In the banquet hall of the Hell Pirates' headquarters on Ballon Island, everyone was eating and drinking. Even Teach Angel, and Ashura Doji joined in the feast.
"Brother Brook, the new bounty has been issued!!! We are now officially recognized as one of the Four Overlords and are also known as the Iron Wall Pirate Group with the most balanced per capita bounty!!!"
Antonio took a stack of wanted posters and read them out happily. Although there was still no bounty for him, he was still very excited — he had watched the Hell Pirates grow step by step!
Everyone started picking up their respective wanted posters. Since they had joined forces to kill David Kyons, and in order to push Brook to the position of Overlord, Brook's bounty was more than doubled.
Because Brook and Redfield were responsible for killing Celestial Dragons, their bounties were even slightly higher!
The new Overlord, King of Hell, Brook, received a bounty of 1.5 billion berries. Red Earl Redfield got a bounty of 1 billion berries. Golden Lion Shiki, Whitebeard Newgate, and Charlotte Linlin all had bounties of 800 million berries.
The destructive power of Shiki's and Newgate's Devil Fruits was so overwhelming that it caught up with Linlin, who had made a name for herself early on. Their bounties were now the same.
"Woohoo~! Yeah! My bounty actually reached 200 million!!!"
Shakky was so happy she was flying. She had taken the lead in besieging several of the Siren Pirates' cadres, whose bounties exceeded 100 million berries, and fought alongside Tom, Stussy, and the others.
Ashura Doji, ship doctor Crocus, and sniper Hiruba went to besiege the Poison Master Tia, whose bounty was 550 million berries. Ashura Doji, a quasi-great swordsman, got his first bounty, an impressive 250 million berries! Crocus bounty rose to 170 million, and Hiruba's bounty increased to 190 million!
This was also the first time Stussy had a bounty placed on her, with an amount of 50 million berries. Tom's bounty increased to 180 million, while Fisher Tiger's only increased by 20 million, leaving him disappointed. He was now determined to challenge stronger opponents next time!
Scaredo's bounty also rose from 100 million berries to 150 million. If people knew he had eaten a Devil Fruit, it would probably have been even higher!
In this battle, Streusen and Kirin Lion's bounties also increased slightly, but Streusen still hadn't broken the 100 million mark, holding at 90 million berries, while Kirin Lion's bounty soared to 20 million berries.
Memory Seahorse had killed many underlings and could now command some pets using Armament Haki, shocking many pirates. It got its first bounty — 10 million berries. The Parrot followed Antonio, so there was still no bounty for it!
··
Brook looked at the 1.5 billion berries bounty. Logically, he should've been about the same as Redfield, but in order to push himself into the Overlord position, the bounty had been purposely set at the lowest threshold.
It was easy to imagine how furious Willank must be after seeing the skyrocketing bounties of the Hell Pirates. His Ice Demon Pirates could no longer hold the title of a dominant pirate group!
Even though the Ice Demon Pirates currently controlled more islands than Saracha and Brook, they wouldn't be able to hold on much longer. Sooner or later, they'd collapse.
If you don't have enough strength, don't occupy so many islands!
"Why is Redfield so much higher than us?!"
After comparing himself, Shiki the Golden Lion saw that Newgate and Linlin had the same bounty as him, which he could accept. But why did Redfield stand out a little bit?
"Maybe you should go kill a Celestial Dragon," Redfield said casually. But the corner of his mouth was already raised in a smug grin. As expected, he was the top cadre of the Hell Pirates. The Navy and World Government at least had some vision!
"Damn it!! Next time, I'm gonna kill eight or ten Celestial Dragons too! Maybe I'll surpass Brook-sama, hahaha~~"
Killing Celestial Dragons could indeed skyrocket your bounty... but it also brought far more pursuit and assassination attempts!
Ashura Doji looked at his bounty poster. There was his picture, but the name was marked as 'Unknown.' He felt a little embarrassed. Was he famous on the seas now?
The Unknown Swordsman — a terrifying force capable of fighting the Poison Master Tia head-on.
Since the World Government and the Navy couldn't find any information about a samurai unit under Brook's command, they had to refrain from offering a specific reward name for now.
Whitebeard Newgate was also very satisfied with his bounty this time. After awakening his Armament Haki, he now had almost no shortcomings and had fully caught up with Shiki and Linlin.
He even faintly felt that if he exerted his full strength, even Shiki and Linlin might not be his match. But he wasn't as competitive as Shiki — he just needed to know his own strength!
··
Demon Horn Island, the base camp of the Butcher Pirates.
Saracha's expression looked grim as he stared at the few remaining underlings at his command. They had reduced the bounty posters of the Hell Pirates to dust out of frustration.
His strongest officer, Javier, a pirate with a bounty of 710 million berries, had actually been killed by the great swordsman Wang Zhi from the Rocks Pirates, who had a bounty of 700 million berries. This was simply a massive blow!
The only two officers left were Baden, with a bounty of 540 million berries, and Gilerka, with 510 million berries — but compared to the Hell Pirates, they were nothing!
Even though Saracha's own bounty was as high as 2.2 billion berries, he still wasn't confident he could defeat the Hell Pirates. The latest news even claimed that the Hell Pirates had already become the third strongest overlord group.
Meanwhile, on the frigid Ice Island, Willank was extremely irritable. Although his territory was larger than Saracha's or Brook's, the giants under his rule ate an enormous amount. Many Ice islands didn't produce much, forcing them to constantly hunt Sea Kings just to replenish their massive meat supplies.
With no true top-tier combat power left, they could only rely on the average strength of their mid-tier giants to survive in the New World.
They didn't even qualify for titles like quasi-overlord or pseudo-overlord anymore. Mainstream news had already decided on the Four Overlords. It was downright absurd that the fledgling Hell Pirates had climbed to the title of overlord so quickly!
During the era of the Three Overlords, even the strongest — Rocks — had needed more than a decade of development before becoming an overlord. But these new overlords?
As for Saracha, he could only deal with matters personally. His subordinates and his giant army could crush Willank's forces to the ground.
When it came to Brook and his crew, every one of them was freakishly strong. They were like the early prototype of the Rocks Pirates — each member possessed Haki, and their potential was terrifying!
---
Madagascar Island.
Xiao Feng looked at the latest bounty updates for the Hell Pirates and felt his mood worsen. They had completely surpassed him. Just a short time ago, they had been newcomers — yet now they were one of the dominant pirate groups.
The bounty of Redfield, whom he had once fought, had even surpassed his own. That alone made his face even darker.
Jevaler felt the same. When he first crossed paths with that little giant, the kid was nothing. After fighting him, the giant's bounty had jumped to 500 million berries purely by reputation. Now, after a battle with David Kyons, his bounty had soared past Jevaler's.
Were these newcomers all monsters? Or were they the damn protagonists of this era?
It was just like back in the day with Blackbeard Teach. After years of scheming and obtaining two Devil Fruits — the Tremor-Tremor Fruit and the Dark-Dark Fruit — his bounty was only 2.2 billion berries. But suddenly, newcomers like Straw Hat Luffy, Eustass Kidd, and Trafalgar Law all had bounties of 3 billion berries.
As a user of both the Tremor-Tremor Fruit and the Dark-Dark Fruit, how could Teach lose out to these damn brats!?
---
Diger Sparrow stared at the newspapers and bounty posters.
He wasn't surprised — but it was still shocking.
He looked at his cadres. Thankfully, for now, they could still suppress the Hell Pirates. Overall, they maintained the upper hand.
But for how many more years?
He had just celebrated his 69th birthday. Old battle injuries were piling up. He wasn't even sure if he'd live to 75. It was getting damn tough.
"Jack, could you please be a little more serious? It's because of your damn personality that you haven't awakened Conqueror's Haki. With your natural talent, your strength shouldn't be stagnating like this!"
Diger looked helplessly at his lazy son.
Jack's bounty had been stuck at 1.1 billion berries for almost a decade.
He was already 44 years old — only a year younger than Rocks himself — but look at the difference! Rocks was still ferocious and invincible. Meanwhile, even the 38-year-old Brook had already surpassed Jack.
To make things worse, Jack wasn't even married. He'd been screwing around for years but hadn't produced a single heir. It left Diger completely disappointed. If he weren't pushing seventy, he would've gone out himself and remarried.
"If I had known it would come to this," Diger thought bitterly, "I would've had a few more kids back then. I wouldn't be stuck with just this loser."
"Dad, that guy Brook ignored me! Your future daughter-in-law Angel is under his command now!"
Jack whined.
Diger was both annoyed and slightly relieved. At least Jake was still thinking about marriage!
But when Angel had been available, Jack had screwed around and done nothing. Now that she was following Brook, Jack suddenly cared? What a goddamn disappointment!
Meanwhile, veteran cadres like Barbosa watched Diger lecturing his son with blank expressions.
As Diger grew older, more and more of his men started to have their own little ambitions.
Once Diger fell, they could either support Jack to take over... or abandon him and join another overlord instead.
---
Beehive Island
Among the Rocks Pirates, only Wang Zhi had performed outstandingly during this battle. His bounty rose from 700 million to 800 million berries.
As for the other cadres, most saw little change — unless they personally defeated pirates with higher bounties.
Captain John and Silver Axe, two newcomers, managed to kill their opponents. Their bounties both rose slightly past the 500 million mark.
But the veteran cadres — like Martial Monk Scorpion, Monkey King Wizz, and others — had all failed to defeat their opponents.
"The Hell Pirates have become a force to be reckoned with," Rocks mused. "They'll be our future rivals. But for now, that petty old fool Diger Sparrow has actually fallen out with Brook — and he even stole the prize right from his mouth!"
Rocks sneered.
"It seems like the Hell Pirates will become a third-party force in the next great war. They probably won't side with Diger or anyone else."
"But in the end... the New World can only belong to the Rocks Pirates!"
Rocks had no intention of cozying up to Brook.
But as long as the Hell Pirates didn't interfere, he was happy enough.
Now that newcomers like Wang Zhi were maturing fast, the so-called Overlord Alliance wouldn't be able to stop the Rocks Pirates much longer.
-----------------
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Fleet Admiral Kukulkan was growing impatient. The patriarch of the Celestial Dragon Rothschild family had suddenly changed his attitude, pushing the entire Navy daily to attack and eliminate the Hell Pirates.
Since their spy had stopped making contact—and was even seen fighting for the Hell Pirates, now wanted by the Navy—the CP organization unanimously suspected that Stussy had been turned against them.
This left the Celestial Dragons and CP leaders extremely upset. How could an elite agent, trained painstakingly for over ten years, defect to the enemy?
At first, they thought Stussy might've simply lost her Den Den Mushi, or that Brook and his crew were too strong, making it impossible for her to send messages safely. But after more than half a year without any news—no secret signals, no notes, no markings left at Doragonzo Island—it was clear something was wrong. This wasn't the style of a professional spy!
Thus, the Celestial Dragons and CP leaders were almost certain that Stussy had surrendered to Brook and the others.
This was why the Rothschild patriarch kept urging the Fleet Admiral for immediate action. But now that the Hell Pirates had become one of the four ruling powers of the New World, how could they be easily captured?
One Navy admiral alone was no longer enough to take down the Hell Pirates—especially with the presence of Shiki the Golden Lion, the Float-Float Fruit user, who was even more troublesome than their golden spaceship.
Among the three admirals, one was always stationed at Marineford and protected the Celestial Dragons at Sabaody Archipelago, one stayed in the New World, and the last rotated between patrolling the Grand Line or handling special missions. They operated on a strict rotation system.
Sending another admiral into the New World to hunt the Hell Pirates with Admiral Coss was tempting—but extremely risky. The New World was unstable, with threats like the Diger Pirates and the Rocks Pirates. Even though those pirate crews rarely cooperated, two admirals venturing deep into the New World would be dangerous.
Therefore, Fleet Admiral Kukulkan rejected the idea of sending another admiral. It wasn't just risky; it could be a waste of manpower. After all, the Hell Pirates could fly!
"Fleet Admiral, it's true that sending another admiral isn't the right move. But waiting for the Hell Pirates to leave the New World on their own won't satisfy the Celestial Dragons either.
If we want to arrest them, we must lure them out. But what exactly do Brook and the others urgently need?
The Hell Pirates seem to have found some massive treasure or gold mine. Their Golden Island and Golden Spaceship have become 'visible treasures,' so they're clearly not short of money.
Judging by their crew, they're more interested in powerful or potential recruits, or items that can boost their strength. So we can only lure them using a powerful Devil Fruit or a famous pirate!
Why not request a powerful Devil Fruit from the Celestial Dragons, plant it on Beast Island, and send spies to Doragonzo Island to spread the news? That way, we could draw them out of the New World!"
Chief of Staff Weimark made an in-depth analysis and even provided detailed info about a dangerous Beast Island located on the Grand Line. He proposed arranging for a "pirate" to discover the Devil Fruit but fail to retrieve it because of the monstrous beasts inhabiting the island.
The plan was to have these "pirates" escape to Doragonzo Island, cause a commotion, and during the gunfight, be "forced" to reveal the existence of the Devil Fruit.
Even Vice Admirals would hesitate to step foot onto Beast Island. Only someone with admiral-level or overlord-level strength could claim the Devil Fruit, which would surely attract the Hell Pirates.
To make it more convincing, Weimark even devised a story about a persecuted reporter-turned-pirate who managed to photograph the Devil Fruit and accidentally exposed it on Doragonzo Island.
In short, Weimark was determined to accomplish the mission set by the Celestial Dragons, sparing no expense or manpower to hunt down the criminals who dared to kill a Celestial Dragon.
"You can try this plan. Ask Admiral Hoss to assist. Beast Island is extremely dangerous, after all. Even the Science Division often requests Admiral Hoss to capture experimental materials there."
Admiral Kukulkan had no better option. He agreed to give it a shot. After all, the admiral's role was mainly to assist with reconnaissance. If they managed to lure Brook out, great. If not, there would be no major losses.
··
While Marine Headquarters was busy scheming, Brook and the Hell Pirates were already preparing to depart for the Grand Line.
Thanks to Moore Thomas, they had received intel on Vegapunk and Kaido's whereabouts. Brook had provided details about their locations and identities in advance.
If the World Economic News' reporters couldn't find them with all that info, then they might as well quit and become farmers!
Receiving the map and a permanent pointer via Seagull News Bird, Brook wasted no time. They were ready to leave Ballon Island and return to the Grand Line!
Vegapunk, now 13 years old, was already a famous young scientist on Mechanical Island—Karakuri Island, also known as the Future Kingdom. At such a young age, he could already perform semi-mechanical animal transformations.
Kaido, 8 years old, was currently a young soldier in the Vodka Kingdom. His main task was to charge into battle or pave the way with bombs. His life story resembled Douglas Bullet's: cannon fodder, and those who survived became "heroes."
The Vodka Kingdom was a war-torn nation on the Grand Line. To scrape together enough wealth to pay the "Heavenly Tribute" and gain World Government membership, they waged endless wars.
After all, non-member nations were fair game for slave traders and pirates. The Celestial Dragons even had special slave-hunting teams, tasked with capturing rare species from such countries.
"No wonder Kaido's first bounty was 70 million berries. Something like that would never happen in the four seas. Turns out, it's thanks to the Grand Line!"
Brook muttered while scanning the documents.
Since Vegapunk was already 13, things would be easier. A certain "old thief"—Oda—loved to make characters 9 years apart in age: Big Mom and Kaido, Queen and King. Vegapunk being 9 years older than others felt completely normal.
At Brook's command, the Golden Island disappeared into the night sky.
Yes, they chose to set off at night to stay as secretive as possible.
Such a massive island could still be spotted even at 10,000 meters altitude, but fortunately, Thundercloud Zeus was there to help.
Charlotte Linlin had further enhanced Zeus's expansion ability, allowing it to better hide the Golden Island under a thick cover of clouds.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Check my Pâtreon for (40) advanced chapters
Pâtreon .com/Fanficlord03
Change (â) to (a)
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Discord Link Here:
https://discord.gg/VvcakSux