One Piece: The Legend of Beasts

The sky seemed to be completely covered by an endless gray cloth. The overlapping dark clouds pressed down the sky. The surging waves came rushing in with the howling wind, adding some deep colors to the entire Honeycomb Island, as if foreshadowing what big event was about to happen next.

The town, which had finally regained its former bustle, became silent again. All the pirates who were able to move were forced to gather in the square in front of the skull, and lined up in dozens of teams from left to right in an orderly manner. At the front of each team, there was a cadre standing in a black robe with a flaming skull pattern painted on the corner of his robe, representing the symbol of the Rocks Pirates that made the world tremble with fear.

Without exception, these people are all great pirates who stand out in the New World. Each of them has the ability to stand on their own even if they escape from the pirate group. They are all unruly, so other than the conflicts between them, they do not have any outstanding flaws in other aspects.

"Hey! Where have you been? Why are you here just now?!"

Lingling turned half of her face and scolded Kaido who had just run behind her through the dense crowd. She deliberately lowered her voice so as not to attract everyone's attention.

Kaido panted, touched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly, as if to cooperate with her, he also used the same low voice: "Hu...Hu...Just wandering around for a while when I had nothing to do...Compared to this, I heard that Rocks plans to go to the 'Valley of the Gods'? What would be there in such a remote place?"

Since the pirate who was responsible for delivering the message did not know the details of the results of the executive meeting, all Kaido learned from him along the way was "Rocks called on all combatants to prepare for the expedition", which was a piece of information that did not contain much content.

The only thing he understood was that the man who usually kept his energy under control was making such a fuss because he must have thought it over carefully and finally made up his mind that no words could shake him.

"Who knows... Just listen to what that guy has to say."

Lingling uttered a few words coldly and stopped talking, casting her eyes towards the mouth of the skull in front of her. Before long, the most troublesome guy would appear at that position.

Seeing this, Kaido tactfully retreated to Linlin's team with the pirate who brought him here, and found two extra empty seats to stand in.

At this moment, all the elites of the Pirate Island gathered here, standing ready like well-trained officers. Everyone kept a solemn look on their face, quietly waiting for their leader to arrive.

"Have you figured out how to tell them?"

"What? You don't trust me? No one dares to go against my will!"

As the two men talked, Rocks and Newgate, who was also wearing a black robe, walked down the stairs side by side. In order to prepare for the next speech, the supreme ruler of Beehive Island deliberately changed into a black coat that was so clean that there was no dust on it. His pointed hedgehog hair style was straighter than before, and the lifeless expression on his face had long disappeared, replaced by an evil smile that had been hanging on the corner of his mouth from beginning to end.

Seeing that Rocks seemed to have regained his original unruly demeanor, Newgate couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief. If he, as the chief admiral, made any mistakes at a critical moment, it would inevitably cause a devastating blow to their pirate group, which was not very united to begin with.

But for some reason, as long as you keep observing the man's expression, you will notice that there is a layer of haze between his brows. It is not easy to detect on the surface, but if you feel it carefully through the sense of observation, the haze will become more and more intense, as if it is going to swallow up the sky and the earth. Just meeting his eyes will make you feel suffocated, and Newgate's nerves, which had been relaxed, will be tense again.

——Have you really gotten over the betrayal by others, Rocks?

——No, it’s not too late to think about this kind of question after we reach our destination and confirm the facts.

Unconsciously, the two of them had reached the edge of the platform. Looking down at the dark crowd below, Rocks suddenly felt a lot of emotion.

When he thought about the pirate group that had grown from just a handful of people to its current huge size, and when he thought about the moment when his years of preparation would soon bear fruit, an irrepressible surge of excitement surged into his heart, causing him to clench his fists involuntarily, which made a crackling sound under the stimulation of the cold wind, with a fanatical yet sharp light flashing in his eyes.

——Just wait, no matter who you are, if you dare to hinder me, enjoy the celebration called "despair" that I have specially prepared for you! I will kill you all without leaving a single one alive!

Thinking of this, Rocks did not hesitate, cleared his throat, waved his hand vigorously, and issued a sonorous and powerful order to the people in front of him: "Everyone present! Listen to me!"

One after another, serious faces looked up in the direction of his fluttering sleeves. Kaido, who usually hated listening to long speeches, also subconsciously entered the state and could even clearly hear the "thump thump" of his own heartbeat.

"It has been more than half a month since the attack on Beehive Island. Although the Rocks Pirates suffered huge losses, they have gradually recovered to their former glory after a period of rest. This means that the absolute status of the Pirate Island in the New World cannot be shaken by anyone!"

At this point, Rocks paused for a moment, then continued in a louder voice, "The only drawback is that the treasures we obtained with great difficulty but were taken away again, and we still haven't found any trace of them until yesterday. The most important one is the Animal-type Fish-Fish Fruit Mythical Beast Species, the Azure Dragon Form!"

As soon as these words came out, there was an uproar in the crowd. Except for a few people who knew about it, and Silver Axe who was so ashamed that he wanted to crawl into the ground, the other pirates, including Kaido, knew nothing about this matter.

To be precise, the news that Rocks obtained the mythical beast species had already spread secretly, so most of them were not surprised by the incident itself, but focused their attention on the name of the fruit.

Azure Dragon? That's the strongest devil fruit! It's almost as powerful as Newgate's Tremor-Tremor Fruit!

No wonder the enemy would do anything to snatch it away...After so many days, someone must have obtained that power by now, right?

Why did Admiral Rocks deliberately hide the name? Could it be that he wanted someone to eat the fruit, and was afraid that someone would steal it?

