“Giants’ ship?!”
“Doesn’t matter!
Sink it!
No one is getting in our way!”
In a normal world, when naval warfare technology was still at the stage of cannon-armed warships, a ship’s tonnage could almost directly determine the outcome of a battle.
Large ships could absolutely crush smaller ones, but on this vast sea, that was only one factor.
At the very least, no one in the Rocks Pirates was afraid of an enemy vessel.
Any ship that had a name worth remembering on this sea could still be destroyed without much trouble.
Even if the sides of that ship were lined with Giant race soldiers, it still wasn’t enough to instill fear.
Charlotte Linlin looked at them with a greedy expression.
“Mama Mama~ Giant race troops… I want them…”
“Wait!”
Just as the group was shouting about sinking the Giants’ ship, Rocks raised his hand and stopped them.
“Rocks?
What are you doing?
Don’t get in our way!”
“Harald!
Get out here!
I know you’re on that ship!”
Rocks ignored the others and called out toward the vessel.
He was certain that if the Giants had come to stop him, Harald would definitely be aboard.
And as expected, he wasn’t wrong.
A Giant stepped forward—far taller than the others, with a pair of horns growing from his head, towering over even other Giants by more than double.
“We are under orders to stop a pirate crew that has gone mad over a woman, Rocks.
You should understand—sinking your little ship would be effortless for us.”
“Sinking your big ship wouldn’t be difficult either, you big-bodied king.
Do you think doing this will earn you enough merit to join the World Government?
No matter what you do, in the end you’ll just be labeled a ‘madman trying to change Elbaf.’ Can we talk?”
Faced with Rocks’ question, Harald ultimately did not refuse.
Instead, he allowed Rocks to board his ship and ordered the other Giant soldiers to fall back and create space.
“Nereus, you come too.
You should hear this as well.”
After thinking for a moment, Rocks also called Nereus to come with him before boarding.
…
The Giant soldiers had no idea what their king was discussing.
The Rocks Pirates complained that their captain was wasting time.
But on Harald’s ship, Rocks began to reveal his secret.
“Actually… I have an alias.”
Nereus had originally been curious about what Rocks was about to say, but the moment the word “alias” came up, something else immediately occurred to him.
On this sea, anyone with an alias was usually no ordinary figure.
Take the mysterious “D.” for example—those who bore it were often tied to hidden histories.
In the original timeline, even Law had his own concealed name.
“That alias is Davy D.
Xebec.
The legendary pirate Davy D.
Jones is our ancestor.
The World Government has likely always wanted to wipe us out.”
“Still, we’ve survived by clinging on in the dark underworld.”
“I’ve never told anyone this before.
You’re the first outsiders to hear it… Nereus?
Are you even listening?”
Rocks held a massive bowl of alcohol, speaking as casually as if he were chatting about the weather.
But when he looked over, Nereus seemed to be paying attention to something else entirely.
“I’m listening.
Go on.
If what you’re saying is true… doesn’t that mean your clan is even more heavily targeted by the World Government than the Buccaneers or the Lunarians?”
Although Nereus had vaguely heard of things like the “Davy Games,” when Rocks mentioned the name Davy D.
Jones, something buried deep in his memory surfaced—a face like an octopus flickered through his mind.
Combined with the earlier mention of an alias, his thoughts had drifted slightly, connecting scattered pieces.
“Hard to say.
Either way, we’re still a race the World Government targets.
Two years ago I had children, and I was worried my actions would drag them into it, so I sent them back to my homeland.”
“And my homeland… is God Valley.”
“What?!
So the World Government is trying to lure you out?!”
Although Harald had claimed he came to stop Rocks, upon hearing this, his expression still turned serious with concern.
“No.
There are so many Celestial Dragons on that island—why would they want me to go there?
This must be a miscalculation.”
“No, Xebec.
You need to understand—there are two kinds of Celestial Dragons.
One is the elite who belong to the God’s Knights.
The other is the trash.”
“The majority are useless garbage.
Their lives and deaths don’t matter as much as you think.
When you invaded Mary Geoise that year… you saw that man, didn’t you?
Do you think he’s the kind of person who cares about anyone else’s life?”
Nereus countered Rocks’ assumption.
Although he had never directly encountered Im, his fragmented memories still gave him some understanding of certain things.
The Five Elders are nothing more than disposable tools in that person’s eyes.
If they’re dissatisfied, they’re discarded without hesitation.
If the Davy clan truly is in that position… then sacrificing a few casualties would mean nothing to Im.
The rest of Nereus’s words were only thoughts in his mind—some secrets were never meant to be spoken to others.
“Maybe.
I used to think I was just unlucky, swept forward by the vortex of fate.
If this really is a conspiracy, then it might actually make more sense.”
“But no matter what, I have to go save my wife and children.
Nereus, if your daughter were there, could you just stand by and do nothing?”
“It’s actually a relief that they captured Shakky.
That was their biggest mistake… otherwise, gathering so many people on that island wouldn’t have been so easy.”
Rocks’s resolve did not change.
In the end, he even asked Harald for help—but Harald refused.
After that, according to reports from a World Government surveillance ship nearby, Harald’s vessel suddenly burst into flames.
Its mast was snapped, and the Rocks Pirates were not stopped—they continued heading toward God Valley.
What exactly happened on Harald’s ship would ultimately remain unknown.
Not only the Rocks Pirates—over time, other pirate crews also began moving toward God Valley with various intentions.
Some wanted to seize the island’s treasure.
Some sought fame.
And many were there because of Shakky.
The Roger Pirates were also advancing toward God Valley.
At the same time, Monkey D.
Garp, having received Roger’s information, was heading there as well.
God Valley had become the whirlpool at the center of the world, drawing in powerful figures from all over.
Meanwhile, on the island itself, the native inhabitants and the slaves brought there were gradually being consumed by fear.
The Celestial Dragons had promised that anyone who survived on the island for three weeks would regain their freedom.
That gave some people hope, making them believe it was not a place of certain death.
But in reality, it was a lie—meant to make them struggle harder, so their suffering would be more entertaining.
At the same time, some were already planning their escape.
Among them were Emporio Ivankov and Ginny, who had gathered with a group of slaves including Bartholomew Kuma.