Several days later.
In the West Blue member nation, the Kingdom of Fronce.
Faced with the invasion of the Rocks Pirates, the king of the Fronce Kingdom immediately surrendered.
After learning that Charlotte Linlin wanted their inherited national treasure, the Emperor Blade · Napoleon,
The current king, Louis VI, decisively handed over the national treasure.
The powerful military figures of the Fronce Kingdom were nearly angered to death by their own cowardly king.
They loudly cried, "Your Majesty, we were ready to fight to the death, why did you surrender first?!"
Seeing how cooperative the Fronce king was, Ignis did not launch a war of destruction against the member nation.
Because of this, Shiki, Kyo, Ganzui, and the others were extremely dissatisfied with Ignis's decision.
They wanted to loot the treasury and seize the kingdom's riches.
However, after Louis VI handed over additional "protection fees," and with Ignis's firm orders, Shiki and the others finally gave up and obediently left the Fronce Kingdom.
Once the terrifying Rocks Pirates departed, Louis VI and the kingdom's powerful fighters finally breathed sighs of relief.
"You idiots secretly call me cowardly, but do you trash have the ability to defeat them?!"
"It was this king's wisdom that preserved the Fronce Kingdom!"
"If fools like you had rushed forward recklessly, the Fronce Kingdom would already have been completely ruined by the Rocks Pirates just like the Cang Kingdom and the Kingdom of Ying!"
Louis VI vented all the humiliation and fury he had suffered at the hands of the Rocks Pirates onto his subordinates.
How could these useless fools possibly stop the world's strongest pirate crew?!
The Rocks Pirates were a terrifying crew capable of defeating Marine fleets.
Rocks himself was a monster who could kill Admirals.
An enraged Louis VI even called the World Government to complain.
They paid enormous Heavenly Tribute, yet received no protection from the World Government or Marine Headquarters.
Now they had been threatened and extorted by the Rocks Pirates, losing both their inherited national treasure and huge amounts of wealth.
They demanded a reduction in next year's Heavenly Tribute.
....
The Five Elders had not expected the Rocks Pirates, who had vanished from the New World for some time, to suddenly appear in the West Blue.
The World Government could only remain powerless against the Rocks Pirates' actions in the West Blue.
The World Government and Marine Headquarters simply could not reach them in time, nor could they catch the Rocks Pirates' flying warship.
All they could do was slightly reduce the Heavenly Tribute demanded from the victimized kingdom to appease them.
As for waiving an entire year's tribute?
Impossible!
The World Government and Celestial Dragons would never allow these "cash crops" to push their luck.
However, during this "peaceful" robbery by the Rocks Pirates, the Five Elders and the God's Knights noticed something unusual.
This behavior completely did not match Rocks' normal style.
After all, Rocks had looted the treasuries of the Cang Kingdom and the Kingdom of Ying and burned down their royal palaces.
Could it be that Rocks had suddenly grown merciful?
Yet after careful analysis by numerous strategists and intelligence agents, the World Government discovered something, Rocks himself did not appear to have shown up at the Fronce Kingdom at all.
This was extremely important intelligence.
They needed to confirm whether Rocks was still aboard the Rocks Pirates' flying warship, and why he had not appeared during the plundering of the Fronce Kingdom.
And if he wasn't there, then where exactly had Rocks gone?
Surely it couldn't be that Rocks had been killed by Ignis and the others, and that his position had been usurped?
The Five Elders immediately ordered the CP agents to confirm every possible detail about the Rocks Pirates.
The more intelligence they gathered, the more secrets they could uncover.
.....
Meanwhile aboard the Xebec's Sword.
The officers were dividing up the spoils from this operation.
Even Newgate, who cared little for treasure, still received his own share.
If not for himself, then for his hometown of Sphinx Island.
Charlotte Linlin excitedly separated a portion of her own soul essence and fused it into the Emperor Blade Napoleon, transforming it into a top-tier Homie and her powerful new assistant.
This soul essence was part of Linlin's own soul power, completely different from the stolen lifespan and soul fragments she usually used.
"Master~"
Under the power of the Soul-Soul Fruit, Emperor Blade Napoleon fused with Linlin's soul essence and transformed into a sentient Homie blade.
Its sword edge grew a mouth filled with humanoid sharp teeth.
Meanwhile, under Linlin's modifications, the sword guard evolved into a horned bicorne hat, with the skull decoration becoming animated and lively.
"Hahaha! From now on, you'll be both my captain's hat and my weapon!"
Charlotte Linlin was extremely satisfied with the redesign of the horned hat sword.
"Yes, Master~"
The skull atop Napoleon's hat-like guard spoke respectfully.
"Tsk tsk, why is Linlin's Soul-Soul Fruit ability so ridiculously strong?"
Gill, looked at the dull Negative Ghosts he had summoned and felt somewhat depressed.
Why couldn't his ghosts grant objects life and consciousness?
Comparing people really could drive someone mad.
"Try out your fusion technique!"
"Light Cannon!"
The three great Homies, Sun Prometheus, Thundercloud Zeus, and Emperor Blade Napoleon, combined together.
Lightning and flames wrapped around the blade, forming an energy ring.
With a swing from Linlin, a high-density lightning-fire laser cannon blasted outward, exploding across the sea and creating a gigantic water demon vortex.
"This monster got stronger again!"
Kyo's eyes were filled with envy toward these powerful Devil Fruit abilities.
How wonderful it would be if he possessed such abilities too.
Now even Linlin had obtained a powerful exclusive weapon.
Kyo glanced at his own giant axe.
It suddenly seemed rather outdated.
"Ignis! What do you think of my Emperor Blade?"
Charlotte Linlin immediately ran over to show it off to Ignis.
Without the intelligence Ignis provided, she had no idea how many more years it would have taken to find a weapon that suited her.
"Not bad."
Ignis responded with a smile.
Though compared to his Shichiseiken, it was still slightly inferior.
Now Ignis intended to personally nurture the Shichiseiken into a Supreme Grade Blade.
Once he ruled the seas, the compilers and editors of the Famous Blades Register would naturally include the Shichiseiken among the Supreme Grade Blades, allowing its name to shake the entire world.
Speaking of Supreme Grade Blades, Ignis immediately thought of the Yakuza Kasen, which had drifted into the West Blue.
Shimotsuki Kouzaburou and Fugetsu Kisaburo had violated Wano's isolation policy earlier that year and left Wano to venture into the outside seas.
For unknown reasons, however, they later became separated.
Fugetsu Kisaburo brought the Yakuza Kasen to the West Blue.
Meanwhile, Shimotsuki Kouzaburou and Shimotsuki Furiko brought Wado Ichimonji and Sandai Kitetsu to the East Blue.
Kozuki Sukiyaki, the shogun of Wano Country, wanted to prepare two powerful swords for his son Kozuki Oden.
So he traded the Sandai Kitetsu he forged in exchange for the Enma forged by Shimotsuki Kouzaburou.
After Kozuki Oden went out to sea, his two swords, Enma and Ame no Habakiri, rapidly became famous across the world as Great Grade Blades.
Meanwhile, Sandai Kitetsu wandered around the East Blue, changing owners many times and bringing death to numerous swordsmen, without ever gaining much fame.
It was not even ranked among the Skillful Grade Blades, much less the Great Grade Blades.
However, once Sandai Kitetsu eventually followed Zoro, a member of the future protagonist crew, it would certainly ascend to Great Grade status, or perhaps even Supreme Grade status, rivaling Nidai Kitetsu and Shodai Kitetsu.