After Yoriichi stepped back several meters, Rayleigh didn't press the attack any further.
Buggy and Shanks, who had just escaped from Yoriichi's blade, only now realized how close they had come to death. Cold sweat beaded on their foreheads as the shock set in.
If Rayleigh hadn't intervened in time, the two of them would've already been corpses on the ground.
"That… that was too close…" Buggy clutched his chest, trembling in fear.
Shanks stood silently beside him, gripping his short sword tightly, his expression grim.
"Has the Navy really fallen this far," Rayleigh said suddenly, glancing at Yoriichi's young face with a faint sigh. "To send a child like you onto the battlefield… Garp, you really have disappointed me."
"Tch! Rayleigh, what nonsense are you spouting?!"
"The two brats beside you—aren't they also standing on the battlefield?!"
"What right do you have to criticize the Navy?!"
A booming voice suddenly rang out from behind Yoriichi. He turned to see Garp, clothes tattered but spirit undiminished, walking up beside him. Resting a large hand on Yoriichi's shoulder, Garp fixed his sharp gaze on Rayleigh.
Despite his disheveled clothes, Garp was completely uninjured. His voice was steady and powerful, his body brimming with energy—aside from being soaked with seawater, he seemed utterly fine.
"Vice Admiral Garp?!" Yoriichi was startled. Already finished with Roger? So soon? If Garp was here, then did that mean Roger—
"Garp, you're the one talking nonsense," a cheerful laugh interrupted his thoughts.
"We're pirates! Isn't it perfectly normal for a pirate ship to have a couple of young apprentices aboard?"
"But you Navy folks—letting underage kids fight on the front lines? Is that what you call justice? Hahahaha!"
Before Yoriichi could process it all, Roger's figure appeared behind Shanks and Buggy, both hands resting casually on their heads, his grin teasing and full of confidence.
Yoriichi turned to look at him—and saw that Roger, like Garp, bore no wounds at all. His clothes were damp and disheveled from seawater, but his body was otherwise untouched.
So the terrifying clash between Garp and Roger earlier… was nothing more than a warm-up for them.
Through Transparent World, Yoriichi noticed something strange within Roger's body.
Every muscle and organ pulsed with fierce vitality—except for one place: his lungs.
Unlike the rest of his body, which burned like a living volcano, Roger's lungs were cold and lifeless… a dead sea.
A lung disease, Yoriichi realized grimly. He doesn't have much time left.
Roger, however, showed no sign of weakness. Laughing and chatting as though nothing was wrong, he seemed every bit the invincible Pirate King.
Garp snorted and clapped Yoriichi's shoulder proudly. "And what's wrong with that, huh? If young people can sail with pirates, then our Navy's youth can damn well fight too!"
"Heh heh heh," Garp chuckled, flashing a grin. "When it comes to promising young men, the Navy's got the best!"
"Roger, this kid—he's got the makings of a future pillar of justice! Someday he'll send the likes of you all straight to Impel Down!"
As he spoke, Garp's gaze swept over Shanks and Buggy with faint amusement.
Though his earlier battle with Roger had been intense, Garp's Observation Haki had been tracking this side of the battlefield the entire time. He hadn't cared much when the Roger Pirates clashed with the Navy—but the moment Rayleigh struck at Yoriichi, Garp immediately disengaged and rushed over.
Roger, on the other hand, had fought Garp with full concentration—not because he didn't care about Shanks and Buggy, but because he trusted Rayleigh completely. He believed Rayleigh could protect the crew, so he could fight freely.
But the instant Garp withdrew, Roger had hurried back to his men—worried that Garp might turn his strength on his shipmates.
The Roger Pirates were not a pure "elite" crew. Onboard were young apprentices like Shanks and Buggy, non-combatants like the ship's doctor and carpenter, and even Oden's family members who had no fighting ability whatsoever.
Of course, there were also pure fighters—men like Rayleigh and Barrett.
Among them, only those two could hope to withstand Garp. If the Vice Admiral truly went all out, the Roger Pirates would suffer heavy losses. That was why Roger always held some restraint toward Garp.
And Garp, for all his bluster about capturing pirates, had his own reservations as well.
In truth, this encounter was never meant to be a decisive battle to destroy the Roger Pirates. If it were, the Navy would never have sent Garp alone.
At the very least, if Garp truly intended to take down the Roger Pirates, he'd have brought along seven or eight powerful Vice Admirals—and perhaps even Admiral Sengoku and Vice Admiral Tsuru. Only then could the Navy hope to match Roger's crew blow for blow.
