On Puso Island, the Hell Pirates had already taken full control. Misled by Antonio's false intel, Dawei was still foolishly lying in ambush on Rupert Island.
But what he didn't expect was a desperate Den Den Mushi call for help from Puso Island. When the Sea Siren Pirates returned, they were immediately met with a brutal assault from the Hell Pirates!
"Jihahaha~! With me and Newgate here, we're unbeatable, Brook!"
Golden Lion Shiki cackled madly, his arrogance flaring once more. Still, with the two of them defending and attacking the island, their strength was undeniable. Devil Fruits of this natural disaster caliber were practically unstoppable.
Maybe this was the real reason the original Rocks Pirates could dominate the seas. But now, that power belonged to Brook!
After reaping the souls of the last remaining officers left on guard, Brook and Charlotte Linlin joined the battle. His ghost army, having devoured each other again and again, had finally evolved into Wraith Generals capable of inflicting real-world damage.
There were more than a dozen terrifying ghostly warriors, each with the power level of pirates worth 100 to 300 million Belly—Disco, Toko, Poison Cannon Sharin, Captain Goth, Maxway, Shanku... along with a few remaining officers stationed on the island.
Most of the common specters had already been consumed to nourish these few Wraith Generals. Now, they were hoping to harvest the souls of pirates worth over 500 million Belly!
"I didn't expect Dawei to tame another giant octopus Sea King. Who knows what other tricks he's hiding? And that Octopus Siren Devil Fruit he has—its regeneration is insane. Every severed tentacle grows back almost instantly!"
Brook analyzed Dawei's weaknesses. This eight-sword-style swordsman was already troublesome enough, but paired with a Mythical Zoan's terrifying recovery rate, he was a nightmare to deal with. His Armament Haki had even reached the level of external emission!
On the seas, external emission of Armament Haki wasn't achieved through technique alone—it came from sheer volume. Those with immense Armament reserves could forcefully project their Haki outward. In contrast, Wano relied on specialized techniques to make even moderately strong Haki flow, achieving greater destructive force faster.
In other words, just knowing Ryuo wasn't enough to be unbeatable. Because raw strength can overwhelm all techniques. Against veterans who had trained their Haki for decades, even Ryuo could be overpowered.
Of course, if one of those Haki monsters also mastered Ryuo, they'd become even more fearsome—more efficient and longer-lasting, wasting less energy. After all, projecting Armament Haki was extremely draining. Power plus technique was the real path to strength!
Brook ordered the Seastone arrow squad and rifle unit to stand by. When the moment came, they'd launch a surprise strike against Dawei, whose Octopus Siren Fruit had awakened.
Redfield and Charlotte Linlin joined the offensive. Bolts of lightning rained down on Dawei's pirate ship. The other ships he'd brought had already been sunk beneath towering tsunamis.
"Newgate, act like you're exhausted. Let the tsunami weaken and let them come ashore. Shiki, keep dropping those mini-islands—wear him down! We can't scare them off too early!"
Brook, Redfield, and Linlin all focused on draining Dawei's stamina. But they were also worried—if he gave up on Puso Island and retreated to call Rocks for backup, they'd miss their best shot at crushing him.
Their mission was to pin down Dawei and stop him from returning to the main battlefield.
...
As the tsunami shrank into waves and Shiki's summoned mountains grew smaller, the thunder and sword auras weakened. Dawei, who had started to consider retreat, felt his burning desire for revenge ignite again!
"These Supernovas are all the same—no stamina. Don't they realize the stronger the move, the more energy it costs? Paramecia Devil Fruits don't have Zoan recovery!"
Dawei felt they had passed the peak of their strength. Now, it was time for the Zoan types to take over.
The Sea Siren Pirates had three Zoan users—two Mythical and one standard. And Hammerhead Shark Dalma had pushed the Hammerhead Shark Fruit to a formidable level.
Dawei ordered the octopus Sea King to rush them ashore. They could no longer resist the urge to unleash carnage on the Hell Pirates!
...
On Puso Island, sniper Silva loaded his rifle with specialized Seastone bullets. Fishmen Tom and Tiger were armored in Seastone plating, fists wrapped with Seastone gauntlets and wielding massive hammers.
Shakky vanished into shadow. Stussy, holding a Seastone spike, had developed her own technique—Flying Nail—a move deadlier than gunfire.
Ashura Jakun, here to seek a breakthrough, stood ready alongside the samurai squad from Wano, prepared for their first real battle to the death.
The situation was similar to the Overlord Alliance. While Brook was no match for Dawei among the top brass, in terms of mid and lower-tier strength, the Hell Pirates had a clear advantage.
If Dawei knew just how many strong fighters the Hell Pirates had, he might have thought twice. Sure, a top-tier powerhouse could crush many elites—but was he willing to see all his subordinates slaughtered?
What good was victory if he was the only one left standing?
But right now, he believed only Brook and the four core fighters posed a threat. The rest? Just weaklings. And judging by their weariness, he assumed they were nearly out of strength—which is why he charged straight in!
Seeing that the Hell Pirates hadn't used the Golden Ark to escape, Dawei actually sighed in relief. That meant he still had the chance to wipe them out completely!
The Sea Siren Pirates now had three top officers with bounties over 500 million Belly, four or five more with bounties in the 100-million range, and a squad of elite crewmates.
When Dawei spotted the Wano samurai squad, he was visibly shocked. There were only a dozen of them, but each radiated sword intent equivalent to at least a lower-tier swordsman. A troubling sign.
Brook stared at the monstrous Dawei. He now realized... he'd seriously underestimated him.
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+188 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg