Rocks glanced at David Kyons, immediately seeing through his hidden motives. But that suited his plans just fine.
"Defeat the Hell Pirates as fast as possible and come join the main battle. If you can't win—hell, even if it's a draw—then there's no point in the Siren Pirates even existing!"
Rocks's domineering words made David Kyons, who had just been feeling a little pleased with himself, lower his head.
"Understood, Captain Rocks!!"
Though David Kyons had submitted, he still longed to lead his own independent pirate crew—to reign over his territory and only follow orders when absolutely necessary.
Without hesitation, he gathered his officers and crew, broke away from the Rocks Pirates fleet, and set sail for his own waters—intent on defeating the Hell Pirates.
"Captain Rocks, that guy's indecisive. I say we kill him now!"
Rocket Jonas, a bulky brute with massively built arms and a shirt with "Rocks" printed on it, frowned as he watched the ship disappear into the distance.
"Haha! I'm dying over here! And who the hell are you supposed to be? You think you can beat David Kyons? You're just some loser with a 600 million bounty!"
The speaker was the Monkey King, Wizz—a wiry man with a monkey perched on his shoulder and a feather tucked in his hair. He laughed mockingly and danced around like a clown.
"Bastard! Your bounty's barely higher than mine!!"
"A little higher is still higher, you damn trash!"
···
"Enough bickering. Just carry out the mission I gave you. Otherwise, you're all useless garbage to me."
Rocks swept a cold glance across his unruly crew. He didn't care about their quirks—so long as they were strong and obedient.
This battle would be tougher than the last. Back then, the Siren Pirates had drawn the attention of both the Saracha and Willank Pirate Groups. Even though David Kyons had been injured, they still tied up plenty of enemy forces.
Now, Rocks had to face a direct siege from Diger and Saracha. And that bastard Willank might show up too.
But Rocks wasn't afraid.
Diger's already in decline—growing weaker by the day—while Rocks only got stronger. Even with Saracha's help, who was stronger than Ewald, Rocks believed he could crush them all.
The day of unifying the New World was close at hand!
"Captain Rocks, Diger has occupied Changshui Island ahead of us. Looks like he wants to force a siege battle!"
The Rocks Pirates' navigators had already detected the enemy's movements.
Diger—old, cunning, and ruthless—knew that taking a defensive position gave him a clear advantage. He was clearly hoping to repeat history and wipe out much of Rocks's manpower.
If he could repel Rocks once more, it would guarantee peace for a few months, maybe even a year or two.
But Diger never understood why Rocks was so obsessed with conquering every Overlord in the New World. To Diger, ruling fifty or sixty islands was more than enough. Why risk everything for total domination?
After all, no single pirate crew could truly control the entire New World. New pirates would always appear to claim territory. True dominance would require more than brute force—it would require an organized pirate empire.
And Rocks's crew lacked that structure. Compared to Diger's Pirate Code, the Rocks Pirates were chaotic and divided. Even if Rocks won through sheer strength, the vast territory and constant internal power struggles would render his victory hollow.
Rocks would be a king in name only, constantly suppressing dissent from within.
But ambition is a stubborn thing. Diger couldn't change Rocks's obsession with conquest, and Rocks couldn't understand the deeper issues with ruling like a true empire. To him, strength was everything. The strong ruled. The weak obeyed.
And so, war broke out on Changshui Island...
Meanwhile, in the waters near Pso Island—the base of the Siren Pirates—the Hell Pirates continued their rampage. Everywhere they went, the stationed pirates were defeated, and all their wealth was looted.
Their brazen raids forced David Kyons to race back as quickly as possible. Though he was once just a false overlord, he had controlled over a dozen islands.
Now, nearly half of them had been plundered by the Hell Pirates—and that was infuriating. The Float-Float Fruit was a coveted ability among all the Overlords, giving unmatched mobility.
"Brother Brook, the Siren Pirates are chasing us. Should we keep looting the rest of their islands or pick one to make our stand?"
Golden Lion Shiki was practically glowing with excitement. Since entering David Kyons's territory, they'd been looting nonstop—and it was the most fun he'd had since arriving in the New World!
"Keep robbing them. Let them follow us if they want. We'll fight them at their home base—Pso Island."
