The central arena of God Valley was embedded with twelve tons of gold. A Celestial Dragon, clad in opulent armor, prodded an iron cage with a diamond-studded whip. "Move faster, you filthy fishman!" Inside the cage, a fishman girl, her body crisscrossed with whip marks, mechanically shifted her tail fin, pale pink blood foaming from the wounds.
"Father, look!" A young Celestial Dragon suddenly shrieked, pointing to the sky. Three winged slaves, their wings chained, plummeted from a hundred meters above—a favorite "falling bird" spectacle of the Celestial Dragons. The audience erupted in cheers as the bubble-headed Celestial Dragons eagerly placed bets on which slave would smash into pulp first.
"How dull," Celestial Dragon B yawned, then suddenly raised a pistol and shattered one slave's knee. "Now this is amusing!"
The marble corridors were lined with living "exhibits": a giant child with doll limbs stitched onto its body, a mermaid songstress wearing a jeweled collar, her vocal cords already removed.
"And here is the grand finale of today's auction," an attendant announced reverently, pulling back a red silk curtain. Inside the cage, three furry cubs huddled together. "They glow under the full moon, perfect for bedside lamps."
Roger and his crew were observing God Valley from a cave beneath the western cliff, their Observation Haki scanning the area. Not a single one of them was free from rage.
Roger and Rhett felt it most acutely, their Observation Haki being the sharpest. Rhett sensed the faintest of life forces, trembling with fear and despair far more intense than any adult's.
The jungle echoed with screams. Twenty slaves had been released into a trap-filled hunting ground, bells tied around their necks, numbers carved into their wrists.
"The rules are simple," the announcer declared into the Den Den Mushi. "The noble lords will hunt with special bullets—hit the corresponding number, win the prize!" He kicked a prize chest filled with Devil Fruits and slave contracts.
"Number 7! I'll shoot Number 7's left eye!" A Celestial Dragon's gun smoked. A hundred meters away, a long-armed woman clutched her bleeding eye and collapsed. The Den Den Mushi's pupil contracted, broadcasting the scene to Mary Geoise.
This was it. Rhett felt like he was going mad. This was his first real encounter with the Celestial Dragons. Though he'd seen their cruelty in manga, his past life's values and what he witnessed now screamed one truth: They deserve death. Playing with lives like toys—what gives them the right?
He wanted to rush out and slaughter them all. Rocks was cruel, but were the Celestial Dragons any better? Both were filth.
At God Valley's port, the Navy's flag suddenly burst into blue flames. A figure cloaked in a captain's coat emerged from the inferno. With each step Rocks D. Xebec took,
"Garp—!" His roar shattered every window along the coast. "Come to die with your toy soldiers?"
Fifty Navy warships turned their cannons, but the front row of soldiers suddenly knelt—their shadows pinned to the ground by an unseen force. Wang Zhi materialized from the shadows, a Vice Admiral's severed head impaled on his blade. "Our captain asked you a question."
The Navy's proud steel line crumpled like paper before the Rocks Pirates.
The wreckage of ten top-tier warships burned on the sea.
"Is this the World Government's might?" Rocks crushed a Marine's helmet beneath his boot, grinding his face into a bloody pulp. "You can't even warm me up."
Rocks was barely held at bay by Garp, though it was clear to all that Garp wouldn't last long.
Amid the smoke-filled battlefield, nine Holy Knights appeared in perfect formation.
Cloaked in pure white, their chests adorned with the Celestial Dragon's hoof print, their presence was as deep and vast as the abyss.
Garling, their leader, wielded a rapier wreathed in Conqueror's Haki, its tip pointing straight at Rocks.
"Rocks D. Xebec, your crimes end today."
Rocks grinned, baring his teeth. "With you lapdogs?"
Before the words faded, Whitebeard stepped forward, Murakumogiri charged with Tremor-Tremor power, and swung down!
"Quake: Heaven's Collapse!"
"Boom—!!!"
Three Holy Knights combined their strength to block, though they were elites of the Holy Knight Order.
Garling's pupils contracted. "What?!"
He hadn't expected Rocks' commanders to be this strong. He'd assumed this would be a rout—after all, they were nourished by the entire world.
"Hey, hey, hey, you seem to be ignoring us."
The Rocks Pirates were bound by Rocks' absolute strength. As long as he stood undefeated, their cohesion was unbreakable. But should he fall, they would crumble instantly.
Wang Zhi's silver axe dragged down two knights.
"Shadow Bind: Execution."
"Crack!"
Amidst the sound of shattering stone, the two knights were flung back, seemingly unharmed.
Charlotte Linlin stood atop Zeus, laughing maniacally as she dove down. "Mama Mama~ Your souls are mine!"
The youngest Holy Knight raised his shield, only to be swallowed whole by Zeus. His scream was cut short.
The first casualty—the death of the weakest—didn't faze Garling.
Garling swung his sword, a Conqueror's Haki-infused slash aimed straight for Rocks' throat.
Rocks didn't dodge. With one hand, he caught the blade, black-red lightning crackling in his palm.
"Too slow."
"Crunch!"
The weapon shattered in Rocks' grip!
Before Garling could react, Rocks' other hand seized his throat, lifting him high.
"So-called Holy Knights…"
Rocks grinned savagely, his fingers tightening.
"...are just the Celestial Dragons' lapdogs."
"Boom!"
Garling was smashed into the ground, cracks spider-webbing out for a hundred meters.
Garp paid no heed to the Holy Knights. His only opponent was Rocks. Anyone else who came seeking death wasn't his concern.
The remaining veteran knights were evenly matched with the Rocks Pirates' officers, and the battlefield fell into an eerie calm. The officers weren't about to risk their lives.
When Rocks punched Garp away and turned toward the auction grounds, he saw a sight that delighted him—
The pirates had broken through the Navy's line. Even with the knights cutting them down, the pirates swarmed like locusts,
charging toward the Celestial Dragon's viewing platform. Those once-lofty "gods" now scurried like headless chickens.
"Interesting," Rocks licked the blood from his lips. "Let's drag these gods from their thrones."
Garp seized the moment to land a steel fist on Rocks' face, only for Rocks to catch his wrist. "Garp, you're distracted."
Rocks' knee drove into Garp's stomach, and the Navy hero spat a mouthful of blood.