Tenmoku's Scroll-Scroll Fruit couldn't seal living beings, so these elderly Celestial Dragons and CP agents were rounded up one by one and locked away inside Parrot's castle!
The precious treasures were also gathered up, with Stussy stashing them away in a specific room within the castle.
"Next up, we keep pushing our sneak attack plan! Captain Brook will hold off the Rocks Pirates and the Navy on the front lines, so now it's all about how we perform!"
Stussy instructed, and then the dwarves, Tenmoku, the soldiers—all of them headed back into Parrot's castle. Once again, a green parrot soared toward the luxurious palaces of God Valley!
A small door opened on Parrot's forehead, allowing Stussy and Tenmoku to gaze down at the sprawling array of opulent palaces below. With nineteen Celestial Dragon families, every adult Celestial Dragon might have their own palace just for indulgence.
"If it weren't for the Rocks Pirates and all those Navy forces converging on God Valley, I'd love for Shiki to haul this entire island back to Skypiea!!!"
Stussy wiped the drool from her mouth. This Celestial Dragon stronghold was just too lavish and grand—it even stirred the heart of someone like her, the Hell Pirates' finance officer who'd seen her share of treasures!
The agony of having all this wealth right in front of you but being unable to take it—who could possibly understand!!!
If Shakky were here, seeing all those gold-inlaid luxurious palaces she couldn't cart away, she'd probably be depressed enough to puke blood, itching to scrape up even the topsoil!
"Stussy, Brook said to prioritize scavenging the Celestial Dragons' Devil Fruits first—we can't afford to grab the small stuff and miss the big prize!"
Tenmoku advised. If they started messing with these fancy palaces, it could throw God Valley into chaos, and if Rocks caught wind of it, their sneak attack operation would go bust!
"I know! But if we end up leaving without those palaces, my heart's gonna ache so bad!"
Stussy knew what their main goal was, but it still hurt— an unstoppable pain!
The green parrot, Parrot, descended around the core palaces. One by one, the dwarves rushed out from the small door on his chest, splitting into teams to handle different directions of the Celestial Dragon palaces!
Back in Dressrosa, the dwarves were known as 'invisible fairies' with top-notch 'borrowing' skills. Now, raiding these Celestial Dragon palaces for Devil Fruits was right up their alley!
After the Roger Pirates and the Navy each departed, following the pull in their hearts, their paths surprisingly led straight to the port where Stussy and Tenmoku were hitting the Celestial Dragons. Who knows what exciting tale would unfold there!
...
God Valley's Frontline Battlefield!
To wrap up the fight quickly, Rocks activated the D clan's secret technique once more, igniting his potential and burning his life force. His power surged again, unleashing terrifying attacks that left the drugged-up God Knights and the desperate Admiral Devo reeling, wounds piling up one after another!
"Gehahaha!!! No one can stop me!!"
Rocks' eyes g leamed with a bloody red light. His thick black hair had fully transformed into writhing dark matter in devil form—looking even more demonic than Devo's horned devil mode!
Seeing Rocks about to erupt again, and facing death head-on, Admiral Devo chose to let his ally take the fall. He suddenly slowed his assault, forcing the God Knight to absorb Rocks' killing blow.
And he was ruthless about it too—'helping' the God Knight along with a shove right into Rocks' terrifying blade. Using his teammate's death as a window, he snuck in a strike, slamming a fist loaded with Armament Haki straight into Rocks' gut!
"Pfft!"
Rocks spat out a mouthful of blood. He hadn't expected Devo to be this vicious—was this really the Navy? Sacrificing a comrade just to land a heavy blow on him!
But hey, at least he'd taken out one God Knight. From here on, the field was his. A little injury? He was still confident he could crush Devo!
Having landed his hit, Devo didn't press the advantage—instead, he retreated swiftly into the air. He wanted to wait out whatever secret technique Rocks was using. Once it wore off, he could drag out a war of attrition with the wounded pirate!
Trading a admiral-level God Knight for a chance to injure Rocks— was it a win or a loss?
Either way, now he had the leverage to keep fighting Rocks. As long as he played keep-away, he could hold out until Fleet Admiral Kurotaka's reinforcements arrived!
"I underestimated you, Devo!!"
Rocks tossed aside the God Knight's corpse and wiped the blood from his mouth. Bursting out like that and dropping two God Knights—his feats today were already legendary!
But it'd cost him dearly. Besides the heavy hit from Devo, the secret technique shaved off some lifespan too. If he couldn't turn a profit here in God Valley today, he'd be the one eating the loss!
And as they say, whatever you fear comes knocking!
Suddenly, Rocks spotted the incoming aerial fleet in the distance, his eyes nearly splitting with rage!
Damn it! That bastard Brook swooped in to steal the prize after all!
Rocks wanted to curse up a storm. He'd busted his ass taking down God Valley's two strongest guardians, and Brook shows up right on cue? Anyone could tell there was some shady business at play!
Had Admiral Aokiba and Garp gotten that weak?
How could they let Brook slip away so fast?
Or did Brook just time his retreat perfectly?
Yeah, with Brook, you couldn't play mind games or count on luck!
"You lot! Forget the Navy—charge in full force and grab everything!"
Rocks bellowed with a grim face. He didn't want to split the loot with Brook—whoever got there first kept it!
"All Navy, hear this! Hold the line at all costs! Justice fears no death!"
Devo had picked up on the massive rift between Rocks and Brook. If things balanced out into a three-way standoff here, they might just hold until Fleet Admiral Kurotaka arrived!
Both sides erupted into even fiercer combat, with Devo risking his life time and again to block Rocks from storming straight into God Valley's stronghold!
It was like the incoming Brook was an ally, not an enemy!
When the Celestial Dragons inside God Valley learned another God Knight had fallen—and that the Hell Pirates were on their way too—they lost it. Forget dignity; they bolted back to their palaces, packing up and fleeing!
The dwarves scavenging for Devil Fruits got a scare when the Celestial Dragons suddenly returned, but then they noticed these guys throwing open their own treasuries to grab stuff. It lit up their eyes!
Plus, the Celestial Dragons' bedrooms barred entry to their CP agent underlings. Now, the dwarves saw a real shot at completing their mission!
One by one, Celestial Dragons dropped in their secret chambers. The dwarves cheerfully hunted for all sorts of Devil Fruits, while Stussy got moving too, starting to assassinate the regular CP agents!
The strongest CP0 were off with the God Knights and Navy tackling the Rocks Pirates, leaving Stussy free to exploit the gap. With Tenmoku in tow, she rampaged through, plundering the Celestial Dragons' treasures!
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Fanfic is finished 955 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg
