"Who would have thought the Roger Pirates would drop such a massive embarrassment before the entire world this time."
"It's been over half a month now, and they still haven't shown themselves."
"They're really holding back."
"But Roger, can you really keep suppressing your crew's rage when their entire families are being slaughtered? This makes eight already."
After finishing breakfast, Brian suddenly didn't feel like moving and temporarily slumped in his chair.
He felt inexplicably contemplative.
His contemplation was directed at the Roger Pirates, who had recently become the focus of attention in both the New World and the entire world.
Over half a month ago, the Rocks Pirates issued a full crew bounty on the Roger Pirates.
Simultaneously, their intelligence department operated at full speed, working tirelessly.
One after another, the hometowns of Roger Pirates' crew members were uncovered.
The furious Rocks wouldn't entertain foolish notions like "misfortune shouldn't befall family" with anyone.
"Misfortune shouldn't befall family" was merely compromise between the weak.
Rocks: My rules are the rules.
After I'm dead, why would I care if you make waves across the seas.
If you have what it takes as my opponents, go find my wife and children and kill them too.
If anyone could actually accomplish that, Rocks would actually respect such an enemy.
After obtaining intelligence, Rocks personally took action, clearing out each location one by one.
These hometowns of the Roger Pirates' crew members were easily reduced to scorched earth under his assault.
Not a single living soul was left on the islands, shocking the entire world.
As of today, over half a month later.
Rocks had personally taken action, turning eight islands into eight patches of scorched earth.
Unexpectedly, the Roger Pirates stubbornly refused to show themselves from beginning to end.
This also contributed to the Roger Pirates' reputation growing increasingly prominent during this period.
So prominent that the entire world was discussing the Roger Pirates.
But this time, it was no longer their former good reputation.
The Roger Pirates directly became synonymous with trash and cowardice in the hearts of countless pirates.
Without any resistance, they had simply disappeared.
They were truly an embarrassment to their pirate community.
Disgusting, absolutely disgusting!
Conversely, Rocks' consecutive destruction of eight islands.
Somehow inexplicably won him admiration from numerous pirates.
This world was fundamentally a mad world where the strong were respected.
Truthfully, there weren't many normal people in the entire world.
Pirates wouldn't care how many people you killed.
They would only care whether you possessed the demeanor befitting a true powerhouse.
Rocks perfectly matched their idealized image, so his fanbase naturally exploded.
This outcome completely surprised Rocks.
As a pirate overlord, it had been a long time since he'd received admiration from fellow pirates.
In the past, pirates' first reaction upon mentioning him was fear and terror.
Where was the admiration?
For a battle-hardened veteran like Rocks, this sudden development felt rather good.
His previously furious mood was considerably diluted.
Plus, there weren't many remaining known hometowns of Roger Pirates members in the New World.
Rocks ultimately chose to cease his operations and returned to Hachinosu.
For the New World, this was also a good thing.
"Captain Rocks may have stopped, but we officers certainly can't afford to."
"Tsk tsk, some pirates are retaliating, and ambitious schemers are secretly stirring up trouble."
"On top of that, the World Government and the Navy are constantly making moves—it's all troublesome."
"Calculating the time, I'll have to set sail again tomorrow."
Speaking of this, Brian felt somewhat helpless.
Rocks laying low didn't mean the New World would be completely peaceful.
The pursuit of members related to the Roger Pirates was still ongoing.
After the chaos in the New World, a number of ambitious individuals continued to operate in the shadows.
They didn't dare act openly, but they still managed to stir up quite a storm.
Not everyone was willing to remain oppressed by the Rocks Pirates indefinitely.
Given the chance, they'd throw a wrench in the works.
As long as they could annoy the Rocks Pirates, it was worth doing.
Thanks to their efforts, from top to bottom of the Rocks Pirates—except for the captain—everyone was busy.
Some were protecting important islands harassed by other forces.
Others were taking action to wipe out islands connected to the remnants of the Roger Pirates.
Some even had to confront the Navy and the World Government head-on.
There was no helping it—after all, Rocks had previously turned an entire World Government-affiliated island into scorched earth.
This affiliated nation was one of the few large countries in the New World.
It's worth noting that for a country to become large, its strongest fighter must possess genuine Admiral Level strength.
Who would have thought that such an Admiral Level fighter would be like paper in Rocks' hands?
Effortlessly defeated in an instant—it was utterly absurd.
This scene was captured and broadcast worldwide.
It also played a significant role in Rocks gaining more followers.
Oh, wait—by now, it should be two affiliated nations that have been destroyed.
One large country, one medium-sized country.
How could the World Government not be furious?
If it weren't for the Navy suffering two heavy blows in succession, severely weakening them,
And the fact that the Four Seas and the first half of the Grand Line were also full of troubles,
The Five Elders would have long since ordered the Navy to deploy to the New World.
At the very least, they needed to show the World Government-affiliated nations the World Government's stance.
Unfortunately, the Navy truly couldn't spare more manpower.
Over the past half-month, the Navy had been swamped.
Garp, Zephyr, and Tsuru hadn't stopped since they set sail with their respective teams.
Rushing east and west, there were pirates to deal with everywhere.
To put it bluntly,
Most people in the Navy didn't even have time to hang themselves.
In contrast, Sengoku, who was recuperating and stationed at headquarters, managed to enjoy a rare moment of leisure.
With the Navy unable to act, the Five Elders had no choice but to activate many CP organizations scattered throughout the New World.
This indeed caused significant obstacles for the Rocks Pirates.
Brian had gone out twice during this period.
One of those trips was specifically to clean up a group of CP agents.
Over the past half-month, the New World had already become a river of blood.
Only a few places with formidable strength, where no one dared to cause trouble, remained like sanctuaries.
Such as Hachinosu, Zou, the Land of Giants, and others.
Even the Navy's bases in the New World were far from peaceful.
Because of all this,
Brian hadn't been able to return personally even for such a major event as the birth of the Beast Girl.
"Given the current situation, it seems the Roger Pirates probably won't show up."
"Maybe they were held up by something major, but it's no longer important."
"Perhaps this is also a significant turning point."
"With this incident, even if Roger still becomes the Pirate King under the guidance of the World Will,"
"He won't be able to wash away this massive stain."
"Have I altered the course of the world again? How intriguing."
"Even if Roger truly becomes the Pirate King in the future, this blemish will remain."
Brian was initially quite astonished by the actions of the Roger Pirate Crew.
A major event that completely deviated from the original storyline had directly turned the Roger Pirate Crew into outcasts within the pirate world.
At this point, the story had clearly gone off track.
How would the World Will pull the timeline back on course?
How could the Roger Pirate Crew continue on the path to the Pirate King?
Thinking about these questions, Brian found it all incredibly fascinating.
It was like watching an epic drama unfold—utterly thrilling!