Above the shimmering Golden Island, a fleet of ships soared through the sky.
"Oh no! Brother Brook, it looks like our real objective's been sniffed out. Coss Davo already warned the commander at Punk Hazard. Do we keep going?" Antonio frowned, Den Den Mushi receiver in hand. He had effortlessly intercepted Admiral Coss Davo's transmissions—easier, considering Coss Davo was constantly monitored by Hiruba's Glare-Glare Fruit.
"So what if they got an early warning?" Brook said coldly. "Shiki's going to uproot all of Punk Hazard—land, people, and secrets alike. They can hide, but there's no fortress that floats. We're not here to siege. We're here to take!"
His voice brimmed with energy. Since absorbing the powerful souls of Diger, Saracha, and David Kyons, Brook had yet to truly test his evolved strength. Now was the time. This wouldn't be a repeat of his defeat at the hands of Kong. No more retreat. No more hesitation. The four strongest fighters of the Hell Pirates had all mastered Advanced Armament Haki—Conqueror's Coating. They were itching for a worthy fight.
Charlotte Linlin, now heavily pregnant, was forbidden from fighting on the front lines. But even from the rear, she remained a terrifying commander, deploying legions of Homies—including three elite Homies—to wreak havoc on the battlefield.
"Hahaha~! My Float-Float Fruit is maxed out!" Shiki roared with laughter. "It won't take long. I just wish the Navy would stop making me the moving crew. I'm more than a glorified delivery boy!"
The Golden Lion's eyes gleamed with ambition. His bounty still lagged just behind Redfield and Newgate—by a mere few dozen million berries—but it was a difference he couldn't tolerate. This battle was his shot to change that.
"Then let's give the world a show!" Brook said with a grin. "They say the Hell Pirates are just scavengers... that we climbed the throne of the Overlords without ever beating one. That we only won by backstabbing and absorbing weaker factions. That I'm nothing but a shadow behind the legacies of Rocks and Roger."
He clenched his fist. "Let them talk. Let them watch. We'll take on two admirals at once and show them exactly who we are!"
Truth was, many pirates saw the Hell Pirates as paper overlords—undefeated in the grand stage of history, with no legendary victories to their name. Saracha was captured by Roger. Diger fell quietly. And Brook once fled before Kong.
Even Redfield and Shiki were growing tired of hearing whispers that Roger outclassed Brook.
But Brook had only one belief: the strength of the Hell Pirates couldn't be measured in rumors or titles—it had to be earned in war.
"Full speed ahead!" Brook commanded. "Crush Punk Hazard and claim it before reinforcements arrive. Then… we fight!"
The mythical Kirin Lion unleashed a violent storm behind them. Its Wind-Wind Fruit kicked the flying fleet into overdrive, slicing through the clouds like a blade through silk.
---
Meanwhile, on Punk Hazard Island…
Vice Admiral Ashfree, head of the secret scientific garrison, received Admiral Coss Davo's warning and acted instantly.
"All supply personnel, retreat to the underground base! Lock down the surface!" he barked.
Punk Hazard had long been disguised as a mundane, unimportant island. Even Admiral Coss Dave wasn't sure the Hell Pirates had discovered its secret. But they couldn't take that chance—not with the sensitive tech and scientists buried below.
Evacuation wasn't an option—not with how deeply embedded the laboratories were, and how sensitive the materials stored here were. So Ashfree initiated Plan Delta: relocate only the most vital scientists onto a stealth submarine. If worst came to worst, they would escape with their lives and the key to countless secrets.
If the Hell Pirates were truly targeting Punk Hazard, Admiral Coss Dav had already called for backup. Kong would join him. Together, they would hold the line.
As for the chaos brewing with Rocks… Hoss, Sengoku, Garp, and Zephyr would stall. For now, this island was the priority.
Deep beneath the island, within the sprawling subterranean maze of labs, the air was cold and clinical.
One lab stood out—a monstrous biological research facility containing some of the rarest species on the planet. Creatures and humanoid races imprisoned in glass tanks, awaiting dissection or experimentation.
The flames of the Lunarian Tribe's wings flickered dimly—only four remained. Beside them stood representatives of the Three-Eye Tribe, the Blue-Flame Komainu, and hybrids like the Snake-Necks, Long-Arms, Long-Legs, Fish-Men, Merfolk, Dwarves, and even Giants.
It was a grim zoo of genetic diversity—more extensive than the future Totto Land Linlin once dreamed of.
"Dr. Sakuragi! You can't keep experimenting on the Lunarians like this! They'll be extinct in a week!" snapped a sharp-faced young researcher. "We won't have any more test material!"
"Researcher Bangham, know your place," sneered Dr. Sakura Goji, flicking his coat. "You're just a bomb-maker from Lab 38. Go play with your explosives."
He kicked the junior scientist out with a boot full of disdain.
Bangham, son of the infamous Professor Bald Eagle, was a serial plagiarist. He'd often slink into labs, copy formulas and data, then pass them off as his own 'original' proposals. Had he not been the illegitimate son of a big-name professor, Dr. Sakuragi would've thrown him out of Punk Hazard ages ago.
---------------------
The Lunaria Tribe was locked away in a dark, fortified prison beneath the island.
"Brother Abefu, our mother and father are gone! We're going to die too... They're going to wipe us out... Our entire tribe!"
