Chapter 29: Lawless Haven

Eleven days until the Summit War.

Unrest simmers in the New World.

"Hachinosu island, at last!"

Ling Bai stood at the ship's bow, gazing at the island with a skeletal structure dominating the view. Excitement bubbled within him.

Hachinosu Island, notorious for its lawlessness, earned the nickname "Paradise Island" – but only for pirates. Here, might made right.

The island thrived on illegal trades: black-market weapons, toxins, war supplies, even human trafficking. Chaos and terror reigned supreme.

Historically, Hachinosu Island housed the infamous Rocks Pirates, and according to the book, later became the Blackbeard Pirates' headquarters.

In fact, Ling Bai had arrived with a bold ambition: to conquer Hachinosu Island and establish it as his base. Without a doubt, it seemed perfect.

"Hey, Hachinosu Island!"

Bullet laughed, a hint of old memories in his voice. Only the strongest pirates could rule this place. The pirates here and some hidden dangers were scary strong.

"The old Rocks crew used to be here too. You guys ever heard of Rocks?"

"Rocks?"

Everyone except Ling Bai looked confused. This Lockes thing Bullet mentioned seemed important.

But Ling Bai spoke up. "The young Whitebeard, Golden Lion, Big Mom, and Kaido were all part of Rocks' crew. You could say Rocks was like Roger's crew, but maybe even stronger."

"Wow, you knew about them, Captain?"

Surprise flickered across Bullet's face. After seeing Ling Bai's power, he started calling him Captain.

The others were speechless, their eyes wide with shock.

The legendary pirate Golden Lion and the current Pirate Emperors are all part of the same crew under Rocks?

No wonder everyone's freaked. This much crazy news at once is hard to swallow.

Bullet explained, "Roger told me the guy who aimed to be Pirate King gathered the strongest in the New World back then. But he broke too many rules and got wiped out by the World Government. The crew hated each other so much, no one ever talked about it in the Rocks Pirates. Over time, the legend just faded."

So Ling Bai wants Hachinosu Island as his base? Does that mean he wants to be Pirate King too?

"This..."

Ling Bai added fuel to the fire, "Rocks was defeated by Roger and Garp together. Probably got killed by the World Government later."

Bullet: "Exactly! But Roger and Garp both keep quiet about working together."

Everyone was freaking out, even Hawkins, the most polite one, started swearing. Ling Bai's words hit them hard.

Roger and Garp teaming up to beat Rocks?

Unbelievable!

No way Ling Bai and Bullet would lie about something like this, right? Who would be that much of a jerk?

So it's all real.

"Whoa, slow down" Shiryu was having his mind blown again and again. He'd seen a lot, but this day was definitely the wildest.

Everyone else felt the same.

Ling Bai chuckled, "Let's just forget about it, doesn't matter to us anyway."

"Hachinosu Island is our new base! Everything on the island belongs to the Ling Bai Pirates!"

"Defenders, fight for us!"

"Submit, and you'll live!"

"Refuse? Get out!"

"We make the rules!"

Ten minutes later, Ling Bai and his crew took over Hachinosu Island.

Not long after, a warship sailed into the port. Two future Admirals, Momousagi and Tea Dolphin, stepped off the Marine vessel.

The upcoming war won't see all Vice Admirals return to Navy HQ. Momousagi and the tea dolphins need the time before and after the war to deal with a big problem in the New World, to keep things stable.

They're both near as strong as Admirals, the two strongest Vice Admirals besides Garp and Tsuru.

"The big shots from those dark worlds are all on Hachinosu Island!"

"This island is a mess! With Navy HQ busy with the war, you decide to make your move?"

After hearing the latest news, several dark world leaders gathered on Hachinosu Island, unsure what to do. Momousagi and the others decided to come here to check things out and maybe take out a leader or two, if they could.

"Hold on! Those ships are..."

The tea dolphin Vice Admiral spotted a line of ships in the distance. Their special markings caught the tea dolphins' attention.

"The Vinsmoke family is here too! Is something big gonna happen here?"

Momousagi recognized the ships as belonging to the Vinsmoke family.