New World · God Valley Sea Area Periphery.
A top-of-the-line warship raced forward at full speed—this was Navy Fleet Admiral Kurotaka's personal Fleet Admiral-class battleship!
"It's too late now. The three knights and the CP leader should take my body ahead!"
Navy Fleet Admiral Kurotaka said gravely, his black pupils shifting to emerald green slits.
"Roar~"
With a furious bellow, Kurotaka's body erupted in green feathers, a massive pair of feathered wings sprouting from his back as he transformed into a two-to-three-hundred-meter-long winged serpent god.
Navy Fleet Admiral Kurotaka: Zoan-type Snake-Snake Fruit, Mythical Beast Model: Quetzalcoatl Form!
The sky darkened with thick clouds, and heavy rain began to pour!
The Quetzalcoatl arrived with the rainy season!
Summoning storms was one of the Quetzalcoatl's signature abilities!
"Climb on!"
The serpent's massive head boomed in a deep voice. The three God Knights and the CP0 leader wasted no time, leaping onto the Quetzalcoatl's back one by one.
With a powerful flap of its enormous wings, the Quetzalcoatl sped toward the God Valley battlefield!
...
On the other side, the Hell Pirates' sniper, Silva, spotted the shocking scene through his Glare-Glare Fruit—a hundreds-of-meters-long serpentine beast flying their way!
"Brook, it's here! The Navy Fleet Admiral turned into a divine serpent and is flying over! There are four seriously tough-looking guys on top—three in armor that matches those two dead knights! And one with a white mask."
Sniper Silva shouted urgently. He had a bad feeling that this serpent god plus those four powerhouses could take down Captain Brook and the four main fighters!
"Navy Fleet Admiral, three God Knights, and a CP0 of unknown strength—talk about going all out! Shiki, stop floating those islands. Pull back now!!!"
Brook sensed the World Government was getting serious, unleashing so much of their hidden strength at once!
First things first: secure the spoils and get out!
"Got it!"
Golden Lion Shiki regretted leaving the remaining lavish palaces behind, but he could tell from Brook's tone that things were turning dire.
He immediately gathered the already floating palaces, the slaves, the Golden Island, and the aerial fleet, heading out first.
Meanwhile, Brook, along with Redfield and the three main fighters, boarded the golden airship and raced back to warn Rocks. Rocks couldn't die here!
Brook needed Rocks to share the pressure from the World Government!
Seeing Golden Lion Shiki take Stussy and the others ahead, Brook felt relieved—no more worries holding him back. He'd even prepared a nasty surprise as a parting gift!
The golden airship sped back to the main battlefield at God Valley!
Rocks was still locked in combat with Admiral Aokiba, Gold Buddha Sengoku, and Iron Fist Garp. Everyone except Garp had taken significant damage!
Admiral Aokiba was in the worst shape—his soul wounded earlier by Brook's slash, combined with Rocks' relentless assault, had pushed him into critical condition. Even his awakened winged unicorn holy horse physiology couldn't keep up with the brutal toll!
"Ah! Die, all of you!"
Rocks had gone completely berserk. In today's God Valley War, not only had he failed to snag the Devil Fruits he wanted, but he'd lost Skal, his strongest first mate, who was now gravely wounded and on the brink of death without immediate help!
And Grimm Vane was injured too—things were looking off. Was the Rocks Pirates about to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory?
All that planning, just to end up working for Brook! Damn it!
"Rocks! The Navy Fleet Admiral's coming—let's get out of here!"
Suddenly, a golden airship appeared overhead, Brook's shout echoing from above!
"Haha~ Rocks, you're not getting away. I'll hold you back even if it kills me!"
Admiral Aokiba bellowed, blood trickling from his mouth. He was fired up now—the casualties today were devastating: one admiral captured, two admiral candidates—one dead, one missing!
But the Hell Pirates had shown up, so Jung's fate was easy to guess!
"Then die right here!!"
Brook didn't waste words and struck immediately. He couldn't let Rocks fall today, or the balance between navy and pirates would shatter. The Hell Pirates alone couldn't stand against the World Government and Navy!
"Rocks, make it quick! We need to move!"
Brook led his three main fighters into the fray with overwhelming force. Greedily, he targeted the wounded Admiral Aokiba, eager to claim his winged unicorn holy horse ability!
"Brook! Aokiba's mine!"
Rocks saw Brook trying to steal his kill again. Any gratitude for the heads-up vanished, replaced by rage!
The Hell Pirates' aggressive entry made the navy officers wary, shifting them all to defense!
As Rocks and Brook both charged the injured Admiral Aokiba, Gold Buddha Sengoku and Iron Fist Garp went frantic—but Redfield and Whitebeard Newgate stepped in, blocking the two nuisances!
And before pulling out, Charlotte Linlin wanted one last wild harvest of navy souls, charging straight into their ranks.
"Jiehaha! Aokiba's definitely mine!"
Rocks' body swirled with thick dark matter—even Brook felt a twinge of caution.
Grateful for the Hell Pirates' support in holding off Sengoku and Garp, and for cutting off Aokiba's escape, Rocks decided to reveal the new ability he'd developed for his Dark-Dark Fruit!
His dark matter latched onto Admiral Aokiba's winged unicorn holy horse body, ensuring Brook couldn't snatch him away!
"Brook, I don't know how you steal Devil Fruit users' powers, but today, watch how I do it!"
Rocks laughed maniacally. Finally, he'd turned the tables on Brook after all those losses!
Unleashing his full power, Rocks successfully engulfed Admiral Aokiba in dark matter. Brook cursed his miscalculation.
Brook needed Aokiba alive to extract the Devil Fruit back at base, but Rocks could just kill the user and reclaim the power on the spot!
"Admiral Aokiba!!"
Gold Buddha Sengoku, Iron Fist Garp, Black Arm Zephyr—they all screamed in fury. Even at full burst, they couldn't break through Redfield, Newgate, and Wang Zhi's blockade!
Brook spotted Admiral Aokiba's soul drifting out—clearly, the winged unicorn holy horse ability had been taken by Rocks. But he wouldn't walk away empty-handed. He'd harvest the soul and take the body too!
"Leave the body to me! Rocks!!"
Brook's face darkened. If Rocks dared destroy Admiral Aokiba's corpse, he'd bail immediately, leaving the Rocks Pirates to their doom!
"Hmph!"
Rocks held a Devil Fruit in his hand, snorting dismissively before tossing Admiral Aokiba's body to Brook in annoyance!
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Fanfic is finished 955 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg