Most of the officers in the Hell Pirates had received new bounties, especially those who took part in the hunt for the Celestial Dragons—each one now had a bounty over a hundred million Belly.
The Four Lunarian had each earned an average of two hundred million Belly in bounties, officially thrusting these Lunarian warriors onto the brutal stage of the seas.
The sniper Silva had also headshot a Celestial Dragon, skyrocketing his bounty to 600 million Belly, making him a standout among the Hell Pirates' senior officers, second only to the four top executives!
The great swordsman Ashura Jakun had only gotten a small bump this time, reaching 560 million Belly, while the other officers had various increases—no need to list them all here.
The World Destroyer Byrnndi World had handed over his captured Marines to Brook. After all that time grinding away at missions, he'd nearly earned enough merits to exchange for the Octopus Siren Fruit and save his congenitally frail brother Byojack!
To ensure Brook kept holding onto the Octopus Siren Fruit, World had been diligently tackling every task thrown his way. Even Vegapunk's SIQ enhancement drug hadn't done much for Byojack's innate weakness.
Lately, World was planning to team up with Chinjao and the Golden Great Pirate Woonan to hunt down Naguri in the chaotic seas—that should finally give him enough merits to redeem the Octopus Siren Fruit!
...
On the other side, Beehive Island, Hachinosu.
Right now, the arrogant Rocks had no idea that the Hell Pirates had just shielded him from a crisis. If the Celestial Dragons' "national treasure" had targeted the Rocks Pirates first, they'd have been decimated!
In this God Valley War, Rocks hadn't gotten the top-tier Devil Fruits he wanted, and the Rocks Pirates had lost a new officer Ibadonbo, along with some affiliated captains and a bunch of low-level pirates.
Sure, they'd scored countless golden treasures, and Skal had even snagged Admiral Aokiba's fruit, but Rocks was still furious!
"Were those Devil Fruits really taken by the Celestial Dragons?!!!"
Rocks kept questioning himself—it was turning into an obsession. He thought about Brook's haul this time; even the stuff on the surface outdid his own.
Marine Admiral Devo and Admiral Candidate Jung—those two top Devil Fruit users had been snatched by him.
If all those missing Devil Fruits had gone to Brook, the consequences were unimaginable!
"Ahaha~, congrats, Captain Rocks! You're firmly seated on the throne as the world's strongest. Admirals and God's Knights are nothing to you—total pushovers!"
Captain John held up Rocks' latest wanted poster, buttering him up shamelessly. That sky-high bounty of 5.4 billion Belly inspired fear, and slaughtering admiral-level foes like dogs crushed any thoughts of betrayal or going independent!
"Your strength is still too weak!"
Rocks didn't mind these guys grabbing more treasure, but their power was way behind the Hell Pirates', making him look down on his own officers a bit!
He planned to go all out hunting ability users among the New World's big pirates, stealing their powers for these useless crewmates to boost their strength. Otherwise, the Rocks Pirates really couldn't beat the Hell Pirates.
"Rocks, I'm gonna take down Redfield for sure!!"
After eating Admiral Aokiba's Pegasus Fruit, Skal's confidence exploded—he was dead set on clashing with the Hell Pirates' strongest officer.
And now his bounty had shot up to 1.8 billion Belly, closing in on the Hell Pirates' four combat specialists. Give him a little time, and he'd definitely hit that 2 billion mark.
Great Swordsman Ochoku heard Captain Rocks' assessment and gripped his Supreme Grade sword tighter. He had to keep pushing to get stronger!
His wanted poster showed 1.4 billion Belly.
Silver Axe was at 1.05 billion Belly, Captain John at 860 million Belly, and as for Grimm Vane, who'd suffered setback after setback with his monkey partner dead, his bounty had still risen to 1.09 billion!
The giant female warrior Jennifer had climbed to 800 million Belly, Miss Buckin to 400 million Belly. Overall, they might not even hold onto the title of world's strongest pirate crew!
If Brook's bounty wasn't still far below Rocks', that strongest crew title would switch hands in an instant!
Rocks' top officers couldn't match the Hell Pirates', which pissed him off. If these two overlord crews really went at it, the outcome was anyone's guess!
And Brook had two more kids under him who'd awakened Conqueror's Haki, making Rocks lament the unfairness of fate. Had Lady Luck abandoned him?
Ever since Brook rose up, things had been going downhill for him—no more of that youthful swagger!
"From here on, hunt down the Devil Fruit ability users you want in the New World. You've gotta power up fast!!"
Rocks said with a hint of anger. These guys were greedy and lazy, which frustrated him. Except for old crewmate Skal and his favorite Ochoku, the rest needed a good thrashing to shape up!
"Captain Rocks, I want Salem's Swap-Swap Fruit, or Kurt Wagner's Warp-Warp Fruit!"
Great Swordsman Ochoku spoke up suddenly. He'd clearly had targets in mind for a while. He'd hoped for those top phantom beast fruits Rocks talked about from God Valley, but now there was zilch, leaving him a bit disappointed!
"Good, since you've got a target, I'll help you hunt 'em down. But those two are slippery ability users—we'll need to prep!"
Rocks felt a bit bad for Ochoku. He'd hyped up too early, and God Valley yielded zero Mythical Devil Fruits. If he hadn't offed Admiral Aokiba, it'd have been a total loss!
"I want Steel Colossus Piotr's Steel-Steel Fruit!"
Silver Axe said bluntly, clad in his silver armor. He had a thing for hard metals and had eyed the Steel-Steel Fruit for ages!
"Sure!"
Rocks said approvingly. Silver Axe, that straightforward guy, was worth investing in!
"Ahaha~, I want the Gold-Gold Fruit—does it exist? If not, Diamond Fruit or Silver-Silver Fruit would do!"
Greedy Captain John chimed in quick, but no one with those powers had shown up on the seas yet, leaving him unsure what to pick!
"Shut your mouth! Useless fool!! Hand over half your treasure—not a coin less!"
Rocks roared, his Conqueror's Haki erupting. If he didn't need the manpower, he'd have killed Captain John already. Back at God Valley, the guy was just fishing in troubled waters, stuffing his pockets without any real feats.
Captain John slunk away sulkily, but inside he was fuming. Half his hard-earned loot gone—just like that. It hurt! He should've kept quiet!
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Fanfic is finished 955 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg