repelled predators.
Unfortunately, this same scent also slowly poisoned the Chiropterans.
Only the IQ plant acted as an antidote.
As a result, Chiropteran men would venture into the wild every few weeks to harvest IQ plants—risking their lives to ensure the health of their people.
It was a tradition passed down for generations.
But on this day—
A massive golden ship ripped through the clouds and descended upon Trans Town like a thunderclap.
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