Chapter Fifteen: Convergence of Forces! The Hunt Begins! (Please keep reading!)
A vast fleet surged forward relentlessly, crushing countless waves beneath its hulls.
Yet this unstoppable momentum faltered upon entering the windless zone.
In a sea bereft of wind and currents, progress depended solely on manpower.
The pirates rowed vigorously with long oars, inching slowly through this dead calm.
Fortunately, there was little worry about Sea Kings here; nearly every monster boasted Conqueror’s Haki, deterring any Sea King from approaching.
“Hey, can’t you use your power to whip up a gale and speed up the fleet?”
On the broad deck, Golden Lion snapped his fingers. Two flying swords suspended midair suddenly accelerated, streaking toward Roa like twin meteors.
“That’s asking too much, Uncle Shiki!”
Roa spun, his twin blades tracing crescent moons, deftly deflecting the incoming swords. “One ship, maybe. But over two hundred? I’m only seven years old!”
“Useless brat,” Shiki exhaled a ring of smoke disdainfully.
“It’s you who’s too harsh, Uncle Shiki!”
Roa sprang forward, slashing mercilessly at Golden Lion. “Lion’s Might: Sealing Dust Despair Slash!”
The flying swords cut a curved arc through the air, striking Roa back with a sharp clang.
“I’ve never heard of that move,” Golden Lion remarked with contempt.
“Hahaha! Sounds good to me!” Roa laughed heartily. “I think I have a knack for naming techniques!”
“Childish babble,” Golden Lion dismissed him, practicing tough-love education.
“Hmph, take this, Uncle Shiki!” Roa lunged again.
The dark aura only enhanced his basic attributes; mastering skills still required his own practice.
Luckily, the elders doted on him, always willing to spar when they had time.
Today was no exception; after Uncle Shiki, Aunt Lingling and Big Brother Kaido had also trained with Roa.
By the time the fleet passed through the windless zone and officially entered the Western Sea, dusk had fallen. Roa, exhausted from exertion, was starving.
He couldn’t help but shout hoarsely, “Captain, I’m so hungry! Can I get something to eat?”
“Behave yourself!”
The captain’s cold voice cut through the air. “Every pirate in this fleet has their role. If you want to hunt, wait until we reach the Valley of the Gods.”
Roa sighed inwardly.
Such stinginess, Captain.
Don’t you know I’m still growing and need nourishment?
***
The low-ranking members were useless anyway; making use of them was a neat solution.
But surely the other monsters were stirring too?
***
Somewhere in the Western Sea.
“Are we really going to slaughter the entire population of a nation along with countless slaves?!”
With only a faint stubble and two points of a captain’s horned hat, the infamous Great Pirate of the New World besides Rocks, Gol D. Roger, laughed heartily. “Hey, hey, hey! The world’s been in the hands of these lunatics for eight hundred years!”
Behind him came laughter. “Captain, are we about to become heroes this time?”
“Heroes? Heroes have to sacrifice themselves. Not me!”
Roger laughed again. “That bastard Rocks will surely show up! When he and the World Government turn on each other, that’s our chance! After all these years of being hunted, it’s time for revenge!”
“Don’t get careless, Roger,”
First Mate Rayleigh adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses. Though a notorious pirate, he carried an unexpected air of refinement. “The Rocks Pirates are already tough enough, and with the World Government involved, no one knows what might happen.”
“Useless, Rayleigh!”
The ship’s third-in-command, Jabra, with thick black hair tied in a fluffy ponytail and small sunglasses perched on his nose, laughed loudly. “When it comes to times like this, the captain doesn’t bother with all that!”
“Hahahahaha!”
Roger’s laughter grew louder still. “We’ve come this far! Why not make some noise? Men! Let’s turn the world upside down!”
“Oh!!!”
The Roger Pirates, assembled!
***
Not far from there, another stretch of sea saw a massive dog-headed warship cutting through the waves.
“Wahaha! Not just Roger, even the Rocks Pirates are moving?”
A middle-aged man with short, stiff black hair standing like steel needles laughed heartily. “Such a large-scale battle hasn’t happened in years!”
“Why not take this chance to wipe out both factions?”
“Captain Karp,”
His adjutant, a swordsman wearing a gray fedora, whispered a warning. “If the Rocks Pirates truly appear, our forces won’t be enough.”
“It’s too late to send reinforcements now,”
Vice Admiral ‘Iron Fist’ Karp shook his head. “The Celestial Dragon’s Divine Knight Corps have been deployed too. No one knows their true strength, but since the government isn’t worried, it should be fine.”
A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I just need to focus on Roger!”
The adjutant nodded silently.
“Still,”
Karp stroked his chin thoughtfully, “what are the Celestial Dragons doing way out in the boondocks like this?”
***
Days later, in the Western Sea, the Valley of the Gods.
This island featured a peculiar landscape: a towering peak split in two by a steep canyon, as if cleft by a divine blade.
Hence its name: the Valley of the Gods.
At this moment, warships surrounded the island in a tight ring. The Navy on board remained vigilant, forbidding any unauthorized entry or exit.
Yet the Navy had no idea what lay on the island, nor what was unfolding there.
They knew, and yet they did not.
On the island, the triennial Celestial Dragon Hunting Tournament was about to begin.
“Waaah!”
Amid a scream, the island’s king—a man still clueless about the impending chaos—was suddenly struck from behind, blood spraying as he collapsed to the ground.
“Hey! Geringer! You’re cheating! The tournament hasn’t even started!”
A Celestial Dragon wearing a bizarre mask and wielding a long spear complained furiously.
“Just a bit impatient... deduct ten thousand points from me if you want,”
A man with golden hair styled like a crescent moon flicked blood off his blade calmly. “Anyway, I’ll win in the end.”
“You’re way too arrogant!”
Another Celestial Dragon shouted. “The Donquixote family will never lose to you!”
“The winner will be our Jaegorussia family!”
Moon-headed Geringer of the Figarland family showed no expression. “Anyway, get the rabbits moving. If I’m bored in the next three weeks, that’s a grave sin.”
“Wow! What a jerk!”
At that moment, melodious music sounded from loudspeakers spread around the island.
“Thank you for waiting, everyone! The triennial Hunting Tournament is about to begin! As in previous years, over the next three weeks, please display your martial prowess and clear the island of approximately one hundred thousand rabbits!”
“The competitor with the highest final score wins all the prizes!”
“Are you ready?”
...
“Are you ready?”
Somewhere in the Valley of the Gods, a big-headed boy shouted loudly, “The damn tournament is about to start, and so is our plan!”
“Been waiting so long, big brother!”
A lively pink-haired girl smiled brightly.
Beside her, a tall, burly flat-top boy nodded stiffly. “Yeah!”
“Then, we wait for the chaos to begin!”
The moment the big-headed boy’s voice fell,
The loudspeakers echoed throughout the island,
“The tournament! Begins!”