Rocks' Plan! Capture the Celestial Dragons Alive!

That night, in the castle.

Rocks summoned Luo Tian.

"Luo Tian, there is a mission now that requires you to complete it—"

"It concerns our subsequent layout."

"What mission?" Luo Tian asked in return.

"It is about..."

Rocks paused, a nearly insane arc curling at the corners of his mouth:

"The Celestial Dragons."

The three words struck like a thunderclap.

Luo Tian's thoughts stirred, a flash of surprise crossing his face before he immediately regained his composure.

As expected...

Was Rocks finally going to make a move against that group of "World Nobles"?

He truly was a madman in every sense of the word.

Perhaps only Luffy and Rocks would dare to lay a hand on the Celestial Dragons.

"According to the intelligence I've gathered, the previous robbery of the Heavenly Tribute has left those idiots, who fancy themselves descendants of the gods, absolutely furious."

"However, the Five Elders have ordered that the Celestial Dragons must not hold the Navy accountable."

"Consequently, the Celestial Dragons have shifted their rage onto the member nations that pay the tribute."

"They believe that it was precisely because the quantity and quality of the Heavenly Tribute from these countries were insufficient that the Navy's protection was inadequate, giving the Rocks Pirates an opportunity."

"Therefore, they will soon dispatch representatives to the New World to personally 'discipline' and 'punish' those relevant countries."

As Rocks spoke, he took a piece of parchment from his robe and spread it out on the table.

It was a map of the New World with three red dots marked on it.

"Situna Kingdom, Kars Kingdom, Mistral Kingdom—these three countries are the primary contributors of the Heavenly Tribute this time."

"The Celestial Dragon representatives will visit these three countries in sequence to conduct their 'accountability' and 'punishment'."

"Your target is those representatives."

"I need you—"

Rocks spoke word by word, his voice like ice:

"To capture a few Celestial Dragons alive and bring them back."

As his words fell, the room plunged into dead silence.

Capture... Celestial Dragons alive.

This could no longer be described as merely "crazy."

This was a total declaration of war against the entire World Government and the world order that had stood for eight hundred years!

At this moment, a nearly ferocious, ambitious smile appeared on Rocks' face.

In that smile, there was madness, determination, and an even greater... tyranny that sought to trample the entire world underfoot.

His ruthless methods and the depth of his schemes were things that perhaps even the Four Emperors who would dominate the New World in the future could hardly reach.

And this was one of the reasons why Rocks could become the strongest maritime overlord of this era.

He never played by the rules.

He dared to do what others dared not.

"No problem." Luo Tian did not hesitate at all and agreed straight away.

His voice was calm, as if what Rocks had just said wasn't "capture Celestial Dragons alive," but rather "go catch a few pigs."

A trace of appreciation flashed in Rocks' eyes.

He liked this personality of Luo Tian's—no nonsense, no questioning, just execution.

"The specific intelligence is here."

Rocks pushed another piece of parchment toward Luo Tian:

"The itinerary of the Celestial Dragon representatives, their guard strength, estimated arrival times... it's all on there."

"Once the mission is complete, bring the Celestial Dragons directly back to Beehive Island."

"I intend to use them... to complete a grand plan!"

Luo Tian did not ask further.

He knew that Rocks' plan went far beyond something as simple as "capturing Celestial Dragons alive."

But he could roughly guess that it was likely about publicly executing the Celestial Dragons, and perhaps even that wouldn't be enough.

"Understood, I will depart tomorrow." Luo Tian put away the parchment.

Rocks nodded and turned to leave.

Inside the room, only Luo Tian remained.

He looked down at the parchment in his hand, a cold light flashing in his eyes.

Celestial Dragons...

World Nobles...

Descendants of the gods...

"Heh."

Luo Tian let out a soft chuckle, his voice filled with mockery:

"Let me see, you so-called 'gods'..."

"How many seconds you can last in my hands."

The third "madman" to directly strike at the Celestial Dragons was about to be born.

In a sense, the actions of Luffy and Rocks could still be considered "restrained" or "justified."

Luffy acted to save his companions, while Rocks acted to overthrow the world.

But this trip by Luo Tian—

Would perfectly interpret through his actions what it means to be the "strictest 'father'" of the Celestial Dragons, and in the future, he would even be crowned by the world with the title of "God-Slayer."

Of course, those are stories for another time.

One day later.

New World, Situna Kingdom.

This was a medium-sized kingdom located on the edge of the New World, famous for its abundant spices and silk.

Its territory was not large, but it was quite wealthy, paying a massive amount of Heavenly Tribute to the World Government year-round in exchange for "protection."

The blue sky was washed clean, without a single cloud.

The port of the royal capital, Fragrant Pavilion City, was as busy as ever.

No one noticed that high above, a figure was tearing through the sky at a terrifying speed exceeding the speed of sound, plummeting toward the royal palace like a meteor.

This person was Luo Tian.

The royal palace was built on a hill in the center of the city, constructed entirely of white marble, shimmering brilliantly under the sunlight.

A red light flashed imperceptibly in Luo Tian's eyes.

Advanced Observation Haki, combined with his unique Spatial Perception, instantly spread out like flowing mercury, silently enveloping the entire island.

"Found them... three of them?"

Luo Tian muttered to himself, a cold arc curling at the corner of his mouth:

"Let's deal with the one in the palace first."

In his perception, three silhouettes wearing transparent bubble helmets were clearly distinguishable; one was inside the royal palace, and the other two were on a large ship at the port.

Except for the Celestial Dragons, no one else would wear those ridiculous headgear all day, as if breathing ordinary air would defile their "noble" bodies.

Luo Tian's figure flickered, and he darted toward the royal palace.

Outside the tightly closed gilded gates of the Crystal Palace.

"Halt! Who goes there?!"

The elite soldiers guarding the gate discovered Luo Tian immediately and shouted a stern warning.

These soldiers were the elite of the kingdom's royal guards, wearing golden armor and holding long spears.

Even more eye-catching were the four expressionless men in black suits standing on both sides of the gate.

Cipher Pol agents.

"This is a restricted area! Trespassers will be executed on the spot—!"

The four Cipher Pol agents reacted extremely quickly, rapidly spreading out to surround Luo Tian in the center.

The commotion here immediately drew more patrolling soldiers, who swarmed toward the scene.

Soon, Luo Tian was surrounded by over fifty elite soldiers.

However, when those four Cipher Pol agents saw the face of the person who had arrived—

A bone-chilling cold rushed from the soles of their feet straight to the tops of their heads!

As elite agents directly under the World Government, they were well-versed in intelligence from the New World and the Four Seas, especially regarding those great pirates with terrifying bounties and outrageous strength.

And this face before them...

They couldn't be more familiar with it!

The front page of the World Economic News Paper featured a monster with a bounty of 2.5 billion Beli, the supernova executive of the Rocks Pirates--Luo Tian!

"You... you are--!"

A Cipher Pol agent's voice trembled as he tried to say something.

But it was already too late.

A flash of scarlet light flickered in Luo Tian's eyes.

Hum--!!!

Before those four Cipher Pol agents could even finish their sentence, they felt as if their brains had been struck by a heavy hammer; their vision went black, foam spilled from their mouths, and they collapsed to the ground one after another, falling completely unconscious.

It wasn't just them--

Everyone in the entire palace collapsed under this invisible mental shock!

Luo Tian walked up to the gilded gate and kicked it, shattering the entire door into pieces before stepping inside.

Ahead, two white shadows blocked his path.