As if he had guessed what everyone was thinking, Rocks coughed twice and raised his voice again to drown out the noisy discussions in the square: "Just this morning, I received a mysterious phone call. I am still confused about the other party's name and origin, but the information he gave has been confirmed to be true through repeated confirmation. The stolen treasure is now in the non-member country 'God Valley' located in the West Sea, and the Celestial Dragons who shamelessly call themselves 'Creator' are gathering on that island!"

Lingling and other cadres knew about this matter in the meeting long ago, so their emotions did not fluctuate at all. However, for ordinary pirates, it was undoubtedly an unimaginable shock, and the noise that had already quieted down suddenly sounded again.

"Celestial Dragons?! Did I hear you right? How could the nobles of the World Government just go down... and run to such a remote place?!"

"Eh? Wasn't it the Roger Pirates who stole the fruit? How did it fall into the hands of those government guys?!"

"What do those guys want with devil fruits? They are said to be just losers who can only rely on the navy!"

"Non-member countries have always been at odds with the government. Why would they allow the Celestial Dragons to stay there? What on earth happened?!"

As expected, the square was in an uproar after the news was made public. It seemed that the speech was about to be interrupted. Newgate, who was standing next to Rocks, took a deep breath and said word by word to the audience: "Listen to Rocks's words first. He will naturally answer your doubts."

His tone was very calm, his voice was neither high nor low, but it contained an irresistible sense of power, which drifted to every corner of the square like a gentle breeze, and the excited crowd was involuntarily attracted by his voice and gradually calmed down.

“Hahaha! It turned out to be the right decision to call you here!”

Rocks grinned at Newgate, who was relieved after finally calming everyone down, and his eyes were fixed on the densely packed crowd below the stage again. His face slowly became covered with a thick layer of color. "An hour ago, I sent an informant to find out that the Navy Headquarters sent a large fleet sixteen days ago, following the government's ships to the West Sea. The leader of the fleet was none other than Admiral Rubel, whom we met on Grassland Island."

When he said this name, Kaido, who was standing in the crowd, couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat. His eyes widened with a look of disbelief.

——That goggles bastard, he recovered so quickly from that attack? !

——Luckily, I know that guy is also in the Valley of God, otherwise we would still be caught off guard! But even so, with my current strength, it is still very unlikely to completely defeat him! He is not an opponent that can be defeated just by targeting his weaknesses! Damn it! If only I could learn Rocks's moves...!

He was so focused on his thoughts that he didn't hear what Rocks said next: "It's impossible to know what their purpose is, but it makes sense if it matches the information given by that person.

"It should be noted that Rubair is not the only tough opponent. The mysterious man told me that a special force among the Celestial Dragons also arrived on the island three days ago. Interestingly, it takes exactly two weeks to get from here to the Valley of the Gods at the fastest speed."

Upon hearing this, the square fell silent. It was not that they did not want to express their ideas, but they were extremely shocked by the message conveyed in Rocks' words.

Wasn’t it seventeen days ago that the Roger Pirates launched a surprise attack on Beehive Island?

Could there be some connection between the two? Maybe this is all a conspiracy by the World Government? But we saw with our own eyes the Roger Pirates wreaking havoc on the town!

"All these phenomena cannot completely clear Roger of suspicion. There is also the possibility that they are robbing each other. Moreover, I don't know why. Now I can't contact Roger directly."

Rocks glanced at the audience, his eyes as sharp as an eagle's. "So, I have to go there in person, not only to confirm the truth about Roger, but also to take back all the treasures stored as 'prizes', and then kill all the Tianlong people and their lackeys who deserve to die, so as to shock the whole world!"

As he said that, he pulled out a small knife from Newgate's waist, and in front of all the pirates, he stabbed his left palm hard!

"Ah! Admiral, why are you doing this?!"

Many people were startled by this sudden scene and cried out.

As Rocks quickly pulled out the knife, blood gushed out from the back of his hand, flowing along the edge of the platform to the foot of the huge rock.

He stretched out his bloody right hand and grasped the blade tightly. A trickle of blood oozed out from between his fingers. He tried to maintain a wild smile on his face and said word by word in a brighter voice: "I swear by my blood that in this war, I can only win and not lose!"

The pirates in the square looked up at Rocks, as if they were shocked by his realization. No one echoed his oath, and the audience fell silent again. Seeing this, Newgate immediately raised the naginata in his hand and shouted loudly: "Whoever takes back the stolen treasure first will own the fruits!

"May the Rocks Pirates be invincible!"

When the pirates saw that the second-in-command of Beehive Island had expressed his opinion, they were overjoyed at the thought that they might be able to eat the strongest Blue Dragon Fruit. They raised their right hands one after another and shouted, "May the Rocks Pirates be invincible!"

"May the Rocks Pirates be invincible!"

"May the Rocks Pirates be invincible!"

In an instant, majestic shouts resounded throughout the entire square and spread to the surroundings. In a short moment, everyone on the entire Beehive Island could hear it clearly.

Looking at his subordinates who were becoming more and more passionate in the audience, a faint smile appeared on Rocks' face. In order to completely inspire the fighting spirit of these people, the only way was to use the greatest benefits as bait.

And in his mind, the only person who can inherit that ability is...

Rocks glanced at the only silent young man in the crowd, his mouth corners raised imperceptibly, and then his eyes focused. Countless dark red lightning burst out from his body, intertwined and spread rapidly upwards. The sky seemed to be pierced, and a huge hole was blasted directly in the thick clouds.

The crackling sound continued to be heard from the air, mixed with Rocks' roar that almost resounded through the sky: "Except for non-combatants and those who haven't recovered from their injuries. The rest of you, follow me to the destination immediately! Make sure they remember the price they will pay for offending the world's strongest pirate group!"