Lunarians

However, the Rocks Pirates had already been established for six years.

Yet Rocks had obtained none of the key pieces above.

Rocks, who went on all day about making Elbaf's giant king, Harald, join them, had already begun to irritate Shiki.

"You keep saying that once Harald joins, we can conquer the world, but there's been absolutely no progress. You're sick of it too, aren't you, Annus?"

"At the end of the day, we gathered around that guy Rocks only because there was something in it for us."

"If that mad plan succeeds, the rewards will indeed be unimaginable. That was why the Rocks Pirates were founded."

"But if Rocks fails, our lives won't be buried along with him!"

"Before that happens, everyone should be preparing a way out for themselves, shouldn't they?"

"Me, Linlin, Ochoku, John... aside from that naive fool Newgate, everyone is making preparations!"

"You're no exception, are you, Annus!"

Shiki wore a feral grin as his sharp eyes fixed on Annus's face, as though he were desperate for an answer.

In his view, everyone aboard this ship had their own hidden agenda. It was only a matter of time before they went their separate ways.

Annus picked up the golden cup on the table and took a sip of tea. "So? After all that buildup, what are you trying to say?"

Rocks's failure was, of course, foreseeable.

Although most of his memories from his previous life had already blurred, Annus knew very well that in the upcoming Battle of God Valley, Rocks would be controlled by Imu's Black Transfer and turned into a demon.

Because that was intelligence that had only emerged shortly before he transmigrated.

But so what?

At the very least, Annus would not leave before Rocks fell.

Rocks had helped him quite a lot on the path of growth.

When Annus had first arrived in the Blue Sea, he had been nowhere near as powerful as he was now.

His Haki had reached its peak only through countless battles, as well as exchanges and sparring sessions with Rocks.

To Annus, Rocks could be considered half a teacher.

Seeing Annus remain so indifferent, Shiki could not keep his expression up. After a pause, he continued.

"So, work with me, Annus!"

"With your power, once we persuade Roger too, no one will be our match!"

"Once we accomplish everything, we will rule this sea from the heights of the sky!"

Shiki, who possessed the Float-Float Fruit, had always believed that among the Rocks Pirates, Annus was the one most compatible with him.

Annus was from Sky Island and accustomed to living in the heavens. As for Shiki, he was a Float-Float Fruit user. That power was practically made for becoming the ruler of the skies.

Yet, to Shiki's surprise, he was refused.

"We can discuss that after Rocks falls." Annus lazily reclined against the sofa covered in sheepskin.

Shiki was somewhat stunned. "Why are you refusing me, Annus?!"

He truly could not think of any reason why Annus would refuse.

The Rumble-Rumble Fruit combined with the Float-Float Fruit—the image alone was breathtaking!

"We'll discuss it later. Diumil, see our guest out."

As Annus's words fell, lightning flashed.

In the blink of an eye, Annus's figure vanished from the room as though he had teleported.

"Bastard! Don't leave! I'm not done talking!" Shiki shouted.

At that moment, a thin man wrapped from head to toe in black bandages emerged from the shadows.

A pair of broad, pitch-black wings extended from his back, making him look like a ghostly apparition.

"My apologies, Mr. Shiki. By Lord Annus's orders, please leave." The ghostly figure spoke.

Shiki was furious as he glared fiercely at Diumil, who resembled a phantom.

However, Diumil remained completely calm beneath Shiki's stare.

It seemed that the infamous "Gangster" Shiki was not worth mentioning in Diumil's eyes.

"Hmph! I'll be back!"

After throwing down those words, Shiki stormed off angrily.

Diumil walked to the entrance and watched Shiki leave. Only after Shiki had completely disappeared from sight did he return to the tower.

At that moment, accompanied by faint rumbling thunder, Annus's voice rang by Diumil's ear.

"Come to the top of the tower."

"Yes, Lord Annus." Diumil bowed his head slightly and answered in a low voice.

He climbed the narrow spiral stone stairs, passing through confined spaces where only the sound of his own footsteps echoed against the stone walls.

The light and wind pouring through the arrow slits and small windows grew stronger as he ascended.

Once Diumil passed beneath the enormous wooden beam framework, the space suddenly opened up. Ornate arched windows lined all sides, wind howled through the room, and a map of Hachinosu hung on the wall.

"Diumil, you're here."

With one leg crossed over the other, Annus sat on a soft sofa in the observation room, holding a cup of coffee as he looked out at the view beyond the window.

"Sit. Have you heard anything about your people lately?" Annus asked.

"No, Lord Annus." Diumil shook his head.

"Is that so?" A look of regret appeared on Annus's face.

Among Annus's three officers, Diumil was the most unusual.

Like King from the original story, Diumil was also a Lunarian.

This race had once been known as "gods." They lived in the Land of Gods atop the Red Line, possessed immense power, and could adapt to many extreme natural environments.

But under the World Government's ruthless suppression, the Lunarians had been driven to the brink of extinction.

Before meeting Annus, Diumil had constantly been hunted by the World Government's Cipher Pol.

Later, Diumil fled to Sky Island, where Annus saved him. From then on, he followed at Annus's side.

Other than Lilith, he was Annus's most trusted confidant.

"It's all right, Lord Annus. You've already done more than enough for me," Diumil said hurriedly.

"I'll continue having Linlin and Ganzi keep an eye out for information about this. Your people will all receive my protection." Annus set down his coffee cup.

The reason he had refused Shiki's proposal was because he had plans of his own.

To be honest, he had only formed plans in recent years. Before that, his entire plan could be summed up in two words: become stronger.

Only after his steadily increasing strength hit a bottleneck in recent years did Annus begin making long-term preparations.

The change in mindset was the most fundamental part.

When he had first arrived in this world, all Annus considered was survival.

Only once his own strength had become great enough for him to grasp his fate firmly in his hands did the urgency brought by knowing the future slowly fade away.

Annus was finally able to look down upon the entire world from a player's perspective.

In Annus's eyes, this world was cruel and rotten.

The Celestial Dragons sat high above all others, while the people at the bottom suffered endlessly.

Such a world was not beautiful.

Annus wanted to end the Celestial Dragons' rule and reshape everything according to his own will.

Just as he had freely created whatever he wanted in MC in his previous life.

To accomplish that calmly, he needed to make plans for the long term.

With the power Annus currently possessed, he was still unable to achieve it.

Thus, Annus set several short-term goals for himself.

Just as Rocks sought two legendary Devil Fruits and the power of the Great Hammer Battle Group.

Annus also had things he needed to obtain.

One of them was Lunarian companions.

During this year while Rocks was still active, the Lunarians were rare, but they had not yet reached the point of near extinction in the original timeline.

As long as he searched, he would eventually find some leads.

On the other hand, during the years Annus had settled in Hachinosu, he had also established a legion of his own.

"By the way, Diumil, how is the latest batch of recruits in the Angel Legion training?"

"Not bad. From the looks of it, they already possess the ability to contend with the Marine Headquarters' elite," Diumil answered softly.

"Good. Take them out tomorrow and let them stretch their legs. They've trained for so long; it's time for some combat drills."

Only on the battlefield could one discover an army's true standard.

Annus was also quite curious about just how far this legion, which he had spent so much effort training, could go now.