"Oden!"
"Lord Oden!"
"Oden-sama!"
The moment Kozuki Oden was sent flying by Garp's punch, Roger couldn't help but glance toward the direction Oden had disappeared, his tone laced with concern. His crewmates cried out in alarm—Rayleigh was the first to react, leaping straight off the Oro Jackson and diving toward the spot where Oden had fallen.
The rest of the crew, seeing how fearsome Garp was, quickly disembarked and gathered behind Roger, their expressions grave.
"Captain Roger!"
"Oden-san, he—"
Before the young Shanks could even finish his worried words, Roger reached out and placed a reassuring hand on his head, smiling calmly.
"Don't worry, Shanks. That guy's tougher than he looks. He'll be fine—Rayleigh's already gone to fish him out."
With his Observation Haki, Roger could sense everything clearly. Oden wasn't dead—just immobilized by Garp's brutal punch. The samurai had fallen into the sea and passed out after swallowing some water, but as long as Rayleigh got to him in time, he'd survive.
"Still," Roger muttered with a rueful grin, "that idiot… charging in without orders. He brought that on himself."
His tone was casual, but his eyes were sharp with restrained worry. He knew Oden's Haki and resilience—after all, the first time they met, Oden had taken Roger's Divine Departure head-on and lived to brag about it.
Garp's strength might rival his own, but killing Oden with a single blow? Not likely.
Still, Roger's grin faded as he turned back toward Garp.
"Garp… you attacked my crewmate." His voice hardened, the playful tone gone. "Have you steeled yourself for what comes next?"
Though he was still smiling, there was a distinct gravity in his eyes.
"Roger," Garp replied with a snort, "don't spout nonsense."
"You think I came all the way out here just to chat?!"
With that, he tossed Oden's twin blades—Enma and Ame no Habakiri—toward his dog-headed battleship, then reached up to loosen his tie.
He unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt, revealing the powerful muscles beneath, and grinned.
The message was clear.
Before Roger could respond, Garp crouched low, gaze locked on his old rival—then, with an explosive kick, launched himself across the ice.
In the blink of an eye, he was in front of Roger, fist cocked back and wrapped in crackling Armament Haki.
"Clang!!"
Roger reacted instantly, drawing his blade to parry—but the sheer force of the blow sent him flying backward.
The moment Garp's feet touched the ground, he sprang forward again, body flickering across the ice. Before Roger could even regain balance, the Marine hero was already above him, his next punch crashing down.
"Clang!!"
Roger blocked again—but the impact drove him straight through the ice, plunging him into the freezing sea below.
To the others watching, the two men's speed was beyond comprehension. All they saw were two streaks of black lightning flashing back and forth—then both figures vanished from sight.
"Boom!! Boom!!"
Moments later, Roger burst up from the sea, roaring with laughter. He unleashed twin flying slashes that Garp easily deflected before the two closed the distance again, trading blows at point-blank range.
Even from dozens of meters away, the shockwaves of their Conqueror's Haki clashed so violently that the air itself trembled.
"Boom!! Boom!! Boom!!"
Thunder roared. The sky above them cleared as their power shredded the clouds, and the thick ice beneath their feet cracked and splintered under the pressure.
The two titans, however, seemed not to notice. Their duel sent waves rolling for miles.
"Good grief…"
A light, almost playful voice suddenly echoed behind the Roger Pirates as they stared, transfixed, at the distant battle.
"The noise those two make… honestly, it's excessive."
Out of nowhere, a tall, slender man in a white suit rose from the frozen sea, hands tucked casually into his pockets.
Cold mist curled from his mouth as he spoke, his calm expression betraying nothing.
Aokiji—the Marine prodigy—had arrived.
Top of Form
"Huh?!"
Shanks and the others all gasped in unison at the sudden voice, their heads snapping around toward the source.
"Ice Time!"
Before they could even react, Aokiji calmly raised both hands, and two massive icicles shot forth from his palms like javelins of death—hurtling straight toward the Roger Pirates' crew.
