Because the overlords of the New World were on the verge of war, a huge number of Marine elites and CP operatives had been recalled to Marineford.
Under that strain, when the Figarland family chose this moment to return to the West Blue to worship their ancestors, the protection they received was… lackluster, to put it kindly.
This time, the escort for the Figarland main house consisted only of agents from CP1 to CP9. There wasn't a single CP0 operative, let alone a Knight of God.
In truth, the Figarlands—much like the Donquixote family—were outliers among the Celestial Dragons. They belonged to the "lawful and kind" faction, and that alone made them unpopular in Mariejois.
Now, of all times, Saint Figarland Panza had insisted on returning to the West Blue to pay respects to his ancestors. The other Celestial Dragon families were furious. They had their own demands for CP0 and the Knights of God, and they had no intention of wasting precious strength on a "soft-hearted" house that might drag everyone into trouble.
They even quietly conspired to trip him up, refusing to assign any top-level guards to his convoy.
In the end, Saint Figarland Panza ignored the warnings and contempt of his peers. He took his attendants, his wife Figarland Teresa, and a contingent of ordinary CP agents, and stubbornly set off for the West Blue.
His temperament was no different from Donquixote Homing, the old "sage" who would, a few years later, insist on giving up his Celestial Dragon status and leaving the Holy Land altogether.
Doflamingo, now only two years old, could never imagine that in a few short years he would lose his identity as a Celestial Dragon.
At eight, his greatest hatred, Donquixote Homing, would walk out of Mariejois with his family and cast aside everything that made them "gods." Six years from now, Homing would choose to settle in the North Blue, living as a commoner with his wife and two sons. Less than two years later, both husband and wife would die.
Today, in the West Blue, it was the Figarland couple's turn.
Saint Figarland Panza and Figarland Teresa would stay here forever, leaving behind a son who had not yet reached his first birthday.
Because of their kindness, the Figarlands owned very few slaves. That meant very few powerful servants or slave gladiators as well. Their guard was thin.
They never expected that there were pirates in the West Blue strong and insane—enough to ignore the fear of the Celestial Dragons.
As explosions rocked the fleet and flames devoured silk and gold, Figarland Teresa, eyes full of terror and despair, placed her infant son into an empty treasure chest and secured the lid. Then she turned to stand beside her husband, taking up arms to command their people and the CP agents in a desperate resistance.
On the deck, amid the roar of cannon fire and mad laughter, the culprit reveled in the carnage.
Camacho, captain of the Destruction Pirates, Rocks' appointed overseer of the West Blue. Paramecia, Bomb-Bomb Fruit. Bounty: 290 million Berries.
Under his power, the once-gorgeous Celestial Dragon fleet erupted again and again. Every plank and cannon he had touched became a ticking bomb.
Figarland Panza had already called the Den Den Mushi line reserved for Admirals, but Marineford was far away in the New World. From there to the West Blue, even the fastest response would take too long.
No help would arrive in time.
Before long, the head couple of the Figarland main house—the World Nobles whose very names once made commoners and kings tremble—were cut down by a pirate's hand.
In Mariejois, the Figarland branches still remained. They would inherit the title and bloodline. After today, there would be a bitter struggle over who would take control of the main family's authority.
Here on the sea, Camacho had other priorities.
He personally finished off Saint Figarland Panza and Figarland Teresa, already picturing himself presenting their corpses to Rocks as trophies. The servants and ordinary CP operatives were slaughtered to the last. No witnesses.
"Sink the rest," Camacho ordered coldly.
Under his command, the Destruction Pirates stripped what they wanted, then set charges and blasted the remaining three ships of the Celestial Dragon convoy to pieces. As the wreckage burned and sank, they began to turn their ship to leave.
That was when they saw it.
A pirate vessel approaching at speed from the distance.
Camacho, still half drunk on blood and explosions, narrowed his eyes. That ship was not fleeing. It was coming closer. In his eyes, that meant only one thing.
"They're not even running? So they don't take me seriously at all?"
He had ruled the West Blue under Rocks' banner for years. In his mind, there was no pirate crew in these waters he needed to fear.
Without a word, he ordered his men to open fire.
Cannons roared, and bomb-laced shells whistled through the air toward the oncoming ship.
"We're just passing by, and they open up on us the second we get close…" Rayleigh clicked his tongue as the first explosions fell around them.
The Roger Pirates had approached only because they'd seen smoke on the horizon and gone to investigate. They hadn't even crossed into hailing range when artillery rained down on them.
"Ahahaha! If they're bold enough to fire, then we'll stake our lives as pirates on it!" Roger grinned, standing at the prow. "All right, guys, full charge!"
He wasn't the sort to sidestep trouble. A surprise barrage was a declaration of war.
"Wahaha! Just got back to the West Blue and we already get to bully rookies!"
Gaban laughed like a gamer dropping into Bronze after peaking at King rank, only to get tower-dived before the minions even spawned.
"Charge!"
Fighter Sunbell was the first to move. The Fishman dove overboard, cutting through the water like a torpedo. In moments he was beneath the enemy ship.
On deck, Roger swung his sword with a casual grin.