This time, however, Garp hadn't come to capture Roger. He was here to test the waters—to gauge Roger's intentions, especially his recent contact with Charlotte Linlin. At the same time, he wanted to let Aokiji and Yoriichi witness firsthand what kind of monsters ruled the seas.
By now, Garp had already achieved everything he'd set out to do, and he was ready to call it a day.
While the two leaders—Roger and Garp—stood chatting across the ice, the rest of the battlefield raged on fiercely.
Boom!
Not far away, Bogard was once again sent crashing into the frozen ground by Oden's powerful strike. This time, he didn't get back up. Against Oden, he had lasted less than ten minutes before being utterly defeated.
Elsewhere, Aokiji was locked in a fierce battle with Scopper Gaban. Gaban's physical strength and Haki were both overwhelming. Though Aokiji's hand-to-hand combat couldn't match his opponent's, his Devil Fruit powers allowed him to fight to a stalemate. For now, neither side could gain the upper hand.
Across the field, however, the Navy was clearly at a massive disadvantage. Many Marines had already been knocked down by Roger's crew and were unable to rise again.
Only one among the new recruits shone brightly—Cyrus. Surrounded by three of Roger's pirates, he held his ground valiantly. Around him lay the unconscious bodies of seven or eight pirates—his handiwork.
When Roger heard Garp boasting that the Navy's young men were superior, he fell silent for a moment. He had to admit, the red-haired boy standing beside Garp was indeed exceptional—far stronger than his own Shanks or Buggy at this stage.
But as the distant fighting drew to its inevitable conclusion, a broad grin returned to Roger's face.
"Ha ha ha ha ha!"
"Garp, your men still have a long way to go!"
"Listen up, Garp! To defeat my crew, you'll need more than that sorry bunch of misfits you brought with you!"
"Yarudamu! Finish off the Navy quickly—we're heading back to the ship! Don't waste any more time!"
At Roger's booming command, his crew's morale surged. Their attacks intensified, and the Marines' collapse accelerated. Even Cyrus, who had been holding his own, was soon overwhelmed by the pirates and knocked unconscious.
Five minutes later, only Aokiji remained standing.
Roger's pirates, having secured victory, began regrouping and retreating in an orderly fashion, quickly returning to Roger's side.
Scopper Gaban, who had been struggling to finish Aokiji, seized the chance to disengage after hearing Roger's call and swiftly retreated as well.
Aokiji watched Gaban's figure vanish into the distance but didn't pursue. His eyes swept over the battlefield—the ice littered with fallen Marines—and his brow furrowed deeply.
Throughout the battle, Garp had simply stood there facing Roger and his top men, expression grim, making no move to intervene. He couldn't afford to; he had to keep Roger, Rayleigh, and the others in check.
Now, as Roger's crew regrouped around their captain, Roger threw back his head and laughed.
"Ha ha ha ha! Garp, this round goes to me!"
"Next time, bring more Marines if you want to capture me! Weak opponents make for boring fights!"
"When you finally catch up to me again, we'll reminisce then! Ha ha ha ha!"
"Oh, and that red-haired kid beside you—next time we meet, my Shanks and Buggy will definitely beat him!"
"The young ones on my ship will never lose to the Navy!"
With a hearty laugh, Roger raised his arm and led his crew back aboard the Oro Jackson.
Two gleaming slashes of Divine Departure cut through the frozen sea, shattering the ice beneath them. The ship didn't linger—it sailed off swiftly, disappearing beyond Garp's sight.
Garp made no move to stop them. Watching the Oro Jackson vanish into the horizon, he knew full well there was no point—he couldn't stop them anyway.
Thus ended the encounter between Garp and the Roger Pirates—
with the Navy soundly defeated.
"Eh?! Lord Oden—where's your sword?! You… you didn't take it back?!"
On Roger's ship, Nekomamushi suddenly noticed that his lord's hands now held two chipped and unfamiliar blades, and he cried out in alarm.
"Take it back? What nonsense are you spouting?" Oden said boldly. "I lost the duel—my sword belongs to the victor."
"The next time we meet, I'll defeat him and reclaim it fair and square!"
"Skulking around in secret—what kind of samurai would that make me?"
Kozuki Oden's voice rang out firm and resolute as he lifted the two broken swords in his hands, his gaze unwavering.
"This is a reminder for me—I'm still not strong enough. I have to become stronger!"
(End of Chapter)
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