Chapter 219: The God-Slaying Battle!
"Newgate, how long has it been since we last fought side by side?"
"Only last year I saved you."
"That time you came too late. So it doesn't count!"
The two stood together on the makeshift battlefield formed by their colliding ships, facing their enemies.
Their spirits were high.
A year ago at Oss Island, they had fought together, but that was just a retreat.
After Newgate arrived, they drove off the pursuers, held a pirate party, drank, and then parted ways again.
This was different.
"If we win this, will the old man finally be King of the World?"
"The captain doesn't care about that."
"Kihahaha, if Imu would marry the old man and then kill off all the Celestial Dragons, maybe he'd hand over the title after all."
They both knew Silas too well.
A pirate, yet with no interest in power or money. The only thing he might care about was women.
If not for that, Rocks would have doubted whether Silas was even a pirate.
After all, money, power, women, and strength—
In this world, weren't those the things men chased?
Strength was something every man pursued.
Beyond that, pirates either chased money, power, or women.
Rocks chased power.
That was why he could never serve under another, and why he had his own ambition to become King of the World.
Newgate was more like Silas.
He had no interest in money or power. Though he valued family, he visited the pleasure district just as often—if not more. At first, he went secretly, but later he did so openly.
His biggest difference from Silas?
He was the quiet type.
The two pirates' shameless banter made the four Five Elders' brows twitch, and the two Figarland leaders of the God's Knights openly rebuked them.
"Arrogant!"
"How dare you insult Lady Imu!"
"Attack together!"
Behind them, the four Five Elders had transformed into their Zoan Devil Fruit's hybrid forms. Though not large, the hybrid forms were the most balanced of all Zoan types.
"Haha, bring it on!"
Rocks, gripping his longsword, and Newgate, holding his naginata, exchanged a grin.
Vmmmm—
From the start, it was a clash of Conqueror's Haki. None of the eight present lacked Conqueror's Haki. As rulers of the world, the Five Elders and the Figarland father and son were no weaklings.
But six against two—
"Haha, so your Haki isn't that impressive after all!"
Black-red lightning crackled in the air. At the heart of the battlefield, the surrounding ships had long since been cleared.
The collision of eight Conqueror's Haki could knock out even billion-Berries pirates, but a clash was a clash—only the losing side would suffer the consequences.
The terrifying Haki struck like solid lightning, cracking the decks of the ships. These were Adam Wood vessels, the strongest ships in the world.
Yet, even they could not withstand the Haki, and cracks began to spread across their hulls.
Waves surged outward.
Hines Oran's ice powers could not reach the center of the battle; they were shattered by the sheer force of the Haki before they arrived.
Like the eye of a storm, the entire sea for dozens of kilometers trembled with the shockwaves emanating from the battlefield.
"Tch, this is insane!"
Even Roger and Garp, near-Admiral level, paused for a moment as they felt the pressure from the center.
With their current strength, they could not even join such a fight.
But it didn't matter.
"Karp, today is your end!"
"Haha, Roger, this time I'll lock you up in Impel Down!"
Top fighters had their own battles, and so did the near-Admirals. Their fights were no place for ordinary men.
At the center of the battlefield, after the simple Haki clash, the Five Elders and the two God's Knights leaders realized with grim faces that their six Haki could not suppress the two before them.
"We never had a proper fight last year. Let's go all out this time!"
Rocks laughed, gripping his sword with both hands and slamming it down.
"Terrifying Impact!"
Though he learned from Silas, Rocks's swordsmanship was entirely his own. He followed Silas's pursuit of power, not his sword style.
His sword technique, like a cannon blast, crashed toward the Five Elders and the Figarland father and son. Beside him, Newgate did not fall behind.
"Tremor: Sky Split!"
Both attacks were wrapped in Conqueror's Haki. From above, the ships at the center of the battlefield sank several meters.
The ships all sank under the force, but the power pulled at the sea like a spider's web, like water droplets refusing to fall.
The sea did not overturn, the ships did not sink, but the effects of the attack reached far beyond.
The ice Hines Oran had frozen shattered, and even though his ice was not the main target, the shockwaves split it into pieces, revealing the churning sea beneath.
Facing their combined assault, the six on the other side did not back down.
"You think you can stop us?"
"Don't get too cocky!"
"We ruled this world before you were born!"
"Can an ant shake a tree?"
Black-red lightning surged into the sky, covering the heavens.
Not all Five Elders could use Conqueror's coating, but at this level, even if individually weaker, together they would not lose to just two men!
BOOM!
A deafening roar erupted from the center of the clash. A violent storm burst from the compressed air, letting the entire battlefield feel the might of top-tier fighters.
This blow signaled that all eight would now fight with everything they had.
Among the Five Elders, Topman Warcury, the strongest in defense, charged first. He was one of the two strongest among the Five Elders.
"ROOOOAR!"
