The energy was no longer as violent as before.
Instead, it flowed through their bodies like countless gentle streams, nourishing the instability left behind by their sudden surge in strength.
The foreign soul energy gradually merged with their own physiques, settling perfectly into their bodies until it became power that truly belonged to them.
Gatz felt the savage energy that had been raging inside him finally calm down.
His strength became more solid and refined, allowing him to wield it with complete control.
Silver, meanwhile, felt his connection to his surroundings deepen.
The silence around him was no longer merely a means of concealment—it had evolved into something much closer to complete mastery.
“Gurarararara!
Now that’s satisfying!
Winning a fight and then enjoying a meal like this—there’s nothing better!” Newgate drained an entire bowl of soup in one gulp, letting out a deeply contented laugh.
As everyone enjoyed their victory feast, a News Coo fluttered through the shattered skylight of the fortress, dropped the latest newspaper onto the table, and flew away.
Silver picked up the paper, glanced at the front page, then silently handed it to Rocks.
The headline featured a miserable photograph of G-8 Fortress, billowing with thick black smoke.
Beneath it were several hastily snapped, slightly blurry photographs.
Rocks.
Newgate.
Gatz.
Silver.
Dorum.
And…
a blank-faced child carrying a lunchbox.
Printed beneath the images, in enormous sensational lettering, was the headline: BREAKING NEWS!
Rookie Rocks Pirates Capture the “Invincible” G-8 Fortress in a Single Day!
A Great Shame for the Marines!
Rocks looked at the newspaper, then at the 150,000,000 Berries bounty printed beneath his photograph.
A wild grin spread across his face.
“Wahahaha!
Looks like we’ve made a name for ourselves, boys!” The fall of G-8 Fortress exploded across the seas like a massive bomb, sending shockwaves throughout the world.
The news reached Marine Headquarters at Marineford with unprecedented speed.
Inside the Fleet Admiral’s office, the atmosphere was so heavy it felt almost tangible.
The current Fleet Admiral, an elderly man with a sharp gaze and a neatly trimmed goatee, slammed the report onto his desk with a deafening crash.
.
“Damn it!” His furious roar echoed throughout the office.
“G-8!
The so-called impregnable steel fortress!
More than ten thousand elite Marines!
Hundreds of heavy cannons!
And it falls in a single day to a rookie pirate crew nobody’s ever heard of?!
Where’s that useless fool Will?!” Standing across from him was a young Marine in a white suit and a Justice coat, casually chewing on a rice cracker.
It was none other than the man who would one day become the legendary Hero of the Marines— Monkey D.
Garp.
“Reporting, Fleet Admiral.” Garp spoke between bites of his rice cracker.
“According to the Marines who escaped, Vice Admiral Will got flicked away with one finger.” “He’s still stuck in the command tower wall.
They haven’t managed to pry him out yet.” “They say he’ll live…
…though his pride probably won’t.” “One finger?!” The Fleet Admiral’s eyes widened.
“Garp!
Are you joking with me?!” “I’m not.” Garp’s expression turned serious as he swallowed the last of his snack.
“That captain named Rocks…
And that man called Edward Newgate…
They’re monsters among monsters.” “And every member of their crew is dangerous.” “According to the reports, their strength increased dramatically during the siege.” “It was almost as if…” “…they’d all been possessed by something.” The Fleet Admiral fell silent.
His eyes rested on the newly issued bounty posters spread across the desk.
Rocks D.
Xebec — 150,000,000 Berries Edward Newgate — 120,000,000 Berries Giant Anchor Gatz — 35,000,000 Berries Ghost Silver — 30,000,000 Berries Ironwall Dorum — 15,000,000 Berries And finally…
The one he found most difficult to understand.
Gourmet Ryne — 5,000,000 Berries Special Note: Extremely dangerous.
Suspected to possess a Devil Fruit ability capable of strengthening allies through cooking.
The photograph showed nothing more than a child calmly carrying a lunchbox.
“Strengthening allies through cooking…” the Fleet Admiral murmured.
“Since when has a Devil Fruit this bizarre existed?” On the other side of the world…
The New World.
A gigantic whale-shaped pirate ship sailed across the sea.
A tall, broad-shouldered man with long blond hair laughed heartily while reading the newspaper.
“Roger!
Come take a look!
Some interesting newcomers have appeared!” A man wearing a straw hat stepped over, a confident smile on his face.
The instant his eyes landed on Rocks’ photograph, they became sharp.
“Rocks D.
Xebec…” “I’ll remember that name.” For a time, the eyes of the entire world focused on the Rocks Pirates, a crew that had announced its arrival upon the world stage in the boldest and most domineering fashion imaginable.
Meanwhile, the people at the center of the storm had already raised sail and departed the devastated G-8 Fortress.
After Dorum’s emergency refit using the captured materials, the ship had been completely transformed.
Several heavy cannons had been installed, while the hull was reinforced with thick alloy armor, making it resemble a steel porcupine bristling with weapons.
Inside the cabin, everyone excitedly gathered around the newspaper featuring their bounty posters.
“Wahahaha!
Thirty-five million!
I’m finally a big shot!” Gatz laughed so hard he could barely close his mouth.
“‘Ironwall Dorum’…
Heh.
I like that nickname.” Dorum stroked his beard in satisfaction.
Only Ryne looked somewhat helpless as he stared at his blurry bounty photo—the one showing him carrying his lunchbox—and the title beneath it: Gourmet Ryne.
“Captain.” “Where are we headed next?” Silver finished organizing the intelligence documents and looked toward Rocks.
