Brook was surprised for two reasons: first, that Roger hadn’t reached out to him, and second, that his intelligence department had somehow lost track of the Roger Pirates’ movements.

What the hell were Mortomas and Antonio up to?

The intel on the Roger Pirates was top-priority stuff.

"Brook, I think I forgot to mention—Roger’s special Observation Haki has evolved to the point where he can understand animals. That’s why our Den Den Mushi and News Coos haven’t been able to track or eavesdrop on them for a while now!"

Antonio explained from the side. He’d been working with Brook long enough to pick up on the tone in his voice and know when he’d dropped the ball.

’Observation Haki that lets him hear all things, huh? Looks like something in the Dragon Tomb is drawing Roger in!’

After hearing Antonio’s explanation, Brook pieced it together. Could Rokudō Island be hiding a Poneglyph too?

Or maybe some ancient giant dragon was calling out to Roger?

After all, every child of the era who could hear all things ended up favored by all sorts of ancient creatures!

Being able to understand them meant he could bridge the gap between worlds!

"Daene, you wouldn’t mind if I took a look inside your Dragon Tomb later, right?"

If Roger could snag a giant egg and stash it on his pirate ship, then maybe he should grab a few dragon eggs himself to raise.

"No problem at all. Our kingdom is part of your territory, after all!"

Daene Targary had no reason to refuse. She’d hitched her wagon to Brook now—if she became the new queen, she could lead the Westeros Kingdom to prosperity and stability!

And who knew if the dragon eggs in the tomb could even hatch anymore? If Brook had a way to breed dragons again, then as the last descendant of the dragon bloodline, she’d stand to gain a lot!

Seeing how sensible this silver-haired girl was, Brook felt relieved. He couldn’t stand it when people pulled out some ancient rule or custom as an excuse, especially when the power gap was this huge.

People only asked out of courtesy—the strong would do what they wanted anyway. They wouldn’t scrap their plans just because you said no!

The strong preying on the weak—that was an eternal truth!

Anyone bold enough to refuse without thinking? They’d better be ready to pay with their life!

"Alright, let’s deal with this Night King Arzuka first, then head to the Dragon Tomb!"

Brook decided. The Shadow-Shadow Fruit’s powers were perfect for overwhelming enemies with sheer numbers and undead hordes. This Night King Arzuka had invaded his turf and killed the king—he’d reap that Devil Fruit ability for himself!

"As you command, Brook-sama!"

Daene Targary bowed her head in agreement, clenching her small fists. This time, she’d avenge her father for sure. Night King Arzuka, you bastard—you’re done for!

...

The flying fleet sped toward the Frozen Wastes Island in the Westeros Kingdom. That was the Hell Pirates’ territory, bordering the Ice Kingdom.

The island was now under Night King Arzuka’s control, swarming with his zombies and White Walkers. With the Ice Kingdom at his back, he could retreat there anytime, while pushing forward to plunder the rest of the Westeros Kingdom’s islands.

This new overlord, Brook, seemed to have his eyes on the previous ruler’s Ice Giants—he wanted to subjugate them, which was why he hadn’t forced a takeover yet!

That was why Night King Arzuka had been able to hole up here and build his strength quietly.

He’d conspired with some ambitious generals from the Westeros Kingdom, nearly wiping out the Targary clan. He’d even linked up those generals with the Hell Pirates, figuring he could keep things under wraps for a bit longer!

Now he had three Ice Giant corpses turned into zombies. All he needed was to grab the dragon corpses from the Dragon Tomb, and he could finally ditch this hellhole.

"Damn Roger Pirates! How the hell are they so strong?!"

Night King Arzuka’s face was pale. He’d been driven off Rokudō Island once by the Roger Pirates. He’d only teamed up with the Westeros generals to slaughter the Targary clan after Roger vanished, hoping to slip back into the Dragon Tomb.

But inside the tomb, he’d run into those cursed Roger Pirates again, taking heavy losses. A bunch of his strongest zombies got wiped out by them.

Lucky for him, the three Ice Giant zombies were too massive to bring into the tomb—otherwise, the Roger Pirates might have taken out his entire force, leaving him with nothing!

"Arzuka-sama, the Roger Pirates have been in that Dragon Tomb for ages. Why don’t we just blow the entrance and bury them alive?"

One of his pirate officers suggested. Their White Walkers Pirates had suffered too many defeats at the hands of the Roger Pirates, but they couldn’t beat them straight-up.

If they could trap the whole crew in the tomb and kill them off, it’d be sweet revenge!

"You idiot! I came here for those dragon corpses in the tomb! If I blow it up, what the hell was the point of sticking around this dump for so long?!"

Night King Arzuka roared at his subordinate. Right now, he just wanted the Roger Pirates to get the hell out of the Dragon Tomb so he could raid it for dragon corpses. If the Hell Pirates caught wind of this, it’d be over—they’d send someone to wipe them out any day now!

What he didn’t know was that if it weren’t for Brook’s kids having a birthday, Golden Lion Shiki might have already swept through and crushed them. Never underestimate the Hell Pirates’ intel network.

Shiki had only delayed because he figured the Westeros Kingdom mess wasn’t as important as his niece and nephew’s birthday—which was why the Targary clan got wiped out.

Night King Arzuka’s crew kept a close watch on the Dragon Tomb. The moment the Roger Pirates left, they’d storm in and grab the dragon corpses they needed!

Arzuka was already daydreaming about commanding dozens of zombie dragons, maybe throwing in a few dozen Ice Giant zombies for good measure. Then he could head back to the chaotic seas and rule as a major pirate!

Staying in Hell Pirates’ territory was way too risky. If it weren’t for the dragon corpses and Ice Giant bodies, he never would’ve come here!

...

Inside the Dragon Tomb, after days of exploration, the Roger Pirates had finally scoured the entire Dragon Cave burial site. They’d found a Poneglyph hidden deep within and made a rubbing of it.

On top of that, Roger’s Observation Haki—the kind that let him hear all things—had picked up on a vibrant, massive dragon egg. This huge egg, covered in wine-red speckles, felt oddly familiar to Roger.

So he made the call right then and there: they were taking this giant dragon egg with them!

And he didn’t want to hand it over to Brook—he planned to keep it for himself. They could find a couple more eggs to give Brook as a peace offering, since he’d promised to tip him off if they found any giant eggs!

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+400 Chapters on p@treon/tambeerg