Chapter 405: Raiding the Hachinosu, Dango-Dango Fruit

"Kill—!"

"Boom… BOOM…"

"Damn it—"

"It's the Fallen Angel Pirates!!"

"A Fish-Man unit and a Homies army?"

"They're going for an all-out war on our Rocks Pirates?!"

"Givers, you all were created at high cost by Captain Rocks—an entire corps of ability-users. Go fight!!"

"No… For some reason, I suddenly can't move at all…"

"D-Damn it, I'm paralyzed!"

"They must have tampered with those artificial Devil Fruits!"

"That vile Fallen Angel Eir is so devious!"

"I knew we shouldn't have trusted them!!"

"Aah…aah…"

Meanwhile, far in the latter half of the New World, within the Rocks Pirates' headquarters on Pirate Island (Hachinosu)—battle cries rang in the sky. Countless pirates were locked in combat with the Homies army and the Fish-Man forces of the Fallen Angel Pirates.

Yet, inexplicably, the so-called "Givers"—the 2-3 thousand ability-users who stayed here and served as Rocks' artificial Devil Fruit corps—had suddenly lost all control over their bodies, frozen in place, unable to move. Even more surprising was that the Homies army did not attack them. Instead, each had been fed some sort of strange dango.

"All Givers, hear this: assist the Fallen Angel Pirates' Fish-Man squad and Homies army in wiping out the Rocks Pirates!"

All at once, a crisp voice broadcast over the battlefield.

"Yes—!"

At that moment, those Givers—who had initially harbored hostility toward the Fallen Angel Pirates—lit up with fervor and charged at the Rocks Pirates. They fought fearlessly, sowing panic among the pirates, who were already losing ground and making a last stand. Their formation fell apart.

At that same time, in a fearsome structure,

the vault belonging to the Rocks Pirates had been forced open.

Heaps of gold and jewels piled high, dazzling and disorienting.

"Waaah—!"

A towering Giant girl's eyes shone. She pounced with excitement, scooping up handfuls of gleaming treasure in silly delight.

"Geez, is that really worth all the fuss?"

Nearby stood Jien, Fish-Giant Sebastian, and other cadres, all giving exasperated glances at the long-legged giant girl.

"You've seen even bigger hoards of gold, haven't you?"

She was a recruit of the Fallen Angel Pirates from a few years ago—a female Giant and younger sister to the Cloud Giant Helen, evidently one of Lord El's "little wives." She had been gifted the Paramecia "Dango Fruit." Odds were that once they had subdued this entire Givers force, she would command them.

"This is different. It's loot, don't you get it—loot!"

The tall, blond ponytailed Giant girl, Lise, who somewhat resembled her elder sister Helen, spoke righteously.

"Hehe, is it really that special?" The onlooking officers teased.

A young man stepped forward—Kukulkan family's 4th child, Willie: tall, handsome, with black wings and a flame dancing behind his head like a fallen angel.

"Auntie, if you like, I can let Father know, and you can pick out some treasures for your personal collection!" Willie said with a laugh.

"Ah la la, young Willie, all grown up—knows how to please his auntie, eh?"

Lise, though only a few years older than him, was still technically an aunt. She smiled sweetly:

"But if I see anything I fancy, I'll talk to my brother-in-law directly. No need for you to worry, brat!"

Willie just grinned. He well knew that this aunt—only slightly older than him—had long been smitten by his powerful, imposing father. Likely they'd be a "real family" in the future.

"Hmm… So this is the batch of Devil Fruits the Rocks Pirates were storing?"

They soon discovered eight or nine Devil Fruits within the vault, though all seemed relatively ordinary.

"Nine Devil Fruits…"

Seafish Jien, used to bigger finds, curled his lip:

"Huh, they seem like average powers."

"They can't all be top tier," Willie replied, not sounding disappointed. "I've heard that CP agents once stole the best two or three from Rocks' treasury."

Right afterward, they easily captured a few pirates, rummaging through their knowledge. Those captives, rather spineless, confessed what they knew. The intruders continued searching—particularly rummaging the private quarters of Rocks, Golden Lion, Whitebeard, and so on—finding heaps of gold, scattered treasure maps, and even more Devil Fruits.

All told, they collected another five or six Fruits, some with quite promising abilities. Notably, the two discovered in Rocks' own room were rare and eye-opening: one turned out to be a Logia fruit, the other a Zoan Ancient-type—surprising indeed.

"Tsk, these guys sure were loaded!"

Browsing the newly found Devil Fruits and the sum of wealth rivaling that of the Rocks treasury, Seafish Jien couldn't help remarking. It wasn't unexpected, though; the Rocks Pirates were only allied out of colossal profit, not genuine camaraderie. Infighting was common, trust nonexistent. Each formidable pirate kept their personal spoils. Even Rocks himself likely stockpiled much personal treasure separate from the official vault.

"I bet these treasure maps might lead us to more goodies if we can track them down."

Willie smiled, brandishing a stack of maps, excitement gleaming in his eyes. Hunting for treasure in this sea was the greatest fun. He figured once they'd finished this operation, he could invite his siblings along for an adventure. Father presumably wouldn't object.

"I can guess that Whitebeard's maps in particular might lead to a serious trove!" Sebastian remarked.

They had just searched Whitebeard's quarters. Apart from a single Devil Fruit, they found almost nothing else—only two or three treasure maps, plus a mere few pieces of gold, less than some random low-ranking cadre's stash. Astounding for a legendary pirate of Whitebeard's caliber.

"You'll be disappointed," Willie replied:

"I recall Father mentioning how Whitebeard, though once a lonely orphan from earliest youth, had this odd quirk of sending his treasure—anonymously—to his native land, helping impoverished folks. He never seemed interested in personal wealth."

"Eh?"

"Really?"