Ur Island

By the time they reached Ur Island, night had fallen.

The X Pirates' sentries had already been eliminated, so no one noticed them when they landed.

Rocks led them straight to the X Pirates' stronghold, intending to catch them off guard.

"Bottoms up!"

"You raked in quite a bit of money again today, didn't you?"

"Hahaha, not really, not really. It wasn't much."

From the voices coming from within the island, they could tell that today was a big gathering for the X Pirates. The islands under their control had all paid tribute today, offering protection money and heaps of gold, silver, and jewels. It was also the X Pirates' annual banquet.

The X Pirates' key members were all inside.

When Rocks sensed that all the key members were there, he immediately began assigning the others their targets.

"X is mine. Pick your own opponents."

"Hahahaha!"

"Slash Wave!"

Rocks didn't give them time to carefully choose their opponents. As soon as he finished speaking, he swung his Haki-infused long sword.

A massive crescent-shaped slash shot toward the center of the banquet hall.

"Who's there?"

"Damn it, we've got enemies!"

"Who's the idiot who'd dare attack us?"

The pirates at the banquet sobered up at once. They grabbed their weapons and faced off against the Rocks Pirates.

"Rocks?"

X rose from his seat at the head of the table, stunned.

"What are the Rocks Pirates?"

"How did they get here?"

"Why wasn't I informed?"

While the X Pirates' members were still wondering how Rocks and his crew had landed on the island, X had never imagined that the Rocks Pirates would suddenly show up here.

After all, several years had passed since their last battle, and they'd been at peace ever since.

But now that Rocks had appeared, there was no way he'd come to join the banquet.

"Hahahaha!"

"Yorulu is dead. You're next."

Rocks stood on high ground and pointed his long sword at X.

X was still wondering why Yorulu was dead—could it be a false report?—when he looked up and saw Rocks already flying toward him.

He knew this wasn't the time to think about it. Since Rocks had come to the island, there was only one thing left to do: fight.

"Men, fight back!"

"Yeah!"

"Charge!"

"Show them what we're made of!"

Soon, a large group of pirates charged at the Rocks Pirates.

"Jihahahaha!"

"My old friend, Durant!"

"Lion Thousand-Cut Valley!"

Golden Lion was the first to greet his old rival, Durant.

Two golden sword waves burst from his twin blades. They crossed in midair with a roar like lions.

A terrifying cross-shaped slash swept toward them with enough force to destroy everything in its path.

Only a master swordsman could unleash such a sharp, unstoppable attack.

"Meteor Slash!"

Durant hurried forward and unleashed her signature move to counter Golden Lion. In an instant, the battlefield was split in two.

Meanwhile, Newgate and Charlotte Linlin each went after an opposing Division Commander.

Just then, Carl realized that the Third Division Commander, Baroque, wasn't there. For a moment, she couldn't find an opponent who matched her strength.

Then she guessed that he might be moving the X Pirates' treasure.

She immediately released her Observation Haki. Sure enough, she sensed an aura speeding toward the back of the island.

She cleared away the foot soldiers in front of her with a Slash Wave, then hurried after him.

"I can't believe Yorulu was so weak. Rocks took him out without anyone noticing."

"Now we have to run for our lives, too."

The speaker was Baroque, the Third Division Commander. The instant he saw Rocks appear, he'd rushed to where the treasure was stored in the mountains behind them.

As far as he was concerned, now that Rocks had found them, there was no salvaging the situation. Getting away alive was all that mattered.

"Boom!"

A massive shock wave swept across the entire island.

"Hahahahaha!"

"X, you've grown complacent."

Rocks's voice rang across the island, so powerful that the weaker pirates collapsed to the ground. Clearly, he was unleashing his overwhelmingly domineering Conqueror's Haki.

"Clang!"

The deafening sounds gradually faded into the distance.

Baroque had reached a cave. From the outside, there was no visible entrance.

He reached out and gently twisted a stone in the cave wall.

"Click, click, click, click!"

The door suddenly rattled with a harsh clicking sound, then opened in front of him.

Carl followed close behind, carefully concealing her presence so Baroque wouldn't notice her.

"There's no time. I'll just take the important things."

As soon as the entrance opened, Baroque rushed inside. On the platform within sat fifteen iron boxes. The most valuable items were clearly the Devil Fruits.

Baroque found a bag and put five of the boxes inside, then slung it over his back. Those five fruits seemed to be worth the most. If he took all the Devil Fruits, the Rocks Pirates would know someone had escaped, and he wouldn't get away. He could only take the ones with the strongest abilities. Just as he was about to turn around, he suddenly stopped.

"Come out!"

The cave fell completely silent.

"You're careful, but your presence gave you away."

To top fighters, sensing someone nearby didn't depend solely on Observation Haki. The sound of breathing, a faint heartbeat, or even a drop in the number of mosquitoes and rats could reveal that someone was hiding close by.

Baroque had sensed the faint heartbeat right away. Someone was hiding by the entrance, waiting for him to leave.

"Huh? You found me after all."

Carl scratched her head behind the door and walked in.

"How did you find me?"

As far as Carl knew, she'd hidden herself well. She hadn't left a single opening.

"No one can stop their heart from beating."

"Luckily, my hearing is incredible. I can clearly hear heartbeats within a hundred meters."

As Baroque saw it, Carl had done well to follow him all this way and only get caught now.

"I see."

"I didn't know you were such a freak."

Carl had never met anyone with hearing that freakishly good.

"Enough talk. Come on."

Baroque set the bag down by his feet, then took up a fighting stance.

"Fine, fine. I was hoping to chat a little longer."

"Poison Dragon!"

Baroque had no intention of chatting with Carl. He thrust out his right hand, and a dragon made of deadly poison surged toward her.

"That looks nasty."

Carl immediately noticed droplets of liquid falling from the Poison Dragon as it appeared. They hit the ground and ate away at it, leaving small pits.

She knew that if the dragon touched her, she might not last long.

"Shave!"

"Slash Wave!"

She used the Six Powers' Shave to dodge to the side, then swung her long sword. A golden slash flew straight toward Baroque's legs.

From what she knew, the Venom-Venom Fruit was a Paramecia, so Baroque couldn't turn his whole body into an element. Besides, she'd infused her attack with some Armament Haki.

"Venom Slide!"

Baroque quickly corroded the ground with poison, turning it into a smooth slide, then used it to dodge.