New World – Doragonzo Island
Just a few days ago, two new islands were added to the ever-expanding territory of the Hell Pirates. Naturally, this stirred up a storm of curiosity among pirates across the seas, drawing crowds eager to witness the changes firsthand. And now, Brook had officially released the laws governing his lands—broadcast worldwide via the World Economic News Agency.
The announcement was bold.
The formation of the Pirate Guild was now complete. Any pirate crew could register, complete challenges and assignments, and earn one of six prestigious ranks: Bronze Pirate, Silver Pirate, Gold Pirate, Diamond Pirate, King Pirate, and the elusive title of Pirate Emperor.
To earn the Pirate Emperor title, one had to slay a Navy Admiral or even the Fleet Admiral in direct combat. Those who did would be rewarded with full accommodations in Brook's territory—food, clothing, shelter, transport, and resources galore. They would even receive support to rise as rulers of their own waters.
As for the King Pirate, the requirement was equally terrifying—defeat an admiral and either kill five Marine Headquarters vice admirals or one admiral candidate. In return, the titleholder would enjoy a 10% discount on everything within Brook's domain.
Pirates of other ranks were judged by different feats: bounty value, success in challenge missions, combat achievements—like killing a vice admiral or a major general—would factor heavily into evaluation.
Brook redefined the pirate world's scorecard: bounties, battle records, marine kills, rival pirate eliminations, unexplored territory discoveries—all now tallied and measured by his rules.
Diamond Pirates: 70% discount
Gold Pirates: 50% discount
Silver Pirates: 40% discount
Bronze Pirates: 30% discount
But even the lowest rank came at a deadly cost. To qualify for Bronze, a pirate must have personally slain a rear admiral from Marine Headquarters.
Brook even clarified: Marine branch officers ranked one level below their headquarters counterparts. A branch vice admiral was on par with a rear admiral from HQ. So, if a pirate killed a branch vice admiral and registered with the Guild—they were in.
Bronze Pirates had the right to sail freely within Hell Pirates' territory and enjoy their discount, as long as they behaved. Cause trouble, and all bets were off.
For the infamous pirates who had slain three Marine vice admirals? They could instantly claim Diamond Rank upon registration—granting near-unrestricted freedom within Brook's empire.
Running low on funds? No problem. Pirate crews could plunder from rival factions like the Diger Pirates or Rocks Pirates—or take on missions issued by the Guild itself: capturing rogue pirates, exploring uncharted waters, or finding rare beasts and materials.
---
The formation of the Pirate Guild sent shockwaves through the seas—startling even the Navy. Brook was making his move against the World Government, straight-up making marine hunting a merit badge.
But what did Brook gain from all this? Legalizing pirate groups under his own banner? Offering heavy discounts and territory privileges? Wasn't he losing money?
Only a fool would think Brook ran at a loss.
He understood the value of authority. Once every pirate registered with his Guild, he'd control the entire ecosystem of infamy—standardizing what it meant to be a "great pirate." His invisible hand would shape their ambitions, goals, and even movements.
Tasks? Missions? Bounties on Navy and World Government personnel? All now centralized under Brook's platform.
In the Four Seas and across the Grand Line, countless pirate crews operated alone, refusing to submit to the Three Overlords. They hid on remote islands, avoided strongholds, and struck only when the odds favored them—always at risk of being wiped out.
But now, Brook's Guild offered sanctuary. A chance to grow. As long as they followed the rules and registered, they could roam Hell Pirates' territory without fear of annihilation.
Naturally, the Guild saw a surge of new registrations. But not everyone met the criteria for Bronze. Some crews lacked the strength to even challenge a Marine officer.
To solve this, Brook introduced a provisional rank: Iron Pirate.
With just a 100,000 Berries registration fee, crews could become Iron-ranked and receive a Black Iron Den Den Mushi—a snail transceiver that opened a mission screen for half an hour each day.
Every Den Den Mushi came with its own permissions and rank-based privileges. As long as pirates kept in line, they could navigate Brook's waters and take missions freely. Their activity logs, missions, locations—everything—would be monitored by Antonio's surveillance network.
