Chapter 42: The Departure of the Rocks Pirates

Afterwards, Newgate declared he’d handle the strategist Kreuss, Giles was left to Charlotte Linlin, and the rest scattered across the battlefield each seeking their own opponent with no special instructions.

Rocks decided to hang back at the rear, waiting to see what kind of scheme the Navy had planned. From his perspective, as long as you were strong enough, no plot could truly threaten you.

As for Jorlul falling into a trap, it was simply because he wasn’t strong enough. If he had been stronger, the outcome could have been very different.

“Everyone, listen up. The Snow Lion Admiral is an Ancient Zoan-type, possessing the Snow Lion Fruit.”

Shakky, calm and collected, started briefing everyone on the Snow Lion Admiral’s Devil Fruit abilities. As the information officer, it was her job to gather intel from every angle.

“The Devil Fruit doesn’t just make his body tough. He can also attack enemies with freezing breath.”

“That’s why his hand-to-hand combat is so formidable.”

“The records show that when fighting the Snow Lion Admiral, he channels his cold breath right into the enemy’s body, leaving them frozen and stiff.”

“Plenty of opponents ended up locked in a losing battle, step by step getting overpowered until their bodies were too rigid to fight back.”

After finishing the briefing, Shakky tucked away her notes and took a spot behind Rocks.

“In short, that’s everything you need to know.”

“John, Wang Zhi, you two stay here on Beehive Island. The rest of you are coming with me to the Tyr Kingdom.”

“Let’s see what schemes the Navy has up their sleeve.”

…

“Krell, I want to bring Long Yi and Long Er with us for this battle.”

“Watch over them at all times.”

“Understood, Lord Karl.”

Once the meeting broke up, Karl returned to his quarters right away to give Krell some instructions.

“Krell, would you like to eat a Devil Fruit?”

Krell’s progress had been a bit slow, still far from catching up to the first-rate fighters. If he relied on training alone, Karl couldn’t say how long it’d take before he finally became a true right hand.

“Lord Karl, I don’t want a Devil Fruit for now. I’m a fishman, after all. If anything happened, at least I could still escape into the sea.”

That made sense. Most of a fishman’s strength came from the ocean, and eating a Devil Fruit would only weaken his abilities and leave him with a glaring weakness.

Besides, he was already practicing Five Elements Fist. Even if progress was slow, there’d be a real leap in power eventually.

“Oh right, Krell, after we finish with the Tyr Kingdom, you can head back to Fishman Island. See if there are any fishmen willing to join you at sea—I want to form a fishman salvage team.”

It wasn’t the first time Karl had this idea, just that he never found the right chance before. Once the Tyr Kingdom was wiped out, as far as his sources said, there wouldn’t be any force left in the New World’s latter half that could challenge the Rocks Pirates.

With more free time, he could finally focus on building his own underground network.

“Rest assured, Lord Karl, I’ll bring my fellow fishmen here.”

Krell spoke with a hint of sadness. These days, the fishmen had become the main commodity in the slave markets.

Because fishmen lacked real powerhouses, this was the result. In fact, with so many of them, most couldn’t even live under the sun. Every year, plenty risked everything to join pirate crews above the waves, though most were simply captured and sold into slavery.

Krell wanted to change this, but out in the New World, he had little influence and couldn’t help his people back home.

Now, things were different. With Lord Karl on their side, the number of fishmen traded would drop drastically in the New World’s second half.

After all, no one wanted to pick a fight with the rulers of the sea. Unlike those in the original story always itching to throw themselves at the Four Emperors, most pirates wouldn’t dream of it.

“Let me thank you on behalf of my fishman brothers, Lord Karl.”

Krell quickly dropped to one knee, fists pressed together before Karl, his tears falling to the ground before he could stop them.

“Come on, get up already. No need for all that.”

Karl noticed right away but understood the situation all too well. With his current strength, there was only so much he could do.

He hadn’t expected Krell to show such raw emotion.

“Understood, Lord Karl.”

Krell jumped up and wiped his eyes as soon as Karl spoke.

“By the way, what about those hundred or so children?”

“They’re not ready for the open sea yet.”

That was final—Karl decided those hundred kids just weren’t strong enough to venture out now.

This was his very first core team; he needed to protect them carefully.

“Just let Long Yi and Long Er come along. It’ll give them a taste of the real world.”

“Krell, you stay here this time. Look after those hundred kids.”

“That giant—leave him to you, too. If anything happens, you know what to do.”

Karl didn’t need to finish his sentence; Krell caught the meaning instantly. He knew Lord Karl was worried about the kids, and a bit wary of the giant as well.

“Understood, Lord Karl.”

“One more thing—while you’re on the island, build us a ship of our own. Spend whatever it takes, just make sure to use the finest materials.”

“Yes sir, Lord Karl.”

Once Karl finished giving orders, he gathered Long Yi, Long Er, and most of his pirates and headed to the harbor. They were all set to board their Sixth Division’s main ship, setting sail for the Tyr Kingdom.

Each division had its own flagship, and right now three large ships sat idle in the port.

If Rocks had his way, he would have had ten division commanders, but in the end, he never managed to recruit all ten.

By the time Karl and his crew reached the docks, most of the pirates had already boarded and were ready to head out.

“Alright, everyone, get on board!”

“Yeah!”

With Karl’s command, his pirates rushed to board the Sixth Division’s ship.

“Hahaha!”

Rocks unleashed his Conqueror’s Haki, and a dominating aura spread out from him like a storm, pressing everyone nearby down with sheer force. Then he pulled that massive presence back, leaving the air heavy in his wake.

“Let’s go, everyone! Target: Tyr Kingdom. This time, let’s really shake things up!”

“Set sail!”

As soon as Rocks finished talking, the entire pirate fleet began steadily pulling away from the harbor.

Standing at the very prow, Rocks silently thought that whatever scheme the Navy cooked up, they could bring it on—he had nothing to fear.

…

A pirate aboard the Rocks Pirates’ ship slipped into a quiet corner and called someone on the Den Den Mushi.

“Hello? Fleet Admiral Hill?”

“Yes. The Rocks Pirates have set out.”

…

“Click!”

“Hello, Admiral?”

The Den Den Mushi belonging to the Snow Lion rang.

“Snow Lion, if things go south, pull back immediately.”

“Reports say the Rocks Pirates are throwing everything into this mission.”

“If something really goes wrong…”

Fleet Admiral Hill didn’t bother finishing, but the Snow Lion understood exactly what he meant.

“Understood, Admiral.”

Even the Snow Lion didn’t know if he’d make it back alive to Navy Headquarters this time.

He couldn’t leave the Tyr Kingdom yet, though—the kingdom was about to offer Devil Fruits to the World Government, including a Logia-type Magma Fruit. That one could let the Navy create a brand new admiral.