Chapter 51: Gathering of the Strong
âThe red UFO that had been floating in the sky was shot down and crashed onto the deck, leaving behind no trace of its existence.
âW-what the hell was that!?! That UFO was terrifying!!â
âThey attacked⌠That caught me off guard.â
Apprentice pirates Buggy and Shanks stared in shock at the vanished UFO. Though the intensity of their reactions differed, both were clearly shaken by the unknown object.
However, the more seasoned crew members reacted differently. Each one stood ready for battle, eyes scanning the horizon.
â! âHey, over thereâŚ!!?â
â!! Thatâs⌠a Sea King⌠and yeah, thatâs definitely himâŚ!!â
One of the crewmates pointed toward the starboard side, off in the distance. Sure enough, a Sea King had surfacedâand it appeared to be clashing with something flying through the air toward them. Roger, seeing this, couldnât help but laugh.
âWahahaha!! That takes me back! He was getting attacked by a Sea King the first time we met too!!â
âYeah⌠but that was over ten years ago. Heâs not the same nowâŚâ
âYeahâas. you. can. clearly. see.â
â!!â
Rayleigh nodded at Rogerâs nostalgic remark, while Gaban muttered as he observed the aftermath of the offshore clash. Buggy and Shanks, catching sight of the Sea King being taken down, widened their eyes in disbelief. Buggy, especially, began to panic.
âHeâHe took out a Sea King in one hit!!? W-weâre screwed!! What the hellâs coming at us!?!â
âThink itâs really aliensâŚ?â
âIdiot!!! Dumbass Shanks!! This is not the time for jokes!! Wh-what do we do!?! Should we offer cattle or sheep as a sign of peace!? âWait, we donât have anything like that!!! Weâre doomedď˝ď˝ď˝!!!â
âYouâre overreacting. âŚActually, should you really be looking away? Theyâre almost here. Look.â
ââHuh? You mean theyâreââ
Buggy turned his head back toward starboard in response to Gabanâs words. And thenâ
ââBooâĄâ
âWHAâ!!!? GYAAAAAAHHHHHHď˝ď˝ď˝ď˝ď˝ď˝ď˝ď˝ď˝ď˝ďźďźďź THEYâRE HEEEEEEREEEEEEE!!!â
A girlâs smiling face appeared right in front of him, and Buggy recoiled with incredible speed, scrambling backward with tears in his eyes and ducking behind Roger and Rayleigh.
Watching his reaction, the girl burst into laughter.
âAhahaha!! What a reaction! Youâre so worth scaring~âĄâ
ââŚWait. Youâre not even an alien, you bastard!!!â
âTold you she wasnâtâŚâ
A crewmember quipped dryly at Buggyâs over-the-top freak-out.
In the middle of all this, Roger, now grinning with a dangerous edge, called out to the girl by name.
âWell, if it isnât Nue! Long time no see!!â
âRoger!! Itâs been ages! I heard you were nearby, so I dropped in to say hiâand kill you!!â
âWahahahaha!! Is that so!? Then I guess Iâve gotta give you a proper welcome!! I bet your buddies⌠and that Kaido brat are coming too, huh!?â
âOf course!! But I couldnât wait, so I came ahead~⥠Iâll take you on solo for now!! âThe âUnidentified Entityâ⌠âThe Fearsome Rainbow UFO Invasionâ!!!â
â!! Itâs the UFOs again!!â
With Nueâs words, several rainbow-colored UFOs materialized in the sky, descending upon the Roger Pirates in an assault.
Nue herself seized her trident and, infusing it with Haki, brought it down toward Roger with force.
â!!!â
âTchâŚ!!â
âWhoaaa!! Thatâs Conquerorâs Haki!!â
âWhaaaaat!!? Sheâs trading blows with Captain Roger!! Is she even human!?â
âDamn⌠sheâs insaneâŚ!!â
âWh-whatâs with this kidâŚ!?â
Black lightning crackled across the deck in bursts. Rogerâs cutlass and Nueâs trident clashed in a duel of HakiâConquerorâs clashing with Conquerorâs, Armament against Armamentâso intense that their weapons didnât even make contact, yet still collided.
But it only lasted a moment. Buggy, Shanks, and a scowling boy nearby barely had time to react before Nue was sent flying high into the air.
