Chapter 26: The Out of Control Rocks Pirates
Facing this situation, the Marines urgently needed a new surge of vitality, both for the present and the future.
The current Marines alone were finding it difficult to stop the constantly expanding power of the Rocks Pirates.
He had fought against Rocks D. Xebec and knew how terrifying he was. One-on-one, he was no match at all; only with Steel Bone Kong could he contend.
However, Kong hadn't eaten a Devil Fruit at that time. Later, spurred on by his shame, and in order to gain even greater strength to fight Rocks, Kong ate a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit.
Coupled with his powerful physique and haki, the current Kong was even stronger and should now have the strength to contend with Rocks D. Xebec.
But it was only enough to contend. That was an unprecedented monster; who knew what level he had reached now?
And what other abilities he was hiding.
Thinking of Rocks, his arm throbbed faintly.
The Rocks Pirates were completely out of control.
As the Fleet Admiral of the Marines, he was aware of the World Government's plans, and the Marines naturally participated in them.
In the beginning, during the initial establishment of the Rocks Pirates, the Marines and the World Government also facilitated their development.
The purpose was to raise a flag, making the Rocks Pirates a target for everyone.
The goal was to make the Pirates infight among themselves, consuming the strength of the Pirates in the New World.
Afterward, the Marines and the World Government could reap the benefits, gathering their strength to annihilate the Rocks Pirates in one fell swoop.
This would greatly weaken the Pirates' strength and help solidify the World Government's ruling status.
Even though the Rocks Pirates possessed two terrifyingly powerful individuals, Rocks and Jaeger, the World Government still had this confidence.
They didn't believe the Rocks Pirates could develop under the assault of other sea overlords.
Everything has two sides. If the Pirates' strength weakened, the World Government's rule would be stable.
If the Pirates' strength grew powerful, the world would become more chaotic, and member nations would become more reliant on the World Government. More countries might even become member nations, which would help increase the World Government's heavenly tribute.
However, it would also cause some unforeseen losses.
The World Government had different strategies for different situations.
It had always been this way.
It sounded like a perfect plan, but events developed completely differently from their expectations.
They underestimated the strength of the Rocks Pirates. The Rocks Pirates' power was beyond imagination.
The many challenging Pirates submitted one by one at Rocks' feet, and the Rocks Pirates' influence rapidly expanded through this.
Not to mention there was also a monster like Jaeger, who had the astonishing achievement of killing an Army General.
Even before establishing the Rocks Pirates, Rocks D. Xebec had already invited many monsters and powerful individuals from the New World to join.
The establishment of the Rocks Pirates was premeditated, not a spontaneous act. From the very beginning, they had numerous fierce generals.
The World Government's facilitation, instead, became an aid to the Rocks Pirates.
They didn't need to seek out each one individually; they just needed to wait for these proud and arrogant Pirates to challenge them, defeat them, and then subdue them one by one.
This saved Rocks a lot of time.
In the world of Pirates, the fate of the defeated is usually only one: death.
But when defeated by the Rocks Pirates, they only needed to submit and join them, and they could even retain a certain degree of autonomy. Why wouldn't they?
By the time they noticed this, it was already too late. The Rocks Pirates' power rapidly expanded, growing stronger like a snowball, and in a short time, they reached a level that could threaten the Marines.
For this, the Marines specifically dispatched a Great Fleet led by the three Marine Admirals, intending to eradicate the Rocks Pirates before they could expand further.
A world-shaking great war began, and the result exceeded everyone's expectations.
The Marines were defeated, defeated even somewhat hastily.
The three Marine Admirals attacking together couldn't completely defeat Rocks.
The Marines' highest combat power became a stepping stone to Rocks D. Xebec's fame across the Great Sea, leaving the Marines disgraced.
If they hadn't retreated in time, this fleet would have inevitably been destroyed.
Who could have imagined that Rocks was such a freak, able to endure the siege of three Marine Admirals?
Not to mention the Rocks Pirates had many other monsters; few could even contend with Jaeger alone.
With this, the Rocks Pirates became even more unstoppable.
And the Marines and the World Government completely set their sights on the Rocks Pirates.
The two forces began the most intense confrontation. Even Fleet Admiral Black personally took action.
More than half of the New World became the battlefield for their clashes, which lasted for over a year. Both sides suffered significant losses.
Neither side could gain the upper hand.
The Marines had their advantages: better intelligence, the ability to concentrate military strength, and the firepower of their warships was stronger than the Pirates'.
The Pirates' strength was formidable but more dispersed.
It wasn't until that major operation that the war between the two sides abruptly stopped.
The stalemate in the war with the Rocks Pirates put the Marines and the World Government under immense pressure from world opinion. Member nations also began to distrust the strength of the World Government and the Marines.
For this, a plan specifically aimed at weakening the Rocks Pirates was devised, targeting none other than "Death God" Ye Ge.
Although the operation targeting "Death God" Ye Ge was successful, it was a Pyrrhic victory. The huge losses they suffered made them unable to stop the Rocks Pirates' development any further.
Jaeger's death ignited the entire Rocks Pirates. Ninety percent of the Marine Fortresses in the New World were destroyed by the Rocks Pirates.
The heavily damaged Marines simply couldn't resist. The casualties and economic losses were even greater.
At one point, the Rocks Pirates were about to attack the G-1 Branch, which serves as the World Government's gateway.
The current Marine Bases had to be rebuilt, costing unimaginable funds.
This was also the reason why the Kronos Kingdom didn't take the rebellion stirred up by the World Government seriously.
The World Government simply couldn't withstand the fruitless expenditure of funds for long because their losses were already significant, putting them under immense financial pressure.
Most member nations sided with the Kronos Kingdom, and the World Government still needed to rely on the heavenly tribute from the member nations.
Ultimately, this war ended with the victory of the Rocks Pirates.
The Rocks Pirates officially replaced the Marines and became the hegemon of the New World, becoming the sole hegemon in the New World.
(end of chapter )