The speaker—a white-haired, brown-skinned girl—clung to the cold floor of the cell, her voice trembling with grief. They had watched their people fall one by one, tortured and experimented on like disposable tools. Now, only four of them remained—guinea pigs for the Celestial Dragons.
The Lunaria were once called the "Tribe of Gods," inhabitants of the Red Earth Continent some 800 years ago. With unparalleled vitality and adaptability, they founded the so-called Kingdom of God. Their strength in combat was legendary.
But when the Twenty Kings united to defeat the ancient Giant Kingdom and seize power, they crushed the Lunaria's kingdom, took their land, renamed it the Holy Land Marijoa, and founded the World Government. Declaring themselves the new "Clan of Gods," the Celestial Dragons purged the Lunaria, erasing them from history. The title of godhood, they claimed, belonged only to them.
Because of their incredible resilience, Lunalians became prized specimens for inhumane experimentation. They were enslaved, dissected, and raised like livestock, with just enough survivors maintained to prevent extinction—until now. With only a few young survivors left, even that grim policy was beginning to crack.
"Maybe death is mercy," Abefu muttered, clutching his frail sister Alice to his chest. Her wings were stripped of most of their feathers, her body gaunt from blood loss. She had been dragged into experiments again just the day before. Anger and sorrow coursed through his trembling frame.
"No! We can't just roll over and die, Brother Abefu! We need to escape—take revenge for our people!" Aroan growled. His blood-red eyes burned with rage, his face marked with jagged scars left by surgical knives. His fists were clenched so tightly his nails dug into his palms.
"Aroan is right," said Jennie, her voice fiery. Her long white hair was tied into tight dreadlocks on one side. "We've come too far to give up now! You think Alice is weak because she's a girl? She's tougher than most of us—she's survived experiments that would break lesser men!"
Abefu's voice was hollow. "We're not getting out of here. This is a fortress... no one escapes."
But Jennie's defiance was contagious.
"Damn it! If I ever get out, I swear I'll slaughter every Celestial Dragon and those monster-hearted scientists!" Aroan snarled, slamming his chained fists against the ground. He glanced at Alice, a flicker of sadness in his eyes. He had always harbored feelings for her—feelings he'd never been brave enough to voice.
"Unless a god descends from the heavens, we're done for," Abefu whispered, eyes dull. "Every time we tried to escape... someone died. The others, the Minx, the Longarm Tribe, even the Fishmen—they were all executed."
He had once been spirited and full of fire. Now, he was just a shadow. His only remaining reason to live was Alice. If she died...
"Gods? There are no gods. But if someone—anyone—rescues us, I'll serve them as my lord without question!" Aroan shouted, straining against the seastone shackles biting into his wrists.
Then—
BOOM!
The entire island of Punk Hazard trembled violently. Sirens wailed like banshees, and the air filled with the deep rumble of artillery.
"Brother Abefu! Someone's attacking the island!" Aroan shouted, a spark of hope igniting in his voice. Even Abefu's dulled eyes lit up faintly. Alice stirred in his arms, blinking weakly as the vibration roused her.
"If someone's come to save us... I'll devote my life to them!" Jennie declared, grasping the black alloy prison bars with both hands. Her heart thundered with desperation. Wings were meant to soar, not rot in chains!
Please... whoever you are, don't let this be a dream.
---
Above Punk Hazard Island...
"Hahaha! Newgate, your punch cracked the island's foundation! That'll make my job way easier!" roared the Golden Lion, Shiki, as he began manipulating the island's terrain with his powers.
He had no time to waste. Let the others handle the resistance—he had bigger things to deal with, like the Admirals who would soon descend.
"All units, attack! Take the island!" Brook's voice echoed across the skies. His ghostly fleet descended with precision.
Charlotte Linlin's Homie Army hit the ground like a tidal wave, marching in formation as they scoured the perimeter for entrances to the underground lab.
"Let my army join the party!" Brook declared. With a swing of his hand, a massive Death Gate—fifty meters high—tore open the air. Even legends like Redfield stared in awe as the portal erupted.
Ghosts by the thousands poured forth—souls slain by Brook or claimed by force. Towering Ice Giants, each over forty meters tall, stomped through the portal, followed by Elbaf warriors over twenty meters high. The full fury of the Hell Pirates had arrived.
Among the spectral forces were a dozen ghost generals—commanders of terrifying strength. Names like Diger, Saracha, and David Kyons struck fear even in the hearts of the veteran fighters.
"Now that's a pirate crew worthy of Hell!" Linlin cackled gleefully. She couldn't let Brook outshine her—her dream of a multiracial warrior utopia on Totto Land had competition now.
The search teams quickly located the entrance to the underground facility. Explosions rocked the heavy steel barriers as elite troops charged in.
Inside, chaos spread like wildfire.
"Emergency support requested! The Hell Pirates are attacking Punk Hazard! We've been compromised!" barked Vice Admiral Ashfree into his Den Den Mushi. "Requesting immediate reinforcements—Admiral Coss Davo, Admiral Kong, respond!"
"Professor Bald Eagle and his team will retreat via submarine. I'll hold the line here and die if I must! Long live justice!"
With his final words, Ashfree grabbed his weapon and stood firm at the entrance, flanked by loyal soldiers, bracing for the storm that had come to deliver vengeance—or salvation.
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