Brook was building a living database of pirate operations. And it was terrifyingly effective.
---
Ballon Island – Sky Island, New World
"Captain Brook, why go through all this trouble? Just dominate the strong, crush the weak. Simple," grunted Golden Lion Shiki, clearly unimpressed.
Brook, standing beside Whitebeard Newgate and Charlotte Linlin, smiled knowingly.
They all knew Antonio was behind the Den Den Mushi network. And while they'd initially felt tricked, none of them had suffered for it. If anything, they benefited.
Newgate, for one, appreciated Brook's foresight. Linlin, however, still bore a grudge—her anger over Mother Carmel's mysterious fate hadn't faded.
But even Shiki had to admit—Brook's schemes were masterful. For all his complaining, he respected Brook's cunning. The man had outwitted even Roger's crew.
Thanks to Brook's Den Den Mushi network, they'd uncovered the situation on Breton Island. There, Roger's Pirates were locked in a months-long standoff with Saracha of the Butcher Pirates, their battles slowly bleeding the Butchers dry.
Roger—the so-called "Child of Destiny"—had acquired an ancient text and the method for mastering Conqueror's Haki Entaglement, a legendary ability of the former Overlord. Yet now, Saracha, the last Butcher Pirate standing, had gone mad—hell-bent on exterminating Roger's crew.
What Saracha didn't realize was that both Roger and Rayleigh had begun mastering the Conqueror's Haki Entanglement. At this rate, they'd surpass even the Hell Pirates soon.
Brook and the others were stunned.
Their own progress with Conqueror's Haki Entanglement had stalled—and Roger was closing in on mastery?
That was a wake-up call. They had grown too comfortable. Roger, always on the run, always in battle, was growing stronger by the day. His trials had forged his strength.
After hearing the news, Brook reached out to Roger.
"If you manage to beat Saracha," Brook said, "spare his life—and sell him to me. His Corruption Fruit is far too valuable to waste."
-------------------------
Brook frowned as he tried to analyze the situation with Shiki the Golden Lion. Subduing pirates by force wasn't impossible, but the current state of the sea made that path more complicated than ever. Too many pirate groups were either running wild within the Rocks Pirates' territory or simply looting without purpose.
For Brook, brute force wasn't the answer—not right now.
"If I try to take them all by force, I'll have to invade both the Rocks Pirates' and Diger Pirates' waters. That's not cost-effective," Brook muttered to himself.
What he needed was a smarter approach. The Grand Line was full of pirate crews chasing their own idea of freedom. If he could gather those aimless marauders under one unified flag—a guild, a system—they'd be easier to control in the long run. It would take more effort and resources upfront, but the payoff could be massive.
"As long as we become the dominant force," Brook said, eyes gleaming with a strategist's ambition, "we can use the guild as a platform to regulate pirates—and have them willingly be exploited. That's capitalism, baby. Control the platform, control the chaos."
If the Hell Pirates could broadcast missions, pirates would rush to complete them. Add in some competition and occasional rewards to stir infighting—classic pacifier strategy. Let them bite at the bait while you pull the strings behind the scenes.
It was the same method Doflamingo once used to become one of the kings of the Underworld. As a broker and overlord, he was untouchable—dealing with the World Government, supplying Kaido with artificial Devil Fruits, selling seastone from Wano, running weapons to pirates and kingdoms alike, even holding slave auctions. His empire spanned from food and clothing to logistics and information.
Brook turned to Shiki. "Shiki, recruiting them one by one will take forever. We need to lure them in—benefits, protection, access. Let them come to us."
He spoke with the confidence of a true mastermind. These pirates weren't saints—they were the type who burned, plundered, and slaughtered without a second thought. If offered security, profit, and freedom, they'd flock to join. Once inside, Brook could decide who to uplift—and who to secretly eliminate for their Devil Fruit powers.
"There's true love in this world," Brook chuckled darkly. "Once you enter Hell, you're one of us."
But there was a problem. Many pirates were still wary of the Hell Pirates, especially the rumors that they could steal Devil Fruit abilities from others. That fear made them hesitant to get too close.
To fix that, Brook proposed the creation of a Pirate Guild—a centralized organization under the Hell Pirates' watch. Pirates could register, receive ranks based on ability, and gain access to missions, discounts, and protection in Hell Pirates' territory. This would reduce paranoia and increase compliance.
---
Meanwhile, far from the political drama, Golden Pirate Woonan had just withdrawn from Rocks' territory. The moment he saw the headlines about the new Pirate Guild—"Register now and sail freely in Hell Pirates' territory, as long as you don't cause trouble!"—he couldn't help but grin.
Woonan wasn't interested in hegemony or politics. All he cared about was adventure, gold, and lost treasure. He'd nearly died the last time he crossed into Hell Pirates' waters and got chased out by Shiki himself. If registering meant he could explore without fear? He was all in.
True to the article's instructions, Woonan flew a green flag on his ship and docked at Doragonzo Island. The place was buzzing with pirates. After paying a modest 100,000 Berries fee, Woonan underwent a series of bizarre tests—combat strength, sword skill, speed, Devil Fruit control, and more.
Name: Gold Pirates
Captain: Woonan
Bounty: 410 million Berries
Naval Record: Killed one branch Rear Admiral, fought evenly with a Headquarters Rear Admiral once, and tied with a branch Vice Admiral.
Pirate Record: Defeated three pirates with over 100 million bounties, fought evenly with Eric Dan of the Rookie Overlord King Pirates.
Evaluation Score: 63
Rank: Silver
A cheerful pirate girl handed him a silver Den Den Mushi, smiling. "Congratulations, Captain Woonan. You are now a Silver Rank Pirate under our guild. Enjoy a 40% discount across all Hell Pirates' territory. Your Den Den Mushi will display available guild missions."
"Wuhahaha~! I'm the great Golden Pirate, but they gave me a Silver Rank?" Woonan burst into laughter. "How annoying! But a discount and safe passage through the overlord's seas? Not bad!"
He flipped open his new Den Den Mushi. The screen displayed a list of missions: recovering rare Devil Fruits, collecting rare materials, capturing unaffiliated pirates... All with massive payouts based on bounty levels.
Pirates like Woonan usually left defeated enemies to rot. They couldn't exactly drag a corpse to the Navy to claim a reward. But now, with the Pirate Guild footing the bill? They stood to gain real profit. There was just one catch.
"…Only live captures?" Woonan raised a brow.
It made sense. After all, once a Devil Fruit user died, their power would reincarnate into a random fruit somewhere in the world. The Hell Pirates must have a method—maybe some mysterious Devil Fruit Tree—to retrieve those powers. They were clearly collecting ability users.
"Still, spending all this money just to capture guys who might not join them... that's risky," Woonan muttered.
But Brook and his elite team had a trump card. With the power to enslave souls, even those who resisted could be bent to their will. Losing money on failed captures? Unlikely.
"Oh? An extra reward for taking out a Rocks Pirates commander?" Woonan's eyes lit up. The bonus was a hefty few hundred million Berries—on top of the normal bounty.
The Hell Pirates had gone full warlord. Issuing bounties like the World Government, targeting pirates who refused to join? They were forcing a choice: join or be hunted.
But in the world of pirates, betrayal was business as usual. If guild members could get paid to turn on each other, so be it. Worst case? No reward.
To climb to Gold Rank, Woonan now needed to either kill a Marine Vice Admiral or defeat a non-guild pirate with a bounty over 500 million. In other words: take on the big dogs of the Rocks or Diger Pirates. Tempting… but dangerous.
"Well then," Woonan said, sheathing his cutlass with a grin. "Let's take a little tour of Hell's paradise."
As the Pirate Guild's influence expanded, fear began to spread. Dozens of pirate crews were captured in mere days, traded in for bounties, and publicly ranked. The message was clear: register, or become prey.
Panic swept the seas. Pirates raised green flags in surrender and rushed to Doragonzo Island to register, hoping to avoid the hunter's blade.
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