One Piece: Hell Pirates

The thunderous roar of artillery shattered the sea breeze as a barrage of bullets and shells rained down upon the ship of Rocks. The coastal flames and explosions created a wall of destruction, blanketing the Rocks Pirates in a dense curtain of fire and smoke.

Diger stood at the port with his officers, his arms crossed, his expression grim. He knew—this level of firepower wouldn't scratch a monster like Rocks. But the performance wasn't for Rocks. It was for the battlefield.

If nothing else, it could slow their advance, buy time… maybe even score a lucky hit on their ship.

"One Sword Style: Dragon Fang Slash!"

A brilliant spiral of sword energy surged forth from the deck of the Zebec ship, cutting straight through the wall of gunfire. Its destructive arc carved through the sky like a heavenly blade. Standing at the ship's bow was none other than the legendary swordsman Wang Zhi.

This towering warrior from the Eastern New World wore golden armor, his black beard billowing like storm clouds. Wielding a massive twin-edged broadsword with practiced ease, he resembled a battle-hardened martial saint reborn.

"Brat!"

With a sneer, Jack stepped forward. Calmly drawing his curved saber, he released a wave of sword energy that intercepted Wang Zhi's technique mid-air, dispelling it in a clash of force that shook the sea.

"Keep firing! Use everything we've got!"

Jack bellowed, his voice rising over the sound of battle. The artillery might not harm Rocks and his officers directly, but it would chip away at their stamina, wear down their defenses. Even monsters had limits.

In just ten minutes, the Diger Pirates had unleashed over two billion berries' worth of bullets and shells. The intensity was jaw-dropping—Rocks ship had barely moved a meter.

"Yeah! Blast them until they forget their own mothers!"

Jack roared with laughter, but his words were immediately swallowed by the deafening chaos. This was war. The sheer magnitude of firepower could rival the Navy's Buster Call—possibly even surpass it.

And war, as always, meant gold.

The Diger Pirates weren't just torching ammunition—they were burning money. But in return? Territory, spoils, power. To a man like Diger, this was an investment.

He had ruled his corner of the New World for over two decades. With a treasury rivaling royal coffers, he could afford to light tens of billions of berries on fire—literally.

Even Rocks was caught off guard by this level of resistance. He hadn't expected such ferocity. This wasn't the Diger from previous turf skirmishes. No—this time, Diger had gone all in.

"Hmph... The old bastard's filthy rich," Rocks muttered, cutting down a wave of cannon fire with a single slash. "And to think this land might end up in Brook's hands... Tch."

Though the barrage was relentless, Rocks himself had to take action to protect his crew. He hacked down shell after shell, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with his subordinates.

Were it not for Diger's expert control over his Conqueror's Haki, he could've wiped out half of Rocks's lower-tier fighters from a thousand meters away. But Diger wasn't just strong—he was smart. He focused his Haki precisely, repelling Rocks's aura while protecting his own men.

That was the advanced level of Haki mastery—Haki infusion. At its peak? Haki entanglement. Few in the world could touch it.

Which is why Diger's disappointment with Jack and Barbosa ran deep. Neither possessed the Conqueror's Haki. Without it, their side's lower-level fighters were cannon fodder—instantly stunned or killed the moment someone like Rocks released his aura.

Having a Conqueror among your ranks meant survival. It meant protection, coordination, stamina drain, psychological warfare—it meant strategy. Without it? You were dead weight.

After thirty brutal minutes, Rocks ship was finally within 100 meters of Java Island. In that time, it had advanced just 500 meters—proof of how intense the fire had been.

By now, many of the Diger Pirates' cannons were glowing red-hot or had simply fallen apart. They'd burned through over six billion berries' worth of ammunition. That meant every 100 meters of progress by the Rocks Pirates had cost over a billion in artillery fire—more than Rocks's own bounty.

And when you added up the bounties of all his officers? Still not enough to cover the carnage.

The Diger Pirates had deployed over 10,000 troops, with nearly 6,000 gunners and cannoneers among them. On average, each man had spent nearly a million berries in half an hour. An absolutely terrifying burn rate.

