The crew of the Byrnndi Pirates heard their captain's order and turned their weapons on Brook. Terrified as they were, these pirates didn't lack the guts to face down a powerful enemy.
"Tsk tsk tsk, you poor fool. Your whole crew's riddled with holes—CP agents have infiltrated every corner. The World Government was gonna take you out anyway, so why not do me a favor and hand over that More-More Fruit?"
Brook chuckled, eyeing World, the reckless brute who'd thrown caution to the wind and recruited pirates without a second thought. It was way too easy for the World Government or Navy to plant spies in a setup like that.
But you couldn't entirely blame him. Most pirate crews did the same—open recruitment. They just weren't as lucky as the Hell Pirates, who had Redfield the mind-reader, the Memory Seahorse, and now Silva with the Glare-Glare Fruit.
World's face turned ashen at Brook's words. CP spies in his crew? No way. Just two days ago, the whole gang had fought alongside against the Navy, everyone taking wounds. How could they be spies?
"You're full of crap! These guys have been with me for over half a year—brothers through thick and thin, life and death. No way they're CP plants!"
World refused to believe it, but would a legend like Brook really stoop to sowing discord against a supernova like him? Nah, he'd just crush them outright.
"Believe what you want—it's your funeral. Anyway, I'm here to claim that Devil Fruit power of yours. Sigh, the world's losing another pirate bold enough to take on Celestial Dragons. What a waste!"
Brook didn't hide his admiration for Byrnndi World. Pirates who defied Celestial Dragon authority were rare, let alone those who actually attacked and killed them.
Even in the Worst Generation's eleven supernovas, most steered clear of the Dragons. Probably only that directionless Zoro and clueless Luffy—guys with zero concept of who they were messing with—would dare throw hands.
World glanced back at his crew, his expression shifting between doubt and storm clouds. But this wasn't the time to sort internal drama. Priority one: escape from Brook.
"Fire!"
Byrnndi World gave the command decisively, ordering a fighting retreat while the ship pulled away. But Brook's Conqueror's Haki from earlier had knocked out over half the fodder pirates, leaving them short-handed to sail.
He hated enemies with Conqueror's Haki—always left him helpless like this. Why couldn't he awaken that kingly potential? What was he missing in spirit?
He was the one brave enough to strike Celestial Dragons—didn't that outshine guys like Naguri or Chinjao?
"Prometheus, burn their ship to ashes!"
Charlotte Linlin soared in on Thundercloud Zeus, hurling Sun Prometheus forward. Flames erupted, painting the sky red. This tiger of a woman charged ahead even faster than Brook.
After sweeping so many pirates lately, she'd harvested plenty of souls and lifespans, boosting her own strength and that of her three Homies. Wielding Napoleon, she slashed forward, cutting off the Byrnndi Pirates' escape route.
Who could've guessed she was six months pregnant?
Brook's face twitched slightly. Damn, she's fierce—Linlin could probably wipe out the whole Byrnndi crew solo.
But no way was he letting his woman steal all the glory. In a blink, Brook appeared beside World, his eerie Shichiseiken slicing down with blinding speed that made World's eyes widen.
50x Speed!
Byrnndi World dodged the lethal strike in an instant, cold sweat beading on his brow. His Devil Fruit gave him insane speed boosts, yet Brook matched it with pure skill?
"Yohoho! That's one hell of a More-More Fruit—boosting your speed that much, and it's not even fully developed. Tons of potential!"
Brook praised without reservation. World's More-More Fruit could multiply speed, power, size, weight, and more—up to 100 times.
Whether 100x was World's limit or the fruit's cap, Brook leaned toward the former. World's strength and talent probably topped out there.
He could only amp himself up to 50x—his body likely couldn't handle more—while objects got the full 100x boost.
100x Slash!
A hundred-meter colossal sword materialized out of nowhere, crashing down on Brook with terrifying speed. The Hell Pirates on Golden Ark gasped—damn, what a Devil Fruit. No wonder Brook was handling this personally.
With a whistle, Brook's chilling sword aura cleaved the massive blade in half. Even amplified, ordinary steel was still ordinary.
As the fruit's effect faded, the sword shrank back to normal size. World grabbed his brother Byojack and a few officers, bolting for it. This wasn't a fair fight—not even close.
Fish-giant Sebastian shoved a landing boat forward, their main ship already ablaze from Charlotte Linlin's Prometheus. They couldn't stop that monstrous woman.
"Quick, Captain—get on!"
Sebastian shouted anxiously from the water. As a fishman, he knew Fishman Island was now Brook's turf, but he'd joined the Byrnndi Pirates years ago. Betraying his captain? Not an option.
Say what you will—World's officers were loyal to the core.
In the original story, after World's 30-year imprisonment, his crew still schemed rescues, waiting for his Impel Down breakout. They'd even built an island-sized ship with a super cannon to complement his More-More Fruit.
"World, aren't you all about loyalty? Dumping your crew like that? Just grabbing your officers and running?"
Brook laughed heartily. Once he locked on, escape was impossible. No ship outran Qilin Lion's Wind-Wind Fruit, and Thundercloud Zeus or Cloud Hera could match any fishman-propelled boat.
On the small boat, World froze in silence. His brother Byojack jumped in to convince the hotheaded younger sibling.
"World, let's go—live to fight another day. And those crewmates... there might really be CP spies selling us out!"
Byojack threw the rest to steel World's resolve to flee. He'd shoulder the blame—as long as they escaped!
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+300 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg