Seeing that Manxway was still trying to negotiate, Brook didn't waste another second on him. He raised his hand and released a powerful Seven-Star Sword Slash. In Brook's eyes, this guy wasn't worth the time.
Now that the Umi Family had gained momentum, Manxway had lost all value. Brook only offered the chance to surrender to make the Pocket-Pocket Fruit user, Bra Kara, obedient. But for someone like Manxway, who was used to being in charge, submitting to someone else was nearly impossible. Worst case? Just erase a bit of Bra Kara's memory and retrain him slowly.
"You bastard! You really went for it!!"
With barely any distance between them, Manxway had no choice but to use his Armament Haki-covered fist to block the incoming slash head-on!
As soon as they clashed, Brook's sword energy blasted him away, sending him crashing into the executives behind him and severely injuring several of his own employees.
"I told you—it's either surrender or death. No third option. Now go!"
Brook had no patience left. He didn't care about recruiting someone this useless anymore. He waved his hand, and his crew sprang into action. Charlotte Linlin immediately began harvesting life spans from souls.
The crew knew the drill. They didn't kill the enemies outright—they left them for 'waste processing' by Memory Seahorse, Linlin, and Brook.
Even though some of Manxway's men had bounties of 200 to 300 million berries—comparable to Bra Kara—they were no match for the Hell Pirates' offensive.
"I surrender! Please, stop killing!!"
Manxway's heart broke as the team he spent ten years building fell apart before his eyes. Despite the humiliation, he had no choice but to beg.
"Too late. We're past negotiations. Now it's just clean-up."
Brook didn't hold back. He wanted souls, not excuses. With one clean strike, he killed Manxway on the spot.
"You..."
Manxway couldn't believe it. He had finally lowered himself to surrender, yet Brook still ended him. While still in disbelief, Brook's cursed sword pierced straight through his chest.
"Why?!"
His eyes were filled with despair and regret.
"Memory Seahorse, Linlin—come eat."
Brook didn't even glance at Manxway again. People like him, with no leverage, trying to bargain? Death was mercy. The Umi Family was only dragging out their negotiations because Brook still hadn't found them yet.
But Manxway? He was already surrounded, powerless, and worthless. Brook wouldn't waste another breath on someone who couldn't read the damn room.
Memory Seahorse and Linlin came happily to strip Manxway of his memories and lifespans. Redfield followed behind to probe his mind, searching for the guy's secret stash and hidden bases.
The rest of the New World Dispatch Company surrendered fast once they saw their boss die. But Brook didn't spare them. He ordered them all executed to silence the witnesses.
He didn't want other factions catching wind that he was slowly dominating the so-called neutral underground forces—it would only piss off the underground world.
After collecting the souls, Charlotte Linlin burned their corpses to ash with her flames. Brook then relayed the info to the Umi Family, instructing them to take over the Dispatch Company's bases.
At the same time, he sent all their seized resources and funds to the Umi Family for their development. Shakky even provided a large stash of gold, benefiting both the Umi Family and Moore Thomas's World Economic News Agency.
The people of Blue Pillar Island, who had been hiding at home for two days, finally noticed all the pirates were gone. Life slowly returned to normal—except now, there was a strange black beach next to the port.
The Memory Seahorse, having devoured tons of memories, had grown massive. Its strength now surpassed Shakky's, and its Armament Haki-enhanced flying kick was incredibly strong. Brook planned to feed it an Animal-Type Devil Fruit soon; otherwise, its lack of limbs would limit its growth.
Back on Sky Island's Baron Island, the Memory Seahorse also acted on Bra Kara, wiping some memories and officially turning him into the Hell Pirates' storage clerk under Shakky.
Meanwhile, Shiki, Newgate, and Redfield couldn't wait anymore. They pushed Brook to take on Roger's crew, and so the Hell Pirates set out to meet the future Pirate King.
The golden ship Erebus landed back on Golden Island. Shiki then flew Golden Island toward Bristol Island, chasing down the Roger Pirates.
Shiki was extremely familiar with this territory. After Brook and Roger connected via Den Den Mushi and shared their location, Shiki quickly locked in and took off.
