The clash of Conqueror's Haki exploded into the sky. The shockwaves swept across the Eighteen Hell Islands around Doragonzo Island, making the very air tremble.
Even weak pirate grunts far away were knocked out cold by the pressure alone.
On the Island of Life and Death, Gaban and the others were in the middle of enjoying the showgirls when that crushing aura hit. Their hearts skipped a beat and they turned toward Doragonzo Island with worried faces.
But when Gaban felt the familiar mix of auras, he relaxed a little, his thoughts drifting back to the Conqueror's Haki clash on Holy Water Island ten years ago.
Brook really was a thief who never passed up a chance. This time he was clearly planning to squeeze Roger for everything he was worth. Gaban curled his lip.
Was that guy really going to help someone awaken Conqueror's Haki again?
It was hard not to envy it. The Hell Pirates already had seven or eight users of Conqueror's Haki, yet Brook was still not satisfied.
How many Conqueror's Haki monsters did he want?
A whole crew of Conqueror's Haki users?
That would be insane.
Gaban could feel that his own will was close to that threshold too. Should he go and throw himself into the clash?
If he got lucky, maybe he would awaken as well.
Across the surrounding islands, pirate spies were also in an uproar, rushed reports flying back to their respective bosses.
There had just been at least ten distinct Conqueror's auras colliding in the sky.
And from one or two of the other islands, faint auras were also surging in response, like other great pirates answering the call of that storm of will.
They were all numb with shock.
This really was the Pirate Holy Island, Doragonzo Island.
There were Conqueror's Haki users everywhere.
…
Back in the central castle hall on Doragonzo Island, the pressure was so dense the air itself seemed to warp. Cracks spread across the heavy iron tables and chairs.
Brook split off more than ten clumps of condensed soul power, wrapping them around his unconscious children and students to protect them.
At the same time, he watched the ones still standing with clear satisfaction.
As expected of the future famous characters. Abel, Ben Beckman, Kuzan, the older ones, all had solid foundations and frightening talent.
His own three eldest were not bad either. Their potential was similar, but their personalities were different.
The eldest, Hades, had the strongest will and the calmest heart. The second, Osiris, was stubborn to the bone and refused to admit defeat. His daughter Kanna had never suffered a real setback in her life, so it would be hard for her to awaken Conqueror's Haki yet.
It did not disappoint.
The vampire queen of the Kingdom of Women, Shakky, who had personally slain Celestial Dragons, finally let loose her own Conqueror's Haki as a queen and lifted her head proudly, meeting the gazes of the gathered monsters head on.
Even Brook could not help rolling his eyes at her.
How arrogant could she get.
Rayleigh watched her with a soft, relieved look. But the moment he remembered the bond between Shakky and Brook, a chill ran down his spine and he forcibly pushed that thought away.
Seeing their big sister Shakky awaken first, Fisher Tiger and Hiruba grew anxious. They had both killed Celestial Dragons with their own hands. Why had their Haki not awakened yet?
In the end, none of the younger generation awakened this time.
They still lacked enough tempering. They had not yet stood at death's door, or been swallowed by truly overwhelming emotions.
Doflamingo and Ace had awakened their Haki while their lives were hanging by a thread. Katakuri awakened his when his sister was gravely injured.
Right now Brook was only using raw pressure to press down on them. Only children with overwhelming pride and a refusal to bow could awaken this way.
It seemed this method alone would not be enough. He would have to find another way to push them over the edge in the future.
Even so, Brook was content. His second division captain, Shakky, had awakened. That alone made today a victory.
Once Brook's aura receded, the others withdrew their own Conqueror's Haki one after another, and the hall finally exhaled.
"Yohoho. Congratulations, Shakky, on awakening Conqueror's Haki."
Brook grinned. This had been just a test anyway. As long as one person awakened, he had earned big. The Hell Pirates had gained yet another king's will.
"Captain Shakky is amazing. Long live the Hell Pirates!"
Kozuki Oden, Scaredo, and the others immediately began cheering. Fisher Tiger and Hiruba could only accept the result for now, but neither of them showed any intention of giving up.
They had killed Celestial Dragons before.
They would get their turn. They could feel their courage steadily hardening.
They would awaken one day.
Roger could only accept his role as a tool man again. After all, he still needed something from Brook.
"Captain Brook, what do you need us to do next?"
He had not forgotten about the final island and the red Poneglyph. Roger pressed on.
