Brook hadn't expected Crocus to make such a decision. Originally, he wanted to spend at least half a day at Twin Capes, give Crocus some time to catch up with his Uncle Lighthouse, and properly introduce their crew to the man.
"Crocus, are you sure about this?" Brook chuckled. "Yohoho, Uncle Lighthouse is probably calling me an ignorant idiot right now."
Still smiling faintly, Brook could more or less guess what was going on in Crocus mind.
"Brother Brook, it's best not to get Uncle Lighthouse too involved. The more he knows, the more danger he's in," Crocus said seriously. "Let him stay here at Twin Capes, living out his peaceful days. That's the kind of life he deserves."
Of course, Crocus understood the quiet stability that came with guarding Twin Capes. He'd rather have his uncle living in comfort than dragging him across the sea, traveling with the Hell Pirates, and getting caught up in brutal wars in the New World.
"Don't worry," Brook replied. "If anything ever threatens Uncle Lighthouse, we'll act. No way we'd just sit back and watch."
Brook wasn't too concerned. The current Navy wasn't known for targeting pirates' families. In the original story, even when Usopp became a key officer under a Yonko, his loved ones remained untouched.
The Straw Hats stormed Enies Lobby, raised hell at Sabaody, smacked around Celestial Dragons, broke into Impel Down, and even sparked the War of the Best. Despite committing a string of unforgivable crimes, none of their family or friends were ever dragged into it.
Honestly, if Brook were a Celestial Dragon or head of the World Government, he would've rounded up every loved one of the Straw Hats—Nojiko, Zeff, Koushirou—you name it.
Still, Brook had to admit, there were only a few notable cases where the government actually harmed pirates' families. Like when they hunted Roger's wife, Rouge, and murdered pregnant women just to stop the Pirate King's bloodline. Or when pirates slaughtered Zephyr's family for revenge. Or how the Vinsmokes used Zeff to blackmail Sanji. Then, of course, there was the destruction of Ohara.
So yeah, while it wasn't common, it wasn't impossible. Ruthless leaders would absolutely stoop that low if it meant wiping out someone dangerous.
That said, most pirates didn't give a damn about their families. Many were cold, selfish bastards. Threatening their loved ones wouldn't do much—they'd just shrug and sail off.
And if the Navy started going after pirates' families, pirates would probably retaliate by targeting the families of Navy officers. That would just spiral into a brutal cycle of revenge. Eventually, both sides probably came to an unspoken agreement: leave the families out of it… unless things got really personal.
Even Pirate King Roger and Yonko officer Yasopp were deadbeats when it came to family. Roger left his wife to die in childbirth, and Yasopp's wife passed away from illness while he sailed the seas. In the end, their glory didn't mean anything to the women who died waiting for them.
---
Reversed Mountain loomed at the edge of the Red Line. It was far taller than anything the original story had ever shown. Strangely though, there was no snow or ice at its summit—despite how high it climbed into the sky—and the Holy Land of Mariejois sat on the other side.
From the floating Golden Island, Brook gazed down as the furious currents from the four seas smashed together, slamming water into the mountain's channels. Those rivers merged into one and funneled ships into the Grand Line.
The current was savage. A moment of carelessness could break a ship to pieces and send its crew to their graves. No wonder only the toughest pirates from the four seas made it into the Grand Line.
Brook wondered: What if I just flew straight over Reverse Mountain and entered the New World that way?
It would be a huge shortcut—but one look at the second half of the Grand Line convinced him otherwise. From this height, the New World was covered in thick, swirling clouds and violent gales. Yeah… not worth the risk.
But Brook had heard stories from Roger's crew. They said Raftel—the final island—was somehow connected to the Red Line.
If that was true, and if someone searched carefully along the Calm Belts that bordered the Red Line near Reversed Mountain, they might just find it. That hidden island at the end of the Grand Line.
And if Brook got there first?
He laughed. "We're not calling it Raftel anymore. I'll rename it Brook Island!"
Brook had Shikii steer the Golden Island around the mountain, searching for clues. But while the Calm Belts looked narrow on maps, in reality, they stretched wide. Really wide.
If it were that easy, pirates would've just rowed across them. Who needs wind when you've got manpower, right?
And sure, the Calm Belt was crawling with massive Sea Kings. But even Rayleigh swam through it to get to Amazon Lily. For a pirate strong enough, the Calm Belt wasn't exactly a death sentence.
Still, not many crews had the strength—or patience—to row across such a vast stretch of sea while fending off sea monsters.
Who could keep up their Conqueror's Haki for an entire day just to keep Sea Kings at bay? The Calm Belt was their home turf, after all.
Unless… you had the right tech.
If Vegapunk could embed seastone into a ship's hull or build an engine-powered propulsion system, then yeah—the Golden Island or even a golden airship could zip across the Calm Belt like it was nothing.
The Vinsmokes' massive snails could cross the Red Line and travel between seas. In the original timeline, Germa 66 even made it from the North Blue to the East Blue for a war. That's how Sanji escaped in the first place.
The Grand Line was bordered by the East and South Blues, while the New World touched the North and West. As long as Vegapunk installed the right propulsion system, Brook's crew could travel anywhere they wanted.
They could head to the West Blue and ransack Ohara's ruins for books. Or go to the North Blue to meet powerful figures like Akainu, Kizaru, or Judge.
The Golden Island's lightning-powered systems—left behind by the Moon People—could already fly from Skypiea to the moon. So crossing the Calm Belt? That was child's play.
If not for the hassle of transporting all their treasure, the golden bell, the historical Poneglyphs, and Ohara's book collection, Brook would've had Shiki fly them around the West Blue just for fun.
