Seeing the complex expression on Granny Nyon's face, Meiser asked curiously, "Granny Nyon, are you... very familiar with Uncle Whitebeard?"
Why did he feel like she knew Whitebeard extremely well?
"Of course I am," Granny Nyon replied, having composed herself. "We were once on the same ship together."
Although it wasn't for an exceptionally long time, they had still been crewmates for a period.
"There's such history?" Meiser said in surprise.
He truly hadn't expected this withered-looking old woman to have once been Whitebeard's crewmate. She... didn't give off any strong vibes at all.
"Yes, there is," Granny Nyon nodded. "But that was decades ago."
As she spoke, a trace of nostalgia flashed in her eyes, and scenes from her time on Rocks' ship resurfaced in her mind.
Even though their time together had been brief, it was enough to leave an indelible mark on her life.
"Decades ago?" Meiser marveled. "That's ancient history."
"Yes, exactly that ancient."
"So you were part of Uncle Whitebeard's crew then?"
"Absolutely not!" Granny Nyon jumped as if her tail had been stepped on, immediately refuting, "He wasn't qualified to be my captain!"
She acknowledged that Newgate was incredibly strong, but he wasn't worthy of being her captain!
"Then were you his captain?"
"No."
"Then—"
"Enough, stop guessing randomly," Granny Nyon cut him off. "I'll just tell you—we shared the same captain."
This immediately piqued Meiser's interest.
"Who?" Meiser asked. "What was his name?"
"Rocks!"
Granny Nyon said, "Though you probably haven't heard of that na—"
"No, I have!"
"Huh?"
Granny Nyon visibly froze, then said in surprise, "You've heard of him?"
Hadn't the World Government erased all traces of Rocks? How did this kid know about him?
Could it be... that he knew some of the survivors who escaped from God Valley?
At this thought, Granny Nyon narrowed her eyes.
"Yes, I have," Meiser nodded.
"Where did you hear about him?"
"From my crewmates," Meiser explained. "As for the details about the Rocks Pirate Crew, Robin told me. Brook only mentioned the name, but Robin shared some specifics about the crew!"
"Robin?"
"Ah, she's our crew's historian," Meiser clarified. "She's from Ohara—the only survivor."
"So she's a historian from there..." Granny Nyon nodded. "That makes sense."
Though the World Government had done everything to erase Rocks' existence, some traces inevitably remained.
And historians were experts at piecing together the past from those very traces!
So it's normal for the other party to know some things about Rocks.
Then, Granny Nyon asked, "What did she tell you?"
"She told me that pirate crew was extremely powerful, once a terrifying force that dominated an era," Meiser said. "But then something happened, and the crew suddenly vanished."
"And Rocks himself completely disappeared without a trace."
"That... was all Robin knew."
As for the specifics of what happened, Robin didn't know—after all, there were no records of that part!
"It seems the World Government put in a lot of effort," Granny Nyon said with a complicated expression.
Otherwise, Ohara wouldn't have only obtained this little information.
"What exactly did you guys do back then?" Meiser asked curiously. "To force the World Government to erase all traces of your pirate crew?"
Could they have attacked Mary Geoise?
Hiss... That wasn't impossible!
After all, that man named Rocks was Whitebeard's captain. Someone like that was capable of anything!
"That's a long story."
After saying this, Granny Nyon took a sip of tea from the table before continuing, "In short... we did many earth-shattering things!"
She paused, then added, "I won't go into the rest, but I'll tell you about the final battle—the God Valley War."
"That was also the last battle in Rocks' life."
"God Valley... War?"
Just hearing the name gave Meiser an inexplicable sense of awe.
Could that place have been Celestial Dragon territory, and Rocks went there to kill them? Meiser thought to himself.
The probability wasn't small!
As if reading his mind, Granny Nyon said, "God Valley is just the name of the island. It doesn't have any special meaning."
"But there were Celestial Dragons there, that's true."
Meiser nodded—that matched his guess.
"Kid, do you know about the Celestial Dragon Hunting Game?"
"No," Meiser shook his head.
He had only learned about the Celestial Dragons after coming to this world, so naturally, he wouldn't know about their hunting game.
"Then let me explain what the Celestial Dragon Hunting Game is."
She paused, then said seriously, "From the intelligence I gathered, it was an extremely cruel competition!"
"The World Government would select an island from a non-affiliated country as the hunting ground. Then, the people on that island would be branded as criminals and turned into prey, alongside slaves released by the Celestial Dragons."
"And then... the Celestial Dragons would personally hunt them down until the last prey was killed."
"After that, the island would become the World Government's property."
"And that... was the Celestial Dragon Hunting Game!"
"Wha—?!"
Merry's eyes widened in disbelief upon hearing Granny Nyon's words.
Killing an entire island's population?
That... that was just too cruel!
That was a whole island of people!
"It seems I still underestimated the evil of the Celestial Dragons!" Meiser said with a grim expression. "They truly deserve to die!!!"
He never imagined the Celestial Dragons would create such a cruel competition just to satisfy their selfish desires... This was beyond brutal!
Massacring an entire island's population at once?
How many people would die that way!
"The Celestial Dragons are far more despicable than you imagine," Granny Nyon said. After a moment of silence, Meiser asked, "How often do they hold these hunting games?"
"That I don't know," Granny Nyon shook her head.
She hadn't obtained intelligence on that matter.
"Even if held just once every century, that would mean eight nations already wiped out," Meiser frowned.
Eight nations... How many lives was that?
"They're so pitiful..." Merry said with tears in her eyes.
To be killed by Celestial Dragons despite doing nothing wrong... How tragic!
"The intervals are likely shorter than you think," Granny Nyon remarked.
She simply didn't believe the Celestial Dragons would wait so long between hunts.
"Then the death toll must be even higher," Meiser said with a deeper frown.
Indeed, he'd underestimated their depravity.
Shaking his head, Meiser continued, "So your purpose in going to God Valley was to stop their hunting competition?"
"Don't be ridiculous," Granny Nyon sighed. "We're pirates, not philanthropists. Why would we go there for that?"
"Then why did you go?"
This time Granny Nyon hesitated before answering. After a pause, she said, "Rocks probably wanted to kill Celestial Dragons and seize those powerful Devil Fruits they offered as prizes."
"As for other motives..." She trailed off, eyes flickering briefly before adding, "Truthfully, I don't know."
Unaware of her odd reaction, Meiser stroked his chin. "Killing Celestial Dragons and stealing Devil Fruits, huh..."
"Seems the man had grand ambitions."
Any Devil Fruit worthy of being a Celestial Dragon's prize must have been exceptionally powerful.
Acquiring such fruits... The Rocks Pirate Crew would have grown even stronger!
"Of course he did," Granny Nyon said. "His dream was to become the King of the World!"
"King of the World?"
"What an utterly audacious ambition."
"He certainly had the strength for it," Granny Nyon admitted. "Just... poor luck."
"Luck?"
"Yes. At God Valley, he encountered both Garp and Roger. They joined forces and defeated him." Had those two not intervened, Rocks might have succeeded—after all... the Celestial Dragons' defenses couldn't stop him.
Meiser:
"The Marine Hero and the Pirate King fighting side by side?" Meiser's lips twitched. "That sounds downright fantastical."
How could sworn enemies collaborate against a common foe? Unless... Did Rocks intend to kill them both?
After recalling Granny Nyon's description of Rocks, Meiser felt the probability wasn't small.
After all... this was a man utterly consumed by arrogance!
"It does sound fantastical, but that's the truth," Granny Nyon said.
"What about the others in your Pirate Crew?" Meiser asked. "Did no one go to Rocks' aid?"
"No," Granny Nyon shook her head. "Our crew was... special. We were a group bound together by a shared goal, so when danger came, we just..."
Listening to Granny Nyon's words, Meiser fell silent.
This Pirate Crew was truly absurd.
"Gathering a bunch of ambitious schemers with differing agendas, all held together by sheer strength?" Meiser thought to himself. "This Rocks guy was way too overconfident..."
Perhaps that very overconfidence was what led to his downfall.
"Had Rocks managed to defeat those two, the crew wouldn't have disbanded," Granny Nyon said. "But those two were simply too strong."
Though neither could defeat Rocks alone, together they overwhelmed him.
"Honestly, it's ridiculous. How could two men who'd been fighting each other for half their lives coordinate so flawlessly?" Granny Nyon mused internally, exasperated.
Recalling the scene of those three clashing, her lips twitched.
"In the end, he was just too confident in his own strength," Meiser remarked.
"Yes, that's exactly it."
Rocks had been utterly convinced of his own power—after all, he'd even killed a Marine Admiral!
"What happened after?" Meiser asked.
"After..."
Granny Nyon sifted through her memories. "After realizing Rocks was no match for Garp and Roger, the crew started retreating from the island."
"As for Rocks himself... he fought those two to the bitter end on that island and ultimately died by their hands."
Here, she paused, her expression complicated. "Once Rocks' death was confirmed, I left with Whitebeard and the others."
"And that... was the God Valley War."
After hearing Granny Nyon's story, Meiser sighed. "Rocks was practically done in by his own people, huh?"
Had even one person stepped up to help him, Rocks might have been able to kill either Garp or Roger.
"Something like that," Granny Nyon said. "But it was his own choice."
After all... Rocks had never once asked for help.
That was also part of why Whitebeard and the others hadn't intervened.
This time, Meiser simply nodded without further comment.
"Granny Nyon, did you get a Devil Fruit?" Merry asked curiously.
"No."
Just mentioning it made Granny Nyon furious.
"I got nothing!" she spat through gritted teeth. "Those bastards took all the spoils!"
Not only had she gained nothing, but she'd nearly been killed by those so-called God's Knights!
"Who ended up with the Devil Fruits?"
"No idea," Granny Nyon shook her head. "But I'd bet those guys got their Devil Fruits from God Valley."
Kaido's Mythical Zoan Azure Dragon Fruit, Shiki the Golden Lion's Float-Float Fruit, Marco's Phoenix Fruit...
These guys probably snatched their Devil Fruits during that great battle at God Valley!
And she got nothing...
Damn it, so frustrating!
"Those guys?"
"Yeah, Whitebeard, Kaido, BIG MOM, Shiki the Golden Lion, etc..."
Meiser: ???
Wait, so Rocks had three future Four Emperors under him?
What a terrifying guy. No wonder old man Garp needed to team up with Roger to take him down.
Seeing Meiser's reaction, Granny Nyon laughed. "Surprised?"
"Very surprised..."
"You wouldn't be if you'd seen that man with your own eyes," Granny Nyon sighed.
After all... that man truly had the strength and charisma to command such forces!
Just had bad luck, otherwise...
Ah.
After a silent sigh, Granny Nyon said, "Anyway—what I told you two today stays between us. Never speak of it, understand?"
"Or it might bring you trouble!"
"Understood!"
Ps: "This novel's plot is based on last year's and few months ago One Piece storyline and does not include the latest chapters, so please don't be confused by any differences."
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