A single sweeping slash of sword aura ripped through the air, detonating a swarm of incoming shells and slicing the enemy ship's mast clean in half.
Camacho's bloodlust froze.
That slash—it wasn't something a random West Blue pirate could have unleashed.
Since when did a monster like this appear in the West Blue?!
A thunderous explosion suddenly rocked the Destruction Pirates' ship from below. Sunbell burst up from the hold, naginata in hand, carving down pirates left and right. None of them could withstand his blows.
In desperation, Camacho hurled a string of bombs at the Fishman, each detonation enough to shred a warship.
Sambell crossed his arms, Armament Haki coating his skin in black. The explosions burst against him, smoke and flame billowing out, but when the dust cleared, he was still standing, barely scratched.
Seeing that level of Haki, Camacho's heart finally sank. He stared hard at the Fishman's face.
He had seen this man before.
Recognition struck like a lightning bolt.
That Fishman… Sunbell, fighter of the Roger Pirates. A quasi-overlord with a bounty higher than mine…
Which meant…
The ship we fired on… is the Oro Jackson.
The Roger Pirates.
Panic flooded him as fast as his earlier madness had. What were they doing in the West Blue, and how had he been stupid enough to open fire on them first?
Had he just picked a fight with Roger himself?
Is it too late to beg for mercy now? Can Captain Rocks' name still scare them off?
While his mind spun, the Destruction Pirates' crippled vessel, its mast destroyed and its hull ravaged, was easily overtaken and locked down by the Oro Jackson.
Roger stepped onto their deck with his crew at his back.
"Captain Roger, it was a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding!" Camacho dropped to his knees so fast it was almost comical. "I didn't know it was your ship! Please, for the sake of Captain Rocks, forgive this offense!"
There was never any suspense.
Roger wasn't the least bit intimidated by Rocks' name. Under the overwhelming might of his crew, the Destruction Pirates were crushed almost instantly. Before Gaban and Spencer had even warmed up, all of Camacho's men were sprawled unconscious or worse across the blood-slick planks.
Only Camacho was left alive, face twisted, eyes wide with fear.
"Since you dared to fire at us, then you'll bet your life as a pirate on the outcome," Roger said, eyes narrowing. "And the stench of blood on you tells me you've killed more than enough innocent people."
He could feel it clearly—the heavy weight of countless wronged souls clinging to Camacho like a curse. This was not a man who had merely strayed.
This was a butcher.
"You deserve to die."
"I—I can give you all our treasure!" Camacho stammered, sweating. "Every last coin! Just let us go this once!"
Gaban pushed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose and smiled like a shark.
"Are you stupid? Even if we kill you, all your treasure will still be ours."
The crew burst into raucous laughter, their voices echoing over the raided Celestial Dragon gravesite and the bloodstained sea.
------------
When Gaban finished mocking him, Camacho's expression twisted with rage, but then he suddenly threw his head back and burst into wild laughter.
"Hahahahaha! We just killed Celestial Dragons, the so-called 'World Nobles'! If you wipe us out here, you get to shoulder the crime of slaughtering them!"
He grinned like a madman. He didn't care about having killed Celestial Dragons. His original plan had been to drag their corpses back to the New World and claim the credit from Rocks. But would the Roger Pirates really be willing to bear that sin themselves?
"What?!"
Roger and the others were stunned. They turned to the three burning ships nearby. The hulking, ornate hulls and gilded decorations really did resemble the exclusive flagships of the Celestial Dragons. They looked frighteningly similar to the luxurious warships they had seen back in God Valley.
"Haha! Their bodies are in the cabin," Camacho cackled. "I was going to haul them back and offer them to Captain Rocks!"
The very next instant, cold steel flashed.
Camacho's eyes widened. He clutched at his throat as blood sprayed between his fingers. Regret flickered across his face for a split second. He should have chosen to blow everything sky-high from the start.
"Ah. Why'd you have to run your mouth and try to threaten us?"
Gaban shook the blood from his blade with obvious annoyance.
"What a waste. I was thinking we could sell this guy to Brook. A Bomb-Bomb Fruit user of this level would've fetched a pretty decent price."
"Clean everything up. We are not taking the blame for this."
Rayleigh's voice was flat as he wiped the sword and sheathed it. He was the one who had opened Camacho's throat, ending it in a single strike.
The Roger Pirates absolutely refused to shoulder the crime of killing Celestial Dragons. They were planning to spend a long time roaming the four seas. If they drew the ire of the Celestial Dragons now, they would be hunted relentlessly and ultimately forced to flee back to the New World.
At Rayleigh's order, the crew began stripping the Destruction Pirates' ship of valuables, dismantling anything that could serve as evidence, and dragging bodies together to dispose of them. The three Celestial Dragon ships were already ruined; all that remained was to erase every trace of what had happened here.
While the deck bustled, Roger's Observation Haki picked up a faint, weak presence.
A small, fragile life.
He followed the sensation to a massive treasure chest tucked into a corner of the wreckage. Gently lifting the lid, he froze.
Inside, nestled among cloth and jewelry, lay a red-haired baby.
The child looked up at him with big, clear eyes and, instead of crying, broke into a bright smile.