Once they found someone with the Fortress Fruit, they wouldn't even need an engine. Even without it, Erebus and the Float-Float Fruit could carry them across the world.
Eventually, Brook and his crew gave up searching around Reversed Mountain. They didn't find anything worth chasing, so they turned the Golden Island and headed toward the West Blue.
As soon as they crossed over, Shiki breathed a sigh of relief. The seas here were calm—no sudden storms, no magnetic fields, no nonsense. No need for Log Poses or Eternal Poses either.
Just follow the map, point the ship, and sail!
--------------------
When a dominant pirate crew like the Hell Pirates enters the West Blue, it's like a high-level boss walking into a noob village. Any crew member with a bounty over 100 million berries is practically royalty in these waters.
Even someone like Fisher Tiger, with a bounty of just 20 million, could already be considered one of the top dogs in the West Blue. Remember, in the original story, Don Krieg with 17 million and Arlong with 20 million were considered overlords of the East Blue.
"According to intel from the Umi family and Moore Thomas, the Fortress Fruit appeared on Nostra Island. There was a mafia auction going on there at the time," reported Antonio.
Brook's only reason for coming to the West Blue was to obtain two things: the Fortress Fruit and the books of O'Hara. Of course, that meant finding the fruit—or whoever might have eaten it—as quickly as possible.
"Yeah, Brother Brook," Antonio continued, "the auction was hosted by William Reso of the William family, a mafia boss on Nostra Island. His rival, Capone Al of the Capone family from Castro Island, raided the event, and the Fortress Fruit's whereabouts have been unclear since. The two sides have been at each other's throats in a full-blown underworld war. The whole West Blue's underground scene is in chaos!"
"Capone Al… He might be Capone Bege's grandfather or father," Brook muttered. "No wonder Bege had weapons in his hands before he could walk. So he really was raised in a traditional mafia family. Makes sense how he later unified the entire West Blue's underworld."
"Then we'll just take both islands," Brook said casually.
Shakky immediately marked their locations on the map and had Golden Lion Shiki steer the flying Golden Island in that direction.
Brook glanced out at the sunny skies, falling into quiet reflection. He was born in the Kingdom of Dumora in the West Blue, once serving as the captain of the royal guard before joining the Rumbar Pirates.
Another major power in the West Blue was the Flower Kingdom, a World Government affiliate with at least eight pirate forces operating within. The most prominent was the Chinjao family—specifically, Don Chinjao of the Happo Navy, a renowned martial force. Chinjao was currently active in the New World.
At 27, Chinjao was in his prime—the same age as his old rival, Monkey D. Garp. Right now, Garp was not only chasing Roger's crew but also clashing with the Happo Navy.
"Hasshoken," Brook murmured. "A unique martial art passed down through generations of the Happo Navy. Not really my style, but it's powerful… might be useful for someone in my crew."
As for the second objective—O'Hara—it was known as the holy land of archaeology. The Tree of Knowledge stood at its center, housing the largest collection of books in the world.
Once Brook secured the Fortress Fruit—or its user—his next stop would be O'Hara. In fact, he was even considering having Golden Lion move the entire Tree of Knowledge to Golden Island.
Why not? The World Government was going to destroy it in a few decades anyway. As for whether Robin and her mother would still be born? Brook didn't care.
A man shouldn't hesitate when he's decided on a path. The Tree's knowledge would be invaluable to Vegapunk. Worst case, Brook could turn the Sky Island of the New World into a new "Island of Scholars," drawing the brightest minds under his banner.
Sure, the New World was dangerous—but scholars would come if the opportunity was great enough. Once Brook claimed more territory, he'd open a safe passage from Fishman Island straight to Sky Island. That would bring in brains from every corner of the world.
Brook's grand plan for the nine-layer Sky Island was moving forward. Why not add a Scholar Island? Alongside the Gluttony Hell, Beast Hell, and Carnival Human Hell… the Island of Knowledge would fit right in.
---
Meanwhile, on Castro Island…
Capone Al, the current head of the Capone mafia, was elated. He'd disrupted the William family's auction and stolen the Devil Fruit.
If he hadn't already eaten a fruit, he might've devoured this one himself. Now it would serve as the Capone family's greatest treasure—a symbol of their power.
Ever since his father, Capone Nuga—the former godfather—was assassinated by the William family, Al had been out for revenge. He took over young, but now his counterattack was a massive success. One-third of the William mafia was wiped out. In a few more years, they wouldn't even dare to challenge him.
It was time for the Capone family to reclaim its position as the most powerful mafia in the West Blue.
Sure, he hadn't yet killed William Reso and avenged his father fully, but this was enough—for now. The family's internal factions were falling in line, and any who didn't would be eliminated sooner or later.
As Al stood in front of a mirror, slicking his hair back and lighting a cigar, he was feeling untouchable—oozing the aura of a real boss.
Then came the commotion.
His smug smile froze.
Could the William family be retaliating already?
No… they were crippled. They wouldn't dare assault Castro Island, not with one-third of their numbers gone.
Still, Al didn't take chances. He grabbed his pistol and stormed outside.
The ground was dark.
He looked up—and froze.
A massive flying island hovered above Castro Island, casting an overwhelming shadow. His cigar slipped from his lips.
A crushing, oppressive aura swept the island.
Al knew exactly what this was.
He'd read all the intel. He knew of the monsters from the Grand Line and the New World. But now, seeing the legendary Hell Pirates descend from the sky—it was like a goddamn nightmare come true.
Even the weakest among them, with a bounty over 100 million berries, could flatten the entire Capone family.
Music blasted from the flying Golden Island above, dramatic and intense.
Al's knees gave out.
He collapsed to the ground with a loud thud.
Terror rooted him in place.
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