Brook grinned. This raid had already brought in a fortune, and the Umi family had taken the opportunity to ship off plenty of supplies.
"Got it! Let's keep grabbing more~"
Shiki steered the floating island toward the next target, catching the wind as they flew onward.
Behind them, they landed on another island and looted it thoroughly, while David Kyons—finally arriving—watched with a face as dark as thunderclouds.
"Captain, this cat-and-mouse game isn't working. Brook's clearly avoiding a direct fight. He's scared of you. Why don't we go attack the Hell Pirates' territory instead?"
Hammerhead Shark Dalma was furious at the Hell Pirates' cowardly tactics. He wanted to crush Brook's home base on Bristol Island.
"It's too late to sail for Bristol Island now. Why don't we just head back to Pso Island and prepare to ambush them there?"
That suggestion came from Calypso, the Siren Goddess and David Kyons's lover. Pso Island—the headquarters of the Siren Pirates—was named after her and stored countless treasures and supplies.
Letting the Hell Pirates plunder it would be unacceptable. It was better to crush them in one decisive strike.
David Kyons's expression remained grim. He didn't accept either suggestion immediately. Instead, he studied the route the Hell Pirates had taken through his territory.
Then, he made his decision. He selected his elite cadres and took a standard pirate ship to intercept the next island on Brook's path. Meanwhile, he ordered a lesser officer to take the flagship and continue pursuing the Hell Pirates as a decoy.
He didn't want to battle the Hell Pirates at his own headquarters. Their fighters had far too many destructive Devil Fruit abilities—enough to summon tsunamis or annihilate entire islands.
Instead, he'd rely on his knowledge of the terrain to ambush them on neutral ground—and most importantly, take out Golden Lion Shiki, the dreaded user of the Float-Float Fruit. If he could stop Shiki, they wouldn't be able to escape again.
Fighting them on Pso Island would be a disaster. The Siren Pirates' long-range attacks couldn't match the firepower of the Hell Pirates.
Ever since the Ewald Pirates were destroyed by the Hell Pirates, every Overlord had studied their tactics. And in the end, one thing was clear—these pirates were a nightmare. Between the Float-Float escape routes and their devastating tsunami strikes, they were almost impossible to stop.
-----------------
Among the Diger Pirates, Xiaofeng's Wind Control Fruit seemed capable of countering the Golden Lion Shiki's Float Fruit—but now, the two were allies.
The top-tier Logia-class Ice Fruit, which hadn't been seen in a long time, could effectively suppress tsunamis, but no one knew where it was now.
As for the floating island Shiki had dropped from the sky, only overwhelming force could destroy it—or the power of the Gravity Fruit could stop it. But the Siren Pirates had neither.
"Calypso, when the time comes, use the Siren Fruit's enchanting song to briefly control the Island Pirates. I want to kill Golden Lion Shiki as quickly as possible!"
An unassuming pirate ship was speeding across the sea, carrying the core crew of the Siren Pirates—including David Kyons, who was currently in disguise.
"Captain, leave the little giant that causes tsunamis to me!"
Hammerhead Shark Dalma volunteered, eager to eliminate both the flying Golden Lion Shiki and the tsunami-wielding Newgate in one go. Even though both carried 500 million berry bounties, the Siren Pirates saw them as more dangerous than Brook—whose bounty was 700 million—or even Redfield and Charlotte Linlin, who each carried 600 million.
"Excellent. Tia, once the battle starts, release your poison on the Hell Pirates immediately. This time, we must annihilate them completely. If we don't... I'll never be able to let go of this grudge!
And if we fail to defeat the Hell Pirates, we'll be disbanded and absorbed into the Rocks Pirates. At that point, I won't be able to protect any of you. Everything will be dictated by Rocks' rules!"
David Kyons looked at the seasoned crew who had followed him for years. In return, they met his gaze with fierce resolve.
For the sake of the Siren Pirates, their former dominance, and to avoid being dissolved into Rocks' forces, they would have to go all out to defeat the Hell Pirates.
"Captain, the Siren Pirates will rise again! We will live on!"
Hammerhead Shark Dalma shouted with tragic passion. This would be another decisive battle for their crew.
