Upon hearing Hiruba's warning, Brook immediately surged his Conqueror's Haki. The overwhelming pressure spread across the battlefield like a crashing wave, forcing everyone present to acknowledge his strength. Redfield and Shiki were exhilarated by the challenge, unleashing their own Haki in response as their auras clashed and climbed to new heights.
Charlotte Linlin, however, remained unmoved.
That alone made Brook cease his output and prepare for retreat.
Meanwhile, Salman lay motionless, his body cracked like shattered glass, blood dripping from his mouth and nose, yet his chest still rose and fell. His eyes burned with rage and unwillingness as he glared at the Hell Pirates.
Such terrifying vitality. Even after enduring a devastating space-shattering strike from Whitebeard Newgate himself, he hadn't lost consciousness. He was simply too gravely injured to move.
"Captain Brook, do we still chase after the Rocks Pirates?" asked Golden Lion Shiki, glancing toward the dense forest behind Baimu Island's town where the remaining Rocks members had fled. Were it not for time constraints, Shiki would've loved to levitate the entire island and turn the chase into a game of cat and mouse.
But Rocks—the overlord of the New World—was en route, and even the bold Shiki didn't want to clash with that monster just yet.
"Forget it. Time's not on our side," Brook said, the corners of his mouth twitching into a grin. "We've already captured Salman. Let's take his ship. I wonder how angry Rocks will be, yohoho~!"
It was time to go all in. With the Kurozumi siblings and Salman already captured, they'd burned the bridge with Rocks completely. Stealing their ship now was just icing on the cake.
Brook wasn't keen to confront Rocks just yet, but the opportunity was too tempting. Weaken the opponent's forces—this was just tactical strategy. Three top cadres down, countless elite pirates killed… if only time allowed, he'd have gone after more Devil Fruit users too.
---
At the port, while the main crew battled the Rocks Pirates, Miss Bakkin quietly slipped away from town, aiming to escape aboard the ship and regroup with Rocks.
But what she saw infuriated her.
Three scoundrels—Antonio, Parro, and Bra Kara —were looting her hard-earned treasures aboard the ship. Her fury exploded. With a sharp kick, she sent Antonio flying, then socked Bra Kara so hard her nose spurted blood.
Luckily, Antonio had instinctively used his Den Den Mushi shell to shield himself, reducing what could've been a fatal blow to a minor injury.
Just as Miss Bakkin was about to finish them off—
Bang!
A bullet tore through her arm. The sound came after the impact. A sniper—no, a top-class sniper with an elite long-range rifle and terrifying precision.
Miss Bakkin leapt away, pain blooming in her arm as she bolted for cover, blood dripping behind her.
Another gunshot rang out.
She barely dodged, the bullet grazing her ear. Her head buzzed. That trajectory—no way! It came from the golden ship in the sky?!
Panic surged through her. That sniper had a perfect vantage point—she was prey now, nothing more.
Gripping her bleeding arm, she tore the edge of her shirt and crudely bandaged the wound, heart pounding like a war drum.
Unbeknownst to her, even behind cover, Hiruba's Glare-Glare Fruit allowed him to see through terrain. The only thing limiting him was bullet trajectory—his shots couldn't curve.
So he waited.
And then—unexpectedly—Miss Bakkin tore off another piece of fabric, revealing a hint of skin beneath her swimsuit as she wrapped the wound.
Hiruba blinked.
Damn... she's actually pretty hot.
It was a fleeting, stupid thought. If she weren't a Rocks Pirate, maybe… But even so, he couldn't help but feel a little spellbound.
In this moment, Miss Bakkin, with her golden hair and crimson lips, still looked like a femme fatale. No wonder Hiruba wavered. She wasn't just beautiful—she was giving him a "benefit."
He shook his head.
Focus.
Sniper mode: back on.
Miss Bakkin slowly peeked her waist pouch over the edge of the rock, likely trying to bait a reaction. Hiruba grinned. Smart girl. No wonder she climbed the ranks of the Rocks Pirates. Any lesser sniper might've taken the shot.
Then, she tossed a few rocks, triggering rustling sounds to test him again. Still, Hiruba didn't bite.
