He's dead.
The one once thought unbeatable — the mad demon who had gathered nearly every "monster" of his age under his banner with sheer force — had actually died.
That was the hardest thing for everyone to accept.
When the true morning sun finally poured over the valley, the World King Rocks stood there like a sculpture even in death. No one could desecrate his body unless they utterly destroyed it. There was no usable tissue left: Rocks's flesh had already completely turned to stone.
"What did that madman do now?" Sengoku looked at Sharn in confusion. He couldn't comprehend why Rocks had said those things to Sharn before dying.
Suddenly Sharn came back to himself. He pulled from his clothes a small recording Den Den Mushi. It looked knocked out and turned to stone. All around, God Valley had become statues carved from rock. It was as if life had never existed there.
Sharn slipped the Den Den Mushi back into his sleeve; he'd release it when he had the chance. The longer the Love-Love (Mero Mero no Mi)'s effect lasted, the greater the chance of permanent petrification. Rocks had practically stone-ified everything in the valley — rescue was nearly impossible. If, in the coming days, some newly eaten Sweet-Sweet fruit user happened to awaken their fruit quickly enough, they might be able to save people. But one slip, and no one could be rescued.
"Maybe try it once I develop the Meatball Fruit," Sharn thought to himself. Perhaps, at a certain development, that fruit could extract the recording. The battle to defeat Rocks hadn't made the world roar with headlines — but Sharn would not let the Gorosei and the Celestial Dragons erase all traces of the man who had stood against the World Assembly. That recording was a direct proof that Rocks had existed.
When the darkness faded, light embraced the world again. Most people were exhausted and furling themselves into corners to recover. Sharn was no different. As a Zoan, he only needed to regain some strength to get away.
"Kid — want to join us?" Jaba, ax at his waist, offered his hand to Sharn. Under Captain Roger and Vice Captain Rayleigh, he was the best person to invite a newcomer into Roger's crew.
"I'm not selling my life to anyone else. No thanks." Sharn breathed and slowly bled back color as he sat against a wall. The waves calmed. Pirates and marines who had stormed God Valley watched the ruined island in horror; seeing Rocks's sculpture chilled them to the bone.
Garp was surrounded by cheering marines; to them the victory looked like his achievement. Roger didn't care. His crew leaned on him, ready for whatever came next.
"Are you trying to die? Idiots — that man just defeated Rocks!" Garp warned the marines to keep their hands off Roger's crew. The marines hesitated but did not all listen. "Pirates saving the world?" Ridiculous.
Sengoku — bleeding and still reeling after his encounter — ordered, "Rescue everyone you can! War's over. Don't cause more trouble. Clean up, and stay far from Rocks; expect trickery!"
A Marine colonel rushed to report, phone Den Den Mushi in hand, cursing: "Seal God Valley at once! Whatever happens, Rocks's traces must be wiped away! Erase God Valley from history — shroud it in fog, and there will be no pointers leading back!"
The Gorosei issued commands. Events like the Celestial Dragons being kidnapped or slaughtered must not leak. Some young knights and even one of the Gorosei had been defeated — if more people rallied to Rocks, the Celestial Dragons' power would be threatened.
"End the hunting game this year!" the Gorosei barked before hanging up. Still, many marines and Hachinosu pirates avoided looking at Rocks's statue. The man's past was too wild to face.
A marine carrying two chests ran to Garp and, when opened, revealed two infants: one red-haired and one blue-haired. Garp could not help but think of Green-Old Saint (Gringo). "Fate again?" he muttered, holding the chests and glancing toward Roger's crew.
"Looks like more treasure!" Roger grinned — of course he'd snatch it. "Grab them, lads — these are the treasures Rocks's crew died to get!" Roger's crew leapt to life and rushed the chests.
Garp let them have it and casually tossed a chest away. "Those are Devil Fruit chests!" Linlin's eyes flashed. "Mine!" Shiki felt revived and flew up. "Don't underestimate us!" Roger, Rayleigh, and Jaba worked together, and Roger's crew secured both chests and fled.
"Goodbye, Garp!" Roger took the treasure and vanished. Garp felt, absurdly, as if he had cheated death. Linlin stamped her foot in fury — another prize taken. Rocks's crew members looked awkwardly at each other. Who now could claim the title of king of kings?
"Come on, Newgate — let's build a brand-new strongest crew!" Shiki roared, laughing.
"No thanks!" Whitebeard refused. Watching Roger's crew leave, he understood that once Rocks's empire collapsed, Roger's would rise to prominence. From that moment a new hegemon stood.
"I won't be anyone's underling! And I won't forgive Roger!" Linlin looked for Kaido and Sharn, but neither were in sight. Sensing something amiss, she rushed to the port. John, Silver Axe, and Wangzhi had already reached another harbor; Hachinosu pirates flocked behind new captains.
The Black-Carp brothers stole a ship and headed for Wano. Buckin hid on a warship, waiting for an opportunity to escape. Fire-Flower vowed to rebuild the Nine-Headed Snake Pirates with Xiaqi as vice-captain. Whitebeard left to gather his ships and make each crewmember family.
Huge rocks and vessels took to the air. Gold Lion, with thousands of pirates, proclaimed, "Next era is mine!" Whitebeard leapt into the sky — at his peak, he could lift tens of meters. Who would rule next? Whitebeard believed he could claim a place, but no patrol could match Roger. No one had Rayleigh or Jaba at their side, and Roger's crew's fighters were unique.
Every major captain would need time to find and train strong crewmates. Flaws in the characters of Wangzhi, Silver Axe, and John would lead to different fates: some would secure seats for decades, others would die in endless fighting, and some would be betrayed in drunken stupor. The remaining men scattered.
Thus, in this era the first to rise and secure supremacy was Roger's crew. Even were Whitebeard's crew to grow, without significant allies like Kozuki Oden they'd be outmatched. Oden later joined Roger, as did Barret — five powerful forces versus a single top crew. From then on, Gold Lion amassed people and power; Whitebeard the strongest Paramecia power and apocalyptic might; yet the one to truly dominate the age was Roger.
Back at sea, Linlin boarded her ship and found Kaido missing. "Kaido the liar! You said you'd introduce Sharn to me — liar!" On another ship's hold, Kaido and Sharn were eating meat heartily.
"Why didn't you pirate-rob a ship, Vice-Captain Kaido?" Sharn, an absolute glutton, asked.
"Before joining Rocks's crew, I used to eat and drink at the Marine base," Kaido answered, then smirked, "You jerk — I'm the captain!"
"You're too slow, Kaido," Sharn replied, shoving a dozen steaks into bread to make a monstrous sandwich and swallowing it.
Meanwhile the Demon Compass, long dormant, spun again. One choice of the many had been completed: survive God Valley to the end; another — build his own crew. The Compass's reward for surviving God Valley: Mutant Physique.
Bang!
Sharn's bloodline factor mutated; he collapsed and slept.
"You're learning from John, aren't you? Don't leave me the mess!" Kaido grumbled. Sharn's character was abysmal; what a scoundrel.