They had previously defeated the Ice Demon Pirates in a bid for supremacy, only to be ambushed by Rocks afterward, forcing them to temporarily join his fleet just to survive.
Now, this clash with the Hell Pirates would decide whether the Siren Pirates could continue to exist—and whether they could maintain any autonomy.
On Rupert Island—a wealthy, glass-rich island in their territory—David Kyons had already landed in advance with his disguised crew, lying in wait to ambush the Hell Pirates with a single, fatal strike… at the very least, they had to take down Golden Lion Shiki.
---
Meanwhile, on another island, the Hell Pirates had once again defeated the defenders with ease. They looted the island clean and were now heading toward the next one, unaware that the Siren Pirates' main ship was trailing them from behind.
Due to the great distance, Brook and Redfield couldn't detect that the Siren ship was now empty of its key fighters.
"Hahaha! I bet David Kyons is fuming right now, stuck behind us! My Float-Float Fruit is the strongest!"
Shiki the Golden Lion was practically glowing with confidence. Everything was going smoothly—even the weather couldn't slow him down.
"This is going too smoothly…"
Brook frowned. He wasn't about to get careless. David Kyons had the power to kill them, and even though his ship appeared to be behind them, what if he'd called for help to spring an ambush?
"Come on, Brother Brook. Isn't it good that things are going smoothly? You think David Kyons is gonna fly ahead and ambush us? He's still eating our dust!"
Shiki's smugness only deepened Brook's unease. Shiki was deliberately keeping the Siren Pirates behind them to drag them along, but something didn't feel right.
Brook was reminded of the Edd War, where Shiki had surrounded Roger's crew in what seemed like a sure victory—only to suffer a devastating loss. His fleet was ruined, and his head got stuck in a rudder for his trouble.
Knowing that Shiki was in high spirits, Brook chose not to douse his enthusiasm. Quietly, he signaled Redfield and Newgate to stay alert. The longer this dragged on, the more dangerous it would become.
Per Brook's orders, the rest of the crew started taking the situation seriously, equipping their seastone armor and drawing their weapons.
Brook glanced at Shiki—the man was cursed. The more arrogant he became, the closer disaster loomed. If Shiki was laughing, Brook made sure to do the opposite.
Shiki had even bought a beachside villa, saying it brought luck. But when Shiki got excited, Brook got nervous.
What if a sudden storm dumped the Golden Island into the sea? Brook had already asked Shakky to keep a close eye on extreme weather.
He also told Antonio to monitor Rocks' movements. Would that bastard try a sneak attack again?
Last time, David Kyons had fallen into Rocks' hands thanks to someone with the Mimicry Fruit, and that guy had played a key role.
Luckily, one of Rocks' officers had gotten their hands on a surveillance Den Den Mushi from the World Economic News Agency. It helped them monitor activity and keep track of dominance battles—like the one currently happening on Changshui Island.
Thankfully, Rocks was still there. The weather was stable, and no surprise attacks had occurred. So then—what was the real threat this time?
Wait… what had Shiki just said?
Would David Kyons fly ahead and set an ambush?
According to Murphy's Law—and in the world of pirates, it might as well be divine truth—the more someone insisted something wouldn't happen, the more likely it became.
Brook's sixth sense flared. A chill crept down his spine.
"Shakky! Bring me the sea chart!!"
As the secret leader of the Moore Thomas and Umi underground families, Brook had no trouble getting his hands on a map of the New World.
He unfolded it, marking the islands already plundered and surveying the ones still under the Siren Pirates' control.
And there it was.
If David Kyons took a shortcut, there were at least three or four islands he could reach ahead of them.
Then why was the Siren ship still following them so obediently?
David Kyons wasn't stupid. He'd been a near-overlord for a reason. Why follow from behind unless… the ship was a decoy?
Seeing Brook stare intently at the map, Redfield—ever sharp—instantly understood.
"Brother Brook, are you saying David Kyons might not even be on the Siren Pirates' main ship anymore? That he's already ahead of us, lying in ambush?"
Redfield's analysis hit like thunder.
The rest of the crew finally grasped the situation—but they still didn't know which island the ambush might be on.
"Why don't we turn back and check their main ship?" Shakky suggested immediately.
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