A main crew member from an overlord pirate crew surrounding a candidate for admiral—unless a miracle happened, there was almost no way Jung could escape!
And that's exactly how it played out. With Redfield's speed keeping him pinned down, Brook's fierce attacks landed one after another, especially those soul-slicing strikes that were impossible to block, driving him deeper into despair!
"No! I can't die! Justice needs me! The world needs me!"
Jung was covered in wounds—sword cuts, burns from fire, scorch marks from electricity... Right now, he was desperately using Seimei Kikan to suppress his injuries while pushing his potential to the absolute limit.
"Speed Fruit, awaken for me!"
Trapped in this deadly situation, Jung hadn't given up hope yet. To become a Navy Admiral, to keep protecting the people and upholding his justice, his skin turned blood-red, and the blood flow in his body hit its peak!
"Yo ho ho! Trying to power up, huh? Too bad you're not the main character—you can't pull off a miracle in a hopeless spot!"
Brook sneered, a slender Seastone nail appearing in his hand, gloved in white. He fired it at Jung with blinding speed.
The Seastone nail whistled through the air with a deafening roar, sending out shockwaves like a shuttle through space, appearing right in front of Jung in an instant!
'One Billion Volts: Heavenly Thunder Net!'
Redfield erupted suddenly, materializing along Jung's escape route. A terrifying web of lightning completely sealed off his path!
Charlotte Linlin's three advanced Homies combined and unleashed a massive burst, slashing out a hundreds-of-meters-long beam of white light sword energy that blocked Jung's side escape route.
Whitebeard Newgate fired off a shockwave that shattered the space itself, completely cutting off every possible retreat for Jung!
"No!! I'm not going down like this!!"
The Seastone nail pierced into Jung's body, triggering the terrifying lightning net that electrocuted him until he was charred black, smoke rising as he collapsed.
"Forcing the Hell Pirates to send out this much firepower—you can be proud of that!"
Brook exhaled a cold white mist as he appeared in front of Jung. Without mercy, he plunged the Seven Star Sword into Jung's shoulder, the blade absorbing a massive amount of blood and stripping him of any chance to fight back!
"Cough~"
Jung kept coughing up blood, glaring at Brook with unwillingness and rage!
The Hell Pirates had no honor—they'd sent so many powerhouses to gang up on a single admiral candidate.
But Jung didn't beg for mercy. He just closed his eyes in despair, accepting his fate. He was just one step away from becoming an admiral. Mom, Dad, my wife, my good son—I'm breaking my promise to you all!
"There's no right or wrong! Just positions!!"
Brook felt no pity for Jung's pitiful state. The officers who arrived right after swiftly slapped on Seastone handcuffs and leg chains, capturing this famous admiral candidate!
"Brook, should we head back to help Rocks, or snag a few more ability-using Marines?"
Charlotte Linlin said, still buzzing with excitement. Today, it felt like the Hell Pirates were about to skyrocket to the top!
"Yo ho ho! Let's pull out—we've got the Navy Fleet Admiral's reinforcements incoming!"
Brook laughed. It was time to let Rocks take another big hit, to completely strip the Rocks Pirates of any strength to challenge the Hell Pirates!
From now on, the Rocks Pirates would be at Brook's mercy, just a pawn in the fight against the Navy and the World Government!
"Then let's link up with Shiki!"
Whitebeard Newgate said. He figured today's haul was already insane—better to play it safe and get the spoils back to base!
"Alright, call Shiki and prep for withdrawal!"
Brook laughed heartily. Today's battle at God Valley was the turning point where the Hell Pirates would truly rise!
...
On the other side, Golden Lion Shiki was thrilled as he harvested one Celestial Dragon's luxurious palace after another. After floating up the highest one, he turned his attention to the rest—raiding for cash felt way too good!
But a sudden crowd of slaves forced him to pause his big moving operation.
"What? Roger sent you? Screw that—who cares about owing him a favor!"
Golden Lion Shiki roared, scaring the slaves into trembling, their heads dropping like they'd lost all hope. Some of the female slaves even started sobbing.
If they couldn't escape this island today, they'd be tortured to death by the returning Celestial Dragons!
"Hey! Quiet down! Stop crying! The Hell Pirates need all kinds of talented people right now. Anyone among you with a skill can come with us and leave!"
Golden Lion Shiki got annoyed, letting a bit of his Conqueror's Haki leak out. It instantly silenced the slaves. At the same time, he mentally noted to settle this score with that bastard Roger—dumping a huge burden on him and then just bailing. What a shameless jerk!
"Sir, I'm an Animal-type: Rooster Fruit user. Please save me—I'll be your most loyal subordinate!"
A burly man with a slave collar, tears in his eyes, ran out and shouted. The blood-red 'Hoof of the Celestial Dragon' brand on his forehead was glaringly obvious!
He had to escape. His whole family had been killed by the Celestial Dragons' slave hunters—that bone-deep hatred was impossible to forget!
Just because he was a Devil Fruit user, the slave hunters had destroyed his home and family, capturing him to be a Celestial Dragon's plaything!
"Jihahaha! Picking up treasure here too? Any more Devil Fruit users or strong fighters—step up for the old man!"
Golden Lion Shiki laughed. Looks like his First Division could gain a bunch of solid crew members. He couldn't join the main fight and was stuck here quietly hauling palaces, but at least this was some unexpected payoff.
He had to scoop up all the ability users and strong slaves before Brook arrived—that way, his First Division would stay the strongest!
What Newgate, Shakky, and the others' divisions? They'd just eat dust behind his First Division, never catching up!
Under Golden Lion Shiki's orders, dozens of slaves stepped forward. Most were the Celestial Dragons' personal gladiators, forced to kill each other between families for the Celestial Dragons' entertainment!
"Jihahaha! From now on, you're all members of the Hell Pirates' First Division. The old man's in a good mood today—you lot can all come with me!"
Golden Lion Shiki laughed, loading the slaves onto a floating island to take them away!
As Shiki gained a batch of new subordinates, the Hell Pirates' crew finally arrived and linked up with him successfully!
"Shiki, it's about time to pull out!"
After hearing Silva's intel report just now, Brook had already decided to withdraw immediately—the Navy Fleet Admiral Kurotaka was almost here!
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Fanfic is finished 955 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg