"Damn that Kaido… that hurts!"
Sharn rubbed his forehead, groaning. As he pushed himself up from the floor, his stomach growled like thunder.
"So hungry…"
He stepped into the corridor. Everywhere, pirates were rushing out, weapons in hand, eyes burning for war. Sharn, however, moved against the tide, sniffing for food.
Back near his old quarters, he found it—mountains of supplies piled to the ceiling. Bread, roasted meat, seafood, and fruit gleamed under the dim lamps; the smell alone nearly drove him mad with hunger.
"Oi! Sharn!"
Old Jeff bellowed from the doorway. "We can already see God Valley ahead! We're landing soon!"
Sharn ignored him. Food first. Everything else could wait. He tore through the pile, devouring until his stomach bulged and the ache faded from his muscles. Still, the hunger lingered—last night's battle had drained him far more than Rocks Port ever had.
As for God Valley… he'd fight once they landed. Charging into a war like that without full strength? That was suicide.
The Jibek's Blade — Deck
Rocks D. Xebec stood at the helm, smiling a smile that was all teeth and no warmth.
"Ready, my little monsters?" he roared. "Let those vermin in God Valley see what true power looks like!"
His gaze burned across the waves—mad, tyrannical, electric.
"Oi, don't talk like you command me," rumbled Whitebeard, standing tall with the tiny but smug Bakkin perched on his shoulder.
"Let him yap," Shiki laughed, spinning his twin blades. "The show's about to start!"
Linlin floated above them on Zeus, her hair blazing into fire as she prepared to descend. The Kokutan siblings—Mushi and Chimomaru—waited in silence, their strange powers at the ready.
Elsewhere stood the serpent-eyed Fireblossom, captain of the Kuja Pirates, with her crewmate Shakky beside her. Streusen—Linlin's chef and partner—had long since traded love for partnership.
Wang Zhi towered on the upper deck, ready to storm the island and merge with its chaos. Silver Axe flexed, the weight of his namesake weapon secondary to the sheer, godlike strength in his body.
Each of them—names that would one day reshape the world—had once been a captain in their own right. And yet, they'd gathered under one flag: Rocks D. Xebec.
If Rocks had never existed, no one could have assembled such monsters.
Their goal was blasphemy itself: overthrow the Celestial Dragons, seize their world.
If they failed, they'd scatter—each seeking the throne by their own path.
If Conqueror's Haki had color, then the Rocks Pirates were a storm of every hue.
Back Below Deck
Sharn wiped his mouth and stood to leave, his belly finally round and full—when a drunk stumbled through the door.
"Hic~"
Captain John. The air filled with the smell of booze—then whoosh! fire exploded from his mouth.
The more he drank, the stronger he became. The infamous treasure-hunter, lover of gold and wine—user of the Drink-Drink Fruit. The ceiling blackened instantly, smoke rising through the boards above.
It was almost routine aboard Rocks' ship. Silver Axe usually fished him out of the flames when it got too bad.
"Oi, kid!" John slurred, wiping his mouth. "Not gonna help me up?"
Sharn didn't bother replying.
"Rude brat. Want a drink? I can—" he hiccuped, "—spit some for you!"
"No thanks," Sharn muttered. "Keep your… vintage to yourself."
He stepped around him, but John swayed after him, hand brushing the golden cuff around his wrist—a strange armband glinting with promise. A treasure once desired by countless hunters, though not yet as powerful as legend would claim.
"You're a funny one," John grinned. "Name?"
"Sharn."
"Sharn… Sharn who?" John mumbled, staggering down the corridor. Within seconds he was gone—wandering the deck, repeating the name to no one.
"John!" Silver Axe barked, slapping a huge palm on his shoulder. "The Celestial Dragons' little game is ending."
"Heh, old friend!" John chuckled. "Fancy some gut-brewed wine?"
Everyone around them grimaced. You could kill him, and he'd still offer another round.
The Calm Before the Hell
"Once every three years," Rocks growled, standing at the prow, his hair writhing like snakes. "The Celestial Dragons hold their Native-Hunting Game—a feast of death guarded by their precious God Knights. This time, we end it. With blood and steel, we'll show them their era is over!"
His Conqueror's Haki burst outward like a tidal wave.
BOOM! BOOM!
The sea itself shuddered, ripples turning to crashing walls as dark-red Haki rolled across the waters like a sea of blood.
Ahead loomed God Valley—a vast island shaped like a deep scar in the world. It seemed narrow from afar, yet its lands stretched for miles, riddled with canyons and smoke.
On the island, the God Knights guarded chests filled with glittering Devil Fruits—trophies of cruelty.
Every three years, the Celestial Dragons chose a kingdom that had failed to pay the Heavenly Tribute. Then they forced the people to fight to the last man. The "winner" earned freedom and a Fruit.
In centuries of games, none had survived.
Meanwhile
From two other directions, ships closed in.
One carried the Roger Pirates—newcomers to the world's stage, but powerful enough to terrify the old order. The other flew the Marine flag, led by none other than Vice Admiral Garp, dragged from his rare vacation to face this madness.
Three forces converging on one island.
This battle would be carved into history—one that would shake the world, birth legends, and tear down gods.
To those who lived through it, "divinity" was nothing more than fragile paper.
Thirty years later, when a man on Sabaody would dare strike a Celestial Dragon, few would remember…
That once, here, men slaughtered Celestial Dragons like dogs.
The Stage of Slaughter
At the center of God Valley, the square of the "game" awaited.
By the treasure chests stood Figarland Garling, red-haired, moon-bearded—one day hailed as the Celestial Dragon King. His sharp eyes darkened as the waves of Haki crashed closer.
"Are they serious?" he muttered, gripping his sword. The rest of the God Knights followed suit.
And behind them, watching from the highest tower—Saint Jaygarcia Saturn, the Science and Defense War God of the Five Elders. The "safeguard" of this grotesque carnival.
The Invasion
"LAND!"
The Rocks Pirates surged forward. Marines at the harbor paled at the sight—the New World's monsters descending like a plague of locusts. The roar of cannon and clash of steel filled the air.
Sharn vaulted onto the docks as bullets sliced past his ears. Technology might still have lingered in a steam-age haze—Vegapunk had yet to revolutionize it—but gunfire still killed.
"Seize the treasure! Take the Devil Fruits! Let the Celestial Dragons DIE!"
Rocks himself led the charge, cutting through the battlefield like a beast unchained.
Sharn followed, his Demon Compass humming in his palm. He kicked a Marine clear through a wall, sparks crackling across his body. The battlefield was a storm—pirates fighting pirates, slaves fleeing in chaos, Marines and nobles screaming orders.
And above it all, the people of God Valley wept—helpless, praying for salvation as their king's cry was cut short by a Celestial Dragon's blade.
The game had begun.
◇ I'll drop one bonus chapter for every 10 reviews (leave a review/comment!)
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon: patreon.com/KageNaruto