Respect. She wasn't afraid of dying. She was just clever.
---
Meanwhile, aboard the Rocks ship, Antonio, Parrot, and Bra Kara had retreated with their treasure haul. But Bakkin's earlier ambush had left them shaken.
Watching from above, Hiruba felt a pang of regret. She was too beautiful to shoot.
So, instead of poisoned rounds, Sea Stone bullets, or explosive shells, he loaded standard sniper rounds.
And emptied them.
Dozens. Maybe a hundred. Rapid-fire shots dug into the ground around her, carving out a message:
"Beauty, I'll let you go."
Miss Bakkin's heart nearly stopped from the barrage. But when she read the words burned into the earth, her jaw dropped.
What… the hell?
Up in the golden ship, Hiruba gave himself a proud thumbs up.
He'd saved the fancy bullets. He didn't waste anything vital. Who knows? Maybe this beautiful woman would fall for him later. Maybe she'd defect from Rocks and run into his arms like some tragic heroine from a pulp romance novel.
He snickered.
Today's tale? He called it: "Love on the Battlefield."
Miss Bakkin, however, was cursing every god she knew.
The bastard just shot me! What love story?! Was he toying with me?!
Still, she didn't dare move. Not yet. She listened for pursuit troops, terrified of getting caught again.
Then—whoosh.
The golden ship cruised by.
She panicked, diving for new cover. That angle gave it a clean shot—why didn't it fire?
It passed. Peacefully.
Instead, it lifted the Rocks Ship and flew off.
She stood dumbfounded.
They… really let her go?
She could only stare as the golden ships faded into the sky, carrying away the flagship of the Rocks Pirates—and with it, the treasure she'd bled for.Bakinkin gritted her teeth.
But as fear sank in, a far darker thought followed:
What will Captain Rocks do when he finds out?
She had given the order to pillage Saracha's territory instead of rendezvousing with Rocks directly. And now?
Now everything was lost.
Even her ashes might be scattered.
------------------------
Hiruba never mentioned anything to Brook about letting Miss Bakkin go. Maybe—just maybe—this old dog was actually hoping for a spark of love to bloom on the battlefield.
If Brook or Shakky ever caught wind of that, they'd probably roast him alive with words. Honestly, he might even get kicked off the ship. Sixth-oldest on the crew and still dreaming of romance? Delusional. Straight-up wishful thinking.
After flying off, the Hell Pirates didn't spare a second thought for the safety of the islanders. Rocks was on his way—there was no time for charity. The only one who did anything remotely decent was Whitebeard Newgate, who warned the civilians and helped evacuate a few, though it didn't amount to much in the grand scheme.
Brook wasted no time contacting their ally—the Diger Pirates.
As the old pirate saying goes: We share the pain, the danger, and the blame... but not the joy, sorry!
When Diger heard that Brook had outright provoked Rocks, he went dead silent. Not even a polite tsk. Was Brook serious? Did the Hell Pirates really think they could challenge the Overlord of the New World without giving him a moment to grow?
Still, the capture of Salman was no small feat. One of Rocks' elite officers gone? That was worth something. Especially after the Ice Demon Pirates ditched the alliance, this minor success softened the blow.
So, like it or not, Diger began preparing for all-out war.
They had no choice.
If they abandoned the Hell Pirates now, and Brook chose to bail by fleeing into the sky with that golden ship of his, then they, the Diger Pirates, would be the ones left to face Rocks' wrath.
Still, Diger couldn't ignore the shady move Brook pulled by seizing Saracha's territory in broad daylight. But Brook simply stated:
"The Demon Horn Island's been wiped out. Saracha's gone dark. We couldn't let Rocks just plunder freely—so we took the territory under our protection. Once we recover Willank's territory, we'll compensate Saracha. Trust."
Diger nearly choked on his cigar.
That was clearly payback for the previous island-division dispute. Brook really held a grudge. Now Diger was even thinking of returning those few islands Brook refused to trade during their last deal with Jack.
As he lit up a fresh cigar, Diger also tried contacting Saracha—who had vanished without a trace. Where the hell was he hiding?
