"Let us continue, Ochoku, Kyo!"
Rocks tossed John's severed head onto the ground before him, then crushed it beneath his foot with a heavy stomp. He slammed his foot hard against the earth and charged straight toward Ochoku and Kyo.
"Let's fight to the death!!!"
The two roared in unison and rushed forward to meet him head‑on.
The three figures closed the distance in an instant, then raised their blades and struck all at once.
"Before you die, let me make you feel once and for all just how great the difference in our strength truly is!"
Rocks grinned fiercely.
He channeled both Armament and Conqueror's Haki from within his body and poured it into the blade he held.
Instantly, black energy swirled and coiled around the weapon, radiating an overwhelming and terrifying killing intent.
"STRIKE!!!"
Rocks shouted loudly, gripping his sword with both hands and putting every ounce of his strength into the blow.
He poured all his mastery of swordsmanship and the full weight of his Haki into the blade as he swung it down toward Ochoku and Kyo!
BOOM!!!
A deafening explosion rang out, echoing across the sky.
Already critically wounded, Ochoku and Kyo had their weapons knocked flying straight out of their hands by the sheer force of the impact.
"It is over, Ochoku, Kyo!"
The moment Rocks' voice rang out, the heads of Ochoku and Kyo were cut clean from their bodies. Blood sprayed high into the air from their headless corpses, while their heads soared upward before crashing heavily to the ground.
With this, all former senior officers of the Rocks Pirates — John, Ochoku, and Kyo — had perished!!!
"You three may have fallen by my hand today, but you certainly gave me a battle that truly stirred my blood!"
Ochoku, John, and Kyo had spent many years training and battling across the seas, and their strength had long since reached its absolute peak.
Yet even so, they were nothing compared to Rocks.
Still, the way they had fought together and resisted him with everything they had brought back the kind of fierce excitement and passion that Rocks had not felt in a very long time!
"Ochoku, John, and Kyo have all been slain by Rocks too!"
"It's over, it's all over! Five of the greatest pirates in the New World joined forces to take down El, and in the end, not only did they fail to harm him in the slightest, but four of them have lost their lives!"
"W‑What do we do now? They're all dead… and we're next."
Countless pirates gazed upon El and Rocks standing on the battlefield like gods of war, overcome by terror.
With Ochoku, John, Kyo, and Byrnndi World dead and Patrick Redfield having escaped, this entire operation meant to eliminate El could only be described as a catastrophic failure.
Four powerful pirates had fallen, and El would certainly show no mercy to the rest of them.
SPLURT!!!
Suddenly, one pirate drove his weapon straight through his own heart, his eyes rolling back as he collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
"I‑It's better… to end it ourselves… than to die at the hands of those two monsters," another pirate stammered, swallowing hard.
By now, their minds had been completely consumed by fear. They knew without a doubt that death was all that awaited them.
Rather than continuing to be tormented by dread, it seemed far better to take their own lives right then and there.
As soon as those words were spoken, every pirate present followed suit and began to kill themselves.
Within moments, fewer than a hundred pirates remained alive; everyone else had chosen to end their own lives!!!
But before even these remaining few could beg for mercy, Rocks swung his blade and cut them all down in a single strike.
With that, this great battle finally came to an end.
Once the fighting was over, Rocks slid his blade back into its sheath, walked slowly toward El, and spoke with a faint smile.
"I may have gone a little too far, El… but this kingdom is your territory, isn't it?"
After the intense battle that had just taken place, it was clear that more than seventy percent of all buildings and structures across the Kingdom of Drostland had been completely destroyed.
The land was covered in rubble, debris, and ruins, with deep gashes and cracks tearing across the earth.
The entire country had been reduced to a state of utter ruin.
"If one kingdom is destroyed, I can simply buy another," El replied calmly as he looked around him.
Ever since he established his commission agency, El had accumulated wealth beyond counting.
To him, the destruction of a single nation was hardly something worth grieving over.
If it was gone, it was gone — he could easily acquire another.
And besides, let us not forget: having slain John, Ochoku, Kyo, and Byrnndi World, El could now send his men to seize all of their territories and collect every treasure and fortune they had left behind.
The wealth gained from that alone would surely be more than enough to purchase several new kingdoms!
"Hahaha… You really have amassed quite a fortune over the years, haven't you?" Rocks laughed heartily.
"To beings like us, wealth is nothing more than a possession of no real importance, is it not?" El replied indifferently.
"You speak the truth."
"Speaking of which," El suddenly asked, "now that you have killed John, Ochoku, and Kyo, do you still hold the same desire for revenge against Shiki and the others?"
Back in the days of the incident at God Valley, the six people who had betrayed Rocks were: Shiki the Golden Lion, Charlotte Linlin, Kaido, Ochoku, John, and Kyo.
Now that John and the other two had fallen, only Shiki, Charlotte Linlin, and Kaido remained.
Instead of answering directly, Rocks simply smiled and said:
"El… I fear I may no longer be able to stand by your side and help you claim the highest throne yourself."
"What do you mean?"
"The life force within my body is fading far faster than I expected. If nothing unexpected happens, in just a few days, when my vitality is completely exhausted, I will die."
Rocks wore a bitter, helpless smile as he spoke.
He knew the state of his own body better than anyone. Judging by the speed at which his life force was draining away, he could tell that he would vanish from these seas within just a few days.
"Tch… You can only remain alive for such a short time?" El raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Although the system had never clearly stated exactly how long a resurrected person could survive… Rocks had only been brought back for a few days so far, and he would die again in just a few more days.
In other words, he would only exist in this world for roughly one week in total.
It was true that using the Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life technique had no negative effects or consequences on El's own body… but the fact that the revived could only live for such a brief period was simply too absurd!!!
"If I were to kill Shiki and the rest before my time runs out, only a handful of pirates would remain in the New World who pose any real threat to the World Government — and that would create a situation that is very bad for you," Rocks continued.
When he had first been resurrected, he had indeed felt an intense urge to kill Shiki and the others. However, after the battle with John and the rest, and as he felt his life force slipping away rapidly, he had abandoned that idea entirely.
Right now, the most powerful pirates active in the New World — those who were alive and capable of posing a major threat to both the World Government and Marine Headquarters — were El himself, Shiki the Golden Lion, Charlotte Linlin, Kaido, Patrick Redfield, and Whitebeard.
Others such as Mihawk, Dragon, and Bullet were certainly strong, but… they had not yet fully matured or reached their full potential.
As for Rayleigh and Crocus… while they still possessed considerable strength, they had already chosen to step back from the conflicts of the sea following the disbandment of the Roger Pirates.
If Rocks were to kill Shiki and the others during this period, then among all the great pirates of the sea, only El, Whitebeard, and Patrick Redfield would remain!
If such a situation came to pass, the World Government and Marine Headquarters would no longer need to worry about dealing with multiple powerful enemies at once.
Instead, they would be able to mobilize every single force and resource they possessed, focusing all their strength entirely on eliminating El.
And as for Patrick Redfield, there was a strong possibility that he would join forces with the World Government to surround and destroy El!
If such a scenario were to happen, El would find himself in an extremely dangerous and disadvantageous position indeed!
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