At the edge of the God Valley sea area, a pirate ship suddenly appeared, propelled by a pair of mermaids holding the ram at the bow. The black Jolly Roger on its flag featured a skull with a prominently upturned mustache.
"Roger!!! We can't dive into this war vortex! I'm begging you!"
Scopper Gaban and Spencer felt their scalps tingle, tears nearly streaming down their faces. Right now, God Valley was a meat grinder battlefield where Celestial Dragons, the Navy, the World Government, and two major overlord pirate crews were clashing, packed with countless powerhouses!
Their crew of just over twenty people charging in would melt away in an instant, barely making a ripple!
And they had no reason to join the fight—this wasn't just stirring up trouble, it was throwing their lives away for nothing!
"But the voice in my heart is guiding me there!"
For once, Roger wasn't cracking jokes or grinning ear to ear. He knew the dangers of the God Valley battlefield right now—even he might not make it out unscathed, let alone the rest of the crew.
Rayleigh stayed silent the whole time. Logic screamed that they absolutely couldn't go to God Valley, but emotionally, he backed Captain Roger's decision and trusted his intuition. Somehow, they would all make it back safe!
Still, it was hard to imagine how the Roger Pirates could ensure most of the crew's safety in a war meat grinder like God Valley!
"Captain Roger, there's a Navy warship!!!"
Sniper Petermoo shouted from the lookout tower on the Oro Jackson, instantly shattering the heavy atmosphere on deck!
"Oh no, it's Admiral Candidate Blood Hand Braille, Headquarters Elite Vice Admiral Garp, and Black Arm Zephyr!!!"
Petermoo yelled anxiously through his binoculars. Had they run into one of the Navy's main forces?
Back then, just Garp alone had chased them all over the place. Now with Blood Hand Braille and Black Arm Zephyr added in, even with their crew's boosted strength, they might not win!
In the eyes of pirates, the Navy was an endless stream, constantly recruiting and refreshing their ranks, while their pirate comrades were brothers who'd spent day and night together. Losing even a few was a massive blow—they had no interest in trading lives with the Navy!
"Avoid them!"
Roger didn't want to clash with the Navy right now. His target wasn't them, but that vague pull drawing him to God Valley!
Everyone on the Oro Jackson immediately adjusted the sails to change course, circling around to another side of God Valley. Maybe they could sneak in!
Blood Hand Braille spotted the shadow of the Roger Pirates too, but their mission was to reinforce God Valley and protect the Celestial Dragons. They had no time to deal with Roger, so both sides just went their separate ways!
...
God Valley Battlefield.
Rocks D. Xebec was like a god-demon incarnate, his black hair whipping wildly, dark energy coiling around his body. Even the ground was covered in dark matter, his face twisted in a savage grin!
"It's useless! Devo, hand over your Devil Fruit to me!"
Rocks eyed Admiral Devo greedily. His mythical zoan power was strong too—it could go to one of his own officers!
"Have you mastered the tech to reclaim Devil Fruit powers as well?"
Admiral Devo soared into the sky, blasting Rocks with a devilish dark shockwave, but it was completely absorbed by the dark vortex in Rocks' hand!
If Rocks had the same ability to plunder Devil Fruits as Brook, then these two pirate overlords of the era would truly become an unprecedented threat to the World Government!
A technology that even the World Government and Navy hadn't cracked, yet possessed by two pirate overlords—this would have a massive impact on world peace and stability!
"Gehaha~, you'll find out once you're in my grasp!"
Rocks swung his blade, unleashing domineering black sword waves that slashed at Admiral Devo in the air. That flight ability was tricky, keeping him from finishing off the dodging enemy in one go!
If that's how it was, he'd take out this God Knight first. Once he eliminated this admiral-level foe, he could truly storm God Valley and seize what he wanted!
The God Knight's eyes grew heavy as Rocks charged at him. The horrific memory of his comrade being torn apart alive by Rocks was still fresh!
The pirate overlord of this era was insanely powerful, far beyond anything before, leading to rare casualties in the God Knights!
If the full God Knights Order struck together, they could wipe out any overlord pirate crew, but their duty was guarding the Holy Land Mary Geoise and the Celestial Dragons—they didn't join expeditions!
If these pirates hadn't hit God Valley, they might've gone their whole lives without facing an overlord pirate!
Their masters, the Celestial Dragons, were right behind them, so these God Knights, raised from childhood for this, wouldn't back down. Even dying here meant nothing, as long as the other members arrived in time to escort their masters back to Mary Geoise!
The God Knight quickly injected himself with a potential-unleashing drug. He needed to buy more time for this battle!
His muscles bulged, his whole body wrapped in Armament Haki, and he launched a suicidal assault on Rocks without regard for his life. Seeing this, Admiral Devo erupted with his powers to surround and attack Rocks!
He knew if this God Knight fell too, his only options were fleeing to save himself and getting demoted, or holding out and getting worn down to death by Rocks!
So now, fighting desperately alongside the God Knight against Rocks might just hold out until reinforcements arrived!
"Gehaha~, yes, that's it—come at me with everything you've got!"
Rocks didn't fear their desperate onslaught at all. In fact, he saw it as a prime chance to quickly deal with both opponents. Take them out, and God Valley would be his for the taking!
Before Rocks could finish laughing, Grimm Vane, transformed into a Titan Giant Ape, was slammed into the ground by Golden Buddha Sengoku's massive Buddha form with a single palm strike. That mighty monkey, with countless feats under its belt, was smashed into pulp by Sengoku!
At that moment, Golden Buddha Sengoku was wreathed in golden light and blood-red lightning. He'd awakened a bit of Conqueror's Haki Coiling on his own in this critical moment, skyrocketing his power and letting him crush Grimm Vane!
"Justice will reign over the world!!!"
The over-ten-meter-tall golden Buddha roared to the heavens, glaring like a wrathful deity at the injured Grimm Vane. Just then, the half-crippled Skal charged in, teaming up with Grimm Vane to face the microcosm-erupting Golden Buddha Sengoku!!
"Yes! That's it! Crush those lowly pirates! Who's this golden Buddha? Promote him now!"
In the God Valley monitoring room, a group of Celestial Dragons shouted excitedly, as thrilled as if watching their slaves win in the coliseum!
"That's the Navy's star, Golden Buddha Sengoku, Vice Admiral!"
A Celestial Dragon butler immediately reported all of Sengoku's info. Looks like Sengoku was about to soar—being remembered by so many Celestial Dragons by face and name!
"Then make him an Admiral Candidate, promote him to Admiral later, and eventually Navy Fleet Admiral!!"
The Celestial Dragons yelled. After watching this war for so long, they finally saw a Navy fighter rise up. It was about time—the rest of the Navy had been getting beaten like dogs. What trash!
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Fanfic is finished 955 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg