Chapter 151: Storm Over God Valley

Karl closed the System panel and began fusing with the Liuxing template—one of the ones he’d wanted most.

As the fusion process began to display on the System page, a warm current surged through his body. Karl’s mind gradually filled with Liuxing’s skills. Two rings slowly formed on his fingers: the Black Emperor Ring and the White Emperor Ring. Each ring held the power to control eight elements.

A flash of joy crossed his eyes and he could barely contain his excitement.

…

In Wano, before Karl arrived, the country had always strictly followed a policy of isolation.

Deep underground in Wano’s Capital, inside the same mysterious chamber—a place that once served as the shogun’s private meeting room. The decor was ancient yet lavish.

“Have you heard the news?” rumbled a low voice in the chamber.

“Of course. It’s not like we’re still shut off from the world.” Another, younger voice replied. He was holding the latest newspaper from the News Agency, eyeing the assembled group.

The speaker sounded a little regretful. For ages, Wano had stayed isolated from the world, but no one expected Karl to force the country’s gates open just like that.

But without the strength to resist, they had no way of knowing if this was a blessing or a curse.

“We can’t act recklessly without those orders,” the first, authoritative voice said again, full of command and decisive intent. The others fell in line under his lead.

“Yeah, his strength is just too overwhelming.” Someone else spoke, their tone uneasy.

Respect and unease filled that voice. Everyone knew how powerful Karl was, so no one dared to make the first move unless they were absolutely certain.

“Let’s wait for now,” the mysterious leader sighed. All they could do was wait—wait for more information, wait for a better opportunity.

After all, the initiative was no longer in their hands.

The chamber fell silent, and a moment later, several figures cloaked in black slipped out, each heading their own direction.

Two days later, out on the open sea, a commanding voice called out!

“We’re finally here.”

Fleet Admiral Hill and the others had pushed forward without rest. After two long days, they finally arrived at God Valley.

Staring at God Valley in the distance, Sengoku couldn’t help but sigh.

“Such a beautiful island—about to be wiped from the map,” he murmured.

Kong stood at the prow. “But it’s worth it if we can take down Rocks.”

“Move! Get ashore and form up in defensive positions!” Hill strode across the deck, barking orders at the vice-admirals. The Navy needed their forces deployed on the front half of God Valley as fast as possible. The rear half was reserved—the Celestial Dragons’ ritual grounds.

Everyone knew a brutal battle was coming. Every soldier’s face was etched with determination.

Two hours ticked by as the Navy scrambled to get into position.

Suddenly, a marine wiped sweat from his brow and glanced up, spotting something massive on the horizon. “What’s that?”

His question got the attention of his companion.

The man looked up too, his gaze sharp, instantly recognizing the fleet flying across the sky.

He turned quickly, cupped his hands, and shouted, “The Rocks Pirates are coming!”

With his shout, everyone paused, lifting their eyes to stare at the distant sky.

On the horizon, a mighty fleet sailed through the clouds like a black storm, approaching God Valley. It was the infamous Rocks Pirates.

Truth was, the Navy had only arrived here two hours ahead of them.

If Garp hadn’t warned them, they might have been late.

No one wanted to think about what might have happened if they’d arrived after the pirates.

Aboard the Jibeck.

Rocks stood at the bow with Karl on his left. Beside them were the division leaders—Newgate, Golden Lion, Linlin, and the rest.

“Hahahaha!”

“Looks like the Navy’s set up quite a welcoming committee.”

Rocks’ voice was cold and sent a chill down everyone’s spine.

All eyes turned down towards the island below.

“Ma ma ma ma!”

Linlin chuckled softly and plucked the Emperor’s Blade from her hat. “The Navy sure came prepared.”

“Kehahaha!” Golden Lion suddenly stepped forward, blocking Linlin’s view.

“Let me take the first move!”

He drew his twin blades, Deadwood and Sakura Ten. “Lion’s Thousand Cut Bones!”

This was Golden Lion’s signature move in his prime, powerful enough to slice through mountains or cleave the sea.

A massive blade of wind howled forth, tearing across God Valley with destructive fury toward the Navy.

Wherever the blade passed, a deafening roar echoed and the ground trembled underfoot.

With his strike done, Golden Lion guided the fleet to float low over the sea, just a few nautical miles from God Valley, steering straight ahead.

Seeing the attack incoming, Kong ripped off his cloak and tossed it aside.

He bent his knees, leaped toward the sky, and met the oncoming blade head-on. “Kong—Meteor!”

With a thunderous punch, he shattered the blade of wind.

“Hahahaha!”

“Hill, it’s been a long time,” Rocks called out.

“Yeah, Rocks. Wish it wasn’t here of all places,” Hill replied.

Their eyes met midair, tension crackling between Fleet Admiral Hill and Rocks.

Just as everyone expected the two to exchange words, Rocks suddenly unleashed his Conqueror’s Haki.

An overwhelming pressure exploded from him—streams of black and red energy rippled outward, hammering down on everyone like a hurricane. In an instant, people on both sides started dropping where they stood.

“Move the fainted soldiers out of the front lines!” one of the conscious Navy vice-admirals shouted, organizing the remaining troops to drag their unconscious comrades away.

If they stayed there, even the aftershocks of the battle could kill them before they knew what hit them.

Dying like that would be nothing short of tragic.

No one would ever want to go out that way.

Hill’s face was grave as he unleashed his own Conqueror’s Haki.

The two waves of power collided, warping the very air itself. Black-and-red domes crashed into the ground, fierce and menacing.

“Didn’t expect the Fleet Admiral to have Conqueror’s Haki too.” While their Haki clashed, Karl still had the presence of mind to chat quietly with Linlin.

“Hm?”

Sensing something was off, Karl released his own Conqueror’s Haki. His will was every bit as strong as Rocks’.

Since this was the final battleground, there was no longer any need to hide what he could do.

Rocks was taken aback—Karl’s Conqueror’s Haki was every bit his equal.

A sly grin played across Rocks’ lips. It seemed Karl’s ambitions ran deep.