"Haha! What, Rocks thinks he can take us down with just one flagship and a handful of backup ships?"

Officer Jevaler chuckled, half-joking. "People always say a Conqueror can defeat an army, but even Rocks has limits. And we've got Brook backing us!"

"Don't underestimate Rocks!!"

Diger's voice cut through the noise like a blade. He knew better than anyone—this was just the warm-up for Rocks. Thirty minutes of endurance meant nothing to a man who could fight ten days and ten nights straight without rest.

"Hahahaha! Forward!!"

Suddenly, Rocks himself leapt into the air, crossing the last hundred meters in a single bound. His sword came down like a judgment from the heavens, powerful enough to split Java Island in half.

His blade was wreathed in Conqueror's Haki infusion—lethal and absolute. Unless Diger intercepted it himself, even Jack would be obliterated in a single strike.

His aura alone froze entire squads of enemy pirates in place, trembling, unable to move, too afraid to even pull a trigger.

The rest of the Rocks Pirates surged forward, flying across the sea like war gods. For masters like them, even the air could be used to propel Moon Steps. The dense seawater below served as an even better launchpad.

Tidal waves followed their charge. The monk-warrior Scorpion Dragon, the wild Monkey King Wizz, the twin-saber juggernaut Wang Zhi, the explosive Rocket Jonas—each advanced on the waves like gods of war descending from the sky.

Rocks's sword collided with Diger's defenses, the impact so powerful that Diger himself was sent flying. Countless gunners and soldiers were swept up in the shockwave, a massive tornado of wind and red lightning erupting in their wake.

Even elite officers like Jack and Scorpion Dragon were pulled into the chaos. Their clash of infused Haki sent violent pulses rippling across the island. Just standing near them made weaker fighters tremble in fear.

And in the eye of the storm stood Rocks—at full strength from the very beginning. No hesitation. No mercy.

His bloodlust made even Diger's heart pound.

------------------------

Was Rocks really going to kill him before Brook arrived? Was he underestimating Diger Sparrow that much?

Sure, Diger admitted Rocks was stronger—but he wasn't some lackey to be trampled. He was the Pirate Overlord, the overlord of the New World!

Diger let out a furious roar, his clothes shredding as his upper body muscles swelled with power. His face showed no sign of age, and his body radiated with surging Haki—an overwhelming aura like that of a savage beast.

"Rocks, when I ruled the New World, you were just a rookie pirate!" he bellowed. "And now you think you can take me down in minutes? You're dreaming!"

Gripping his Supreme Grade blade, Code of the Overlord, Diger clashed violently with Rocks' own Supreme blade—Blade of Zebec. Shockwaves of sword energy blasted out as the two titans collided. The battlefield trembled, the ground shattered, and debris flew in all directions.

Fittingly, both these legendary blades shared names with their owners' flagship vessels. In fact, Roger's own sword Ace would later pass its name on to his son—setting a bold precedent.

"Hahaha! You trying to play the age card now, old man?" Rocks taunted, his grin feral. "Let's see how long that experience holds up!"

His aura surged violently, entering a full combat trance. His skin darkened to a hardened crimson, glowing with Armament Haki. His speed and strength multiplied. This was Maximum Armament State, where the user's Haki became an independent armor!

"You think you're the only one with a body built for blood-rage combat?" Diger snarled.

His eyes turned blood-red, veins bulged across his arms, and steam hissed from his pores. His entire body flushed red as if ignited, the blood in his veins racing like wildfire. He, too, activated a hidden state—Overdrive Vitality, the final blaze of a fading Overlord.

"Then let's finish this... once and for all!"

[King of the New World] Rocks D. Xebec vs. [Pirate Overlord] Diger Sparrow—two legendary figures, both wielding Supreme swords and overflowing with Haki. One in his prime, the other in his twilight. But neither holding back.

Each strike shattered the air, tearing craters into the island. Sword energy arcs hundreds of meters long split the skies. Even the most hardened pirates fled the scene, afraid they'd be caught by the stray attacks and diced into ribbons.

