Chapter 34: Raid on Uru Island: The Rocks Pirates Strike

By the time they reached Uru Island, night had already fallen.

Since the X Pirates’ sentries had been quietly eliminated ahead of time, nobody spotted them as they landed.

Rocks led the group straight toward the main base of the X Pirates, planning to catch them completely off guard.

“Damn!”

“We must’ve made a killing today, huh?”

“Haha, come on, not really. It wasn’t that much.”

…

From voices drifting out from the island, they could tell it was a gathering day for the X Pirates. The crews on the smaller islands under their control had paid up their protection fees, bringing piles of treasure and gold. Tonight was their annual grand feast.

All the main members of the X Pirates were inside.

The moment Rocks sensed that all the key members were present, he started assigning tasks.

“I’ll handle X. The rest of you divide the others among yourselves.”

“Hahahaha!”

“Wave Slash!”

Rocks didn’t give them time to be picky. As soon as he finished speaking, he swung his imposing long blade.

A massive, crescent-shaped slash ripped straight toward the center of the hall.

“Who goes there?”

“Not good, we’ve got intruders!”

“Who’s got a death wish tonight?”

The pirates at the feast sobered up instantly, grabbing their weapons and squaring off with the Rocks Pirates.

“Rocks?”

X, who sat at the main seat, shot to his feet in shock.

“Who the hell are the Rocks Pirates?”

“How did they get in here?”

“Why didn’t anyone report this?”

…

Just as the X Pirates were reeling, wondering how Rocks and his crew had made it onto the island, X himself couldn’t have imagined they’d show up here so suddenly.

After all, years had passed since their last major battle, and things had been peaceful ever since.

But now that he saw Rocks standing there in person, there was no way he was here to party.

“Hahahahaha!”

“Jorlul is dead. You’re next.”

Rocks stood high above, long blade pointing straight at X.

X was still stuck on Jorlul’s death—was it just a rumor?

But when he looked up, Rocks was already flying straight at him.

He knew this wasn’t the time for hesitation. Rocks was here, and that could only mean a fight.

“Boys, to arms!”

“Yeah!”

“Let’s go!”

“Let’s show them what we’re made of!”

A huge wave of pirates charged at the Rocks Pirates.

“Gehahahaha!”

“Old friend, Durant!”

“Lion’s Blade: Thousand Cuts Gorge!”

Golden Lion was the first to greet his longtime rival, Durant.

Twin golden slashes shot from his swords, crossing in midair with a roar like a lion.

A terrifying cross-shaped attack tore through the battlefield with unstoppable force.

Only a true swordmaster could deliver such sharp, overwhelming power.

“Meteor Slash!”

Durant leapt forward, countering with his signature move. The battle tore the field in two.

Meanwhile, Newgate and Charlotte Linlin had each locked onto their own division captains.

Karl, however, noticed the third division captain, Baroque, was missing—leaving him with no one on his own level to fight.

But then it struck him—Baroque was probably making off with the X Pirates’ fortune.

Immediately he unleashed his Observation Haki, and sure enough, sensed someone racing toward the back of the island.

He quickly cleared away the small fry with a Wave Slash, then gave chase.

“Didn’t expect Jorlul to be so useless—Rocks took him out without even making a sound.”

“Looks like it’s our turn to run for our lives.”

It was Baroque, the third division captain, who muttered this as he fled toward the treasure vault at the back of the mountain the instant he saw Rocks barge in.

From where he stood, Rocks’ arrival meant the situation was hopeless. The only thing left was to run for it.

“Boom!”

A tremendous shockwave swept across the entire island in a single instant.

“Hahahahaha!”

“X, you’ve gotten sloppy.”

Rocks’ voice echoed across the island, knocking weaker pirates straight to the ground. Clearly, he was unleashing his overwhelming Conqueror’s Haki.

“Clang!”

…

The massive sound slowly faded into the distance.

Baroque had reached the entrance of a cave—though to the eye, there was no sign of a doorway.

He twisted a stone set into the cave wall.

“Ka-ka-ka-ka!”

A harsh grinding noise rang out, and suddenly, a hidden door swung open before him.

Karl tailed him closely, carefully masking his presence to avoid alerting Baroque.

“No time, just gotta grab the important stuff and run.”

As soon as the door opened, Baroque dashed inside. On a platform sat fifteen metal boxes—the most valuable things could only be Devil Fruits.

He stuffed five metal boxes into a bag and slung it over his shoulder. These must have been the most valuable fruits. If he’d taken them all, Rocks’ people would know someone had escaped, and there’d be no way out, so he just grabbed the strongest ones. But the moment he turned around, he suddenly paused.

“Come out!”

The cave went dead silent.

“You’re pretty careful, but your aura gave you away.”

For top-tier fighters, sensing someone nearby isn’t just about Observation Haki. Breaths in the air, faint heartbeats, even fewer insects or rodents—all can hint that someone is hiding.

Baroque had instantly detected a faint heartbeat. Someone was lurking by the door, waiting for him to leave.

“Huh, so you caught me after all.”

Karl scratched his head as he walked out from behind the door.

“How’d you find me?”

Karl was sure he’d hidden perfectly—absolutely no flaws.

“No one can make their heart stop beating.”

“Lucky for me, my hearing is insane. I can hear heartbeats clearly within a hundred meters.”

From Baroque’s perspective, Karl making it this far unnoticed was already impressive.

“I see.”

“Didn’t know you were such a freak.”

Karl couldn’t help but marvel—he’d never met anyone with hearing like that.

“Enough chatter. Let’s do this.”

Baroque dropped the bag by his feet, readying himself for battle.

“Alright, alright, was hoping to chat a bit more with you.”

“Poison Dragon!”

Baroque clearly wasn’t in the mood for small talk. He swept his right hand forward, releasing a toxic dragon that lunged at Karl.

“Looks like he’s no pushover.”

Karl immediately spotted droplets dripping from the Poison Dragon—they sizzled, burning a hole straight through the ground.

He knew if that thing touched him, he wouldn’t last long.

“Shave!”

“Wave Slash!”

He used Six Powers: Shave to dodge aside, then slashed with his sword—sending a golden blade of energy flying at Baroque’s legs.

From what he knew, the Poison-Poison Fruit was a Paramecia—it couldn’t turn the body to pure poison. Plus, Karl’s attack included some Armament Haki.

“Poison Channel!”

Baroque instantly dissolved the ground into a slick toxic slide and used it to slip away.