"Rocks will fail in the end!"
"Hmm?!"
York's definitive statement surprised Kaido.
"The Rocks Pirates might look somewhat harmonious in your eyes, but in mine, this team will betray Rocks sooner or later."
"Maybe the ones betraying won't be you, won't be me, won't be Newgate, or Linlin, but Malong, John, Wang Zhi, Xiong... those people, that's not necessarily true for them."
"Up to now, the entire team has maintained unity relying on Rocks' absolute martial power and the continuous victories all along."
"When the day comes that Rocks is entangled by enemies using some means, and everyone else also encounters opponents they can't defeat without risking their lives, guess what John, Malong, and those people will do? Will they flee the battlefield directly, or stay and risk their lives with Rocks?"
"Even saying they flee the battlefield directly would be crediting them with a conscience. It's not like they haven't done things like backstabbing other partners!"
"Even if this kind of backstabbing is just the usual petty squabbles like before, do you think you don't know what consequences such petty squabbles would cause on that critical battlefield?!"
Kaido fell into silence, only his fists striking the warship became increasingly forceful.
York also temporarily stopped speaking, throwing himself wholeheartedly into the training of punching the warship.
After a long time, Kaido seemed to finally digest what York said. He opened his mouth and said, "You said so much, actually you want to recruit me, right?"
"Correct!"
York admitted frankly.
"My goal is actually the same as Rocks', to overturn this world and take down the Celestial Dragons."
"But unlike him, I believe more in the power of unity!"
"If everyone is united, even if the individual quality is slightly inferior to the current Rocks Pirates, we can absolutely unleash power even stronger than the current Rocks Pirates!"
"So, want to team up with me? Kaido!!"
Kaido remained silent for a moment, then answered coldly and firmly: "I won't betray Rocks!"
"Of course! I don't need you to betray him! Including myself, I won't betray him either!"
"I will accompany him to the very end, witnessing his demise!"
"Then inherit his will and build a brand new, united team!!"
York's tone was full of determination, and he truly thought so.
"My goal is not just to take down the Celestial Dragons!"
"I want to overthrow all the old nobles! Establish a fairer new order!!"
*Bang!*
Kaido's fist-swinging motion paused.
He turned his head to look at York.
He looked for a long time, unknown thoughts running through his mind.
Finally, he resumed his training of punching the warship.
He didn't respond to York at all, neither denying nor affirming.
Seeing this, York didn't mind too much.
Things are done for people to see, not just by shouting slogans.
Moreover, there were still nearly 4 years until the God Valley Incident. He had plenty of time to prove his will to Kaido.
...
The sun set in the west, and the evening glow dyed the horizon red.
York and Kaido, who had trained for a day, paused and wrapped up. The two went to the kitchen inside the skull mountain and had a big meal together.
Here, they only saw Charlotte Linlin enjoying desserts in big mouthfuls and Stussy sitting opposite her; they didn't see any male members.
Upon asking, they learned that except for Whitebeard who had eaten early and left, the other guys were still lingering at Shakky's Rip-Off Bar, and it was unknown what time they would return tonight.
York couldn't be bothered to care about those degenerate guys.
In his view, in the entire Rocks Pirates, apart from Charlotte Linlin, Whitebeard, and Kaido having some value for a united front, the others were all just rotten fish and shrimp!
Yes, that's right, Golden Lion Shiki was also no good in his eyes.
A pure pirate, strong individually yes, but his ceiling of achievement was just that.
Especially his extreme obsession with Roger in the later stages made one unable to help suspecting whether this old boy, due to his unrequited love for Shakky, finally twisted his orientation and turned to liking men.
After the meal, York returned to his room as usual, where Gloriosa had been waiting for a long time.
So the two walked into the bathroom together to clean their bodies.
What happened during that time needs no further words.
An hour later.
Gloriosa opened the bathroom door, escaped from inside first, and raised her hand to stop York who was chasing out from the bathroom.
"Wait a moment! I have a surprise!"
Hearing this, York paused his pursuit, wiping the water off his body with a towel while waiting for the surprise Gloriosa prepared.
"Turn around first!"
Gloriosa shyly reached out and grabbed York, making him turn his back to her.
After a sound of wiping her body, Gloriosa seemed to open a certain drawer.
When the drawer closed, her voice finally sounded.
"Alright, turn around."
York turned around, his already expectant eyes instantly filled with surprise.
He saw that at this moment, Gloriosa had put on an apron of the same style as Shakky's from the daytime, and she wasn't wearing the dress underneath.
"York~" Gloriosa said sourly with flushed cheeks: "Compared to Shakky, who looks better wearing an apron?"
"Of course it's you!!"
York's tone was certain, and he used beast-like body language to tell Gloriosa that he wasn't lying!
...
Peaceful days passed one by one.
Rocks led the Rocks Pirates to plunder everywhere, accumulating funds, and at the same time searching for a way to revive the frozen giants.
Unfortunately, after searching everywhere, they still couldn't find a Devil Fruit capable of reviving the frozen giants.
Meanwhile, the news of Shakky resigning from the position of Pirate Empress and living in seclusion on Hachinosu to open a tavern gradually spread with the large number of pirates coming in and out of Hachinosu.
The local pirates of Hachinosu certainly didn't want this matter known, but things in the world often go contrary to people's wishes. Not all pirates wished Shakky well.
There were always some people with the dark mentality of "if I can't have her, no one else can," trying to muddy the waters.
There were also some female pirates who hated Shakky to the bone.
Just like that, in the blink of an eye, another two years passed.
The time arrived at 40 years before Luffy set out to sea, Sea Circle Calendar 1482.
There were two years left until the God Valley Incident and the collapse of the Rocks Pirates.
New World, some unknown sea area.
The pirate ship Oro Jackson was sailing here.
"Captain! Captain Roger!!"
"Heard that Shakky opened a shop on Hachinosu!"
"Her reputation is huge!"
"Remember when Shakky resigned from the position of Empress, she seemed to be seriously ill, the situation was very bad."
"Now that we know where she is, let's go visit her! Captain Roger!!"
However, upon hearing this news, the captain Gol D. Roger just leaned on the ship's railing with both hands, looking like he was sulking.