The Strongest Lunarian in One Piece

"Captain Rocks…"

"Shiki-sama, Newgate-sama…"

"We've intercepted a strange signal on our Den Den Mushi. It mentions that in two weeks, the Celestial Dragons will hold their triennial 'hunting' event in God Valley of the West Blue—though in truth, it's nothing but a massacre of the local natives and their slaves…"

"Apparently the rewards include not only a top-tier power like the Logia Glint-Glint Fruit, but also that treasure stolen from us, the Rocks Pirates!"

On Pirate Island, commonly called "Hachinosu," in a massive skull-shaped structure, a crew member ran in hurriedly, reporting the news.

"What!?"

Hearing this—

Rocks, who sat in the central seat, and the figures to his left and right—Golden Lion and Whitebeard—all narrowed their eyes, standing up at once. They had never imagined that the World Government would host such a large-scale slaughter event.

"Gehahahaha, this is a perfect opportunity!"

Golden Lion Shiki, biting down on his cigar, sneered.

"Gurararara—this time, I'll make sure those World Government bastards cough up everything they stole and then some," Whitebeard agreed, eyes half-closed and murderous.

"Yahahaha—then pass down the word…"

Rocks squinted, smirking. "No, first gather the men. We'll go when the event's about to start, so the intel doesn't leak too soon!"

"Yes, sir—"

…

Meanwhile…

In the West Blue, on an unnamed deserted island:

Many years had passed. Silvers Rayleigh—now known by the epithet "Dark King" and serving as vice-captain of the Roger Pirates—rushed over. Approaching a tall figure dripping with sweat, his sword in hand, Rayleigh said, "Roger, I've just received some crucial intel you might find interesting!"

"Oh?"

A shirtless Gol D. Roger turned, revealing a solid, muscular build. He brushed a hand over his twin mustache, intrigued. Most strikingly, a vicious scar ran diagonally across his chest and abdomen, as though from a battle that nearly tore him in two. Evidently, he had endured a harrowing fight somewhere along the line.

It had been a year since the Roger Pirates last clashed violently with the Rocks Pirates—and ended up on the losing side, saved only by a sudden storm. In that battle, Roger was gravely wounded, and after nearly drowning, he had spent his recovery time rethinking everything. Since his health returned, he'd suppressed his restless nature and dedicated himself to harsh training, determined to settle the score.

"In about two weeks, the Celestial Dragons will hold a 'hunt' on God Valley in the West Blue," Rayleigh said gravely. "Naturally, by 'hunt,' they really mean slaughter—killing slaves and the native population…"

"If nothing goes awry, they'll claim there was some sort of revolt on the island, the Navy will 'suppress' it, and the place will be officially brought under World Government rule."

Beside him, Scopper Gaban let out a snort. "It's the same old trick. The World Government's done this more than once or twice."

When they first learned such truths, the Roger Pirates had been furious and shocked. But time had tempered that anger into a sort of numb acceptance. If it were close friends or comrades at risk, they wouldn't hesitate to help; but they were still pirates, not saviors of the world. They wouldn't cross the ocean to save total strangers. That was too big a gamble. Everyone knew the World Government possessed formidable power. When the Celestial Dragons publicly hosted such a large-scale massacre, they'd obviously deploy major forces to protect it. Causing trouble might lead to being pursued by powerful World Government and Marine agents. Besides, until now, the World Government had always kept these actions under wraps. Why the leak now?

"Yes, well… that's not the main point. The main attraction is how hefty the rewards are this time."

Rayleigh nodded. "Beyond a Logia fruit like the Glint-Glint Fruit, there's also a treasure recently stolen from the Rocks Pirates. Almost certainly, this event is designed to cultivate more members of the Holy Knights."

Years earlier, during the conflict between the Fallen Angel Pirates and the World Government—when the Roger Pirates were indirectly involved—they had caught wind of the mysterious Holy Knights. They now understood them far better.

"Hmm?"

Roger and Gaban's eyes glinted. The reason was simple: over the years, they had used collected Devil Fruits and large sums of treasure to purchase from the Fallen Angel Pirates various Poneglyph rubbings. But these were typically ordinary "Black" Poneglyphs; they had yet to acquire any of the crucial "Red" Road Poneglyphs. According to Fallen Angel El, what they had offered so far wasn't enough to trade for a Road Poneglyph.

"I imagine the Celestial Dragons' prizes are going to be extremely lavish," Gaban said, smiling excitedly. If they could secure some of the top rewards the Celestial Dragons had prepared, it might be enough to trade for a Road Poneglyph from the Fallen Angel Pirates.

"Heh-hahaha—then let's go big!"

Roger bared his teeth, eyes gleaming. "It's been a year of lying low. I can't stand it any longer!"

"We don't have much choice but to risk it," Rayleigh admitted, shrugging. "Surely the Fallen Angel Pirates have more than one Road Poneglyph fragment in their possession. If we want it, we'll have to deal with them. Our only real bargaining chips are treasure or Devil Fruits on a massive scale."

As for simply robbing or stealing from Totto Land territory, that would be suicide; the Roger Pirates weren't that foolish. They had witnessed first-hand how formidable the Fallen Angel Pirates were when they fought the World Government's top officers. And since then, that crew's might had only snowballed. Never mind El himself, labeled the "World's Strongest Creature." Even the five main "Calamities," the Eight Vajra, the Seventy-Two Pillars of Officers, and the tens of thousands in their armed forces were enough to daunt anyone.

"That's all secondary, though. The real question is: That rascal Rocks probably got wind of this too, right?"

Roger's hand briefly grazed the glaring scar across his chest, the wound throbbing at the memory. A fierce light shone in his eyes as he gritted out:

"I can't let that go unanswered!"

~~~

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