Scattered Like Stars Across the Sky

The God Valley Incident had become a watershed in history, causing the Rocks Pirates to fall apart.

Those heroes and ruthless figures who had once belonged to that lawless group were like unbridled wild horses, stirring up enormous waves across the seas.

"Ochoku actually took over my Hachinosu?!"

When the news was carried by a news-carrying gull from the distant New World to tranquil Water 7, Rocks nearly lost control of his emotions.

The newspaper reported on the major events that had recently occurred in the New World. After the Rocks Pirates disbanded, Ochoku, who had remained on Hachinosu, naturally took over Rocks's former territory and established a cult made up entirely of pirates.

Although Ochoku had already been famous under the title "Pirate Patriarch," this pirate cult was on an entirely different level from his previous one.

"What, are you going back to settle the score?"

Annus did not react much. To him, Hachinosu was already a thing of the past. He did not care who occupied it. He was more concerned with the other things mentioned in the paper, such as the movements of the Roger Pirates.

"Shiki, Xiong, and those bastards are acting pretty damn arrogant too! Without me around, no one on these seas can keep them in check!"

Like Ochoku, the other members of the Rocks Pirates had also begun making moves of their own.

Whitebeard had formed a pirate crew with a pirate named Boro Gram. Meanwhile, the sworn enemies Shiki and Xiong had each formed the Flying Pirates and the Silver Axe Pirates, openly challenging one another.

Even John had formed his own pirate crew and led his men in an attack on the treasury of a certain member nation.

Those were all the major events recorded in the paper. The other former members of the Rocks Pirates had not caused much of a stir, so they were likely still lying low.

"It's not bad to let them make some noise. They probably think you're already dead, don't they? Without you, these seas are much livelier than before." Annus smiled.

Before the Rocks Pirates disbanded, they had loomed like a mountain over every pirate in the New World. Other than the Roger Pirates, no matter how much attention another pirate crew drew, it was unworthy of comparison with the Rocks Pirates.

Now that the Rocks Pirates had disbanded, their officers had scattered in every direction, each becoming a new star shining over these seas.

Even before the Rocks Pirates fell apart, these people had been gathering strength. At least judging from the newspaper, they did not seem to feel the slightest sorrow over the collapse of their former crew. There was only excitement and naked ambition.

"Hmph, it's all just petty nonsense. Say, Annus, I'm planning to build a reliable force again! Interested in joining hands with me?"

Having recovered his strength and rested for some time, Rocks had emerged from the shadow of defeat and was ready to begin anew.

Or rather, someone like him could never live peacefully for the rest of his life. He had been born to stir up raging storms.

But his defeat at God Valley had made Rocks realize something: although the Rocks Pirates had been powerful, they could not support his vast ambition of conquering the world.

To accomplish that, he needed people he could truly trust.

Before, he had been too impatient and too confident.

He had always wanted to drag those sewer rats down from their thrones as quickly as possible, conquer the holy land of Mary Geoise, and believed that even if his subordinates each harbored their own schemes, it would not matter. In the end, he could still use their strength to pluck the fruit at the very top.

But reality had proven that he could not do it.

That meant his plans would have to change.

"What kind of force?" Annus asked.

"A force like a pirate crew is too easily targeted by the World Government! That isn't conducive to advancing my plans. At least until I find the 'key' that can bring down the 'holy land,' I won't show myself openly again!"

Rocks had repeatedly emphasized that to conquer the world, he had to obtain two legendary Devil Fruits. One of them was the Nidhogg Fruit, passed down through generations in Elbaf. The other was even more mysterious.

The remaining task was to gain the power of the Frozen Giant Warband.

But until the God Valley Incident arrived, Rocks had made no progress whatsoever.

"God's Knights and their king both know that you're still alive. They won't give up on killing you. You understand that, right? As someone who bears Davy's Blood and possesses great strength, you are a target they must eliminate."

Imu would never let Rocks go. Imu would surely try every possible means to kill or control him, because Rocks was a descendant of Davy D. Jones. Annus knew that very well.

"That's exactly why I plan to hide! Annus! The pirates' game is over. Let Ochoku have that piece of trash, Hachinosu! I'm going to weave a 'network' in the shadows! A 'network' that obeys me completely! One that will help me seize the 'key'!"

"Do as you please. I'm not interested in that sort of thing."

"Damn it, Annus, how many times have you turned me down now? Then do you have a better plan?"

"My goal is different from yours. You want to become the 'King of the World,' but I only want to reshape this world according to my own will...

Although the Celestial Dragons are our shared enemy, the method I choose will be different from yours. Next, I plan to return to Sky Island first and establish a unified 'heavenly kingdom.'"

"Worohaha! Isn't that still becoming a 'king'?"

"No, Rocks. You've always gotten one thing wrong. What I want to become is... a 'god.'"

Leaving Annus and Rocks's conversation aside for the moment, the Marines were already overwhelmed by the former Rocks Pirates who had recently been causing chaos across the seas.

Inside a towering fortress with an attic-like structure, Dragon personally witnessed an argument among the Marine higher-ups in a room used for meetings.

"Garp! Can't you stop obsessing over Roger? There are already more criminals on the seas than we can catch! Because of the treasury robbery, the king of that member nation has repeatedly demanded that the Marines deploy forces to capture Captain John! But you were clearly nearby at the time, and yet you refused to obey the assignment!"

Sengoku was rebuking Garp over a recent incident.

But Garp was clearly unaffected by the pressure. Picking his nose, he said carelessly, "I almost caught Roger! How could I possibly give up?!"

"If we're talking about catching him, you would have caught him long ago, but you shouldn't have disobeyed orders!" Sengoku roared.

"Don't use the word 'orders' to pressure me. I don't care!" Garp flared up as well.

The Marines' attitude during the God Valley Incident had already left him deeply dissatisfied. If he had not wanted to stay behind to protect those uninformed rank-and-file soldiers, he would have quit long ago.

"Aren't you afraid of being demoted?!" another vice admiral beside them snapped.

"Do whatever you want! I said I don't care!" Garp crossed his arms and glared coldly at them.

"You!!"

Seated at the head of the table, Steel Bone Kong, then an admiral, rubbed his forehead with a headache. "Enough. Now is not the time to argue. These seas are already chaotic enough. What you should be doing is suppressing those pirates, not debating here!"

"Also, there is a vacancy in the position of Marine admiral. The higher-ups intend to find someone to fill it. Garp, you are currently the most suitable candidate..."

At those words, the gazes of the officers present involuntarily fell upon Sengoku's face, where a complicated expression had appeared.

Everyone knew that if there was anyone who most wanted a promotion, and had made the greatest efforts and sacrifices for it...