**Chapter 9: News from God Valley**
The person flying over was Shiki, pushed out by the other members of the Rocks Pirates to deliver the message.
The future Golden Lion, captain of the Golden Lion Pirates, and one of the legendary pirates famous on the seas after the end of the Rocks era.
Shiki was the one who came because delivering a message to Rocks and Nereus while they were fighting was no easy task.
In this situation, neither could receive Den Den Mushi calls, and the aftershocks from their battle weren't something ordinary people could breakthrough.
Plus, the location was a reef beach in the outer seas; only someone who could fly could approach quickly.
As for how they knew both Rocks and Nereus were here...
That wasn't complicated. Only the two of them could create such a massive commotion.
"Not interested."
"Don't get in the way, Shiki! Get lost!"
The "Hachinosu Treasure" he mentioned wasn't an object, but a person—Shakky of the Kuja Pirates.
A few years ago, Shakky had also opened a tavern on the island, driving many men crazy for her. However, Nereus wasn't included; she didn't fit his aesthetic.
During the period Shakky stayed on the island, a condition called the "Shakky Virus"—essentially being love-struck—began to spread.
Nereus often felt that these people were like a case of collective sexual repression suddenly erupting all at once.
A year ago, Shakky suddenly disappeared, taken from the island by unknown persons.
The abduction took only a few hours and involved killing Malone, who was on duty that night. Only today had news surfaced.
Once, Rocks had also been infatuated with Shakky, but he dismissed the thought after starting a family.
For Rocks, having Shakky taken from his island was a loss of face, but his battle with Nereus had just entered a heated stage, and he didn't plan to stop immediately.
Since Rocks couldn't teleport there anyway, discussing it after the fight wouldn't hurt. He just felt Shiki's timing was annoying.
"It's not just Shakky. There are massive amounts of treasure and Devil Fruits. For some reason, those Celestial Dragons have gathered at God Valley in the West Blue. It seems..."
"Where did you say?! God Valley?!"
The words "God Valley" instantly caught Rocks's attention. He immediately lost all desire to continue fighting.
While signaling Nereus to pause, he arrived in front of the Golden Lion with speed the latter could barely react to.
"What exactly is going on? Explain it clearly!"
God Valley was Rocks's hometown. His wife and family were all there. Hearing that Celestial Dragons were gathering at God Valley, he became agitated immediately.
"Uh... it's quite complicated. How about we go back first to discuss it?"
The Golden Lion pointed to Hachinosu behind them. After receiving the news, many people had gathered to discuss how to act; the only ones missing were Rocks and Nereus.
Despite lacking flight ability, Rocks moved faster than both Shiki and Nereus, rushing out a long distance in a few flashes.
"Impatient enough... Nereus, let's go too."
Shiki didn't chase after him immediately. He had a premonition that Rocks was like a powder keg right now, ready to explode at a spark. It was better to keep some distance.
"Is there specific information on the Devil Fruits?"
Although the specific details were unclear, Nereus relied on his past memories to generally know the outcome and cause.
The Celestial Dragons' hunting game. Rare and powerful Devil Fruits were also prizes for the Celestial Dragon elites. The Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon and the Paw-Paw Fruit were both on that island.
"Don't know. The info only said there were very rare Devil Fruits, not what kind."
Devil Fruits, the secret treasures of the sea. Each one could grant the eater very special abilities, many capable of unleashing earth-shattering power.
There were also some special Devil Fruits that, while not strong in direct combat, possessed extremely unique effects.
Nereus naturally had an interest in these Devil Fruits; they were one of his goals.
Eating a Devil Fruit turned one into a landlubber, unable to swim ever again. Even for a Fish-Man, eating a Devil Fruit would render them weak underwater due to this side effect.
Although they could still breathe, they couldn't swim freely. Nereus would eat a Devil Fruit because he was special and had a way to circumvent this weakness.
For others, it depended on the situation. Some sufficiently powerful abilities were worth the trade-off. Besides, his subordinates weren't just Fish-Men and Merfolk.
Even if not eaten, selling them on the black market could fetch massive sums of funds.
Therefore, compared to priceless treasures, Nereus was more interested in Devil Fruits.
He held no prejudice against Devil Fruits. Like Haki, they were unique powers of this sea, just like a person's two legs.
If capable, there was no need to train only one. Cultivating both fruit ability and Haki simultaneously, reaching the pinnacle in both, was his goal.
"Let's go."
Nereus didn't ask too carefully. Flapping his wings, he followed. After all, it would eventually be repeated in the impromptu meeting soon.
Shiki didn't say anything either, activating his Float-Float Fruit ability to follow.
...
When Nereus arrived at the center of Hachinosu, most of the core members of the Rocks Pirates were gathered there.
Edward Newgate, Kaido, "Pirate Patriarch" Wang Zhi, "Smuggler Pirate" Ochoku.
Silver Axe "Xiong", Captain John, "Scientific Bandit" Miss Buckingham Stussy, Geir Buster, Gloriosa. Excluding the deceased Malone, basically everyone was present.
At this moment, these people were bickering with each other, occasionally even throwing hands. Only Rocks sat in the main seat with a gloomy face, saying nothing.
"Oh~ Nereus, even you are here. Seems like it's a big event this time~"
Buckingham sat beside Whitebeard, greeting Nereus rather enthusiastically.
Fundamentally, these people were just temporary partners, but surface relations still had to be maintained. Moreover, Nereus was actually quite popular among the female pirates on the island.
His powerful strength went without saying, and his appearance was considered handsome by outside standards. Contrasted with some of the "oddities" in the Rocks Pirates, he appeared even more special.
Especially when the group was collectively sexually repressed over Shakky, Nereus's normalcy seemed even rarer.
"Mamamama~ You came too, as expected, Nereus. Looks like there are things you're interested in there too."
Charlotte Linlin arrived late, holding a Den Den Mushi and several document-like papers in her hand.
Because of her special intelligence network in the Underworld, Charlotte Linlin served a role similar to an intelligence officer here. She had just gone to organize those materials.
The two once had a romance. After separating, their relationship wasn't too hostile. Although they wouldn't say warm words when meeting, they wouldn't start arguing immediately either. A few casual words were no problem.
However, Rocks appeared very impatient now and didn't want to hear any of this.
"There's always time to catch up later. Linlin, cut the crap. What exactly is going on at God Valley! What news did you receive!"