Elio and Yarmon, both seasoned combatants with bounties exceeding 100 million, barely had time to register the attack before they were struck. In an instant, their bodies were encased in shimmering frost, frozen solid into perfect ice sculptures.
These were infamous pirates known across the seas—yet a single move from Aokiji had rendered them completely helpless.
"Elio-san! Yarmon-san!"
Buggy, watching his two seniors fall in an instant, cried out in horror. But before he could even draw another breath, the tall Marine had already vanished from sight—reappearing directly before him in a blur of motion.
Looking up at Aokiji's towering figure, Buggy grit his teeth and drew a short dagger from his belt.
At only twelve years old, he showed not an ounce of fear. Instead, he charged forward, slashing with all his might to avenge his frozen comrades.
"Ohh~?"
Aokiji murmured lazily, mildly surprised that the boy hadn't chosen to flee. A faint chill spread from his body, frost forming in the air around him as he prepared to freeze the brave but foolish child.
But just as he was about to move—his Observation Haki flared. Someone was coming. Fast.
"Oraaaaaa!!!"
A thunderous roar split the air.
A towering, four-meter-tall man—his frame a mountain of muscle—burst into view beside Aokiji, his fist gleaming with black Armament Haki as he swung it straight at the Marine's face.
Douglas Bullet.
Only seventeen years old, known across the seas as "the Devil's Heir."
At such a young age, he had already awakened his Conqueror's Haki, and on top of that, he possessed the powers of the Combine-Combine Fruit (Gasha Gasha no Mi)—a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that allowed him to fuse his body with inanimate objects or merge materials together to forge weapons.
His strength was said to rival even Rayleigh, the Silver Rayleigh himself.
But Aokiji was faster.
Sensing the strike, his body dissolved into a swirl of icy mist just before the blow could land—completely evading the attack through Logia elementalization.
Bullet's punch whistled through empty air, the shockwave splitting the ice underfoot. His brows furrowed in mild surprise.
Then, before anyone could react, the surrounding frost condensed around his body—mist gathering and freezing upon him.
In the blink of an eye, Aokiji rematerialized behind Bullet, one hand resting on the pirate's massive shoulder. His lips barely moved as he whispered—
"Ice Ball."
Crack!
In an instant, the towering fighter was sealed within a giant sphere of translucent ice. Through the crystal-like surface, Shanks and the others could still see Bullet's stunned expression frozen in place.
The man who could go toe-to-toe with Rayleigh… defeated in a single move.
A heavy silence fell over the Roger Pirates as the chilling reality sank in—the power of a Logia-type Devil Fruit user was beyond terrifying.
"Now then," Aokiji murmured, his breath misting in the air, "who's next?"
His sharp gaze swept across the remaining crewmates, the icy aura around him growing thicker—until, suddenly, the ice sphere in front of him cracked.
Crack… crack… CRASH!
The frozen prison exploded outward.
From within, Bullet emerged once more, steam rising from his Haki-shrouded skin as shards of ice shattered around him.
"...!"
Aokiji's eyes widened slightly—he hadn't expected the youth to break free so quickly.
Before he could even react, Bullet lunged forward, his Haki-coated hand reaching for Aokiji's face.
But in that same instant—
A flash of scarlet flame cut through the cold.
A blazing slash carved through the mist, its fiery edge streaking past Bullet's neck. The flames burned bright enough to melt the frost in the air.
Sun Breathing — Second Form: Clear Blue Sky!
Scarlet blade.
Unyielding Haki.
The rhythm of the Sun Breathing technique.
A red-haired youth appeared beside Bullet, his sword trailing flames as he swung with full force—the strongest strike he could muster at his current level.
His intent was clear: to take Bullet's head in a single blow.
And as that fiery blade descended, a faint, knowing grin tugged at Bullet's lips.
"So you've finally shown yourself... Yoriichi!"
(End of Chapter)
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