The air crackled with tension as Rocks, holed up on Hachinosu Island, began rallying his forces, sharpening his blades for the next war to conquer the New World!
The moment the Vesper Pirates and the Hell Pirates tore into each other, Rocks would strike. His plan: wipe out the Ice Demon Pirates and the Butcher Pirates, gutting the Overlord Alliance's strength, then crush that old relic Vesper in one decisive blow!
Lately, Ochoku, Silver Axe, and John had been powering up fast, outpacing some veteran officers and securing spots among Rocks' elite inner circle!
Meanwhile, the Kurozumi siblings—Higurashi and Semimaru—had officially joined the Rocks Pirates as special guard officers. They didn't need to wade into the bloodshed but still claimed a fat share of the loot!
Yet, the siblings knew Rocks was too powerful. Dragging him to Wano would doom their clan's dream of seizing control.
So, they set their sights on befriending the Rocks Pirates' rising stars. Kurozumi Higurashi cozied up to Miss Buckin, forming a "sisterly" bond, while secretly using her Clone-Clone Fruit to copy Buckin's appearance.
In the original tale, Higurashi mimicked Golden Lion Shiki, Miss Buckin, Kozuki Sukiyaki, and even Kozuki Momonosuke…
This old crone even had the gall to pat a young Shiki's cheek! What kind of wild nonsense went down? It's almost too much to picture!
Scouting the crew, the siblings noticed John wasn't fully loyal to Rocks, unlike the other officers who were practically worshipping the man's overwhelming might.
They started cozying up to John, hoping to forge an alliance. Their long-term plan: return to Wano, topple the Kozuki clan, and crown the Kurozumi family as the new shoguns!
...
On Madagascar, one of the Ten Kings Islands:
Salem rounded up the others for a pirate summit with Vesper to hash out Shirokiri's reckless stunt!
The Hell Pirates' crew had grown ferociously strong, their power climbing at breakneck speed. They'd become the third-ranked overlord crew, trailing only the Vesper Pirates. A clash between Vesper's crew and the Hell Pirates would just hand Rocks an easy win—a losing bet any way you cut it!
Rocks' crew reigned as the undisputed strongest, with Vesper's in second and the Hell Pirates in third. But Vesper was aging, while Rocks and Brook were in their prime!
Salem already had a bone to pick with Shirokiri. Now that the idiot had stormed the Hell Pirates' turf and tried to snatch Angelie, he was practically begging for their annihilation!
Lurking behind the core officers was a menacing figure with a notched lip—Brelco, once the top lieutenant of the Edward Pirates, one of the six overlord crews. After Rocks killed Edward, Vesper brought Brelco into the fold.
Brelco, boasting a 700-million-Belly bounty, outshone most of Vesper's officers, surpassed only by Orion, Salem, and Shirokiri.
When Vesper handed Edward's territory to the Hell Pirates, Brelco stayed quiet. When Angelie, Edward's daughter, stormed off in fury, he kept his mouth shut.
After a year and a half with the Vesper Pirates, Brelco realized that despite his strength, Vesper didn't fully trust him. Leading the remnants of Edward's crew, he found life more stifling than ever. He considered ditching this summit—what was the point with no real voice? He'd rather rule his own island in peace!
"Brelco, why don't you talk to Angelie and Bull? Get them to join us! You go way back!" Vesper urged.
Brelco's stomach dropped. Singled out, huh? That old fox knew Angelie despised him for switching sides. Sending him was like tossing gunpowder into a blaze!
Vesper sighed inwardly. If Shirokiri had shown this kind of fire earlier, he'd have won Angelie over long ago. Why kick up this mess after Brook had already claimed her loyalty?
But blood is blood, and Vesper had to clean up his son's chaos. If they could "convince" Angelie to return, everything would fall into place.
He doubted Brook would dare spark a war with the Vesper Pirates over one woman. With Rocks' crew circling like sharks, Vesper bet Brook was too sharp to take the bait.
"Captain Vesper, Angelie's got nothing but venom for me. I'd only make things worse. Why not send Orion? He's quick—hit fast before Brook's crew gets back, grab Angelie for young master Shirokiri, and wrap it up!" Brelco said, his face twisted with reluctance.
He cursed his decision to defect. If he'd joined Angelie in the Hell Pirates as their top allied crew, life would've been smoother than this mess, stuck between two worlds!
Back when he sailed with Edward, dodging Vesper and Rocks' pursuit, those days were rough but thrilling compared to this suffocating existence!
"Then you and Orion go together. If the Hell Pirates show up, pull back immediately!" Vesper ordered.
Vesper was throwing Brelco under the ship, letting him soak up Angelie's wrath. It might give Shirokiri a slim shot at winning her over—maybe even let Shirokiri rough up Brelco to vent her anger!
If Brook's crew appeared, Brelco could hold them off while Orion got Shirokiri out safely. If the Hell Pirates weren't back yet, even better—the trio could nab Angelie and be done with it.
Vesper, the worn-out old father, was bending over backward for his troublemaking son, even ready to toss a pirate of Brelco's caliber!
"Got it, Captain Vesper!"
Brelco grudgingly accepted the mission. At least Orion's speed meant they could likely grab Angelie and Shirokiri before Brook returned.
"Captain Vesper, I'm against this!" Salem snapped. "Risking war with the Hell Pirates over a woman? It's not worth it!"
As the Vesper Pirates' longtime quartermaster, Salem refused to gamble on Brook's restraint. A war would doom them, leaving them easy prey for Rocks!
All this over Shirokiri trying to steal a woman from the Hell Pirates—it drove Salem, who already loathed Shirokiri, up the wall.
He was growing fed up with Vesper's decisions too. Was the old man so blinded by fatherly love that he'd toss aside the bigger picture?
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+280 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg