Of course, it wasn't just Rocks who returned; Charlotte Linlin and Kaido, unseen for some time, came back with him.
It must be said, young Linlin was truly a stunning beauty, plump and alluring, bright and captivating. She was just a bit too tall; a nearly nine-meter-tall beauty was truly exaggerated. But it didn't matter; the world wasn't lacking brave souls like Jabba.
Young Kaido was also quite youthful. His long legs hadn't yet become the short ones he'd later have, and he had already started growing a mustache, which, combined with his naturally old-looking face, made him hardly resemble a twenty-one-year-old.
"Mama-mama! Little Roa! Come here, dear child, to Auntie!"
Charlotte Linlin waved at Roa, her face exceptionally gentle. Roa knew that Auntie Linlin sometimes entered a special state when encountering children under ten, showing them extraordinary tenderness. But unfortunately, it wasn't like that with him.
Roa's small face broke into a brilliant smile, and he playfully moved closer. "Auntie Linlin is still as beautiful as ever."
"Mama-mama! You're still such a sweet-talker, child!" Linlin giggled.
Kaido grunted unhappily. "Kid, did you not see me?"
"So, Brother Kaido," Roa asked with a hint of mischief, "did you clash with Roger this time?"
The Roger Pirates were currently the only pirate crew that could somewhat contend with the Rocks Pirates, and Roger was naturally the strongest enemy of the Rocks Pirates. Not just the older guys, but Kaido too was quite obsessed with that man.
"Hmph," the hot-headed young Kaido snorted, "Roger is nothing special! I'm not afraid of him!"
"Don't listen to this guy bragging," Charlotte Linlin picked up Roa and placed him on her shoulder, saying with a smile, "He went straight for Roger at the start of the battle and almost got killed by that guy's Divine Departure."
"As expected of Brother Kaido!" Roa gave his brother a thumbs-up. "You didn't depart from Divine Departure; you're more impressive than a god!"
"Hmph!" The young Kaido turned his head away unhappily, letting out another cold snort.
"So what was the final result?" Roa was very curious. Although he knew Roger couldn't be defeated here, who knew if there was a butterfly effect?
"Roger still managed to escape." Linlin also sounded a bit unwilling. "That guy is so strong that even Rocks couldn't defeat him. And those two bastards, Rayleigh and Jabba, are ridiculously strong too." She continued, "Even though we brought Wang Zhi(Ochoku) and the others, without Newgate and Shiki, there was nothing we could do."
Roa nodded in understanding. Although not comparable to the all-star lineup of the Rocks Pirates, the Roger Pirates also had three core members leading them. If the Rocks Pirates didn't go all out, it wouldn't be easy to take them down.
"Then," Roa looked at Whitebeard, who had a bloodied head, "what happened to Uncle Newgate?"
"That's exactly what I was going to say," Charlotte Linlin turned to Whitebeard and Stussy. "Don't just stand there, that guy Rocks wants to hold a meeting."
A short while later, inside a spacious conference room within the Skull Building.
The officers of the Rocks Pirates gathered. Golden Lion and Aunt Gloriosa were already there. Besides them, there was also a heavily armored man, a thin middle-aged man wearing a top hat, and a drunkard guzzling from a liquor bottle. They were the other high-ranking officers: Silver Axe, Wang Zhi(Ochoku), and Captain John. With Roa and the others arriving later, all the officers were present.
"Yo, little Roa, you've grown taller after a few days." As the most popular member of the Rocks Pirates, almost all the officers greeted Roa.
The most polite seven-year-old on Hachinosu Island smiled and responded to each of them. As a normal-sized human, Roa consciously sat next to the Golden Lion and asked curiously, "What exactly happened? Why did the Captain fight Uncle Newgate? And what's this meeting about?"
"Because my treasure was stolen!"
Accompanied by a low voice, a man strode into the conference room. The man wasn't particularly tall, but he was still a head taller than an average person. His face wasn't handsome, and the hair at the back of his head was messy, looking as if it hadn't been washed in ages. Overall, he seemed unremarkable, yet he exuded an aura of overwhelming dominance.
The conference room instantly fell silent.
"Captain!" Good kid Roa raised his right hand high as he spoke. "What treasure are you talking about?"
"You don't need to know, kid." The man's name was Rocks D. Xebec, captain of the Rocks Pirates, the uncrowned king of the New World. He seemed quite impatient, slamming the table and glaring at Whitebeard. "Newgate, you idiot, I sent you to provide backup, and you still let it get stolen!"
"You bastard didn't say anyone would try to steal it first! How was I supposed to know there'd be an accident?" Whitebeard retorted, unwilling to back down. "You bastard already punched me a few times; what more do you want?"
"I really want to kill you, you idiot!" Rocks was so furious that Conqueror's Haki lightning crackled, and cracks rapidly appeared on the walls and tables.
"I support that!" Shiki, eager to stir up trouble, said, "Geh-hahahaha, it doesn't matter if we lose one Newgate."
"Alright," Gloriosa tapped the table, gently saying, "infighting is meaningless, Captain. What exactly is this treasure you speak of?"
"You don't need to know for now," Rocks said. "In any case, activate all our intelligence sources. I will get that thing back!"
Roa mused. In the original story, the Rocks Pirates ended up in God Valley because something of theirs was stolen. Was this the so-called treasure? What could it be? The Azure Dragon Fruit? Or some other unknown treasure?
The smile on Roa's face grew a bit wider. The God Valley incident was truly about to begin.
"Also," Rocks added, "I'm going to Elbaf next. The giants need to make a choice."
"Elbaf?" Aunt Linlin's eyes lit up. "I want to go too!"
"Why are you, you idiot, joining the fun?" Rocks angrily rebuked without hesitation. "Don't you know your reputation among the giants?"
"Newgate," he looked at Whitebeard, "you bastard are coming with me."
"Hmph, I don't care," Whitebeard snorted.
"So, Rocks," Brother Kaido was a bit excited, "are we finally going to start the war against the World Government by recruiting the giants?"
Rocks's lips curved upwards. "That's right! Go ahead and cheer, you scoundrels! Our goal is very close!"
The monsters of the Rocks Pirates had gathered for one reason: to pull off something big together.
"Ugygygygy! How exciting!"
"Geh-hahahahaha!"
"Gurarahahaha!"
"Mama-mamama!"
Laughter, strange and booming, echoed. Roa felt a little self-conscious; his laugh was too normal and didn't fit in with these people.
Shaking off his somber mood, Roa once again raised his hand high. "Captain, I want to go to Elbaf too!"
Rocks glanced at Roa, then twisted his mouth into a smirk. "Alright, your abilities, kid, can be put to great use in Elbaf!"