One of the floating islands, the Island of Science, Punk Hazard.
This was the newest jewel in the Hell Pirates' skyborne chain. O'Hara, the Scholar Island. Cake Island, the Island of All Races. The Hell Fortress of Golden Island. All of them hovered in the air around the Sky Island, Ballon Island, like a cluster of obedient satellites.
Punk Hazard was different from the others. It was a true hive of intellect.
Brook had brought in top scientists and researchers from every sea, recruited where he could, lured where he had to, and "forced" when patience ran out. Mechanical geniuses, pharmaceutical experts, biologists, weapons engineers, android specialists… the best minds of the era were all here now, working under Vegapunk's command and feeding his endless experiments.
Brook stood on the deck and stared at the newly transformed Pluton.
It looked like a sky carrier from some ridiculous comic book dream. Massive, sleek, and unreasonably domineering. The refit was magnificent, but it had swallowed a mountain of resources and Berries to reach this point.
Even the Sky Island lightning device alone could not sustain the ship's super tonnage. Pluton still needed Shiki's Floating Fruit power and huge numbers of Wind Spray Shells to keep its flight stable and its speed high.
Nearby, the scaled down replica, the Adam Wood version, also sat proudly in its berth. "Pluton" was about the size of Newgate's Moby Dick, yet it carried more functions than the Thousand Sunny ever dreamed of, and its performance was far more complete.
"From today onward, Pluton is the Hell Pirates' new flagship," Brook announced with a grin. "Move everything worth a damn from Golden Island and the Golden ship onto it."
The order was delivered the moment the paint dried, because Brook was the kind of man who fell in love hard and dumped even harder. Once a new toy appeared, the old one was instantly "outdated."
The Golden Ship was left vacant and lonely for less than an hour.
Hades and Kanna begged, coaxed, and pestered Brook until he finally waved a hand in surrender. The ship was immediately claimed as the exclusive pirate vessel of the second generation.
The descendants and students gathered on its deck like a festival crowd. Their eyes burned with excitement as they argued, voted, and finally formed a new team. They were determined to carve their own name into the New World and become an official unit under the Hell Pirates' banner.
By common recommendation, the eldest prince, Hades, became the temporary captain of the rookie division.
Ben Beckman and Jesus Burgess took the roles of snipers and gunners. Vista and Shimotsuki Koshiro stood as the main swordsmen. But when they checked the roster again, the problem hit them.
No cook. No shipwright. No doctor. No dedicated navigator.
So they had to "force the arrangement" for now.
Phoenix Hera was shoved into the doctor's job. Fishman Jinbe was made shipworker and mechanic. Marco, served as lookout. The two girls, Kanna and Otohime, were pushed into navigation duty together. Shana became the cook.
Thankfully, Shana's Mythical Beast Racoon Fruit made her terrifyingly convenient. She could summon replicas of Streusen to whip up food, and even call on anyone she had met before. The copies were slightly weaker than the originals, but still kept their skills. It was cheating, but it was delicious cheating, and the rookie division accepted it with gratitude.
Osiris became the vice captain. Satan, Abel, Gekko Moriah, and the rest were positioned as frontline fighters.
Brook watched the lot of them bustle and shout, high spirited as freshly hatched sea kings. He did not dampen their enthusiasm, only gave them a practical warning.
"Stock up on Thunder Stones from Thunder God Island," he told them. "Bring enough to keep the Golden Ship fed with lightning energy. If you get cut off, and Redfield isn't around to power you with his Thunder Fruit, your endurance drops straight into the sea."
Without energy, the Golden Ship could only sail like an ordinary ship.
Brook tilted his head, thinking.
"If Marco develops his Cloud Cloud Fruit into true thundercloud territory, he might be able to supply lightning himself. Until then, do not gamble with fuel."
The little monsters nodded solemnly, pretending to be mature. Brook knew better.
In the end, he let Redfield take the rookie division on their first voyage. Just a few laps through nearby waters, a gentle introduction to how to operate a flying warship without getting themselves killed.
Brook, Hiruba, Tom, and the others stayed behind to familiarize themselves with Pluton and Pluton Hell. These two warships were core pieces in Brook's long game against Uranus.
If he could, Brook wanted to swap Pluton with the Uranus and crush them both.
No more sword hanging above anyone's head.
No more terrifying trump cards.
Just real hand to hand war.
On Pluton's deck, Brook accepted a fruit from Vegapunk.
The artificial Azure Dragon Fruit.
It looked nothing like Kaido's original. No double horns or dragon scales. Instead, it was an apple shaped, spotted fruit with a strange, muted sheen.
"This artificial fruit includes Kaido's bloodline," Vegapunk said seriously, "but I cannot guarantee how much of the Azure Dragon's power it will reproduce. There may also be mutations. This is my first successful artificial Devil Fruit, so I have no proper data yet."
Brook laughed softly, either because he trusted Vegapunk completely, or because he never learned fear to begin with.
"Vegapunk, I have always believed in you. If you say it is ready, then it is ready."
His gaze shifted to the boy standing beside Vegapunk.
Dragon's clone, now given a new name: Ryuga.
Ryuga was staring at Brook with open admiration, like a child looking at the sun.
"Ryuga," Brook said, still using the clone's old training name out of habit, "this fruit is yours. It is a great power. Trust me, and trust Vegapunk."
Brook placed the artificial Azure Dragon Fruit into Ryuga hands.
"Thank you, Master Brook. Thank you, Uncle Vegapunk."
Ryuga clutched the fruit with both hands. Since gaining consciousness, the two men before him had been his whole world. Trusting them was as natural as breathing.
His genes had been taken from Dragon at eight years old. After five years of cultivation and more than three years of training, Ryuichi now looked eleven or twelve. His build was lean, sharp eyed, and he resembled Dragon so much that, if you squinted, you might call him Dragon's little brother.
If Garp ever saw him in the future, Brook almost felt sorry for the headache the old man would get.
Almost.
Under Brook and Vegapunk's watch, Ryuga lifted the fruit and bit down.
He did not even flinch. The legendary foul taste of Devil Fruits never came. He finished it in a few bites, as casually as eating a snack.
Five seconds later, his body began to change violently.
His hands twisted into claws. His mouth stretched wider, sharpening into a ferocious maw filled with dragon teeth. Horns erupted from his head. Scales spread across his skin in a flood.
Brook's brows lifted. The scales kept shifting through colors, as if the fruit was searching for the shade its master desired. Cyan. Green. Black. Pink. Red.
Brook remembered that Momonosuke had turned into a pink dragon in another life, partly because that brat liked pink kimonos.
So this artificial fruit could adapt to the user's will?
In the end, the scales settled into a deep black, like black gold polished by fire. The aura rolling off his body carried weight, defense, and the cold edge of a storm.
"Roaaar!"
The dragon that Ryuga became was huge, sleek, and terrifying in its own right. Black clouds poured from his nose and mouth, thick and heavy. He stepped onto those clouds like they were solid ground and surged into the sky.
Lightning crackled inside the dark vapor around him.
--------------
Brook stared at Ryuga, who had just turned into a small black dragon, and couldn't help being stunned all over again.
Was this the kid's talent… or was the artificial Azure Dragon Fruit far beyond expectations?
The black clouds Ryuga spat out didn't just let him fly, they already carried a faint trace of thunder. That was ridiculous.
Kaido had reached fire, gale, and storm thunder after more than ten years of brutal training and development. Ryuga had eaten the fruit five minutes ago and already showed a spark of lightning.
Even Brook had to admit it, this was terrifying potential.
After circling through the air for a few minutes like a child who had discovered a brand new toy, Ryuga came crashing back down in excitement. His body shrank, scales fading away as he returned to human form. The next second, he rushed forward and threw himself into Brook and Vegapunk's arms.
"Thank you, Master, thank you, Uncle!" Ryuga grinned so hard his cheeks hurt. "I really like this ability!"
He paused, a little awkward, as if swallowing something he wanted to say. If Brook had allowed it, he would have called him Father, but Brook had taken him in as an apprentice, not a son.
Still, in Ryuga's heart, Master was no different from a father.
He wanted to get stronger fast. Strong enough to be useful. Strong enough to stand beside Brook instead of behind him.
"Yohoho." Brook laughed softly and ruffled the boy's hair. "I'm glad you like it. From today on, you are Black Dragon Ryuga."
Brook's eyes sharpened with a rare seriousness under the smile.
"Black Dragon is your nickname for now. But I want you to grow into a peerless powerhouse. One day, you won't just be Black Dragon Ryuga. You'll be the Black Dragon King, maybe even the Black Dragon Emperor."
Ryuga's breath caught.
Those words landed like a cannon shot in his chest.