"Hahaha! Brother Brook, I'm itching to see how powerful this Roger guy really is!"
Golden Lion Shiki bit down on his cigar, his eyes full of fire and excitement.
"Hmm~, it's hard to say. You all learned Ryuo Haki in Wano, but Roger probably hasn't. He may not be as strong as you expect."
Brook admitted Roger was strong, but the present timeline had changed. With Shiki and Newgate on a different path under Brook, they might've already surpassed him.
"Gurararara~! Roger fought his way to the top. But we've got Brother Brook guiding us step by step. There's no way they can keep up now!"
Newgate felt his power had exploded since joining the Hell Pirates. Whether it was mastering Armament Haki, unlocking Ryuo Haki, or getting tailored training for his Devil Fruit, everything was covered.
Brook seemed to know it all. He mapped out the growth routes for everyone's abilities—they just had to follow it, and boom, their strength doubled.
"Lord Brook is our guiding light!"
Redfield echoed the sentiment. Ever since joining up with Brook, things had just... clicked. It was like being led by fate itself.
"Brother Brook, after coming back from the Underworld... can you really see people's fates?"
Even Charlotte Linlin started feeling Brook was a bit too mysterious. The way he knew what would happen to others in the future—it was like he could see destiny itself.
"Yohoho~ Don't worry about it. I'm not here to mess with fate. I'm here to change it for the better."
Brook smiled gently. He wouldn't lead them into destruction—only toward greatness.
To truly grow stronger, Brook knew he had to shed some kindness. He had to absorb more souls to boost the power of his Revive-Revive Fruit. He wouldn't let his crew fall apart because of a power gap—not on his watch. He wouldn't let Rocks defeat them.
Only with absolute strength could he silence things like Shiki's thirst for dominance and Newgate's moral hesitations.
----------------
Now, Redfield and Charlotte Linlin's Conqueror's Haki were both awakened under Brook's command, and their loyalty to him was unquestionable!
Unless Brook died, it would be almost impossible for them to leave his side!
Shiki the Golden Lion had joined the Hell Pirates from the very beginning with the idea of making a comeback using Brook's power. He might've intended to leave once he got strong enough—but for some unknown reason, he ended up becoming sworn brothers with Brook.
Right now, his strength wasn't enough to dominate the other members, so he was still playing it safe. But if he eventually surpassed Brook, things might change.
After all, Shiki was a proud man who had awakened his own Conqueror's Haki. He wouldn't follow someone weaker than him, sworn brother or not. At worst, he'd leave to build his own path—and maybe even offer Brook support from the outside.
The only one left now was Newgate, who hadn't yet awakened his Conqueror's Haki. He was a pirate with a strong sense of justice. If Brook started killing innocent people just to raise his strength, it could create a rift—and Newgate might choose to go his own way.
That's why Brook needed to help guide Newgate to awaken his Conqueror's Haki under his leadership. The best hope was to teach him how to use it to protect the families of their crew.
---
"Brother Brook, after learning Ryuo, what can we work on next to get stronger?"
Right now, Shiki just wanted power—enough to beat Redfield, Newgate, and the others—then slowly take over the Hell Pirates!
"You can only push Ryuo—Armament Haki—to a certain level. Don't get ahead of yourself," Brook said, warning him. "I don't even know where to learn Future Sight for Observation Haki or Conqueror's Haki infusion yet."
Brook still mentioned the advanced Haki types, though. He had a plan. When they clashed with Rocks again, he'd use the opportunity to get the secret technique for Conqueror's Haki infusion from the old man, Diger.
As a veteran with Conqueror's Haki, Brook didn't believe for a second that Diger didn't know how to infuse it.
---
"Future Sight and Conqueror's Haki infusion? Wait, Conqueror's Haki can be infused too?!"
Shiki was stunned. He never even imagined that Conqueror's Haki could be used like that. Even Redfield and Linlin were surprised.
Shiki glanced at Newgate—like he was silently telling him: If you still haven't awakened your Haki, you're seriously falling behind!
"Exactly. If we can get the training method from Diger, we'll take it," Brook said firmly. "So we need to deal with the Siren Pirates quickly, back Diger up in battle, and pressure him into handing it over!"
Brook didn't care if it meant playing dirty. Diger had kept the secret to himself long enough. It was time to level up the entire crew.
Newgate clenched his fists. These guys were already looking into advanced Haki methods—and he hadn't even awakened his own Conqueror's Haki yet.
---
"Gurararara~! Shiki, you haven't even mastered focused Conqueror's Haki like big bro Brook told us. Why are you jumping ahead to infusion? There's still a stage where Conqueror's Haki can shatter objects, and you're not even close to that yet!"
Newgate couldn't help but talk trash—he hated seeing Shiki acting smug.
"Hahaha~ Still better than someone who hasn't awakened Conqueror's Haki at all!"
Shiki shot back without hesitation. He still couldn't beat Redfield, and he could only go toe-to-toe with Linlin and Newgate. But at least he had Haki!
---
"Alright, knock it off! You two are always bickering like enemies!"
Brook cut them off and looked at Newgate's increasingly prominent white beard.
"Newgate, maybe it's a matter of image," Brook said seriously. "You might be missing a title—that's why your Conqueror's Haki hasn't awakened yet. So I'll give you one right now!"
He pointed out how others had clear nicknames:
Shiki had long brown hair and wore yellow, so he was the Golden Lion.
Redfield liked dark red and used to be nobility, so he was the Red Earl.
"As for you… From now on, you'll be Whitebeard Newgate!!!"
Brook made the decision on the spot—any other title would feel off.
And surprisingly, Newgate liked it. He accepted it immediately and decided to shout it loud during their next clash with the Siren Pirates.
"Who the hell do you think I am?! I'm Whitebeard!!!"
---
"What about me, Brother Brook~? Last time you didn't like our 'Three Sisters of Hell' title. What about 'Witch of the Underworld'? Is that funny to you?"
Charlotte Linlin stood up, clearly hoping for a personal title too.
"Hey! Are you ditching me and Stussy now? Without you, how the hell can we still be the Three Sisters of Hell?"
Shakky snapped back immediately. Things had finally gone smoothly for her—she didn't want to go back to being called the blackmailing brat!
"No, Shakky~…"
Linlin slumped back down like a sad kid. She looked a little embarrassed and shut up.
---
Brook looked over the three women.
Linlin and Stussy both liked pink dresses.
Shakky preferred black tight suits.
Calling Linlin "Auntie" didn't quite fit anymore. She really gave off a "Witch of the Underworld" vibe. Brook started thinking—What fits pink? Peach Rabbit? Scarlet Witch? Concubine Witch?
Thankfully, Shakky's interruption stopped Linlin from ditching the group name. But Brook still tossed out some personalized suggestions.
"You can keep calling yourselves the Three Sisters of Hell, but add some flair—like Scarlet Soul Witch of the Underworld for Linlin, and Dark Blood Saint of the Underworld for Shakky. It fits your colors and Devil Fruit powers."
"As for Stussy—she hasn't used her fruit yet, so let's call her the Hell Princess Red Demon Girl for now."
---
Brook ignored their reactions and turned his attention ahead.
They were getting close to the island where the Roger Pirates were staying—and since none of the crew knew Roger personally, he'd have to introduce him.
Meanwhile, over on Holy Water Island, Roger's crew had just spotted the luxurious Golden Island arriving at the port.
---
"Roger, I regret sailing on your tiny-ass boat now. If I'd known this was gonna happen, I would've followed Brook-senpai! Hahahaha!"
Rayleigh slapped Roger's shoulder, half-serious and half-laughing.
Even the vice-captain was a little shaken—let alone the rest of the crew.
"How much gold is that?!"
Even Jabba's sunglasses couldn't hide the sparkle in his eyes. He swallowed hard and rubbed his hands—it was like they were itching to grab something.
Roger, on the other hand, didn't give a damn about the gold.
What he cared about… were the Poneglyph in Brook's hands—and the location of the final Road Poneglyph.
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