Something in Roger's chest melted. He reached in carefully and picked the baby up, cradling him in his arms like precious glass.
As he did, he noticed a jade pendant hanging from the baby's neck. The inscription read:
Figarland Shanks.
Roger's breath hitched.
A Celestial Dragon's child.
He hesitated for a heartbeat, then quickly slipped the pendant off and tucked it away. For now, he could not let the others know this baby was a Celestial Dragon descendant.
Because he'd already made up his mind.
This kid felt strangely close to him. It felt like a twist of fate sent straight from the heavens.
"Is that the son of these pirates?"
Rayleigh walked over, glancing between the baby and the corpses. If that was the case, he had no intention of harming an innocent child. On the next island, he planned to find a decent family to take him in.
"Rayleigh. I'm going to adopt him."
Roger turned around, speaking with unusual seriousness. For the first time, his easygoing face was painted with something unmistakably paternal.
"Yaaah!"
"You're joking."
Not only Rayleigh, but every officer nearby stared with open-mouthed shock.
There wasn't a single woman on the Oro Jackson. Who was supposed to feed this kid? The little red-haired baby didn't even look like he was a year old yet. Which one of them was going to produce milk?
"Ahahaha! I'm serious. From today on, he's one of us. His name is Shanks."
Roger lifted the baby high into the air, laughing loudly. Shanks, tiny hands waving, giggled back in delight. He didn't seem frightened at all by the rough-looking pirates around him.
"Haa… there's no helping it. You're the captain. If you want to be reckless, we just have to follow along."
Rayleigh sighed helplessly, but there was a faint smile at the corner of his mouth. Once they had finished loading all the loot onto the Oro Jackson, Rayleigh personally set the Destruction Pirates' ship ablaze, letting it sink and burn until even the bones and timbers vanished beneath the waves.
In a single battle, the Roger Pirates had seized a mountain of treasure—and unknowingly taken on the burden of a Celestial Dragon bloodline in the form of a laughing red-haired infant.
However, mixed in with that loot were a number of items clearly crafted for Celestial Dragons.
That was a problem.
If they sold such items, they risked exposing themselves. Once the trail was traced back, the blame for murdering Celestial Dragons would fall squarely on their heads.
In the end, they decided to seal those particular treasures away and either bury them on some unmarked island or sell them later to Brook, the New World overlord who didn't fear the Celestial Dragons in the slightest.
With that settled, the Roger Pirates continued their journey toward Captain Mullin's hometown.
They still had a promise to fulfill.
··
Meanwhile, Marineford was in an uproar.
First, no one knew who they could even send in time to support the Figarland family. Second, even if they dispatched someone, the odds of arriving before the worst had already happened were slim.
Eventually, a Knight of God was ordered to rush to the West Blue. Even if he could not save the Celestial Dragons, he was to at least identify which pirate crew had dared to lay a hand on them, and then see that they were erased as swiftly as possible.
In Mariejois, the Celestial Dragons' reactions were mixed.
Some idiots gloated, secretly sneering at the downfall of the "soft" Figarland house.
Far more of them were furious.
They might not like the Figarland family, but that didn't mean commoners were allowed to stain a Celestial Dragon's blood.
As World Nobles, they had to avenge this insult, wipe out the culprits, and crush any notion that the dignity of the Celestial Dragons could be challenged.
Soon after, orders went out. Suppression of pirates in the four seas was to be raised to an even harsher level. Any pirate with a bounty was to be hunted relentlessly. The safety of the four seas had to be guaranteed so that other traveling Celestial Dragons could roam without fear.
During this period, most Celestial Dragons became even more reluctant to leave Mariejois. Even those who did venture out insisted on absurdly heavy escorts.
No one wanted to become "the next Figarland Panza," mocked behind closed doors as a fool who had brought disaster upon himself.
The news of the Figarland family being attacked and killed was immediately buried. They could not allow such a humiliation to spread. After Sabaody and God Valley, another public disgrace would be unbearable.
The Knight of God who rushed to the West Blue found nothing.
The Celestial Dragon fleet and the Destruction Pirates' ship had both been burned to ashes and sunk. The sea had washed away the remnants. He couldn't even determine the exact location where the attack had taken place.
For now, it became a mystery with no starting point.
In the end, the investigation into the attack on the Celestial Dragons was temporarily shelved. High-end combat forces like the Knights of God were needed elsewhere. The looming clash between the two New World overlords demanded their full attention.
··
In the New World, Brook's Hell Pirates were also searching for the missing Roger Pirates.
Those bastards had promised to share the secret of the Final Island with him. Brook had even paid up front with a red Poneglyph.
And now, Roger had vanished.
Their disappearance forced Brook to rework his plans.
If the Roger Pirates did not resurface to attract the World Government's attention, he would not launch his full-scale assault on the Rocks Pirates. With no lightning rod to draw the first strike, the war between overlords would have to wait.
Still, Brook wasn't bored.
He watched his children and students grow stronger day by day, and every cadre under his command underwent relentless training, sharpening their skills and Haki.
All of it was to prepare for the coming war that would let the Hell Pirates finally unify the New World.
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