"Master… I will!" he said, lifting his head. The fire in his eyes was so clear that Brook felt his own spirit brighten.
That look belonged to the Monkey bloodline. The kind that never bends. The kind that could awaken Conqueror's Haki if tempered right.
Brook nodded in satisfaction, then glanced toward the Golden Ship as it returned to Ballon Island.
"Then join them," he said. "Learn with them, fight with them, and grow together."
"Yes, Master!" Ryuga answered instantly, almost too fast. He looked at the Golden Ship with bright curiosity. Everyone on that ship was a descendant or student of Brook. Could he really train beside them?
He might look eleven or twelve now, but his memories only went back three or four years. Vegapunk had poured knowledge into his head, sure, but experience and temperament were things you only earned through living.
The Golden Ship landed.
Brook brought Ryuga over and introduced him to Hades' rookie division. None of the kids were surprised anymore. New monsters joined their circle all the time. If anything, it lit a competitive fuse under everyone's feet. Nobody wanted to be the one stuck at the bottom when the next era arrived.
And with their ages still close, nobody could say yet who would stand tallest in the future.
Brook watched Hades handle the introductions with smooth confidence, balancing pride, friendliness, and quiet authority like he had been born for it.
Strength, brains, temperament, courage… the kid had it all.
He really was the eldest prince Brook had raised.
Most people only saw Hades' low profile. Brook knew the truth. The boy's Devil Fruit had already been sharpened to a frightening level, and he had started grasping the three types of Haki. Even compared to slightly older monsters like Ben Beckman and Gekko Moriah, Hades was stronger.
From today on, he would lead the second generation.
Of course, Osiris and Kanna weren't far behind. The triplets had all awakened Conqueror's Haki at the same time, so their strength stayed tightly clustered.
Only Kanna's occasional laziness let her brothers pull ahead by a small step.
Two years below them, Satan and Anubis were also dazzling talents. But until they awakened Conqueror's Haki, a gap would always exist between them and their older siblings.
Before the Roger Pirates reappeared, the New World remained strangely peaceful.
Over the next few days, Brook had Redfield escort the rookie division to the uninhabited Beast Island near Doragonzo Island for training. Later, Brook himself joined them, taking the kids to a real island where pirates were causing trouble.
Their first true battle.
Their first taste of this world's blood and strength.
They had to adapt, and fast.
…
Days passed.
Roger still didn't return.
Brook's worry gradually thickened into something heavier. Had Roger's crew been wiped out on the Final Island? Had history eaten them alive?
There was nothing Brook could do except wait, but in the middle of that silence, another report arrived that sparked his interest immediately.
Miss Bakkin, the navigator of the Rocks Pirates, wanted to deepen her vague cooperation with the Hell Pirates.
She had somehow uncovered the D clan that Rocks was secretly guarding, and she slipped pieces of information to Brook to raise her bargaining chips, while staying completely under Rocks' radar.
She and Captain John were careful to the point of paranoia. They had ties with the Hell Pirates, yes, but they wouldn't openly betray Rocks or leave evidence behind. They kept their distance from Brook, afraid he might sell them out.
If Brook exposed their cooperation and Rocks killed them, they would die for nothing.
So they walked a narrow line, cautious as mice in a tiger's den.
Still, anyone with eyes could see the truth now. In this New World, the Rocks Pirates could not overcome the Hell Pirates anymore. Bakkin and John didn't want to be buried with Rocks inside a collapsing ship.
That was why they played the fence sitter, quietly leaning toward Brook while never daring to say it aloud.
Brook flipped through the slim intelligence packet she sent.
"So it really is the Marshall clan," he muttered. "And they specialize in medicine?"
Then his brow furrowed.
"Why did Rocks hide the Marshall family so carefully? What is he planning?"
A thought struck him like lightning.
Marshall D. Teach should have been born around this time.
Was Rocks secretly keeping a woman somewhere… raising a child?
Was that why everything was wrapped in shadows?
Brook didn't know the full truth.
What he didn't see was Miss Bakin's own vicious little game. Through threats, bribery, and outright kidnapping, she had forced Marshall D. Tim to hand over portions of the Marshall clan's black tech medical knowledge.
In exchange, Tim gained resources and money to continue her research, and she even tricked Bakkin into giving her a safe evacuation route and a ship.
Bakkin, in turn, intended to use that same black tech to create herself a powerful personal bodyguard.
Two treacherous women, clawing at each other in the dark, both convinced they had gotten the better deal.
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