Clack!
Rocks casually tossed something toward Arthur.
Arthur caught it and looked down—his eyes widened slightly.
It was the permanent Log Pose of God Valley, the very thing he'd been searching for.
He quickly tucked it away and asked without hesitation,
"Captain Rocks, is there anything you need me to do?"
"Ohahahahaha!"
Rocks threw his head back in laughter.
"That's what I like best—talking to smart men!"
"Arthur, my boy… I'll probably die here today."
His voice dropped, barely audible to anyone but Arthur.
"When I'm gone, take care of a few people for me. Don't worry—they're just ordinary folks. Let them live peaceful lives, that's all I ask."
Arthur gave a solemn nod. He didn't answer aloud—but that was enough.
Rocks smirked, turned, and started walking toward the battlefield.
There were only two people in his entire crew he would entrust such a wish to—Arthur Pendragon and Edward Newgate.
He'd lived for nearly a century and understood both men deeply.
Edward was strong, proud, but not suited for mercy.
Arthur was different—his heart belonged to another era.
After witnessing Arthur and Kaido slay Admiral Vixen, Rocks had already made his choice.
"Captain Rocks…"
Arthur murmured quietly, watching the man's back.
"May you rest well on your last voyage."
He exhaled softly, then turned his gaze toward the Marines' blockade.
Whatever promise he had just made, the mission came first—breaking through to the Celestial Dragons' inner compound.
That was where the true prize awaited.
"Ohahahahaha!"
That familiar, thunderous laugh echoed across the battlefield.
Rocks stood tall and defiant, arms crossed, voice booming like cannon fire.
"Listen up, you brats! If you can't crush your enemies—then I'll do it myself!"
He stomped once—and then vanished.
The speed was inhuman. Even the air cracked.
"Not good—!"
Gray's pupils shrank. He had no time to react.
Still locked in combat with Linlin, he could only watch as Rocks blurred toward him.
Boom!
Rocks' fist smashed into Gray's face, sending blood spraying as he was hurled through the air.
His skull rang, his vision exploded with stars.
And that was just the beginning.
"Pathetic!" Rocks roared.
"Too weak! Too damn weak!"
He turned to the rest. "You're all garbage!"
"ROOOAR!"
Rocks' ferocity ignited the pirates around him like wildfire.
The battle that had once been balanced now erupted into total chaos.
With Vixen dead and Rocks rampaging, the Marines were collapsing on every front.
No one could deny it—the tide had turned completely.
—
Rocks' eyes locked onto Dawn, the current Fleet Admiral.
His grin widened into something feral.
"Dawn!"
"Your time is over, boy."
"This is where you die!"
"Damn you—!"
Dawn's fury blazed. "Don't underestimate me, Rocks!"
He lunged, their fists colliding with a thunderclap that shattered the air.
Rocks laughed maniacally.
"Is that all?! Pathetic! You think that level of power lets you stand before me?"
"You're not fit to walk on the same ground as me! I'll crush you where you stand!"
With Armament Haki coating his fists and Conqueror's Haki crackling like lightning, Rocks pummeled Dawn mercilessly.
Every strike carried monstrous weight—the kind that made even seasoned Admirals tremble.
---
Watching from afar, Arthur's crimson eyes narrowed.
"…There it is," he muttered. "The opening."
His body flickered as he launched himself across the battlefield.
After a brief moment's rest, his strength had mostly returned.
At the same time, Kaido also began to move, tearing through the chaos.
"Out of my way!"
"Move!"
"Get the hell outta my way!"
Ochoku, John, and Silver Axe likewise smashed their opponents aside, abandoning their duels to charge inland.
Edward and Shiki, however, were blocked by Sengoku and Zephyr, both burning with rage.
And Linlin?
She didn't hesitate for a second.
Gray was still reeling from Rocks' blow, and she seized her chance.
Her eyes gleamed with greed and vengeance.
"Treasure before revenge—ha! Who cares about that idiot Gray when Celestial Dragon gold is right ahead?!"
Her massive form thundered forward, cackling wildly.
---
"Ohahahahaha!"
Rocks didn't care that his crew was breaking formation.
He only laughed louder.
"Go, my brats!"
"Ahead lies the treasure of the Celestial Dragons!"
"Kill them all—and their riches will be yours!"
"ROOOAR!!!"
The Rocks Pirates howled like mad beasts, surging forward with insane fervor.
Their eyes burned with greed and bloodlust, all humanity lost.
"Rocks, you madman!" Dawn shouted furiously.
"Do you even understand what you're doing?! Do you know what kind of disaster this will cause?!"
"Ha?" Rocks sneered.
"What disaster? Isn't this exactly what they want?"
He spat the words like venom.
"Come on, Dawn—don't play dumb. The Celestial Dragons dead, the Marines crippled, and the Rocks Pirates wiped out—tell me that's not the perfect outcome for the World Government."
He barked another laugh, eyes burning with madness.
"Don't tell me a fool like you never saw it coming!"
Dawn froze, his face darkening.
He knew Rocks wasn't wrong.
When the orders first came to deploy only Marines to God Valley, Dawn had understood—
Everyone here was expendable.
Not a single soul was meant to leave this island alive.
Dawn exhaled heavily, his expression hardening.
"Even if that's true… I still can't let you succeed!"
Rocks' grin widened.
"Then try, Admiral!"
He slammed a Haki-coated fist down, burying Doen into the ground.
Dust and debris exploded outward as Rocks straightened, hands in his pockets, surveying the chaos with mocking contempt.
"Come on, then!"
"All of you at once!"
"Show me what you've got!"
—
Crack… snap…!
A rustling sound spread through the battlefield.
A figure rose from the rubble—Gray, his body wreathed in twisting vines and roots.
The ground beneath him sprouted trees as life energy surged outward.
He grinned coldly.
As the user of the Woods-Woods Fruit,
Gray was no easy prey.
Though he couldn't turn intangible like most Logia users—wood was a tangible element after all—
his regenerative power was terrifying.
Comparable to a fully awakened Zoan, his body could heal almost instantly.
The punch that had crushed his skull minutes ago? Gone without a trace.
Rocks sneered.
"You again? Hah! Don't make me laugh. You're nothing."
He caught Gray's incoming strike with one hand, grinning arrogantly.
To Rocks, Admirals and Fleet Admirals alike were just insects.
He'd fought monsters long before they were even born.
In truth, Rocks' age spanned generations—he was older than even Dawn's predecessors, the Marine Chiefs of the previous century.
His strength had long surpassed the limits of any Admiral.
If Admirals represented the summit of power—
then Rocks D. Xebec had already stepped beyond the summit itself.
He was a force of nature, the embodiment of chaos that once ruled the sea.
—
Crash… crash…!
And then—
the sound of waves.
A shadowed ship emerged slowly from the mist.
It carried only seven or eight people, but each emanated an aura that made the air tremble.
"Hahahaha!"
A boisterous laugh rang out.
"Rayleigh! So this is it, huh? The legendary God Valley!"
"Didn't think it'd look like this… where's all this water coming from?"
The man wore a wide grin and a straw hat, his presence radiating adventure.
Beside him, a tall man with slicked-back hair and glasses studied the terrain.
"Captain Roger," said Silvers Rayleigh, "the waterfall probably comes from channels in the surrounding mountains. Those openings might be the way into God Valley."
"Then we'll need to coat the ship first?"
"Most likely."
"Hahahaha! New World, huh? What a fascinating place!"
Roger's laughter echoed as his crew's ship broke through the fog.
...
It was the Roger Pirates, newly ascended supernovas of the New World.
Their numbers were few, but every member was a titan—
Gol D. Roger, Silvers Rayleigh, Scopper Gaban, Seagull, Taro, and Doringo.
Each one a fierce warrior in their own right.
Unlike other pirate crews, Roger didn't seek a massive armada.
He sought companions—strong, loyal, and worthy.
That bond was what made the Roger Pirates truly formidable.
—
Roger grinned, eyes alight.
"Well, well… didn't expect the World Government to offer us this deal. This is gonna be fun!"
Rayleigh gave a dry smile.
"Calm down, Roger. We're talking about the Rocks Pirates here. They're crawling with monsters. You have any idea how strong those people are?"
"Hahahaha!"
Roger's grin widened even more.
"That's what makes it exciting! If we can beat them… how glorious would that be?!"
And so it was.
The Roger Pirates had been recruited by the Five Elders themselves.
The Marines alone couldn't handle Rocks' crew—
so the Government had brought in Roger's rising power as their secret weapon.
Their reward?
The promise of mastering Advanced Conqueror's, Armament, and Observation Haki—knowledge forbidden to most.
The risk?
Facing the most dangerous pirate in the world.
But Roger wasn't the kind of man to run from a challenge.
If he gave his word, he'd see it through.
After all, for Gol D. Roger, adventure and honor were the same thing.
---------------------------///
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