Elsewhere on the island, halfway up a mountain.
The view here was excellent. From this spot, nearly half of God Valley could be seen at a glance.
"In just this short time… several hundred slaves have already died at the Celestial Dragons' hands. And some of them… were killed by their own people…" Ivankov looked tense, fear flickering across his face.
It was a completely one-sided slaughter. No one could make any waves against the Celestial Dragons.
So many had died in only a few moments, and this was only the beginning. What came next would be even more brutal. Even more people would die.
The Celestial Dragons weren't the only danger.
The slaves were dangerous too.
Beside him, the little girl Ginny forced a smile onto her face.
"Ivan… have you found any sign of a Devil Fruit?"
"No." Ivankov's eyes darted, clearly thinking hard. "The Celestial Dragons definitely hid them somewhere extremely well. They won't be that easy for us to find."
He paused, then spoke again, voice lower and steadier.
"This island is too big. Only six Devil Fruits exist, and with just the two of us, finding one will be difficult. And even if we do find one, there's no guarantee we can take it from others."
"So we need to find some companions."
There were countless slaves on the island. Kids like them weren't rare, and there were even babies.
But there were also other races and special people among the slaves those with real strength.
They were searching for the Devil Fruits too.
"I'll listen to you," Ginny said. She understood how weak she was. If she wanted to survive in a place like this, sticking together wasn't optional.
It was necessary.
"Then we'll look for allies first!"
…
At the center of God Valley
A glorious, lavish city rose into view.
Its splendor was in no way inferior to the Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
The entire city was bathed in white tones, with countless elegant buildings built from pale, jade-like stone.
In a remote corner of this city, a group in black cloaks appeared silently.
"Captain, what a coincidence." One of them spoke, excitement in his voice. "We never expected to run into the Celestial Dragons' human hunting contest here in God Valley. This couldn't be better for our plan."
"It looks like this operation will go a lot more smoothly than we expected."
Though the cloak hid his face, his broad, powerful build couldn't be concealed.
But the man beside him spoke calmly, cool and cautious.
"Gaban, don't underestimate the World Government. Even if most of their forces are tied up with the hunt, we can't ignore what they still have left behind."
"And this palace is built on such an enormous, extravagant scale… finding anything about the Void Century won't be easy."
Though half his face was hidden by the cloak, the distinctive beard gave him away.
The one speaking was the Roger Pirates' vice-captain.
The Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh.
"If the World Government chose to erase a hundred years of history," Rayleigh continued, eyes gleaming, "then they'll never allow anyone to easily uncover what happened in those vanished years. The lengths they went to… it means there's a secret big enough to shake the world."
He narrowed his eyes.
"Our hope is slim. Our focus should be on the strange script carved into the Poneglyphs."
Roger nodded.
"Right. My instincts tell me that if we can decipher that writing, we'll uncover something enormous."
Regret surfaced in his heart.
He had left the New World and traveled all the way to Ohara in the West Blue, specifically to seek out the archaeologists there scholars said to be the most knowledgeable in the world.
Roger had placed his hopes of deciphering the Poneglyph script on them.
But the results were disappointing.
Even the scholars of Ohara couldn't decode the writing yet.
"I wonder when those archaeologists will finally crack it…"
Gaban's eyes flashed as he cut in.
"For this hunt, the World Government put up six powerful Devil Fruits as prizes. From what we've learned, every single one of them is extraordinary."
"Should we take them?"
His words immediately stirred the others.
Sunbell, the fish-man who had once fought Tengetsu Ares, spoke up in agreement.
"They're powerful Devil Fruits, scattered across this island right now. If we find them first, they'll be ours."
"A single Devil Fruit is worth at least a hundred million berries, and these six are all extremely rare. Their value is massive."
Another crewmate, Seagull, chimed in.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get powerful Devil Fruits. If the Celestial Dragons eat them, we'll never get our hands on those kinds of fruits again."
"And besides…"
His expression darkened as he continued.
"The Rocks Pirates are too strong now. Lately, Tengetsu Ares has been stealing even the spotlight from us, the Roger Pirates. His bounty's already over two billion."
"That guy is a full-blown monster."
"And it's not just him. The Rocks Pirates also have monsters like Shiki the Golden Lion, Whitebeard, and Charlotte Linlin."
"Our crew isn't weak, but compared to the Rocks Pirates… the gap is huge."
"If we can secure a few powerful Devil Fruits, we can boost our strength. At the very least, we'll have enough power to protect ourselves when facing the Rocks Pirates."
He spoke with clear worry.
The Rocks Pirates had once invited the Roger Pirates to join them.
But they were pirates who pursued freedom. They didn't want chains. They didn't want to become a butcher's blade in Rocks' hand.
They had refused.
And since then, conflict had erupted more than once.
Over the past few years, the Rocks Pirates had continued to expand, growing into a force so vast and terrifying that even the World Government feared them.
Just then, a woman's voice cut in.
It was Shakky the woman the Roger Pirates had rescued.
"Tengetsu Ares is terrifying now. Even Marine Vice Admiral Garp suffered at his hands and was injured."
"And that monster trainee Kaido also obtained a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit. His strength will soon catch up to the Rocks Pirates' division commanders."
"The Rocks Pirates… have already reached their peak."
The moment they heard that Garp had been wounded by Tengetsu Ares, the Roger Pirates' expressions changed.
They dealt with Garp often enemy and friend alike.
They knew his strength better than most.
Even Roger himself, when facing a serious Garp, had chosen to withdraw and avoid a head-on clash.
After hearing all of that, Rayleigh fell silent for a moment, then spoke slowly.
"Shakky understands the Rocks Pirates better than we do. These past few days, she's told us a lot."
"I think we should find a way to take those Devil Fruits."
Rayleigh also recalled the feeling of facing Tengetsu Ares in battle.
The memory rose sharply in his mind.
Combined with Shakky's information, Rayleigh believed Tengetsu Ares had become even more frightening than Whitebeard and Shiki.
To him, that level of threat was already comparable to the captain of the Rocks Pirates himself
Rocks D. Xebec.
Rayleigh continued, voice steady.
"The Celestial Dragons are in the open. We're in the shadows. If we move carefully, we have a very good chance of getting the Devil Fruits."
Then he looked to Roger.
"And for infiltrating the palace, we shouldn't take too many people. The more we bring, the easier we are to detect."
Roger's eyes flared with sharp light, a king's aura spilling out with bold, unrestrained ambition.
"Then we'll take them all."
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