In the Flower Capital’s red-light district of Wano, Kozuki Oden was fuming. That nagging old man—his father—had shot down his request again!

It was just a few Pattern Fruits, for crying out loud. Did the guy have to be so damn stingy?

No way. Oden had to get his hands on those fruits. Then he could knock out Brook’s job, set sail on his dream voyage right away, and throw down with that two-horned hothead every single day!

He had to admit, that Kaido punk was tough—no slouch, that one. The strongest rising star under Brook’s wing, and he could go toe-to-toe with Oden at their age. Yeah, Oden respected a rival like that.

After all, back home in the Flower Capital, Oden had long outgrown scrapping with underage samurai. These days, he only crossed blades with the elite guards—real heavy hitters, every one of them!

"Tonight, we raid the old man’s treasury. Those Pattern Fruits have gotta be stashed in there!"

Oden slammed back a cup of sake, tossed no coin on the table, and bolted out the door. The brothel madam didn’t even try to stop him—she knew someone would cover his tab, as always.

Sure enough, moments later, a steward from the shogun’s estate shuffled in, sighing as he paid up. What a pain in the ass this young master was!

...

While Oden schemed his fruit heist, Brook was deep in the Golden Island floating above Hailou Town in Kuri Province. He’d just taken down Kurozumi Kanjuro—before the bastard could even muster his full glow—and reclaimed the Brush-Brush Fruit!

"Turning someone into a magical painterg? Solid idea. But you’ve gotta pick a real artist to eat it—otherwise, it won’t hit its full potential."

The more lifelike the drawings, the stronger the creations. Sketching a crane to carry folks through the sky? Child’s play. But whipping up clones or an army from a few strokes? That’s where it shines—right up there with scattering beans into soldiers!

For now, the top contenders were the three-eyed clan’s Tenmoku and Ohara’s Nico Olvia. Both idolized Brook, followed orders without question, and packed encyclopedic knowledge. Hell, their brushwork was straight-up masterful!

Obedient types were the best. They’d crank out all sorts of eye-candy characters just for him!

Brook chuckled to himself. Slap this power into a painting prodigy, and it’d be a game-changer for their strength.

The Millet-Millet Fruit leaned toward swarm tactics and beast-taming mastery. Rope in the wild beasts from Merveille or Ruskaina Island, and even Gear Fourth Luffy would think twice!

And with Vegapunk’s tweaks? Those monsters would only get deadlier. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Raising a Beast Emperor wasn’t out of the question!

"Kanna, wanna be a Beast Emperor? Or should Daddy snag you a White Dragon Fruit instead?"

Brook tucked away the two Devil Fruits and started teasing his daughter. She might not get a word of it, but he loved those big, curious eyes staring up at him.

Beast Emperor Kanna, queen of the Millet horde... tempting.

In the end, though, Brook shelved the idea. The Millet-Millet Fruit’s body boosts were too weak. Better stick to Mythical Zoans for her!

...

The Hell Pirates’ extended stay in Wano had the Grand Line in an uproar. The three Admirals had ambushed the Rocks Pirates, catching Rocks flat-footed!

Who’d have thought two Admirals could slip in disguised as supply crew and link up with the vanguard?

But a king was a king. Rocks’ Future Sight Observation Haki was on another level—he’d foreseen the joint assault. The Admirals’ lack of Conqueror’s Haki was their Achilles’ heel!

Top-tier Conqueror’s could straight-up jam enemy Observation Haki, blocking future sight. Sengoku the Buddha’s wasn’t there yet, clearly.

Rocks had retreated with his officers and crew, but not without losses—a handful of fresh recruits bit the dust, and he surrendered the entire buffer zone of chaotic seas to the Navy’s purge!

If the Admirals weren’t wary of pushing too deep into New World waters—risking a pincer from the Hell Pirates or other big shots—they’d have stormed Rocks’ stronghold, Hachinosu.

Compared to canon, the Rocks Pirates were a shell of themselves. They couldn’t stand toe-to-toe with three Admirals plus a swarm of elite Vice Admirals—total rout.

Brook’s meddling had gutted their officer pool. Newgate, Shiki, Linlin—three S-tier powerhouses, all swiped right out from under Rocks.

In the original timeline, Rocks would’ve unified the New World, then hit God Valley hard. Back then, the New World had one or two Admirals at most—he could’ve taken it.

But Garp the beast and Roger the wildcard crashed the party, dooming Rocks’ crew to infamy. Rocks himself got mobbed to death, his Pirates scattered to the winds!

Now, tasting the three Admirals’ combined might firsthand, Rocks knew a straight assault on God Valley would bleed him dry. Even with Brook’s backup, too many wild cards.

Time to play it cool, consolidate. Wait for one Admiral to rotate back to HQ for guard duty or reports—that’d be the window to hit God Valley with Brook.

Keep the Admirals split; minimize officer casualties. Snag God Valley, hoard those top-shelf Devil Fruits, juice up the crew. Then he and Brook could sweep the Navy from the New World in one go!

After that? Settle scores with Brook, claim sole dominion over the New World.

Finally, storm Mary Geois as its unchallenged ruler and seize the throne!

Staring at his ragtag officers, Rocks seethed. Brook kept forcing him to pivot plans—made him look like a chump!

If the Hell Pirates’ Big Four were his men, he’d have charged the Navy ages ago, overrun God Valley in a flash!

How the hell did that skeleton snag all the prime talent?!

Rocks stewed in frustration. He was more domineering than Brook, stronger too—why the hell was his crew such a joke?

For now, he’d go quiet. Brew a storm in the calm before it breaks!

Let the Navy think they’d spooked him, that the New World was "stable" now. No more three-Admiral garrisons.

Soon as one pulled back to Marineford, he’d link up with Brook. Launch the God Valley war early, raid those fruits. He was done babysitting these deadweights—top-tier Devil Fruits would fix that!

To strike back hard later, he’d swallow this rage for now.

Three Admirals ganging up on him like cowards? Oh, he’d pay them back in blood.

...

After the bloodbath, the Rocks Pirates went radio silent—like a colossal beast hunkering down. Even Brook had to admit, it didn’t track with Rocks’ over-the-top swagger!

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+400 Chapters on p@treon/tambeerg