And yet... some still weren't far enough. The sheer scale of the battle forced them to retreat further again and again—until the island's edges were littered with pirates watching in awe and terror.

Meanwhile, Barbosa, felt a cold chill creep down his spine.

He could sense it—the battle between these two monsters was escalating too fast. But he had no time to hesitate. He had a mission: stall the Scorpion Dragon and create an opening for Jack!

Barbosa, bounty 1 billion Berries, wielder of the Swap-Swap Fruit, possessed the terrifying ability to instantly exchange positions with any animal within his line of sight—regardless of its power.

Even Overlord-level beasts weren't safe. The cost? The greater the distance and the stronger the target, the more stamina it drained.

His eyes locked onto the battlefield. In an instant, he swapped places with the Monkey King Wizz, who stood beside the mighty Martial Monk Scorpion Dragon. In the same motion, his blade slashed toward the Scorpion Dragon.

But the moment their positions switched—Wizz appeared beside Jack, right in the path of a long-prepared sneak attack.

"Rrraaaaagh!!"

With a thunderous roar, Wizz instantly transformed into his Ancient Zoan Form—the Titan Ape. His partner, the miniature Monkey King perched on his shoulder, brandished claws coated in hardened Armament Haki, blocking Jack's blade with pinpoint timing.

Wizz absorbed the brunt of the strike, his Titan Ape body enduring the damage. Though blood flowed from shallow wounds, he remained standing—his regeneration would handle the rest.

But now he was alone—teleported deep into the enemy's formation!

Barbosa's ambush had failed. Worse, he was nearly surrounded.

With no hesitation, he activated his fruit again—swapping places with a random underling from the Diger Pirates to retreat to safety. The poor subordinate, caught in his place, was instantly obliterated by Scorpion Dragon, Wang Zhi, and Jonas. The man was torn apart—reduced to chunks in a single moment.

The Diger Pirates' men stared at Barbosa in horror.

Just a single glance from him, and your life might be over...

This was exactly why Barbosa never had Jack's popularity. Fighting under Barbosa felt like standing on a landmine—any second, you could be sacrificed. It was pure torment.

Thankfully, Barbosa spent most of his time managing logistics at base and rarely saw combat. Over the years, the crew had relaxed a bit around him... until now.

On the island, Scorpion Dragon's squad charged in to rescue the isolated Wizz. The clash between the cadres of both crews erupted into full war.

Barbosa's ability to phase in and out of combat made him a nightmare. But by now, the leaders of the Rocks Pirates had learned how to deal with him—Observation Haki was the key. As long as they sharpened their senses, they could predict where he would land after each swap and counter him in time.

In fact, Barbosa had suffered major setbacks before. Years ago, he infiltrated the Rocks Pirates' inner formation and caused havoc—but a smoke bomb blocked his vision, and without sight, his fruit couldn't activate. Trapped, he suffered a brutal ambush and barely escaped. The deep scar on his face still reminded him of that day.

Since then, he'd trained relentlessly, trying to use Observation Haki to substitute for sight—but alas, the Swap-Swap Fruit was annoyingly strict. Without visual contact, it couldn't be used.

Even going blind—or becoming nearsighted—would cripple his power.

That regret lingered in his heart. "Why didn't I eat something better, like the Op-Op Fruit?" he often grumbled. That fruit could swap anything, not just himself with beasts!

But regrets aside, Barbosa had mastered the fruit's limitations. His reputation as an assassin was well earned. Countless enemies had fallen to his ghost-like strikes.

Now, on the battlefield, he moved like a phantom—flickering in and out of sight, causing havoc among the Rocks Pirates. But one man watched him intently.

Wang Zhi, the legendary swordsman.

His Observation Haki had reached the level where he could glimpse into the future—and his eyes were fixed squarely on Ba Bosa.

Redfield, the Red Earl, once had a bounty of 1 billion. Wang Zhi refused to believe he was any weaker. He needed a rival—someone worthy of being his stepping stone.

And Barbosa... was perfect.

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