The person flying toward them was Shiki.
The rest of the Rocks Pirates had pushed him forward to deliver the message.
The future Golden Lion, captain of the Flying Pirate Fleet, Shiki would eventually become one of the most infamous legendary pirates to rule the seas after the Rocks era came to an end.
They had sent him because getting a message to Rocks and Nereus in the middle of their battle was no easy task.
Neither of them could answer a Den Den Mushi while fighting, and the shockwaves from their clash were powerful enough that ordinary people couldn’t get anywhere near them.
On top of that, they had chosen to fight on a reef far out at sea.
Only someone capable of flying could reach them quickly.
As for how everyone knew Rocks and Nereus were here…
That part was simple.
There were only two people in the world capable of causing such an enormous commotion.
“I’m not interested.”
“Quit getting in the way, Shiki!
Get lost!”
The “treasure on Hachinosu” he was referring to wasn’t an object—it was a person: Shakuyaku of the Kuja Pirates.
Several years earlier, Shakuyaku had opened a tavern on the island, driving countless pirates crazy over her beauty.
Nereus, however, had never been one of them.
She simply wasn’t his type.
During the time she stayed on Hachinosu, a lovestruck craze jokingly dubbed the “Shakky Virus” spread across the island.
Nereus often felt as though everyone there had suddenly suffered a collective mental breakdown after suppressing themselves for too long.
Then, a year ago, Shakuyaku had vanished without warning.
Someone had spirited her away from the island.
The kidnapping had taken only a few hours to carry out, and the culprits had even killed Marlon, who had been standing guard that night.
Only now had any news of the incident finally surfaced.
Even Rocks had once been infatuated with Shakuyaku, though those feelings disappeared after he started a family.
Still, having someone abducted from his own island was a blow to his pride.
Even so, his battle with Nereus had only just reached its climax, and he had no intention of stopping now.
It wasn’t as if Rocks could teleport there anyway.
Finishing the fight first wouldn’t make much difference.
He was simply annoyed that Shiki had chosen such a terrible moment to interrupt them.
“It’s not just Shakuyaku.
There are also enormous amounts of treasure and Devil Fruits.
For some reason, the Celestial Dragons have gathered at God Valley in the West Blue.
It seems—”
“Where did you say?!
God Valley?!”
The moment he heard those three words, Rocks froze.
All desire to continue fighting vanished instantly.
He signaled Nereus to pause, then shot toward Shiki at such incredible speed that even the future Golden Lion barely had time to react.
“What happened?
Explain everything!”
God Valley was Rocks’s homeland.
His wife, children, and the rest of his family all lived there.
The moment he heard that the Celestial Dragons had gathered at God Valley, panic and urgency overtook him.
“Uh…
it’s a long story.
Maybe we should head back first?”
Shiki pointed toward Hachinosu behind them.
After receiving the intelligence, many of the crew’s senior members had already assembled to discuss their next move.
The only people missing were Rocks and Nereus.
Despite lacking the ability to fly, Rocks moved even faster than Shiki and Nereus.
After only a few bursts of movement, he had already disappeared far into the distance.
“He’s really in a hurry…”
Shiki turned toward Nereus.
“Let’s go.”
He made no attempt to catch up immediately.
He had a feeling Rocks was like a lit powder keg at the moment—one spark would set him off.
Keeping some distance seemed like the wiser choice.
“Do we know which Devil Fruits are there?”
Although he didn’t know every detail, Nereus’s memories of the future gave him a rough idea of what had happened.
The Celestial Dragons’ hunting tournament.
Rare and exceptionally powerful Devil Fruits had been prepared as prizes for the Celestial Dragon elite.
Among them were the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon, and the Paw-Paw Fruit.
“I don’t know.
The report only mentioned that there were extremely rare Devil Fruits.
It didn’t say which ones.”
Devil Fruits—the treasured secrets of the sea.
Each one granted its eater a unique and extraordinary power, and many possessed the potential to unleash world-shattering destruction.
Others weren’t especially powerful in direct combat, yet possessed astonishingly unique abilities.
Naturally, Nereus was interested in them.
Acquiring Devil Fruits had always been one of his goals.
Anyone who ate a Devil Fruit became unable to swim.
Even Fish-Men lost all their strength underwater after eating one.
They could still breathe beneath the sea, but they could no longer move freely through it.
Nereus himself ate a Devil Fruit only because he was different.
He had a way to bypass that fatal weakness.
As for everyone else, it depended on the circumstances.
Some abilities were powerful enough to justify the tradeoff.
Besides, not all of his followers were Fish-Men or merfolk.
Even if they never intended to use a Devil Fruit, selling it on the black market would bring in an enormous fortune.
Compared to mountains of priceless treasure, Nereus found the Devil Fruits far more appealing.
He held no prejudice against them.
Like Haki, Devil Fruits were simply another form of power unique to this world.
They were like a person’s two legs.
If you had access to both, there was no reason to train only one.
His goal was to master both Haki and Devil Fruits, pushing each to its absolute limit.
“Let’s go.”
Nereus didn’t press for further details.
With a beat of his wings, he took off after Rocks.
There would be a meeting soon enough, and everything would be explained again there anyway.
Shiki said nothing more and activated the Float-Float Fruit to follow.
When Nereus arrived at the center of Hachinosu, nearly all of the Rocks Pirates’ core members had already gathered.
Edward Newgate.
Kaido.
Wang Zhi, the self-styled Patriarch of Pirates.
Ganzui, the Smuggler Pirate.
Silver Axe.
Captain John.
Miss Buckingham Stussy—the “Scientific Bandit.”
Gill Bastar.
Gloriosa.
With Don Marlon dead, everyone else was present.
The group was bickering among themselves, occasionally breaking into brief scuffles.
Only Rocks sat silently at the head of the room, his face dark and unreadable.
“Yo~ Nereus, even you showed up.
Looks like this really is a major incident.”
Buckingham Stussy, seated beside Whitebeard, greeted him warmly.
At their core, everyone here was merely cooperating for mutual benefit, but maintaining cordial relations on the surface was still important.
Among the female pirates on the island, Nereus was actually quite popular.
His overwhelming strength spoke for itself.
He was also undeniably handsome, and standing among some of the Rocks Pirates’ more…
unusually looking members only made him stand out even more.
Especially when nearly every man on the island had been obsessing over Shakuyaku, Nereus’s complete lack of infatuation made him seem refreshingly normal.
“Ma ma ma~ I knew you’d come too, Nereus.
Looks like there’s something there that caught your eye as well.”
Charlotte Linlin arrived a little later, carrying a Den Den Mushi and several documents.
Thanks to her extensive intelligence network in the underworld, she effectively served as the crew’s intelligence officer.
She had been organizing the newly gathered information before coming over.
The two had once shared a romantic relationship.
Although they had gone their separate ways, things between them hadn’t turned especially sour.
They weren’t affectionate when they met, but neither did they immediately start arguing.
Casual conversation was still perfectly possible.
Rocks, however, had no patience for any of it.
“There’s plenty of time to catch up later.
Linlin, skip the small talk.
What’s happening at God Valley?
What exactly did your sources report?”