The battle at G-8 had made them famous…
…but it had also made them prime targets of both the World Government and the Marines.
From here on out, every voyage would only become more dangerous.
Rocks casually tossed the newspaper aside.
There wasn’t the slightest hint of satisfaction on his face.
Instead, his ambition burned even brighter.
“G-8 was only the beginning.” “It was nothing more than a loudspeaker to announce our arrival to the world.” He grinned.
“Time to move on.
Let’s go, boys!” At Rocks’ command, the Rocks Pirates turned their ship once again and sailed onward.
After leaving G-8’s waters behind, the weather of the Grand Line became increasingly unpredictable.
One moment the sun blazed overhead.
The next, violent storms threatened to engulf the sea.
But after Dorum’s extensive modifications—adding alloy armor and heavy cannons—the newly rebuilt Rocks’ ship was no longer the ramshackle vessel that had once threatened to fall apart at any moment.
Like an armored steel beast, it smashed effortlessly through towering waves and continued steadily onward.
Life aboard also became far more comfortable thanks to their abundant supplies—and Ryne’s cooking.
Gatz’s favorite pastime was pestering Newgate for training.
Although Newgate effortlessly pinned him to the deck with a single finger every single time, Gatz never grew discouraged.
Under Newgate’s guidance, his control over his strength improved rapidly.
Whenever he threw a punch now, faint shockwaves rippled from the impact.
Silver, meanwhile, frequently challenged Rocks—not with fists, but with the clash of their presences.
He sought weaknesses within Rocks’ abyss-like aura, and in doing so, his Observation Haki and stealth techniques advanced at an astonishing pace.
Meanwhile, Ryne was busy studying the standard Marine cookbook they had seized from G-8—and subjecting it to what could only be described as a merciless overhaul.
Using nothing more than ordinary ingredients, ingenious combinations, and the subtle assistance of the Endless Seasoning Bottle, he created all sorts of unbelievable functional dishes.
There were Combat Biscuits that increased leg strength by thirty percent after eating them, and Kelp Soup that temporarily enhanced night vision, along with many other extraordinary recipes.
As a result, the crew’s respect for their Head Chef reached an entirely new level.
To them, Ryne was no longer merely a chef.
He was an alchemist disguised as one.
On the tenth day of their voyage, as they sailed into a new stretch of sea, the sky became shrouded in leaden thunderclouds, turning broad daylight into something resembling dusk.
The air was damp and heavy, carrying the acrid scent of ozone.
Silver bolts of lightning slithered through the distant clouds like serpents, repeatedly bathing the sea in ghostly white light before deafening peals of thunder rolled across the heavens, making even seasoned pirates uneasy.
“Hold on tight!” Dorum roared at the top of his lungs as he clung to the helm, wrestling desperately against the increasingly violent waves.
Then, without the slightest warning— A colossal storm of unprecedented scale descended upon them.
In an instant, the sea and the sky seemed to merge into one.
Rain poured down as though the heavens themselves had overturned, obscuring everyone’s vision.
Towering waves dozens of meters high surged toward them like moving mountains, crashing relentlessly against the hull and making the reinforced ship groan in protest.
“Damn it!
It’s a White Storm!
The legendary natural disaster of the Grand Line!” For the first time, genuine despair appeared on Dorum’s face as he stared at the towering wall of white water bearing down upon them.
“Gurarararara!
Now this is interesting!” Instead of panicking, Newgate laughed with excitement.
Stepping onto the bow, he threw a single punch toward the massive wave.
“Seaquake!” An invisible shockwave erupted outward.
The monstrous wave, powerful enough to swallow everything in its path, was split cleanly down the middle, opening a gigantic passage through which the ship sailed safely.
At the same time, Rocks used his gravity ability to stabilize the vessel, preventing it from capsizing in the raging currents.
Just as everyone worked together to overcome the catastrophe, an utterly unexpected figure appeared before them.
At the very heart of the storm stood a woman atop an enormous pink object the size of a small island.
She was strikingly beautiful, with a voluptuous figure, yet extraordinarily tall—even half a head taller than Gatz.
Her long, fluffy pink hair whipped wildly in the wind as she grinned broadly, revealing a dazzling row of white teeth.
Her eyes gleamed with excitement and greed.
Resting across one shoulder was a gigantic spiked iron club.
Beneath her feet floated what appeared to be a living pink cloud, carrying her effortlessly through the raging storm as though the violent winds meant nothing.
“W-What…
is that?!” Watching the woman laugh wildly amid the lightning, Gatz felt his worldview shatter all over again.
The woman had clearly noticed them as well.
She licked her lips, her enormous eyes shining with the delight of someone who had just discovered an exciting new toy.
Commanding the living cloud beneath her, she flew straight toward the Rocks Pirates’ ship, completely ignoring the raging storm.
BOOM!
Her enormous body landed heavily on the deck, causing the entire ship to lurch downward.
“You all…” “…look pretty interesting.” Her voice was loud and piercing, carrying an unmistakably overbearing confidence.
“From this moment on, this ship—and all the food aboard it—belongs to me!” Resting the massive iron club on her shoulder, she swept her gaze across everyone on deck before finally stopping on Rocks and Newgate.
The greed in her eyes only intensified.
“And you two look nice and strong.” “You’ll make excellent additions to my collection.” The expressions of both Rocks and Newgate darkened at the same time.
From the instant she appeared, they had sensed it— The aura radiating from this woman was every bit as overwhelming and chaotic as their own.
She was a monster on the same level as they were.
“Hey, woman.” Rocks spoke slowly, his voice cold.
“Are you giving orders to my crew…” “…and laying claim to my property?”
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