One Piece: Capitalist Brook's Crew Expansion Plan

Chapter 453 - 454: God Valley War Eve

On Sky Island · Baron Island.

"This is your big chance. Maybe you can raid the entire Sabaody Archipelago once— that should net you a ton of prestige!"

Brook said to a Den Den Mushi. The guy on the other end had been gone too long; it was time to get ready to rejoin the crew!

"Got it. I’ll be climbing to the captain’s spot soon! When that happens, have Shiki come pick us up!"

A lazy, regal voice came from the Den Den Mushi, tinged with a bit of longing.

After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Brook started gathering the core crew members and outfitting them with the combat suits Vegapunk had developed. They might just save a life in a pinch—like if someone fell into the sea.

Inside the Golden Hall.

"Our mission this time is to grab stuff!! Prioritize Devil Fruits and rare materials! Got it? Try not to tangle with the Navy or the Celestial Dragons’ guards. But if it comes down to it, show no mercy!"

On one hand, Brook wanted to slaughter those Celestial Dragons; on the other, he was wary of this so-called ’national treasure’!

One wrong move, and it could be total annihilation!

So, he had to maximize the gains—snatch the most goodies in the shortest time with the fewest casualties!

"Awesome! Finally get to meet these Celestial Dragons!!"

The beast Kaido shouted excitedly. His country had been launching wars year after year just to pay the Heavenly Tribute—he hated those Celestial Dragons to the core!

Plus, he’d been swayed by Tiger and Shakky’s talk: taking out Celestial Dragons had a chance of awakening Conqueror’s Haki. He was really looking forward to that!

Right now, he envied the top officers’ Conqueror’s Haki—one burst, and the grunts all dropped. It was just too cool!

So, Kaido had been itching to awaken his own Conqueror’s Haki and become a super pirate like Redfield or Shiki!

It wasn’t just Kaido who wanted it—Fisher Tiger and Shakky were in on it too. They were geared up to slaughter Celestial Dragons, all to become Conqueror’s Haki wielders!

"I’m definitely awakening Conqueror’s Haki!"

Fisher Tiger clenched his fist, declaring firmly. For Fish-Man Island, for his people—he had to grow stronger, become the hero and guardian of the Fish-Men!

"Hey! Does that really work? Awakening king’s presence just by chopping people? You gotta be kidding—sounds like a load of crap!"

Kozuki Oden, decked out in his orange kimono, yelled out. Back in Wano Country or out on the seas, he’d cut down plenty of folks, and nothing like that ever happened!

But in his mind, Celestial Dragons didn’t carry any real intimidation or fear factor. Chopping them was probably no different from chopping regular folks!

Lately, he’d been rolling with Whitebeard Newgate’s Third Division, taking on jobs everywhere to boost his strength!

"You don’t get the concept of Celestial Dragons, so I’m not bothering to explain!"

Fisher Tiger said flatly. His Fish-Man Island and Kaido’s Vodka Kingdom had both suffered deeply under the Celestial Dragons’ thumb, so their rage and resentment were something Kozuki Oden couldn’t grasp.

"Tch, they’re just high-and-mighty noble clans, right?"

Kozuki Oden said dismissively. He now believed in the supremacy of the strong—everything could be settled with the swords in your hands!

But yeah, he did want to awaken that king’s presence, aka Conqueror’s Haki on the seas. That power was insanely strong, and you could even do Conqueror’s Haki Coiling!

That was the mark of a true New World powerhouse!

If you didn’t have Conqueror’s Haki, you probably wouldn’t achieve anything world-shaking!

"Jihahaha~, you brats, surviving the God Valley War would already be a huge win!" Golden Lion Shiki laughed heartily. Seeing the fired-up younger generation, he was eager to see what they’d accomplish in the future—especially that kid Kaido, way stronger than he was at that age.

"Shiki, I’m gonna become a powerhouse just like you!"

The beast Kaido shouted. He was mainly tagging along with Golden Lion Shiki’s flying fleet for the expedition, so he was closer to Shiki.

If he could become a standalone big-time pirate someday, he could set up his own division and roam the seas!

He needed to grow fast to snag a higher division spot. Redfield and Linlin didn’t seem interested in starting divisions yet.

That meant he still had a shot at being one of the top five division commanders!

From what he knew, the ship’s doctor Crocus, sniper Silva, shipwright Tom—they weren’t planning divisions either. But Scarlet was itching to go solo and build his own for missions!

Problem was, Scarlet’s strength wasn’t quite there yet, so Brook hadn’t approved him going independent!

"Gurarara, you brats, the Celestial Dragons’ turf ain’t something you punks can underestimate. Better drop that arrogance, or next meeting, you won’t be around!"

Whitebeard Newgate was worried about these cocky kids. Geniuses who hadn’t grown up were just rookies!

"Newgate’s right, you little punks have no idea how out of your depth you are. God Valley isn’t some island you usually stomp on. We got zero intel on the defenses, but there’ll probably be admiral-level fighters!"

Brook chimed in to warn the kids. Right now, he had no clue how many God’s Knights or CP0 members were at God Valley. If there were a bunch, they couldn’t conquer it right away and would take heavy losses!

The World Government’s 800-year foundation wasn’t something pirates could shake!

In the original story, when the Rocks Pirates attacked God Valley, the casualties on both sides weren’t as huge as you’d think. Whitebeard, Big Mom, Golden Lion—even the intern Kaido—all survived.

Only the boss Rocks got taken out by Roger and Garp. Of course, a lot of casualty info probably got scrubbed by the World Government.

At least, Shanks’ Celestial Dragon parents—or even his whole family—might’ve died, otherwise he wouldn’t have ended up drifting with Pirate Roger!

And Zephyr became an admiral at the ’young’ age of 38 about two years after the God Valley War, causing a stir. It’s very possible that admirals or admiral candidates got injured or killed in the battle.

That war likely saw a ton of officers fall, letting Garp and Roger step up, then gang up on an exhausted Rocks and steal the kill!

Otherwise, with admirals around, how would a vice admiral like Garp and a pirate like Roger get the chance to team up against the main culprit Rocks?

The Navy’s justice wouldn’t allow cooperating with pirates!

Probably, the Navy admirals got wiped by Rocks, leading to that Navy-pirate alliance.

The World Government erased the scandal of admirals dying to pirates, scrubbed Roger’s involvement, and piled all the credit on Vice Admiral Garp, turning him into the ’Naval Hero’!

Garp might’ve felt he didn’t deserve it, which is why he kept turning down promotions to admiral. Or maybe it was for freedom—not wanting to guard Celestial Dragons!

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