Punk Hazard, which had not yet been destroyed by Kaido or undergone the duel between Akainu and Aokiji, possessed a scale of architecture far more massive than what York had seen in the anime and manga of his previous life.
The number of Marines stationed inside was also far greater than he had anticipated.
However, this was ultimately a top-secret location unknown to outsiders, so the World Government naturally hadn't dispatched top-tier combat forces to guard it around the clock.
"Why would the Rocks Pirates attack this place?!"
"I don't know!"
"Quickly request reinforcements from the nearest G-5 Branch!"
"Contact has already been initiated! But for some reason, there's no response!"
"Could it be... Damn it! Request reinforcements from Headquarters quickly!!"
"At the same time, ensure the safety of the scientists first! Get them all off the island! Then destroy the data!"
...
The sudden attack by the Rocks Pirates caught Punk Hazard completely off guard. They never imagined that one day pirates would actually come knocking on their door. For a moment, the entire island fell into a state of panic.
Amidst the chaos, the Rocks Pirates went on a killing spree while frantically searching for locations like storage rooms.
"Mamamama! Found it!!"
Charlotte Linlin's exclamation attracted the attention of Kaido, who was closest to her. He rushed over quickly, only to be stunned to find that the storage room Charlotte Linlin had opened was full of gold, silver, and treasures.
"What the hell, I thought you found the frozen giants."
"Mamamama! Frozen giants or whatever, let others look for them. We prioritize stealing the treasure!"
Kaido thought for a moment, felt it made sense, and joined Charlotte Linlin in packing up the treasures in the storage room.
"Haha! Found it!"
On the other side, Stussy, who was acting alone, also let out an exclamation similar to Charlotte Linlin's.
A large group of scientists in white coats looked at the beautiful blonde woman who had suddenly appeared in front of them, cold sweat instantly beading on their foreheads.
"The Science Thief... Buckingham!"
"Quick! Move fast! We must never let her get the data!"
*Bang!*
Stussy appeared beside several scientists as if teleporting, kicking one of them flying with a single strike. Then, she drew her gun, aimed at another one's head, and fired directly, blood splattering everywhere.
Making quick work of them, after killing all the scientists in this laboratory, Stussy began to organize the research data that hadn't been destroyed in time.
"Need a hand?"
A gentle voice suddenly sounded from behind. Stussy instinctively wanted to agree but dodged several meters away in a flash the very next second.
York's hand stopped in mid-air; just a little bit more and he would have touched Stussy's shoulder.
"York?"
Stussy's gaze locked onto York's raised hand.
"What were you trying to do just now?"
"What was I trying to do? Didn't you already guess?"
York looked up with a smile, pushed his palm forward, and instantly fired several Holy Light Tentacles.
Stussy had suffered a loss once before and dared not let these tentacles touch her again. Swinging her long legs, she turned and ran directly, showing no attachment to the research data she hadn't had time to collect.
"Decisive enough."
York smiled calmly, retracted the Holy Light Tentacles that were destined not to catch up, and instead lowered his head to organize the documents and data in the laboratory.
"Well, no rush. You will be my prey sooner or later!"
Sticking out his tongue to lightly lick his lips, York was already looking forward to seeing what expression Whitebeard would make after Stussy became his prey.
...
"Found it!"
Whitebeard let out a slightly low sigh of admiration.
"I didn't expect the frozen giants to actually exist!"
Ten minutes later.
All members of the Rocks Pirates gathered around Whitebeard.
In front of them was an opened freezing chamber.
The light inside was dim, and cold air was pouring out frantically.
However, through the light shining in after the door was opened, one could vaguely see.
In the entire freezing chamber space, from the ceiling to the floor, countless prisoner corpses were frozen, and most of them had the height and body shape of giants.
"Hey! York! Use your ability to light up the inside!"
"I refuse! My ability is not to be used as a light bulb!"
"How about I teach you advanced application of Haki after we get back?"
"Deal!!"
York walked into the freezing chamber, his whole body emitting Holy Light, illuminating the entire chamber clearly.
The members of the Rocks Pirates groaned collectively.
Except for Charlotte Linlin and Wang Zhi, who had hidden to the side of the door early on, all of them showed a flush of pleasure on their faces and hunched their waists.
Rocks led Whitebeard, Kaido, and Stussy, who were completely unaffected, into the cold storage, looking up at the countless frozen corpses on both sides of the aisle.
"Found them! They are actually here!!"
Rocks felt shocked at first, then endless joy surged in his heart.
"York! You really did me a big favor this time! Wahahahaha..."
"The legendary Great Hammer Warband, I finally found them! Wahahahaha..."
While maintaining the Holy Light to illuminate the freezing chamber, York ruthlessly refuted Rocks.
"It's not completely certain yet!"
"They are just corpses right now. Whether they are the legendary Great Hammer Warband or not remains in doubt."
Rocks waved his big hand.
"No need to doubt! They are the Great Hammer Warband I'm looking for!"
Seeing Rocks so convinced, York didn't try to persuade him further.
Actually, he also believed inwardly that this was the Great Hammer Warband Rocks was looking for.
After all, in his previous life, Oda rarely gave invalid information in special scenes.
Before York transmigrated, the manga plot had just entered the Elbaf arc. He wasn't clear on what the Great Hammer Warband was, but since the Great Hammer Warband Rocks was looking for consisted of frozen giants, there was a high probability it was these ones here on Punk Hazard.
"The trouble now is how to transport them back to Hachinosu."
Rocks' pirate ship was huge; an average Marine flagship was just a small boat in front of it.
But the number of frozen giants here was simply too great, totaling over a hundred, and among them were quite a few Ancient Giants standing sixty or seventy meters tall.
"Hey! Shiki! Sorry to trouble you, use your ability to fly this freezing chamber back!"
"I refuse! It's too tiring."
"You can take an extra share of the treasure when we get back!"
"Deal!!"
Shiki reached out and touched the floor, allowing the power of the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi to permeate the entire cold storage, as well as the entire large building where the cold storage was located.
*Rumble, rumble...*
Among the huge complex of buildings, a massive structure slowly rose from the ground.
Countless scientists who hadn't been killed yet, as well as those who had boarded ships in time to escape to the sea, exclaimed simultaneously upon seeing this scene.
"Oh no! That's the research institute where the cold storage is!!"
"Are Rocks and his crew trying to take the research institute away?"
"Hey!! Look, you guys!!"
"What?!"
"Backup has arrived! Haha! Reinforcements are here!!"
"Now the Rocks Pirates are finished!!"
...
When Rocks and his group came out of the research institute, what they saw was a massive Marine fleet that had almost completely surrounded Punk Hazard Island.