At Silva's warning shout, Brook cranked up his Conqueror's Haki, the sheer force radiating from him like a tidal wave. Redfield and Shiki felt the surge, their own Conqueror's Haki sparking and leveling up in the heat of the moment.
Charlotte Linlin, however, seemed unfazed, her expression steady. Sensing the shift, Brook cut off his Haki burst and signaled a retreat.
Sandy lay battered, his body crisscrossed with cracks like shattered glass. Blood trickled from his mouth and nose, his eyes blazing with fury and defiance as he glared at the Hell Pirates.
What a monstrous life force! Even after taking a space-shattering punch from Whitebeard Newgate, he was still conscious, though too broken to move.
"Captain Brook, should we chase down the Rocks Pirates?"
Golden Lion Shiki eyed the dense forest, where the Rocks Pirates' officers had fled. If time allowed, Shiki would've floated the entire island into the sky for a cat-and-mouse hunt!
But the New World's mightiest overlord, Rocks, was closing in fast, and even Shiki wasn't eager to face that monster.
"Nah, we're out of time! Nabbing Sandy's not a bad haul, though. Let's swipe his flagship while we're at it. Yohohoho!"
No half-measures now. They'd already captured the Kurozumi siblings and Sandy, burning bridges with Rocks. Stealing his flagship was just icing on the cake!
Brook hadn't planned to clash with Rocks so soon, but with such a juicy prize dangling before him, he couldn't resist chipping away at Rocks' power.
Three officers down, countless elite pirates crushed—if time wasn't so tight, he'd have hunted down their other Devil Fruit users, too.
...
At the port, while the Hell Pirates battled Rocks' officers, Miss Bakkin slipped back from town, aiming to escape on the flagship and find Captain Rocks.
But when she spotted three thieves looting her hard-earned spoils, her blood boiled. Unleashing her fury, she kicked Antonio flying and smashed Bra Kara's nose, blood spraying everywhere.
Antonio barely saved himself with his Den Den Mushi shell, cushioning the blow to avoid a crippling injury. As Bakkin moved in for the kill, a chill ran down her spine. She dodged just in time.
Bang!
A bullet grazed her arm, the sound reaching her ears only after. A sniper! And not just any sniper—a master marksman with a powerful rifle and eagle-eyed precision.
Without a word, Bakkin bolted from the flagship, darting between cover, weaving through the terrain.
Another shot rang out. She ducked, feeling the heat as the bullet zipped past her ear, nearly taking her head off. A crater marked where it hit. That trajectory… it came from the Golden Ark in the sky!
Panic surged. A sniper with that vantage point had her pinned like prey. Clutching her wounded arm, she tore a strip from her shirt to bind the injury.
Unbeknownst to her, Silva's Glare-Glare Fruit let him track her every move, even behind cover. His rifle couldn't bend bullets, though—he was waiting for her to slip up.
Then, a wardrobe malfunction caught Silva off guard. Bakkin's torn T-shirt revealed a glimpse of her assets under a swimsuit top, and, well, she was stacked.
Silva's mind wandered. Gotta admit, Miss Bakkin's a looker. With her golden hair and fiery red lips, she was a stunner. If she weren't a Rocks Pirate, he might've considered kidnapping her for himself!
He shook off the thought. She'd be a shriveled old hag someday, but right now? Pure eye candy. And that accidental show was a bonus.
Snapping back to his sniper's focus, Silva watched as Bakkin bandaged her wound. He waited patiently for her to break cover.
Bakkin, ever cunning, raised her satchel above the cover, testing if the sniper was still watching. Silva smirked. Clever girl. She was no ordinary pirate—no wonder she thrived in Rocks' crew.
Most snipers might've taken the bait, but Silva's Glare-Glare Fruit saw through her trick. Her every move was almost comical in his sights.
Suddenly, Bakkin tossed a few stones, creating a distraction. Still no shot. Silva found her antics amusing—a smart woman who valued her life, not just some coward.
...
On the flagship, Parrot, Antonio, and Bra Kara beat a hasty retreat, having looted nearly all the ship's treasures. Bakkin's ambush still left them shaken.
Silva, tiring of stalking such a wily target, decided to leave his mark. Switching to regular bullets, he fired dozens of shots into the ground, carving out the words: "Beauty, I'll let you off this time."
The rapid gunfire nearly scared Bakkin witless. When she saw the message, she froze. Is this for real?
Silva, aboard the Golden Ark, gave himself a mental high-five. Good thing he hadn't wasted his poisoned, explosive, or Seastone bullets. Maybe this beauty would fall for him someday, ditch Rocks, and join his side!
He grinned, imagining their tale as some cheesy romance novel—Love on the Battlefield, he'd call it.
Bakkin, meanwhile, was cursing under her breath. What kind of nonsense is this? Was this a trap to lure her out for a headshot? She stayed put, ears straining for signs of pursuit.
Soon, the Golden Ark soared overhead, making her heart race. From that angle, they could spot and snipe her easily. She scrambled to new cover.
But the ship didn't stop or fire. Instead, it hoisted the flagship into the air and flew off. Bakkin's jaw dropped. They'd actually spared her?
Her relief was short-lived. The flagship—and all her painstakingly collected loot—was gone, stolen by the Hell Pirates. Her stomach sank. Would Captain Rocks scatter her ashes for this?
It was her call to raid Saracha's territory instead of linking up with Rocks. She'd screwed up big time. I'm so dead.
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+300 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg