On the other side of the world, in the New World, aboard a massive, whale-shaped pirate ship, a tall man with shoulder-length blond hair and an extraordinary presence was looking at the newspaper in his hand, letting out a hearty laugh. "Roger! Come look at this! A few more interesting guys have shown up on the sea!"
A man wearing a straw hat with a confident smile on his face came over. He looked at Rocks's picture in the newspaper, and his eyes instantly sharpened. "Rocks D. Xebec... I'll remember that name."
In an instant, the eyes of the entire world were focused on the Rocks Pirates, who had just stepped onto the stage and announced their arrival in the most flamboyant and domineering way possible.
And the main characters of this event had already set sail, leaving the G-8 fortress they had turned upside down far behind. After some emergency modifications by Dolum using the captured materials, the ship looked brand new. Not only were several heavy cannons added, but the hull was also covered with a thick layer of alloy armor, making it look like an iron hedgehog armed to the teeth.
In the cabin, the crew was excitedly gathered around the newspaper with their own bounty posters.
"Wahahaha! Thirty-five million! I'm a big shot now!" Gatz held up the newspaper, grinning from ear to ear.
"'Iron Wall' Dolum... Hmm, I like that nickname," Dolum said, stroking his beard in satisfaction.
Only Ren looked at his somewhat blurry photo, holding a food box, and the title of "Gourmet" underneath it, a trace of resignation on his calm face.
"Captain, where to next?" Silver asked Rocks after organizing the intelligence documents. The battle at G-8, while making them famous, also meant they would become a thorn in the side of the World Government and the Marines. The rest of their journey would only be more dangerous.
Rocks casually tossed the newspaper aside. There was no satisfaction on his face, only a more intense, burning ambition. "G-8 was just the beginning. Just a megaphone to tell the world we've arrived." Rocks smiled and said, "Time to go, boys!"
With Rocks's command, the Rocks Pirates once again changed course and left the area.
After leaving the G-8 sea region, the weather of the Grand Line became even more unpredictable. One moment it was scorching sun, the next it could be a torrential downpour. But after Dolum's demonic modifications, the new Rocks, equipped with alloy armor and heavy cannons, was no longer the dilapidated ship that could fall apart at any moment. It was like a rampaging iron beast, easily tearing through giant waves and steadily moving forward.
Life on the ship had also become exceptionally pleasant due to the ample supplies and Ren's presence. Gatz's favorite activity every day was to pester Newgate for training. Although he was pinned to the ground by a single finger every time, he never got tired of it. Under Newgate's guidance, his use of strength became more and more proficient. A single punch now carried a faint, vibrating aftershock.
Silver, on the other hand, often engaged in aura standoffs with Rocks. He tried to find a flaw in Rocks's abyss-like terrifying presence, which made his Observation Haki and stealth skills improve at an astonishing rate.
And Ren was studying the standard Marine recipes seized from G-8 and making inhuman improvements to them. Using the most common ingredients, with clever pairings and the secret help of the Endless Spice Bottle, he created incredible functional dishes like "Combat Cookies" that could increase one's leg strength by thirty percent after eating, and "Seaweed Soup" that could temporarily improve night vision after drinking. This deepened the crew's reverence for their Head Chef to a new level. In their eyes, Ren was no longer a chef, but an alchemist disguised as one.
On the tenth day of their voyage, while passing through a certain sea region, the sky was covered in thick, leaden thunderclouds, turning day into dusk. The air was filled with a damp, scorched smell of ionized air. Silver, snake-like lightning bolts darted through the distant clouds, occasionally illuminating the sea in a ghastly white, followed by dull rumbles of thunder that made one's heart pound.
"Hold on tight!" Dolum roared at the top of his lungs, clinging to the helm, fighting against the increasingly violent waves.
Just then, a massive, unprecedentedly large storm suddenly descended without warning! The sky and the sea seemed to merge in an instant. A torrential downpour, like the heavens opening up, instantly blurred everyone's vision. Giant waves, dozens of meters high, like moving mountains, slammed against the ship, making it groan in protest.
"Dammit! It's a White Squall! A legendary natural disaster of the Grand Line!" Dolum's face showed despair for the first time as he looked at the giant wave pressing down on them like a white city wall.
"Gurararara! Interesting!" Newgate was thrilled rather than scared. He walked to the bow and punched at the giant wave ahead. "Quake Crash!"
An invisible shockwave spread out. The giant wave, capable of swallowing everything, was forcibly split open in the middle, creating a huge gap. The ship passed through, shaken but safe. Rocks used his gravity ability to stabilize the ship's hull, preventing it from capsizing in the violent currents.
Just as the crew was working together to fight the natural disaster, a sudden figure, who should not have been there at all, entered their sight.
In the fiercest center of the storm, on a giant, pink object that was like a moving island, stood a woman. She was very beautiful, with an excellent figure, but she was exceptionally tall, even half a head taller than Gatz. She had fluffy, pink, long hair and was grinning, showing a mouth of white teeth, her eyes shining with excitement and greed. On her shoulder, she carried a huge, spiked club. The pink object under her feet seemed to be some kind of living cloud, carrying her through the storm as if on solid ground.
"Wh-what is that?!" Gatz stared at the woman laughing wildly in the lightning, feeling his worldview being shattered once again.
The woman had clearly also spotted them. She licked her lips, her huge eyes shining with the light of someone who had found a new and interesting toy. She urged the cloud under her feet, ignoring the raging storm, and flew straight toward Rocks's ship. BOOM! Her massive body landed heavily on the deck, making the entire ship dip downwards.
"You all... look very interesting!" The woman's voice was loud and sharp, carrying an unquestionable willfulness. "This ship, and all the food on it, are mine from now on!" She shouldered her club, her gaze sweeping over everyone on the ship, finally landing on Rocks and Newgate, the greed in her eyes growing even stronger. "And you two look very strong. You'll make fine additions to my collection!"
The faces of Rocks and Newgate darkened simultaneously. They felt a powerful and chaotic aura from this suddenly appearing woman, in no way inferior to their own. This was a monster of the same level.
"Hey, woman," Rocks began, his voice cold. "Are you giving orders to my crew and about my property?"
In that instant, the air seemed to become even colder than the surrounding storm.
The woman grinned, a smile that was both innocent and cruel. "That's right! My name is Charlotte Linlin! You're the first people who have dared to speak to me like that!"
"Either submit, or... die!"
-------
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