On Baimu Island, chaos reigned.
Residents scrambled onto boats, fleeing in all directions. Those without one hid in homes, forests, or mountains, praying to whatever gods they believed in to survive the coming disaster.
When Rocks finally arrived, his pirate ship cutting across the horizon with Wang Zhi and a full crew of elite fighters aboard, he sensed something off long before they made landfall.
The energy was off. The island felt dead.
His best fighters couldn't have collapsed this fast. Could they?
As they entered the town, the sight was grim—corpses littered the streets. Even Rocks, cold-hearted as he was, furrowed his brows.
All the new recruits—gone.
Crushed.
With a low growl, Rocks released his Conqueror's Haki. The oppressive aura surged like a tidal wave, shaking the trees, cracking the stone beneath their feet.
From the forest, the surviving pirates staggered out, eyes wide, faces bloodied, barely holding themselves together.
Miss Bakkin was among them.
Before meeting up with Rocks, she had erased the bullet holes and the words Hiruba carved into the ground. To cover her tracks, she had slashed her own arms and legs, even stabbing herself in the abdomen. Bloodied and weak, she stumbled into the ruined town to meet Rocks, feigning valor and sacrifice.
Her acting was Oscar-worthy.
With her wounded state, she convinced the others she had fought tooth and nail to reclaim the ship—just barely failing in the attempt.
The martial monk Scorpion Dragon had doubts, but said nothing. Rocks was already dangerously close to erupting. Any more excuses and someone was going to die.
"You failed to meet me as planned," Rocks said coldly, his voice like a slow-rolling thundercloud. "And you couldn't even hold out for a few hours. I'm disappointed."
He looked at Scorpion and the others—veteran cadres who had followed him for years. Now? They had been crushed by a rookie pirate crew.
The Hell Pirates. New bloods. Cocky upstarts.
Even if they carried the title of overlord, how strong could they really be?
Most of their power came from Devil Fruits. Their Haki should've been shallow compared to his battle-hardened veterans.
"Captain Rocks," Scorpion Dragon spoke through gritted teeth, clutching his arm. "Brook's Devil Fruit is bizarre. Even my Armament Haki couldn't stop him. His attacks go straight to the soul."
It was a critical piece of intel, but Rocks didn't care.
Devil Fruit powers could be dealt with.
Only Haki mattered in the end.
Only the strongest will wins in the New World.
Only true Haki masters could face Rocks without dying.
"Captain," Miss Bakkin interjected, trying to salvage her standing, "Brook didn't attack Scorpion Dragon first. He went straight for Kurozumi Higurashi —the one impersonating you."
That got Rocks' attention.
She continued, "Brook must've known she was a fake. Either that, or he was after her fruit ability. She had the Mimic Fruit, and Semimaru had the Barrier Fruit. Both are powerful."
Rocks narrowed his eyes.
"Brook... knew she wasn't me and attacked anyway? So he's not afraid of me... but something about those Devil Fruits drew him in?"
Salman, Higurashi, Semimaru —all Devil Fruit users. All now gone or captured.
Was it just about territory?
Or was Brook building a collection of abilities?
Rocks didn't think too long on it. The facts were clear—Brook had provoked him. A top officer was lost. That couldn't stand.
Without delay, he ordered his crew to gather every last fighter on the island and send a summons to Beehive Island.
Across the New World, the call went out.
From every dark corner, Rocks' pirates mobilized. Ships were prepared. Flags were raised. A war was coming.
---
Watching the preparations, Miss Bakkin's heart sank.
She wanted to scream at her captain—to stop him before it was too late.
The Hell Pirates weren't like the Siren Pirates, the Butcher Pirates, or Ewald's crew.
They were different.
Strong. Unified. Ruthless.
They had already crippled most of Rocks' leadership in a single night.
And now? Now Captain Rocks wanted to go at it alone? With Diger and Brook teaming up, this wasn't a fight—it was suicide.
But after her recent failure, Bakkin didn't dare say a word.
Not now.
Not while Rocks was this furious.
All she could do was watch in silence… as her captain marched headfirst into a war he might not walk away from.
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