Nine months later.
Most of the Sea Calendar year 1487 had passed, and the New Year of 1488 was approaching.
The Rocks Pirates had stayed in the West Blue, the Grand Line, and Sky Island for nearly two years.
Charlotte Linlin, now nearly 15 years old, had undergone a massive physical transformation. She now possessed the look of a New World beauty, growing taller and more graceful, having almost entirely shed her baby fat.
"Stussy!! You hogged Fang Huo again last night!!"
Charlotte Linlin's voice echoed throughout Upper Yard on the Island of God, filled with anger and complaints.
"Relax, why is a little brat like you always so focused on us!"
The charming Stussy gave Charlotte Linlin a triumphant look.
She was Fang Huo's first lady!
"Let me tell you, Linlin~"
"Fang Huo is very hard; his muscles are very hard!"
Stussy licked her lips, raised an eyebrow, and then walked lazily toward the bathroom.
"Fang Huo! Is it still not enough that I've become so beautiful!"
Charlotte Linlin barged directly into Fang Huo's bedroom and shouted at him.
"No!"
Fang Huo looked at the intruding Charlotte Linlin with a hint of helplessness. He shifted directly from his normal state into his [Poneglyph Giant Form], his height exceeding ten meters. He picked up the eight-meter-tall Linlin and tossed her out.
"Fang Huo, you just wait! I'll be eighteen soon!"
After being roughly thrown out, Charlotte Linlin yelled toward Fang Huo's palace, then angrily rushed to the kitchen for some retaliatory binge-eating.
Fang Huo strolled toward the bathroom for another morning workout with Stussy.
Noon.
Fang Huo appeared on Gibeck's Sword, which had finally finished its modifications.
After more than half a year, the current Gibeck's Sword integrated the lunar technology of the [Ark Maxim] and [Large Submarine Battleship] with the black technology of Drum Island.
It had completed its ultimate evolution!
Of course, all of this was based on the special abilities of Fang Huo's Logia Rumble-Rumble Fruit and Paramecia Gulp-Gulp Fruit.
The flagship of the Rocks Pirates had essentially become a battleship under Fang Huo's full control.
During their time on Sky Island...
Besides developing his Devil Fruit abilities, training his Three Types of Haki, and winning over Stussy, Fang Huo had been using his Gulp-Gulp Fruit ability to remodel this ultimate battleship.
Meanwhile, Rocks had put the entire crew through high-intensity special training, and the strength of every Executive was soaring.
Even a newcomer like Maron had mastered two types of Haki, let alone the other Executives.
Conversely, the four Executives searching for Devil Fruits in the North Blue missed out on Rocks' brutal training, losing out on an immeasurable amount of progress.
Charlotte Linlin's current strength was likely even greater than Golden Lion Shiki's.
Fang Huo and Newgate had probably pulled quite a distance ahead of Shiki as well.
"Fang Huo! Can we leave now!!"
Rocks looked at the brand-new Gibeck's Sword with satisfaction, as if seeing the moment it would awe the world.
"In the future, we won't need coating; we can dive directly into the deep sea!"
"If the World Government wants to deal with us, it will be harder than climbing to the heavens!"
With a smirk, Fang Huo activated the submersible mode of Gibeck's Sword. The entire battleship transformed like a Transformer into a sealed state.
"worororo!! Well done! You've finally lived up to your position as first mate!"
Rocks laughed excitedly; their long stay on Sky Island had not been in vain.
"first mate, can these Breath Dials function in the deep sea as well?"
Babel and Sanbel looked at the Breath Dials integrated around Gibeck's Sword, their respect for Fang Huo's Gulp-Gulp Fruit ability growing even deeper.
He could actually fuse anything together!
"Of course they can!"
Over the past six months, the Rocks Pirates had collected many sea shells to modify Gibeck's Sword.
Even Fang Huo's Lost World had undergone large-scale modifications!
"It's about time to reappear on the seas!"
"According to the news from Ganzi, that 'world destroyer' has already entered the New World!"
"That 'Jewelry Collector' is also making a name for himself in the New World!"
"Fang Huo, don't you want to kill them and take their abilities?"
"Then let's set off now!!"
Having endured for a long time, Rocks was impatient to return to the sea and let the World Government witness the terror of the Rocks Pirates once more.
Because of their disappearance, Golden Lion Shiki and the others had faced even greater pressure.
Golden Lion and Silver Axe had called frequently to complain.
The Marines' frenzy had already interfered with their progress in searching for Devil Fruit abilities.
Silver Axe and the others hadn't managed to find a Logia fruit, but they had snatched a Paramecia Chop-Chop Fruit.
But Silver Axe was unwilling to settle for just a Paramecia ability!
On the other hand, Golden Lion Shiki had been egging Silver Axe on to eat the Chop-Chop Fruit.
Bolo Gram, who specialized in Taijutsu, didn't want to eat the Chop-Chop Fruit either.
His goal had always been an Ancient or Mythical Zoan Type.
Maron, who was keen on the art of firearms, was not interested in the Chop-Chop Fruit.
If he liked it, he would have paid a high price to buy it from Golden Lion and Silver Axe long ago.
Stussy looked down on the Paramecia Chop-Chop Fruit even more.
After siding with Fang Huo, the Prophet and first mate, she wouldn't settle for anything less than a Logia or a Mythical Zoan!
She would never settle for less!
---"Then we set off tomorrow!!"
In any case, the value of Sky Island had been squeezed dry. The Rocks Pirates would just plant a flag here; they didn't intend to build it into their main base.
This Sky Island could serve as a branch and transit station in the Grand Line.
Their core would always be the New World.
If they really wanted a Sky Island as a base, there were Sky Islands in the latter half of the New World as well.
---Meanwhile, in a certain sea area of the Grand Line.
A ship flying the Shimotsuki flag sailed slowly across the sea.
Shimotsuki Kozaburo held a crumpled bounty poster in his hand.
The bounty poster featured a familiar figure.
Yakuza Warrior Fūgetsu Kisaburō, bounty: 533 million Berries.
"Kisaburō, how did you end up becoming a pirate?"
Kozaburo had already learned through the newspapers that Fūgetsu Kisaburō had joined the world's worst pirate crew.
He could never understand why Kisaburō would join such a gang of villains.
However, upon hearing that the World Government and Marineford were fully encircling the Rocks Pirates, he still worried for his good brother.
As the Rocks Pirates remained missing for over half a year, Shimotsuki Kozaburo became increasingly concerned for Fūgetsu Kisaburō's safety.
They had already lost the clansmen of the Ugetsu family; they didn't want to lose a brother of the Fūgetsu family as well.
"Perhaps Kisaburō did this intentionally; he wants to tell us through the bounty poster that he's still alive..."
Shimotsuki Furiko, with her blue hair, gripped the long sword at her waist, her expression incredibly resolute.
Over these two years, they had braved the dangerous New World, entered the magical underwater world of Fish-Man Island, and then entered the Grand Line.
This journey had been extremely treacherous.
They had grown stronger and stronger under the attacks of pirate crews in the New World.
Now, Shimotsuki Kozaburo and Shimotsuki Furiko had both gained considerable fame, as had the swords in their hands.
Especially the wado ichimonji in Kozaburo's hand; it had cut down countless pirates' weapons along the way, showing the bearing of a famous blade.
Even the 'Autumn Rain' in Shimotsuki Furiko's hand, an imitation of the ancestor's black blade shusui, had earned the name of a skillful grade blade.
---