Revenge Against the World Government

"What's going on?"

Newgate rushed in and saw Golden Lion standing by the wall. The first thing he did was address Golden Lion Shiki.

Carl noticed the tense atmosphere. Silver Axe stood below the raised platform at the front, and above him, Rocks wore an expression of fury. Carl glanced at Charlotte Linlin, who gave a slight shake of her head without saying a word.

Carl knew the situation was serious, so he stood silently to one side.

"Gya-ha-ha-ha!"

Golden Lion burst out laughing, breaking the tense silence.

"What else could it be?"

"They stole something right under our noses."

As soon as Golden Lion finished speaking, the air grew heavy. Rocks unleashed his Conqueror's Haki, and everyone present felt their breathing grow labored. The pressure was far more powerful than what they had felt during the battle on the front lines just moments ago. Cracks spread across the surrounding buildings.

This was the first time Carl had felt the full force of Rocks's Conqueror's Haki. Rocks truly was a tyrant. The Haki weighed on Carl so heavily that his whole body felt uncomfortable; his instincts even warned him that he was in mortal danger.

Rocks's Conqueror's Haki was clearly powerful enough to destroy physical objects. That alone showed just how angry he was to release it with such force.

Rocks turned his gloomy face toward Golden Lion, clearly displeased with him.

"Go look for them. They shouldn't have gotten far. There's another harbor on the other side of the island, and a lot of people put out to sea from there."

Golden Lion had meant to mock Rocks, but he didn't want to face his icy killing intent. Sensing that something was wrong with Rocks, he quickly shut his mouth.

Rocks was furious. He knew he had let his guard down. He hadn't expected Snow Lion, the Marine Admiral, to pull off such a switcheroo. He had been focused on searching for top-tier fighters, so he had ignored the many civilians fleeing by sea from the other side. But he hadn't expected the Devil Fruits to be escorted by such weak people. Though he was partly to blame, his arrogant nature wouldn't let him admit it.

Rocks strode straight outside. In his eyes, the treasure vault was worthless now that the Devil Fruits were gone.

He had attacked the Tyr Kingdom for those few precious Logia Devil Fruits, but in the end, he still hadn't managed to seize them.

Once Rocks had left, everyone felt their breathing gradually return to normal.

"Mahahahaha!"

"Golden Lion, you've got guts."

Charlotte Linlin looked at Golden Lion as if he were a hero. After all, she had sensed that Rocks had just singled him out.

"Gya-ha-ha-ha!"

"That was pretty scary."

Golden Lion's back was drenched with cold sweat. He had indeed felt Rocks's killing intent directed at him without restraint, and for a moment, he'd thought Rocks was going to attack him.

"All right, hurry up and send your men out to carry out Lord Rocks's orders."

Silver Axe was the first to speak from below the platform. He was one of the old hands in the Rocks Pirates, though he had spent years undercover elsewhere. This was the perfect time for him to step forward.

"Gya-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

Golden Lion let out a hearty laugh, then floated outside. He was going to carry out Rocks's orders; he didn't want to feel that threat of death again.

"Let's go. Send our men out to pursue them."

Newgate didn't even glance at the gold on the floor. He knew the situation was urgent and had no idea what Rocks might do next. So they all left the vault and ordered their men to pursue the fleeing people.

Carl, bringing up the rear, exchanged a discreet glance with Charlotte Linlin.

Soon, some of the pirates began carrying the Tyr Kingdom's wealth onto their ships, little by little.

The larger group of pirates received their orders and set off after the civilians, who hadn't yet sailed far. Since the civilians were in all kinds of small boats, the pirates' ships were faster.

The pirate ships soon caught up with them. The sea erupted in an uproar, and a massacre began on the waves.

But it was already too late. Norse had gotten a long way off with the Devil Fruits. As soon as he left the Tyr Kingdom, he immediately changed course, afraid the Rocks Pirates would catch on and send people after him. After changing direction, he sailed straight for Marine Headquarters.

The sky grew dim. After several hours of pursuit, the sea was in ruins, with fires burning everywhere.

But according to the pirates who returned, they had only seized some gold and jewelry. Many civilians had grabbed gold along the way as they fled.

Strangely, though, there was no sign of the Devil Fruits anywhere. They must have gotten far away.

On his ship, Rocks ordered even more pirates to widen the search.

The Rocks Pirates expanded their search area and continued until nightfall. With darkness making it impossible to see anything on the sea, they had no choice but to return to the Tyr Kingdom and report. Rocks was furious when he heard, but there was nothing he could do. He had no choice but to head back to Hachinosu.

Rocks knew the Navy had outmaneuvered him this time.

But that didn't mean he would swallow the insult!

From that day on, the Rocks Pirates began to earn their most vicious reputation.

Hachinosu!

"Since the Navy outmaneuvered me this time, I'm going to make them pay."

In the pirates' Council Hall, Rocks sat at the head of the table, with Golden Lion and Newgate on either side of him. Below them sat Charlotte Linlin and John, followed by Carl and Ochoku. Silver Axe sat at the very end. Kaido was not part of the meeting.

Clearly, this was a meeting of the Division Commanders.

"The New World is now dominated by our Rocks Pirates alone."

As Rocks spoke, a smile spread across his gloomy face. He knew his plan was already halfway to success. Next, he would gather all the New World's most vicious pirates to help bring his ultimate plan to fruition.

"Next, I need you to attack every Affiliated Nation in the New World."

"Take them one by one. Don't leave a single one untouched."

In Rocks's mind, this served two purposes: first, to retaliate against the Navy; second, to drive more people to sea as pirates, giving him more men to recruit.

There were hundreds of large and small islands in the New World. Thirty-four of them were Affiliated Nations; the rest were small islands with relatively few people.

And so, starting that day, the pirates under Rocks's command followed their Division Commanders and began plundering every island they could find.

Pirates poured into every corner of the New World, and before long, war was everywhere.

Though the Navy had outmaneuvered him, he would make them understand what pain meant. That was the only way to live up to his name, Rocks.

Each Division Commander was assigned a different number of targets. Carl had relatively few: only three, meaning he would have to attack three Affiliated Nations.

Fortunately, the nations he had been assigned were nearby, so he wouldn't have to travel far. Golden Lion had the farthest targets because he had the Float-Float Fruit and could travel much faster than the others.

When Rocks finished speaking, everyone present nodded solemnly. Then they each received their assignments and departed.

Meanwhile, at Marine Headquarters, Marineford!

"We're finally here."

Norse steered a battered little boat, his body covered in bloodstains.

He had raced here from the New World. Along the way, he had run into several pirates and fought them, pushing both his strength and his mental endurance to their limits.

"Who's there?"

"Looks like one of ours."

"What? Hurry over and take a look."

Two soldiers at Marineford's harbor saw a little boat rocking its way toward them.

When Norse heard them calling out, all he had time to say was, "I'm Rear Admiral Norse of the Navy."

Then his expression relaxed, as if an important matter had finally been taken care of, and he closed his eyes with a faint look of relief.

"It's Rear Admiral Norse! Hurry!"

Norse's white Justice coat had been stained dark red with dried blood, so the Marines hadn't recognized him at first. But when they came closer, they realized it was Rear Admiral Norse. Seeing the state he was in, they quickly carried him into Marine Headquarters and immediately notified Fleet Admiral Hill.