Storm Clouds Gather! The Grand Prize of God Valley!

(Brief non-story notice: Several readers commented that they disliked the nickname "Heavenly Thunder." I'm not someone who refuses to listen, so if you don't like it, I'll change it. The nickname "Heavenly Thunder" will no longer appear in the story; it will be uniformly changed to "Calamity." Everyone, just pretend "Heavenly Thunder" never existed. That's all.)

While Rocks spoke with Harald, Shiki and the others on the Fury's deck grew increasingly impatient over the delay.

"What are they talking about?!"

"So damn slow! That bastard!"

"While they're doing this, my Shakuyaku is still waiting to be rescued!"

"What are they talking about? Your Majesty..."

The giant guards aboard Elbaf's ship also had no idea what was being discussed. They could only wait at a distance in accordance with Harald's orders.

Unlike the impatient crowd, Annus quietly eavesdropped on the conversation between Rocks and Harald.

A moment later, he opened his eyes and silently turned his gaze toward Elbaf's ship.

"Boom!"

Amid a violent explosion, Elbaf's ship suddenly erupted in raging flames, and its massive mast snapped in two.

The negotiations seemed to have broken down.

"What happened? Are we fighting?"

The officers who had been complaining stopped their bickering and prepared for battle.

Yet after the violent blast, no further movement came from Elbaf's ship. The officers watched for a while, then saw Rocks leap out of the smoke and return to the Fury's deck.

"Let's go. It's settled!" Rocks said, glancing back.

"We're not fighting?" everyone asked.

"Yeah. This time, I owe that big guy a favor. If I get the chance someday, I'll pay him back," Rocks replied.

Meanwhile, at the edge of the distant sea, aboard the World Government's surveillance ship.

A CP9 agent lowered his binoculars and watched with a grim expression as Rocks' Fury passed Harald's ship and vanished beyond the horizon.

"Even the king of the War Country couldn't stop those people?"

"What do we do now, sir? Should we catch up to them?" someone suddenly asked.

"Don't joke around. If you want to die, go chase them yourself," the CP9 agent said in a low voice.

"Our mission is over. Since even Harald has failed, all we can do is report this news to our superiors as quickly as possible."

As the Rocks Pirates headed toward God Valley, intelligence that "Shakuyaku is still alive" spread wildly through the world's underbelly, racing across every sea.

"Gaban! What kind of place is God Valley?"

In a stretch of sea within the New World, aboard the Oro Jackson, the young Roger clutched a crumpled newspaper and excitedly shook navigator Gaban by the shoulders.

"It's in the West Blue!"

Gaban was just as excited. For a rogue like him, Shakuyaku's charm was impossible to ignore.

"It's not exactly close, but if we set off now, we can still make it!"

"We're going, right, boys?!" Roger asked with a wide grin, determination beyond doubt in his eyes.

"Of course we are!!!"

The crew was even more fired up than Roger. Even the normally composed Rayleigh shouted in agreement. For the past year, he had worried about Shakuyaku every waking moment.

"Yeah! Set sail immediately! I heard Rocks has already made his move! Don't let him beat us there!"

Marine Headquarters.

The voices of high-ranking officers drifted out from a pavilion built against the mountainside. A faint electrical buzz could also be heard, as if two senior officials were speaking through Den Den Mushi.

"God Valley? Why the hell would I go to that godforsaken place? I'm on vacation!"

"Although I can't explain it, please! Garp!"

Because Den Den Mushi calls could potentially be intercepted, certain secrets could not be discussed over the line. Otherwise, classified information might be leaked.

"Admiral Kong, what exactly are you trying to say?" On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, on a vacation island somewhere in the East Blue, the forty-year-old Garp lounged lazily in a beach chair.

"Though I'm not sure of the exact situation, it'll be troublesome if anything goes wrong! Garp!" Kong said.

"I told you long ago not to provoke those Beehive people... And what's this supposed to mean, a 'Celestial Dragons' field trip'? That woman is known as 'Beehive's Treasure.' Those Beehive people are probably planning to retrieve her, aren't they?" Garp hummed a tune, sounding utterly unconcerned.

"Where did you get that information, Garp?"

Garp did not answer. Instead, he asked, "The escorts have been arranged in sufficient numbers, right? So why are you scared?"

"It's because Roger has moved as well. The island's guards are nowhere near enough..."

Before Kong could finish, Garp cut him off.

"What?! Roger's moving too? You should've said so earlier! I'm leaving right now!!"

Just a piece of classified intelligence about Shakuyaku had stirred up the powerful figures of every sea. No one even stopped to distinguish truth from falsehood; they all took action to save her!

And those pirates who knew they could not compete with monsters like them also set out for the West Blue because of the lavish prizes and treasure within God Valley that were being circulated across the dark web.

For a time, the tranquil West Blue became the center of the entire world's attention.

As unbelievable as it sounded... the triennial "Human Hunting," a killing game in which the Celestial Dragons selected resource-rich islands from non-World Government member nations and slaughtered all their native inhabitants, was about to begin!

"This shouldn't be allowed!"

"Someone, please save us!"

The groans and cries of God Valley's natives, as well as the slaves transported here from the holy land of Mary Geoise, went unanswered. Every Celestial Dragon's attention was fixed upon the prize platform.

This platform had not originally existed. Its lavish decorations and elaborate architectural style looked utterly out of place beside the surrounding buildings of God Valley.

The Celestial Dragons had forced slaves to construct it in a short time so that the Human Hunting game could proceed more smoothly.

Because of this, a small number of pitiful slaves had already lost their lives before Human Hunting even began.

Nine Roman columns stood upon the prize platform, each bearing a precious treasure chest. Inside were legendary Devil Fruits transported from Mary Geoise.

Yet the Celestial Dragons were not focused on those nine chests. No matter how valuable the Devil Fruits inside were, they were merely "toys" to the Celestial Dragons...

What truly kept the Celestial Dragons' eyes glued to the stage was a woman pushed onto the prize platform by the host.

Her hands and feet were bound in iron chains, yet they could not conceal her dazzling beauty. It was as though every strand of her hair shone.

"Now then, after the rare Devil Fruits, here comes the main attraction of this event!!"

"Amazon Lily, the real island located within the Grand Line's Calm Belt! Its former empress! Famous as the most beautiful woman in the world!"

"Her name is Shakuyaku!!!"

"Take her as your wife! Make her your slave! Do whatever you want with her!!"