Like Ginny, Rocks was also well aware of these people's true nature.
Just as Nereus had said during the earlier battle, these people were fine when the situation favored them, but when it came down to a desperate fight for their lives, there weren't many they could really count on.
Rocks didn't claim that it was his hometown or that his family was over there; instead, he guided everything by appealing to their self-interest.
Besides, Rocks believed he was strong enough. As long as the other members of Rocks Pirates went with him, they would be able to distract the enemy.
As long as he could tie up some of their attention, Rocks believed he could accomplish his goal.
This proposal was temporarily accepted by everyone, but all of them knew perfectly well that, in the end, how much each person got would depend on their own abilities.
"According to the intel, these people will be sent to God Valley in two weeks. If we set out from here to God Valley... the time should be enough."
After everyone agreed on the distribution plan, Charlotte Linlin raised some issues about timing.
Traveling from Fullalead Island in the New World to God Valley in the West Blue would typically require a lengthy detour via conventional routes, but they had no need for such paths.
As long as they went directly south across the Calm Belt, they could reach West Blue smoothly.
As the name suggests, the Calm Belt is a vast, windless, silent sea.
Two wide Calm Belts split the Grand Line and, together with the Red Line, make up the lines that divide the Four Seas.
Besides being windless, making it hard for most sailing ships to move, the Calm Belt is also the lair of Sea Kings.
Countless Sea Kings live beneath the Calm Belt, sea creatures even more dangerous than Sea Beasts.
For ordinary people, sailing into the Calm Belt was basically suicide. But for this group of monsters from Rocks Pirates, crossing it was not difficult.
If necessary, Shiki's Float-Float Fruit could even fly them straight across.
The simple meeting thus concluded. The group began to prepare the freshwater and food they would need for the journey. Even if they were swift, the journey would still take some time.
In addition, they had other things to arrange. The Rocks Pirates, in essence, were more like the Rocks Grand Fleet, a complex organization rather than a single pirate crew.
There were loners like Kaido, and group leaders like John and Nereus, who each had subordinates loyal only to them.
Nereus didn't walk together with Charlotte Linlin and Kaido. Even if a temporary alliance didn't require much discussion, it would be best to adapt when the time came.
He himself had quite a few things to take care of right now. Nereus was well aware that the God Valley Incident would mean the dissolution of the Rocks Pirates. Afterward, he probably wouldn't return here again.
But no matter how fast they were, it was impossible to set out immediately today. Nereus wasn't in a hurry, planning to wait until everyone returned in the evening to make concrete arrangements.
Meanwhile, Nanamo, who had gone off to play with others, was now walking through the city area of Fullalead Island.
Although it was a pirate island, because so many people lived here, the island still had a certain degree of order; just not very reliable, and violent incidents happened from time to time.
The most stable period had actually been when Shakuyaku was running her "Rip-Off Bar" on the island.
She'd set a rule that anyone coming to her bar was not allowed to fight on the island.
That made many pirates behave themselves, and even some of the most vicious pirates wouldn't start fights when they ran into each other.
Nanamo wasn't in the center of the island right now, and the area was fairly orderly. Fights among pirates here didn't have serious consequences.
This was actually because these people weren't that strong. There's a saying on Fullalead Island: the further in you go, the crazier the people get.
But that was just something jealous pirates would say. In truth, the deeper in you went, the stronger the people were. Except for Nereus, who was a bit of an exception.
Because of the Fish-Men and Merfolk, his base was located on the outermost edge of the coast.
At this moment, a cloud about the same size as Nanamo was floating in front of her.
On the street ahead, two pirates were fighting - a very common sight on Fullalead Island.
This was just a minor scuffle. As some chairs and other objects messily flew out, the cloud immediately rushed forward, spreading itself out like a shield above Nanamo's head.
Even though its body was made of clouds, the things flying at it didn't pass through. Instead, they bounced off with a metallic clang, falling to the ground as if hitting a steel plate.
"Princess Nanamo, do you want me to—"
"Hermes, I'm just out for fun, don't cause trouble for me."
"Yes, Princess Nanamo~"
The cloud named Hermes gave up on attacking, simply acting like a protective umbrella, escorting Nanamo down the street.
"You really are reliable, Hermes."
"Oh, not at all. I, Hermes, am the bravest of the Homies. I'll definitely protect you, Your Highness."
Yes, this cloud was a Homie, a creation from Charlotte Linlin's Soul-Soul Fruit.
Relying on her Devil Fruit ability, Charlotte Linlin could give life to many inanimate things, or grant ordinary animals extraordinary intelligence.
She could bestow all kinds of special abilities upon them; some even had impressive fighting power.
These Homies all had different personalities and unique ways of thinking, and even Charlotte Linlin couldn't predict what kind of personality each created Homies would have.
Not only ordinary objects, but elements of nature could become Homies too. For example, Prometheus was fire and Zeus was a thundercloud.
Hermes was made from a composite of clouds unique to Sky Island, which is why it could change its body structure and use its cloud body for defense.
It was Sky Island's Iron Cloud, which had the same properties as metal.
Many of Charlotte Linlin's children had their own Homies to help with daily life, but Nanamo's cloud was special. It was made from a split portion of Charlotte Linlin's own soul.
Just like Prometheus and Zeus, it was a top-tier Homie.
After all, Nanamo was Charlotte Linlin's first daughter, and had shown outstanding talent not long after birth, so Charlotte Linlin gifted her this unique Homie.
Having it accompany Nanamo was a kind of double insurance. Although Charlotte Linlin's Homies aren't as strong on their own as she is, they're still not something ordinary people can handle.
"All right, let's hurry up, these ice creams are going to melt."
"As you command! Mama's base is just ahead. Full speed ahead!"
As it spoke, Hermes transformed its body into the shape of a horse, crouching beside Nanamo to offer her a ride.
But Nanamo ignored it, still skipping happily forward…