One Piece: Reborn in God's Valley

As the news spread, the entire world was shaken by the terrifying strength of the Helgrave Pirates.

The headline alone was enough to catch the eye, but the giant, full-page photograph left jaws dropping across the floor.

In the photo, the massive rock formations at the southern port of Dressrosa had been reduced to rubble.

At the edge of the harbor stood three pillars side by side.

Each pillar had a person tied to it with thick ropes.

In the center was the captain of the Doomblade Pirates, Red-Eyed Swordsman Begrin. His severed head had been placed right on top of the pillar.

On the left was the captain of the Giant Lizard Pirates, Komilin. But the one who met the most gruesome end was his first mate Orich, his body had been cleaved in two and strung up like a grotesque pendant.

"Hey! You've gotta be kidding me. These are the pirates who just entered the New World?"

"This Ashen is a monster. Look at these poor bastards, note to self, never mess with the Helgrave Pirates."

"Hahaha…This is perfect. That bastard Komilin is finally dead. His turf is mine now."

People around the world reacted to the news, each with their own opinions, but one conclusion was shared by all.

A new king had risen in the New World.

Before this, most people already knew the Helgrave Pirates were strong, but only in a vague, general sense.

Now, after wiping out three well established pirate crews in one decisive battle, no one could downplay them any longer.

The battle had catapulted the Helgrave Pirates into a position of serious importance in the eyes of every major power.

…

One day later, new bounty posters for the Helgrave Pirates were released.

Ashen V. Helgrave. Bounty: 1.5 billion Berries.

Thomas Parnell. Bounty: 400 million Berries.

William Tesla. Bounty: 300 million Berries.

Abbas. Bounty: 280 million Berries.

Ernest Walton. Bounty: 150 million Berries.

Fernando Salles. Bounty: 140 million Berries.

Fernando Lafitte. Bounty: 45 million Berries.

As for Kyros and Dan, being newcomers with no previous notoriety, they were both given bounties of 30 million Berries, thanks to their association with the Helgrave Pirates.

If anyone still doubted the earlier reports, the World Government's bounty notices left no room for skepticism.

Of course, the Helgrave Pirates themselves were oblivious to the external buzz.

They were already deep into a new round of intensive training, a decision made by Ashen.

The recent war had exposed many of the crew's shortcomings.

Even though their reputation had skyrocketed, Ashen was well aware, both he and his crew still had a long way to go.

At the same time, Dressrosa, having settled into peace once more, resumed its ambitious rebuilding efforts.

…

Time flew by. A month passed.

As the buzz around the Helgrave Pirates slowly faded, Dressrosa had undergone a dramatic transformation.

First was the harbor. Though it had taken heavy damage during the battle, the foundations were solid, which cut reconstruction time in half.

Umit's shipping fleet had already started transporting materials to the island.

With the steady arrival of supplies, the underground factory was also fully refurbished. Tesla had begun mass production of a new invention he had previously tested.

The Tontatta tribe followed Tesla's schematics to manufacture the core propulsion system of a paddlewheel steamboat.

Dan, along with over a hundred fish-men and newly hired Dressrosan residents, took charge of the shipbuilding.

But if you asked what was the biggest money-maker right now, it was undoubtedly the casino run by Feld the Fortune Maker.

Half a month ago, the casino officially opened, and on that very day, gamblers from all over the New World filled every seat.

Most of them were pirates, drawn by the Fortune Maker's reputation, and the island's newfound safety.

That's right, safety.

Most of these pirates were average fighters who constantly fell prey to backstabbing. But with the Helgrave Pirates in charge, no one dared pull any underhanded tricks.

As the island's population steadily grew, residents of Dressrosa began seeing their incomes rise. Many gave up their previous hard labor and turned to running businesses of their own.

…

"Heh… who would've thought Walton would be this popular."

From atop the King's Plateau, Tesla chuckled while watching the enormous screen broadcasting a live match from the Corrida Colosseum below.

Onscreen, Walton was clashing with several pirate contestants while a roaring crowd waved banners with a cartoonish buzz-cut mascot and cheered wildly.

"Haha…. Guess they love his trash talk," Ashen laughed too, amused.

The moment Walton stepped onto the arena stage, he unleashed a relentless verbal assault on his opponents.

The crowd had never seen anything like it. His antics won them over instantly.

Plus, Walton's raw strength and fiery, over-the-top fighting style turned him into a fan favorite overnight.

Now, anytime Walton had a match scheduled, tickets sold like crazy.

"By the way, how come you're out and about today?" Ashen asked. "Don't tell me, progress in the lab?"

Over the past month, Tesla had spent nearly all his time buried in the underground factory, rarely surfacing. So Ashen was surprised to see him.

"Exactly. And all thanks to Dan's idea, the experiment's finally a success."

Tesla's excitement was hard to miss. A month of relentless failure had finally yielded results.

Ashen listened carefully as Tesla explained.

It turned out Tesla had been working on an airship the whole time. 

Most of the components, like the gondola and structure, had already passed testing. But the airbag material had repeatedly fallen short of his standards.

He even roped Parnell into the experiments, testing whether asphalt mixed with sailcloth could work, it didn't.

In the end, it was Dan who suggested using the tanned skin of sea porpoises, a type of Sea King.

Sea porpoises weren't just massive; their natural body shape could be adapted directly into balloon form.

What's more, their skin was elastic, tough, and had natural defense properties, almost as if nature had designed them for this exact use.

"Oh? That's fantastic. Are there any drawbacks to the airship?" Ashen asked, intrigued.

"Of course," Tesla replied. "To generate sufficient lift, the airbag has to be enormous. And that means it'll be slow, very slow."

"On top of that, it can only be used in calm weather conditions, either in the Four Blues, the Grand Line, or the first half of the New World."

"If it enters the latter half of the New World, that hellish weather will tear it apart in seconds."

"But," Tesla added with pride, "its unmatched hovering capability makes up for all that. Totally worth it."

Ashen nodded in understanding. Even Shiki's ability couldn't defy the New World's weather. He didn't expect miracles either.

"So, how long before the first prototype is ready?"

"One month. Just one more month."

"Alright then. One month it is."

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