His roar released a wave of Conqueror's Haki that struck Rocks and Newgate. At the same time, Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro, transformed into a half-human, half-horse, and Figarland Lucas Saint, both drew their blades and attacked Rocks.
On the other side, a giant sandworm wreathed in black smoke surged forward. Beside it were Jaygarcia Saturn and Figarland Claude Saint, both in their hybrid forms.
The six top fighters of the World Government attacked together. If Silas did not fight for his life, even he could not withstand such a combined assault.
But Rocks and Newgate were two men.
They shared the pressure and trusted each other's backs.
Few fighters had such trust.
Their coordination came from their mastery of Observation Haki, knowing what the other would do next.
But for two top pirates like Rocks and Newgate to trust each other's backs—such a thing had never existed before!
They always had to keep one eye on their allies, even the six on the same side, fearing that Rocks and Newgate might take one of them down in a desperate move.
Immortality could withstand one or two attacks coated in Conqueror's Haki, but too much would still kill them.
Though on the same side, each had their own agenda.
"The old man was right. You're just the world's scum, the nation's parasites, society's trash. If you can't even trust your own comrades, how can you hope to beat us?"
Rocks's blade clashed with Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro's and Saint Lucas's. Beside him, a giant boar charged—Topman Warcury's Zoan form.
But Rocks sneered.
After clashing with Nusjuro and Lucas, he turned to face Newgate's enemies.
If alone, the moment after an attack, when their strength was spent, would be the perfect time for the enemy to strike. But with two, they could cover each other's gaps.
So the scene shifted: Newgate held off the boar with his naginata, while Rocks fought Jaygarcia Saturn and Claude Saint.
Shepherd Ju Peter, transformed into the sandworm, was knocked into the ship's cabin by Newgate's Tremor Tremor. If Adam Wood hadn't been so sturdy, Newgate's punch would have blown the ship apart.
But even if it did, it wouldn't matter—this was Imu's ship.
By contrast, on the Millennium Falcon, just one ship away, Linlin, fighting Ortega and Stevens, nearly cried at the sight of the damaged ship.
"You two bastards!"
Enraged, Linlin grabbed Ortega with one hand and pinned the giant griffin Stevens with the other, hurling them both away.
"This is my home!"
She had grown up on the Millennium Falcon. Though she lived on land sometimes, she spent far more time at sea.
To Linlin, this ship was her home.
Now someone had come to destroy it—just like breaking into her house. How could she not be angry?
"Cough, cough—what a monster!"
Being thrown meant being hurled from the Millennium Falcon onto Ortega's flagship. Ortega and Stevens climbed out of the ship, which had nearly been split in two, and looked at Linlin with fear.
It was useless. Completely useless!
As a top Armament Haki user, Ortega had never seen an enemy who could completely ignore his attacks.
She looked like nothing more than a tall girl.
(Young Linlin)
But every time they clashed, Ortega felt his hands would break.
If not for his immortality and the support of another Zoan user, Ortega doubted he could have lasted this long.
To suppress Linlin, two were not enough. At least three were needed!
But looking around—
Where could the World Government find more fighters?
The intensity of the Five Elders' battle was beyond his imagination. He had thought six top fighters could suppress Rocks and Newgate.
But Rocks and Newgate, fighting together, had achieved a synergy greater than the sum of their parts. The six on the World Government side, however, were not so well-coordinated.
This meant that while they could have suppressed Rocks and Newgate if they fought separately, together, the battle was now a stalemate.
The sky was even worse.
The giant demon, along with Mars Marcus Mars, transformed into a bird-snake, could barely restrain Harald, transformed into a blue dragon.
Even the only flying Five Elder cursed under his breath.
Why did the others get to gang up on their enemies?
Why did he have to be the one getting beaten?
The demon summoned by Imu was stronger than an average Admiral, and with Marcus Mars's bird-snake, Harald was troubled.
But only troubled.
Sometimes, when the battlefield looked dire, Harald could even withstand the demon and Marcus Mars's attacks, then lower his head and breathe dragon's breath toward the battlefield.
To Harald, it was just spit.
But to those fighting on the broken ice, it was a meteoric fire from the heavens, burning everything.
The difference between the strongest fighters and ordinary soldiers was like that between gods and mortals.
So this battle was truly a war of gods.
For the White Wolf Pirates, it was a battle to slay the Celestial Dragons, to trample the self-proclaimed "gods" underfoot.
The tide had turned.
In every past battle, the White Wolf Pirates had been at a disadvantage, relying on Silas to hold off most enemies to win.
But now, as time passed—
At the highest level, Silas's side had the upper hand!
High above, the wind howled.
Both Imu and Silas could see the entire battlefield with their Observation Haki.
The situation was turning in their favor.
Silas looked at Imu and smiled.
"Imu, if you have any last tricks, use them now."
"Otherwise—"
"After you lose to me, you won't have the chance to use them!"