Brook watched Wald and his crew struggle with the decision, pondering how to bring them under his wing. Pirates who'd once commanded their own ships were a proud bunch, tough to sway.
If persuasion wasn't working, Brook figured he'd try his Shichiseiken Sword. It had a way of twisting minds, turning the infected into loyal puppets who obeyed his every command without question.
"So, you really think you can slip away with just that fishman and this rickety boat? You're underestimating the Hell Pirates!"
Brook and Charlotte Linlin stood atop the Cloud Hera and Thundercloud Zeus, blocking their escape route. Diving underwater might've given them a shot, but Linlin's thundercloud was primed to zap anything that moved below the surface, ready to send them to a watery grave—especially Wald, the ability user. And Gairam had just eaten the Cube's Fruit, turning him into a landlubber too.
In the heat of the earlier clash, Brook hadn't stopped Gairam from devouring the Devil Fruit. But he wasn't worried—with his Seastone-lined Devil Fruit recovery chamber, the Cube's Fruit wasn't going anywhere.
Unless Gairam pledged loyalty to the Hell Pirates, he was a dead man!
"You're forcing people to join? Aren't you afraid your own crew will stab you in the back?"
Byrnndi World glared at Brook, seething. He was too weak, caught in the crossfire between two powerhouse crews. Even in the early New World, the Navy had hounded them relentlessly. There was nowhere left to run.
Now, not only did Brook run a massive intel network, but even Rocks was dabbling in underground news outfits. It was like they were stripping every pirate of their secrets.
Unless you joined one side or the other, survival was impossible.
That's when it hit him: the pirate guilds that kept a low profile and avoided trouble were the lucky ones. They sailed freely through Brook's territories, unbothered by chases or forced recruitment.
But getting guild status wasn't easy anymore. Rumor had it some old pirates had slaughtered too many of the Hell Pirates' carefully bred Den Den Mushi, sending Brook into a rage. He'd sworn to wipe them out, no mercy.
"Betray me? I'll just cut them down. In the New World, there's no room for traitors. And I've got plenty of ways to ensure loyalty!"
"Enough talk. Join us, or I'll take you out and claim your Mo Mo Fruit for myself—oh, and that fresh Cube's Fruit too!"
On Golden Island, Stussy and Qilin Lion swooped down, cutting off any escape. The World Destroyers were trapped. Stussy scanned the pirates for CP spies.
From what Antonio had overheard, three CP agents lurked in World's crew—insane. Did the World Government really see this "World Destroyer" as that big a threat?
...
The ship doctor Nightin trembled, her laughter long gone. This monstrous woman was a devil straight from hell.
World felt a chill too. No wonder they called it the Hell Pirates—Brook enslaved souls, and this woman stole lifespans. Demons, the lot of them.
"Sebastian, grab my brother and Nightin—get them out through the sea!"
World wouldn't break, even if it meant death. Before his officers could react, he lunged, his scythe swelling to a hundred-meter behemoth in a split second, sweeping horizontally at Brook and Linlin.
But Sebastian and the others froze. If Captain World fell, what was the point of running?
Gairam, frantic, fumbled with his new Cube's Fruit powers. He hadn't mastered it yet. His hands scrambled across the ground, turning it into cubes. Digging and stacking wildly, he burrowed like a mole and vanished underground.
World's massive scythe shattered under Brook's blades, dealing no damage before Linlin's fist forced him back. If he hadn't dodged, her monstrous strength would've crushed him.
"Brook, he's too fast!"
Linlin's strikes kept missing World's 50x speed bursts, frustrating her to no end. Flames, lightning, and sword slashes flew everywhere.
"All that dodging leaves you wide open."
Brook sneered. World, focused on evading Linlin's rampage, hadn't expected the overlord to gang up on him like this—no honor among thieves.
The moment he resurfaced, Brook's strike landed. World's body locked up, encased in ice, his thoughts grinding to a halt.
"Captain World!"
Fish-giant Sebastian dropped Byojack and Nightin, charging in. But Linlin's hammer blow sent him flying, bones crunching on impact.
Soru!
Stussy appeared beside Nightin in a flash, sweeping her aside with a kick. Grabbing the frail Byojack, she murmured, "Distractions on the battlefield? Bad idea."
Parrot flew over, leading a Seastone arrest squad. They rounded up the officers, then turned on the still-conscious World Destroyer crew for a full sweep.
As for the fodder knocked out by Conqueror's Haki? They weren't even worth Brook's blade—too weak. But Linlin didn't mind draining their lifespans.
Stussy monitored the resistance, hunting CP moles. No need to search hard, though—Silva the sniper was there, his Glare-Glare Fruit granting mind-reading. He'd sniff out the spies easily.
"Yohoho, World, take a good look at this beautiful holy sword!"
Brook rested the Shichiseiken against World's neck, drawing a shallow cut. Eerie green mist seeped into his orifices.
World screamed in agony the next moment. Veins like the sword's twisted patterns formed on his neck, fading away as his eyes turned blood-red—the sign of infection.
"Stop fighting it, World. Let's go after the Celestial Dragons together!"
Brook's whisper was like a devil's temptation. World stilled, his crimson eyes locked on Brook, who wore a sinister grin.
"At your command!"
"Onward to the end times~"
Freed from the ice and soul freeze, World snapped upright, gazing at Brook with fanatic zeal. And Brook's smile twisted with dark satisfaction.
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+300 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg