While the Marine fleet sped toward the Edd War Sea—
A massive confrontation had already begun there.
Countless pirate ships filled the sky and sea.
They surrounded a single vessel.
That ship belonged to the Roger Pirates.
Just as the Marines had deduced—
Roger's crew had no idea Shiki was lying in wait.
They sailed directly into the trap.
They had come to this region searching for a Poneglyph.
But not to awaken Ancient Weapons.
Their goal was something else entirely.
They were searching for clues to the Final Island — Laugh Tale.
The Oro Jackson.
Roger's legendary ship.
At the bow stood Gol D. Roger himself.
He wore his red captain's coat and pirate hat.
His eyes were serious as he stared at the enormous fleet floating in the sky.
On the flagship of that fleet—
He spotted an old acquaintance.
Golden Lion Shiki.
"Shiki," Roger said in a low voice.
"What the hell are you doing?"
On the opposite ship, Shiki stepped forward.
A cigar hung from his mouth as his long golden hair fluttered in the wind.
He looked wild and domineering.
"Roger," Shiki said calmly.
"I've invited you many times before."
That was true.
Roger and Shiki had known each other for years.
For some reason, Roger possessed a strange charisma that attracted powerful figures.
Shiki admired him greatly.
Every time they met, Shiki invited Roger to join forces with him.
Unfortunately—
Roger always refused.
"Well," Roger grinned,
"sorry about that."
If anyone else had rejected Shiki like that—
They would already be dead.
But with Roger…
Shiki showed remarkable patience.
Shiki wasn't bluffing or trying to deceive Roger.
He genuinely wanted to join forces with him.
In fact, he was even willing to split the world with Roger afterward.
For a domineering pirate like Shiki, a man with the ambition to rule the seas, such a concession was already extremely outrageous.
Yet he was still willing to offer it—
Even after Roger had rejected him countless times.
Shiki slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke and waved his hand.
"Forget it. I won't argue about that anymore."
He stared at Roger and asked once more.
"Roger… I'll ask you again."
"Will you join forces with me?"
"You already know my answer," Roger replied without hesitation.
"Don't rush to refuse," Shiki said.
"I've said this many times before. We fought plenty when we were younger, but let the past blow away with the wind."
"If the two of us join hands…"
"…this entire sea will immediately become ours."
"You have the key to obtaining the Ancient Weapons, don't you?"
"And I have a magnificent plan."
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Roger!"
Shiki's eyes gleamed with excitement.
Roger raised an eyebrow.
"How did you find out about that?"
"Ancient Weapons?" Shiki chuckled darkly.
"For someone as ambitious as me, knowing things like that isn't surprising."
"Besides…"
"Your reaction just confirmed it."
Roger shook his head.
"You're right about one thing."
"But unlike you…"
"I have no intention of searching for those Ancient Weapons."
Shiki's expression darkened.
"You're going to abandon the chance to rule the world?"
Roger suddenly grinned.
"Shiki…"
"I have no interest in ruling the world!"
Before Shiki could respond, Roger continued loudly.
"If being a pirate means I can't do what I want…"
"Then there's no point in going out to sea!"
"So Shiki—"
"No matter how many times you make this offer…"
"My answer will always be the same."
"I refuse!"
Shiki's face instantly became terrifyingly gloomy.
His lion-like figure trembled slightly—
Not from fear.
But from rage.
Seeing Shiki's reaction, the crew of the Oro Jackson quickly prepared for battle.
Everyone except one person.
Buggy was practically about to wet himself.
"Captain! Maybe you should just agree for now!" Buggy cried.
"We can figure something out after we escape! That's dozens of ships out there!"
"Relax, Buggy," Shanks laughed teasingly.
"Haven't you already become immortal? No matter how many pieces you're cut into, you won't die."
Buggy glared angrily.
"Idiot! I still have weaknesses! I'm not immortal!"
Ignoring Shanks, he grabbed the ship's doctor Crocus and cried,
"Dr. Crocus! The captain's condition is terrible, right? He shouldn't be fighting!"
Crocus shook his harpoon lightly and chuckled.
"Unfortunately for you, Buggy…"
"The captain is in his best condition these past few days."
"HAHAHA!" Scopper Gaban laughed, holding his battle axe.
"Give up, Buggy. You've known Roger long enough."
"Has anyone here ever managed to stop him once he's made up his mind?"
Buggy looked around desperately.
None of them supported him.
Finally, he turned toward the vice captain.
"Mr. Rayleigh…!"
Rayleigh smiled slightly.
Then his expression slowly became serious.
"Roger doesn't have much time left…"
"So we can't retreat now."
Meanwhile, Shiki inhaled deeply before releasing a long stream of smoke.
His eyes turned cold as he looked at Roger.
"So you're saying…"
"…I should kill you here?"
Roger grinned confidently.
"No."
"I'm saying we'll kill all you bastards instead."
The moment Roger finished speaking—
Shiki's expression hardened.
"Open fire. Destroy them."
This time was different.
Shiki thought to himself.
In the past, even if Roger rejected him, he wouldn't insist on killing him.
Sometimes they would even drink together afterward.
But not this time.
Because now—
Shiki knew Roger possessed information about the Ancient Weapons.
The World Government feared that power.
And so did Shiki.
If Roger joined him, everything would be perfect.
The Ancient Weapons would become their greatest strength.
But if Roger refused—
Then Roger had to die here.
Otherwise…
What if those weapons one day became a threat to him?
In a way, Shiki's thinking wasn't so different from Sengoku's.
Better to kill by mistake than let one escape.
Destroy every potential threat while it was still a seed.
Only then could one achieve true domination.
To be honest—
Shiki regretted this decision.
He truly admired Roger.
But for the sake of his ambition…
Roger had to die.
And Shiki was confident.
After planning for so long and finally trapping the Roger Pirates—
Destroying them should not be difficult.
Moments later—
An overwhelming storm of cannon fire erupted from Shiki's massive fleet.
At the same time—
The Oro Jackson roared as its cannons fired back.
Rayleigh, Gaban, and the other elites of the Roger Pirates drew their weapons and charged straight through the barrage.
The battle that would later be known as the Edd War Incident, the clash that changed the course of history—
Had officially begun.
Meanwhile, the Marine fleet continued racing toward the Edd War Sea.
On Tsuru's warship, Garp sat drinking tea with Tsuru, Kuzan, and Gion.
"Hey," Garp said while chewing on senbei.
"Who's that kid on Sengoku's ship?"
"I've never seen him before."
"He seemed pretty sharp."
Garp was famously carefree.
Even though Diarmuid had been at Marineford for some time and had become friends with Kuzan—
Garp had never noticed him.
Which was understandable.
After all, Diarmuid was only a Marine Headquarters Major.
"He's called Diarmuid," Gion said calmly after taking a sip of tea.
"He's from our Sixth Officer Training Camp."
"Oh?" Garp raised an eyebrow.
"A student Zephyr likes?"
Kuzan nodded.
"That's right."
"Teacher Zephyr speaks highly of him."
Then Kuzan explained the story Zephyr had told him—
About what happened in the North Blue, when Diarmuid had faced Shiki.
"He managed to injure Shiki in that situation?" Garp laughed.
"That kid's impressive."
"Kuzan, don't you need an adjutant?"
"Why didn't you recruit him?"
"Kuzan did invite him," Gion said with a smile.
"But he refused."
Kuzan shrugged.
"He said following me wouldn't have much of a future."
"Honestly… I think he's right."
Everyone chuckled.
Then Tsuru spoke.
"It seems he's not only brave and decisive…"
"…but also quite intelligent."
Given enough time, Tsuru herself could have reached the same deduction.
But Diarmuid had arrived at it faster.
In her view—
That was intelligence.
She had no way of knowing that Diarmuid essentially had a cheat code.
After a brief pause, Tsuru smiled.
"Perhaps we've discovered another promising talent."
"Gion," Garp said curiously.
"You said he's in your class."
"How strong is he?"
"Have you sparred with him?"
Gion shook her head regretfully.
"We were supposed to have a swordsmanship match."
"But the mission interrupted it."
"He's still quite immature," Kuzan suddenly said.
The others were slightly surprised, but they trusted Kuzan's judgment.
"Is that so?" Garp muttered.
"Then try to look after the kid during this mission."
"Don't let him die here."
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