Chapter 157: God Valley’s Battle—Blood, Ambition, and Awakening

“Finally, it’s over.”

Jennifer, Smith, and White Tiger exchanged glances, relief washing over their faces.

None of them expected to run into the Kurozumi siblings here.

Luckily, they’d dealt with them already—both siblings lay defeated at their feet.

Right after the Kurozumi siblings died, two ordinary-looking fruits in the center of the God Valley altar quietly changed shape.

Jennifer let out a breath, stepped forward, and lifted their clothes. Sure enough, three Devil Fruits were hidden there. She flicked out the scroll and stored all three Devil Fruits inside.

She then glanced back and nodded to Smith and White Tiger.

A moment later, dozens of Fishmen sprung from White Tiger. It was their turn for a feast. Frenzied, they dashed toward all corners of the treasure vault, desperate to haul away the gold as fast as possible. After all, this was the last vault.

Once this final vault was emptied, they knew it was almost time to leave.

Meanwhile, focus shifted to the heart of the battlefield.

“Gurararara!”

Newgate stood across from Sengoku, letting out a booming, hearty laugh. He swung Cloud Cutter, charging straight at Sengoku, its razor edge bearing down on him.

“Advanced Conqueror’s Haki!” The roar echoed through the edge of the battlefield, red and black energy swirling around the blade.

“Buddha Shockwave!” Sengoku’s steely face stayed silent. Transforming into his Buddha form, he pushed forth a giant golden palm. A surge of energy erupted from his palm, the shockwave so powerful it was visible to the naked eye.

Seeing this overwhelming force surging at him, Newgate didn’t hesitate for a second.

“Quake!” He laughed, swinging his left fist as white energy rippled outward, forming a dazzling glow.

The air around him seemed to twist, rings of distortion spiraling out from the force.

The instant their attacks collided, the air split apart like shattered glass.

Waves raged, surging dozens of meters high and racing out in all directions.

Wild shockwaves tore through everything nearby.

Anyone too weak to handle the force was blasted away. The rest could only watch in awe, all eyes snapping to Newgate and Sengoku.

“Captain Newgate, you’re incredible!”

“Told you, no one can top our Captain!” Newgate’s crew shouted from the opposite side of the battlefield.

“Don’t get cocky, pirates!”

“If you’re fighting me, don’t lose focus!”

Vice Admiral Nick couldn’t take being ignored by the pirates any longer. Gripping his sword, he unleashed a volley of sword energy toward them.

After the shockwave swept past, both fighters stood on opposite sides of the rubble, ready to keep going.

“Stop staring, Sengoku. Your good buddy Garp is probably facing an enraged Karl by now.” Newgate caught sight of Sengoku glancing left, immediately guessing he was watching Garp’s fight.

Elsewhere, black and gold clashed in midair.

Sengoku spat out clotted blood and wiped his mouth.

He wasn’t worried about Garp. No one knew Garp better than he did. Over the years, Garp had trained like a madman, shattering hundreds of mountains just for this showdown with Karl. Now, the two were evenly matched right before their eyes.

“Save your breath, Newgate.”

Sengoku pressed forward, each step heavy, his right hand wreathed in Conqueror’s Haki as he swung at Newgate.

Newgate wasn’t backing down. He planted Cloud Cutter into the ground, bent his knees, drew a deep breath, and then launched a thunderous punch. “Earthshaker!”

“Boom!”

Their fists collided in a blink. The land beneath them couldn’t handle the impact and began to crack apart.

After locking arms for a split second, both Sengoku and Newgate staggered back.

Dust filled the air around them. “Cough!” Newgate hacked up blood, but without pausing, he charged at Sengoku again.

Off to the side, Buckin had been watching. Once Newgate coughed up blood, she snuck over to the spot.

Miss Buckin had long ago made contact with members of the MADS organization.

After working with Judge Vinsmoke, she learned a thing or two about genetics.

That’s why she’d been trying for years to use blood to create clones of top-tier fighters. But strong fighters almost never bled badly in battle, at least not in the New World. There just weren’t enough brutal fights.

Some fighters only became powerhouses thanks to Devil Fruits, and she had no interest in them.

Her work with Judge Vinsmoke had only one goal—to collect Whitebeard’s blood and create a Whitebeard clone.

But now there was someone better: Karl. However, his fights were far too dangerous to approach just yet, so she’d have to settle for Newgate’s blood for now. Of course, if she could get blood from Karl or Rocks, that’d be even better.

Crossing the chaotic battlefield, her nerves were stretched taut, heartbeat pounding with every anxious step.

At last, she reached the spot where Newgate had coughed up blood. After a cautious look around, she quickly fished out a small bottle and collected the blood, glancing over her shoulder one more time before darting away to hide again.

Buckin wasn’t all that strong. Here on the battlefield, she barely had enough power to keep herself safe.

She’d never risk her life in a head-on fight. Dying here chasing glory just wasn’t worth it.

Nearby, Flame Flower watched her, curiosity piqued. She muttered to herself, “What’s that about…?”

But before she could think any more, a Marine attack snapped her back to the present. As she watched, two Marines rushed her from both sides.

Flame Flower reacted instantly, landing a straight punch that sent the first Marine flying. She dodged back, spinning in midair to block a sneak attack from the second.

With just a few swift moves, she knocked out both Marines, then snapped her attention back to where Buckin had been moments ago.

But Buckin was already gone.

She tried to recall exactly what had just happened. “Newgate and Sengoku…?”

But the thought faded as she threw herself back into battle. No one could’ve guessed just how strange the origin of ‘Whitebeard Jr.’ would one day be.

Speaking of which, the famed genetic black tech from the One Piece world deserves a mention—with just a bit of blood, one could replicate a person’s physical abilities perfectly. That’s true black technology.

Even Judge Vinsmoke probably never imagined taking things this far.

He only ever applied his genetic skills to traditional cloning, never dreaming of creating people with a powerhouse’s blood. Maybe that’s a limit of the people in this world.

If you think about it, the members of the new Seven Warlords in the source material were apparently made by Vegapunk using Lunarian genetic samples. That’s how those ‘New Seven Warlords’ came to exist.