"It is actually simple. I just want my ship's doctor to give you all a full physical. I want to study your physiques. Also, the female warriors of the Kingdom of Women want a nice, deep spar with your crew. I want the Roger Pirates to visit Nine Snake Island for two days."
Brook smiled as he spoke. What he really wanted was Roger's D bloodline, his blood and genes, and at the same time to help the Kingdom of Women leave behind some powerful offspring.
"Uh…"
Even Roger, who had seen everything, froze at that.
He could accept them wanting some blood in the name of a checkup, but a trip to the Kingdom of Women was on a different level.
His crew would probably be thrilled, but he did not want to casually leave a child behind on Amazon Lily.
"Hey, Roger, you are getting the better end here. Don't act so picky. For most men, stepping onto the Island of Women is a dream they never touch."
Shakky, queen of the Kingdom of Women, was not pleased. Did he think going to Nine Snake Island and meeting all those warriors was some kind of hardship?
"Well… I will talk it over with my crew first."
Roger scratched his head.
Worst case, he would just keep his hands to himself after landing. It was not like they could force him.
What he did not realize was that the Amazon Lily trip was just a smokescreen. What Brook truly wanted was that "simple" physical, to quietly extract their blood and genes.
This kind of two option trap was easy to fall into. Once people fixated on the more troublesome demand, they naturally ignored the simpler one.
In the end, Roger gathered his crew, discussed it, then came back to negotiate. Using the location information of the Poneglyphs he had collected and that special metal, he traded away the condition of "must visit the Kingdom of Women."
In other words, going to Amazon Lily became voluntary.
He and Rayleigh never set foot on the island in the end, but Gaban and the others were delighted. They were genuinely excited about the chance to visit Nine Snake Island.
Crocus drew blood from Roger, Rayleigh, and the others, then handed them a few Blood Crystal Dandelions refined from their own blood as healing medicine.
That only made Roger's crew greedier.
If their blood could be turned into medicine like this, then the more Crocus drew, the better.
Crocus had not expected them to react like that. After thinking about it, he sighed, chose to "endure the pain," and agreed to a fifty fifty split. He drew a few extra tubes and refined more Blood Crystal Dandelions, keeping half for himself and handing half to the Roger Pirates.
Roger's crew happily took the blood medicines born from their own veins and stored them away as their trump card for emergencies.
--------------
Roger handed over all the rubbings of the historical texts he had collected, asking Brook to have the archaeologists of Ohara translate them.
Brook accepted the bundle and casually passed it off to be sent up to Sky Island for decoding. His gaze, however, drifted toward Captaun Mullin, who was lying unconscious after being flattened by the earlier clash of Conqueror's Haki.
"Roger, that subordinate of yours used to be a navy officer, didn't he?"
Brook smiled lightly. Just now, Redfield had clearly dug some very interesting information out of Mullin's mind. For his strength to be that poor, fainting even earlier than Brook's own ten year old kids, was almost embarrassing.
"Ahaha, yeah. Mullin is the man who beat his corrupt superior half to death."
Roger praised him openly. He did not want the monsters of the Hell Pirates to treat Mullin as some kind of navy plant. If Brook decided Mullin was a traitor and moved against him, things would be very hard to fix.
"Yohoho, you don't have to explain anything to me. I'm not touching your crew. I am just giving you a little warning."
Brook waved a hand. Roger's internal affairs had nothing to do with him.
Even if the World Government had slipped a slow acting poison into Roger's body, it was not Brook's problem. With that man's vitality, even a terminal illness would take more than ten years to finally drag him down.
This kind of move from the World Government was the most troublesome to guard against. Even a monster like Roger had no way to defend against a poison that quietly stacked up over time.
It was like it had been made specifically to counter the D clan's secret amplification ability, a special formula crafted by the Celestial Dragons to deal with that bloodline. Every time a D used their hidden technique, their lifespan would burn away faster.
And now, Roger had already been targeted. His obsession with the historical texts had clearly touched the Celestial Dragons' bottom line.
"Ahaha, I trust every one of my crewmates."
Roger met Brook's eyes seriously. He did not seem to appreciate the warning much, but beside him, Rayleigh's brows furrowed. His gaze toward Captain Mullin cooled, true suspicion flashing there for the first time.
"Yohoho, and I trust your Observation Haki that can hear everything."
Brook chuckled. Maybe Mullin really had rebelled for real when he left the navy. But what happened after that, who could say?
