Chapter 148: Stirrings Before the Valley Storm

New World, aboard the Roger Pirates’ ship.

“Roger, you need to take a look at this.”

Rayleigh handed Roger a slip of paper.

That note was sent to Rayleigh by Shakky.

Somehow, Shakky and Rayleigh had managed to connect behind the scenes.

Maybe fate was just following the rules of the original tale.

Turns out, after looking at all the circumstances, Shakky had already judged that there was an eighty percent or higher chance the Rocks Pirates’ trip to God Valley would end badly.

So, when the Rocks Pirates set sail, she left Beehive Island, ready to vanish from the underworld.

Still, remembering Rayleigh’s request, she made sure Roger got the message before she left.

“Rocks can’t be allowed to do this. I have to stop him.”

Roger, face solemn, crushed the note to dust.

Rocks’s move on God Valley would shake the whole world.

Roger was a member of the D lineage. Though he hadn’t reached the final island or uncovered its secrets, he knew this wasn’t the right time for an all-out clash with the Celestial Dragons.

“Alright, everyone, looks like we’ve got ourselves a mission,” Roger said, rising with a hearty laugh.

“Roger, are we really going to dive into this mess?” Rayleigh asked, confused.

If Rocks and the Celestial Dragons fought, it might actually work to their advantage. Out here in the Grand Line’s second half, their biggest competitor was Rocks.

Roger stepped over beside Rayleigh, patting his shoulder.

He glanced back at Jabba and the others. “Everyone, we’re moving out.”

The spirit of this ship would only ever follow its captain. So with Roger’s order, Jabba grinned, excitement lighting up his face as he headed for the helm.

Then, the ship turned and set its course for God Valley.

Meanwhile, atop the Red Line—

Army Marshal Viske dialed the Five Elders, looking utterly helpless.

“Moshi Moshi!”

“Esteemed Five Elders.”

“Rebellions just keep erupting up here on the Red Line. With me, Air Marshal Kong, and the admirals pinned down here, we can’t make it to God Valley.”

The Long-Bearded Five Elder frowned on hearing this, though his face softened after a second.

“Have you tracked down who’s behind it all?”

Viske glanced at the chaos before him and shook his head.

“It’s too chaotic. All sorts of factions entangled. There’s just no way to dig out the true mastermind.”

“Boom!”

“Ah!”

Another huge explosion went off near a church ahead of Viske.

More factions started brawling, turning the scene even livelier.

The whole place had become a free-for-all.

“Alright, that’s enough talk. Another rebel attack just started.”

“Clack!”

Viske ended the call and charged forward to intervene.

And far away, in the highest chamber of the World Government—

“Let’s hear it.”

After hanging up, the Long-Bearded Five Elder looked at the other four sitting with him.

The room’s atmosphere turned grave in an instant.

“How many CP0 agents are on God Valley right now?”

The Middle-Aged Five Elder, Saint Peter, frowned thoughtfully.

He took a moment, then replied,

“There should only be two at the moment.”

The Bald Five Elder, Saint Woqiuli, blurted out anxiously.

“Should we send the Holy Knights over?”

From his perspective, just two CP0s couldn’t possibly protect the Celestial Dragons atop God Valley.

If anything went wrong, they’d be held accountable.

The Tall Thin Five Elder, Saint Nasushouro, wasn’t so concerned. Their main goal here was to weaken the Navy’s sway.

He said, “No need for now. Let the Navy handle things for a bit. If it gets out of hand, then send the Holy Knights.”

His words fit perfectly with what the Scarred Five Elder, Saint Saturn, wanted. The Navy growing stronger was not in their interests.

Balance was what they needed.

No matter the price.

The Long-Bearded Five Elder—Saint Mars—nodded faintly. “That works too. It’s a good chance to see how much muscle the Navy really has.”

“Otherwise, if the Rocks Pirates get taken out, the Navy might end up dominating alone. That’s not what we’re after.”

The others all voiced their agreement.

“Exactly, that’s right.”

“Alright, it’s settled then.”

Just as the group was leaving the room, the Middle-Aged Five Elder, Saint Peter, suddenly threw in one last comment.

“If possible, that Karl needs to be dealt with too.”

“He’s been crossing too many lines lately.”

…..

“Big brother, aren’t we going?”

“Will this really be okay? What if that lord blames us…”

Phil quickly raised a hand to shush him, glancing around cautiously before leaning close and whispering in Stac’s ear.

“You, of all people, should know what God Valley is.”

“If things work out, we just keep going as usual. If not…”

Stac grew uneasy, his nerves obvious as he replied.

“But even so, aren’t you afraid of retribution?”

“We can’t gamble our whole family’s lives on this.”

Phil eased back against the sofa.

“I never said I was against it, did I?”

“Why would we get punished for this?”

Stac suddenly felt like Phil had a point.

With power like theirs, even if they went to God Valley, they’d just be cannon fodder.

A little stronger than some, maybe, but still cannon fodder.

“Then… what about the others…”

“Relax, they’ve already been notified. Whether they go or not isn’t up to me.”

Stac still sounded uneasy.

“If they go… what about us…”

“We’ll just play it by ear.”

…

The first to make a move was the Bartow Family from West Blue.

As soon as the letter arrived, the Bartow Family sprang into action, targeting new Mafia groups that had sprung up in recent years—drawing some of the Navy’s focus their way.

“Ajin, whatever you do, you have my support.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll come back safe.”

He ruffled Bartow Kuohai’s hair, gazing at his wife, Bartow Xiu, with a loving look.

Then, resolved, he led the Mafia from home, setting off a wave of chaos across the East Blue.

The Pirate Hunters weren’t to be outdone—tracking down scattered pirate crews and hauling their heads to Navy branches for a reward.

The same played out in South Blue and North Blue. Mafia families in both seas continuously stirred up trouble, forcing the Navy to keep troops stationed locally, pinned down and unable to move freely.

At the same time, the Capone Family in West Blue wasn’t helping directly, but they stirred up no small amount of chaos in their own territories.

And since God Valley was located in West Blue, their disruptions were even larger, keeping the Navy from concentrating its forces at God Valley.

The only calm ones were the Tongtian Chamber of Commerce and Tongbao Arsenal—those two merchant organizations.

But behind the scenes, both were ferrying gunpowder and men for the Mafia families of all four seas, fanning the flames even higher.

“Bang!”

“See? I knew trouble was coming.”

Fleet Admiral Hill sat in the conference room aboard a Navy warship bound for West Blue. He slammed the report on the table. On his left and right sat Kong, Zephyr, Sengoku, and Garp.

Kong took the file, reading it carefully before passing it along.

“Looks like the Rocks Pirates laid their plans a long time ago. To stir up chaos in all four seas at once, they must’ve been building toward this for years.”

Sengoku nodded after reading.

“I think it goes back further. Maybe even three years ago, when the Rocks Pirates first brought peace to the four seas—that was when they started setting up their pieces. The only real question is, which of these factions is their planted pawn?”