"Marine reinforcements? Rapid action as always!"
Rocks let out a loud roar: "Boys! Prepare to attack!"
"Sink them! Then plunder them!!"
The Rocks Pirates boarded their ship and set sail, charging straight into the encirclement of the massive Marine fleet.
Rocks himself stood at the bow, swinging his sword to clear the path.
His slash was not a normal sword strike; it was like a cannon blast. With a single swing, a warship instantly exploded.
Charlotte Linlin, riding on the thundercloud Zeus, was the first to rush onto a warship. Curdling screams rang out immediately.
Golden Lion Shiki moved nimbly through the artillery fire. He reached out and gently touched the hull of a warship. The next second, the ship rapidly broke away from the sea and rose into the high sky.
Then, it flipped over like a jar, dumping all the Marines inside out.
For the sake of the treasure on the warships, Whitebeard put away his ability and simply made a massive leap, crossing a distance of a thousand meters to land directly on a Marine battleship.
The others were much the same, each displaying their own strength as they rushed into the Marine fleet to unleash a massacre.
York currently lacked long-distance mobility, so he chose to climb to the top of the pirate ship's mast, utilizing the height advantage.
"Universal Holy Light!!"
Clasping his hands in front of his chest, his entire being appeared solemn and majestic. Pure holy light instantly covered the entire battlefield.
In the vast Marine fleet, almost all the Marine soldiers standing on the decks froze collectively, then collapsed one after another, revealing expressions of pleasure.
"Mmph~~ It's painful~~ It feels so good~~"
"Amazing~~"
The members of the Rocks Pirates also froze collectively. While suppressing the changes in their bodies, they turned back and cursed angrily.
"York, you bastard! We got hit too!!"
"Sorry, my ability is a full-coverage strike. I have no way to identify targets precisely."
York's apology lacked any sincerity; in fact, the Holy Light he released became even more dazzling.
Whitebeard looked back, a trace of apprehension flashing in his eyes.
York's ability either had to be broken by force using powerful Haki, or one simply had to stay away from women completely. Once touched by it, one could basically not escape the fate of being suppressed.
"Hah!"
Golden Lion suddenly shouted, his Haki surging all over his body, forcibly breaking the influence of York's Holy Light on him.
Although the physical reaction could not be completely eliminated immediately, his rationality and freedom of movement successfully returned.
Seeing this, the others forcibly used Haki to break the ability one by one, proving that they were previously just enjoying the pleasure York's ability brought them, not that they were completely without resistance.
Rocks watched this scene, nodding inwardly.
The group of partners he had recruited had good strength; not a single one was a letdown.
At the same time, another thought emerged in his mind.
If the pirate crew recruited new members in the future, perhaps the ability to overcome York's power could be used as a standard.
If they couldn't even break York's most basic Universal Holy Light, they should all get lost and become fodder!
Just like that, under the suppression provided by York, although the entire Marine fleet wasn't completely killed off, it was looted clean, and every ship was sunk.
...
**Marine Headquarters.**
The current Fleet Admiral, Kong, slammed his fist onto the desk.
"Who exactly is this York?! When did the Rocks Pirates get such a troublesome ability user!!"
On his desk lay a photo of York, taken by a Marine soldier at the risk of his life.
A handsome young man with hands clasped together, wearing a smile. His black hair fluttered in the wind, and holy white light bloomed from his body, making him appear solemn and majestic, like a Buddha.
"Adolph D. York..."
Also in the office was Sengoku, currently only a Vice Admiral. He was also holding a photo of York.
"I feel like I've heard this name somewhere before..."
"What?!"
Kong looked up in surprise.
"Think quickly! Sengoku, what is this brat's background!"
Sengoku frowned in deep thought.
"Wait a moment, don't rush. I have definitely seen this face or heard this name somewhere, but the impression isn't deep. I can't recall it immediately..."
Seeing that Sengoku couldn't produce an answer for a long time, Kong told him to think in the office while he went to see the Commander-in-Chief.
This York's ability was too troublesome.
According to the accounts of the Marines who returned from the battlefield, everyone who stayed on the deck or near the windows—anyone illuminated by the Holy Light—fell victim to the ability.
On the contrary, the logistics personnel who stayed in the cabins responsible for the warship's power were unaffected.
In addition, there were some bachelors who had no girlfriends, no wives, and lived clean lives; even if they stood on the deck of the warship, they were not affected.
"Losing the will to fight just by being shone on by light... This kind of full-coverage strike ability is truly terrifying..."
Even knowing the method to avoid it through the oral accounts of surviving Marines, this ability was almost impossible to counter.
They couldn't possibly organize a "Virgin Legion" specifically to fight the Rocks Pirates, could they?!
In the vast Marine organization, how many had no girlfriends, no wives, and lived clean lives simultaneously?
If they all died in a single battle against the Rocks Pirates, where would they find a second batch?!
Finally, after discussion, the Marine higher-ups decided to temporarily slow down the encirclement of the Rocks Pirates and simultaneously set a high bounty on York.
Given the cruel competitive mechanism within the Rocks Pirates, as long as the bounty on York was inflated enough, there would always be some bold and skilled individuals who would challenge him.
As long as they could get rid of York through infighting, the Marines wouldn't face this kind of total suppression when dealing with Rocks again.
...
**Hachinosu (Beehive Island).**
Rocks and his party, having crushed the Marine reinforcements at Punk Hazard, returned here smoothly.
After placing the research institute building containing the frozen giants on the back of the skull mountain, the entire pirate crew immediately began the loot distribution assembly.
All the plundered treasure was divided into 16 shares.
There were 14 core members of the pirate crew. Excluding the two apprentices, York and Kaido, and including Rocks, each person took one share.
Because Shiki used his ability to successfully bring back the frozen giants, he received an extra share.
Of the 16 shares of treasure, 13 had been distributed.
Then, Rocks gave York a share on the grounds that he provided key intelligence for this operation.
Two shares of treasure remained.
Half a share belonged to Kaido; this was actually the normal dividend for an apprentice.
The final 1.5 shares were distributed by Rocks to the numerous pirate fodder who had followed along on the operation.
With the loot distributed, everyone returned to their quarters.
Carrying his share of the treasure, York gazed at Stussy's retreating figure.
This woman actually hadn't snitched to Whitebeard. Or perhaps, people in this pirate crew were already used to the daily routine of backstabbing each other?
"Hey! York, your bounty is out!"