The human heart was the hardest thing in the world to look straight at.
"Anyway, let's drop that topic and get back to business."
Brook turned and led Roger and Rayleigh into a secret chamber deeper in the castle, not allowing even the fishman Sunbell or the little giant Nozton to follow.
"You want to know about the red historical texts and the final island, right?"
He toyed with the chunk of special metal Roger had brought, sounding casual, as if the final island's secret meant nothing to him. His mind was already on who he should ask to forge this into a peerless blade.
"That's right. You must have already gathered one or two red historical texts and translated them, haven't you?"
Roger spoke with certainty. Ever since he had seen a red stone in the Valley of the Gods, he had never believed that Brook would sit still. Of course the man would have gone all in on hunting down the red historical texts.
"Whether I have them or not is one matter. Let me explain how they work."
Brook twirled the metal between his fingers.
"The red historical texts are the signposts to the final island. Only by finding the four red stones and plotting where their locations intersect can you set sail for the legendary final island."
He said it lightly, already planning out how to fleece Roger again. This secret alone was worth one price. The actual information about the locations of the red stones was another deal entirely.
Roger's blood and body data could be used for clones. But if he wanted a true second generation, he still needed Roger's seed. And that was something that could not be forced.
He still needed Roger to reach the final island, to become Pirate King, and to draw the full attention of Imu and the World Government.
"So that's what it is."
Roger slammed his right fist into his left palm, as if he had finally confirmed the guess he had been circling around. Rayleigh, at his side, simply rolled his eyes.
"Does Captain Brook know where the other red historical texts are?"
Rayleigh eyed him carefully. He was fairly sure Brook already had more than two red stones in hand, and the one from God Valley was almost certainly among them.
"Yes, I have some information. But what are you going to trade for it?"
Brook smiled. The Roger Pirates had already been marked in his heart. From here on out, they were fated to be his tools.
"What do you want?"
Roger's gaze flicked to the special metal Brook was tossing. What else could he offer this senior who stripped every passing goose of its last feather?
So long as it did not involve joining the New World war, he could probably agree to anything.
Otherwise, they would just have to find the red stones on their own.
Rayleigh's face remained expressionless, but inside he was already bracing himself. He had been scammed by Brook before.
"This request is simple, and it depends entirely on your mood."
Brook's smile widened.
"Who told you to refuse when I invited you to play in the Kingdom of Women? I can only make you volunteer again."
"Say it."
Both Roger and Rayleigh frowned. That tone never meant anything good.
"It will only take a few minutes, but it will save you months, maybe years, of searching. The choice is yours."
Brook's voice turned languid.
"For every seed you donate, each of you gets a translated red historical text in return. Which means in one shot, you will have three red stones' worth of information."
He laughed softly. The Roger Pirates had already taken a rubbing of the red stone in God Valley, so Brook would not cheat them out of that one.
"What?!"
Roger and Rayleigh both shot to their feet. The condition hit them like a cannonball.
Hadn't they just rejected the whole "go to Amazon Lily and sow your seeds" plan? Why was he forcing the issue again?
"Yohoho, I have no choice. Shakky, queen of the Kingdom of Women, is very concerned about the future of her Nine Snake warriors. This was her repeated request."
Brook threw Shakky out as a shield without batting an eye. Of course, he had no intention of telling them he planned to use their seed for in vitro fertilization to cultivate another generation of powerhouses.
Roger and Rayleigh traded a look.
How was this any different from going to the Kingdom of Women to leave children behind?
The only real difference was that there were no feelings involved here.
But the demand was still humiliating.
"Think it over by yourselves. You can also choose to search on your own."
Brook turned as if to leave.
Roger lunged forward and grabbed him.
If Brook could hand over information on two more red historical texts, what did that imply?
That he already held three texts. Where else were they supposed to find them?
Were they going to storm Sky Island just to steal a red stone?
There was no other road.
Brook had them tightly in his grasp.
"Rayleigh, please."
Roger clasped his hands together and begged his first mate. He was the one who had dragged everyone into chasing the red stones. Now his bargaining had dragged Rayleigh down with him.
Rayleigh ground his teeth, glaring at both Brook and Roger. In his eyes, the pair of them were scum.
Face burning red, he finally snatched up a collection tube and walked stiffly into the bathroom.
A few moments later, a deeply ashamed Roger followed suit to "make his own contribution."
Both men cursed Brook's name silently.
What a shameless bastard.
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