âGah⌠ahahahaha!! Youâre strong! Still strong as ever, Roger!!â
âWahaha, and youâve gotten a hell of a lot stronger yourself!! But youâre still not strong enough to take my head!!â
ââThen Iâll be the one to take your head⌠RogerâŚ!!!â
â! Knew youâd show up.â
As Nue was sent flying through the air and working to regain her stance, the skies suddenly began to roil and churn.
From within those storm clouds, a voice rang out. Roger sensed the presence behind it and replied, already knowingâanother former apprentice had arrived.
âWhoa!!? What is that!?â
âItâs hugeď˝ď˝ď˝ď˝ď˝ď˝ď˝ď˝ď˝!!!? L-letâs not, Captain Roger!! We canât handle something like thatâneither us nor the shipâll survive!!â
âGhâŚ!!â
âDamn⌠Still as massive as everâŚ!!â
âItâs KaidoâŚâ
The clouds swirled into a vortex, thunder crackling through the sky. And from within that storm⌠emerged a colossal dragon.
Its very presence shook the heavens and stirred the air. Covered in blue scales, its serpentine body belonged to none other than a pirate.
A pirate now feared throughout the New WorldâCaptain of the Beasts Pirates, âHundred Beastsâ Kaido. Bounty: 1,111,000,000 berries.
He didnât choose his targets or his victims. He destroyed islands and nations single-handedlyâa calamity in the form of a pirate. Heâd been defeated, captured, tortured, and sentenced to death countless times, but his body and spirit remained unbroken.
Those who didnât know Kaido were struck with terror. Those who did⌠readied themselves for a fight. Against a monster like this, there was no room for mercy.
And Kaido, glaring down at the familiar sight of the Roger Pirates, dove straight into battle. His sworn sibling and vice-captain, Nue, wasnât far behind.
âHey!! Kaido!! I told youâIâd go greet them first, so wait!! Whyâd you follow me!?â
âI couldnât wait eitherâŚ!! No way Iâm letting you hog all the fun!!â
âUghhh, fine!! Guess weâre doing this together then!!â
âHell yeahâŚ!! Letâs goâŚ!!!â
ââDIE, ROGER!!!ââ
Together, Kaido and Nue landed hard on the deck of the Roger Piratesâ ship.
Landing alongside Kaido, we charged straight for Roger, Rayleigh, and the other top officers, weapons in hand. Naturallyâof course weâd want to fight the strongest ones!!
âTheyâre coming, boys!! Get ready for battle!!â
âTake âem downnnnnnn!!!â
âUgh⌠Well, figures it wouldnât be that easy!!â
âWorororo!! Come get some!!!â
Of course, weâre on their ship, and the place is crawling with crew. No way theyâd let us get to the captain that fastâbut thatâs all part of the fun.
Still, I had to keep an eye on the UFOs Iâd launched. If they didnât deal with those soon, I wouldnât hesitate to let them tear the ship apart. So at least I wasnât totally swarmed.
âNow, now⥠Whoâs up first~? Letâs play!!â
âEnough nonsenseâŚ!!â
âHm~? Donât recognize you, kid. Hmmm⌠You look like youâve got some fight in you for a child, but I donât really have time to waste on scrubs.â
âShut upâŚ!! Iâm gonna be the strongestâŚ!!â
A dark-skinned, fierce-looking boy charged at me, spitting big talk. Hmmm? Could it be⌠that kid?
There was something familiar about himâhis strength, especially for a child, and even his appearance. And he said strongest. Yeah, it had to be him. Still, that didnât mean I was going easy on him. I didnât even bother using my tridentâI just smacked him away with my hand like swatting a fly.
âOutta the way~â
âGhhâŚ!!?â
âBarrett!! You okay!?â
He must notâve expected me to have that kind of power. The kid went flying with barely any effort on my part. âYep, definitely Douglas Bullet. The guy who joined the Roger Pirates after the Galtzberg Massacreâa full country wiped off the map. The Fuse-Fuse Fruit guy, the âmerging man.â âŚHe was strong for a kid, sure, but still nowhere near satisfying.
Kaido, however, did respond to what he said. Canât blame him. I just rolled my eyes, but you donât go saying âstrongestâ in front of him.
âWho the hell said theyâre gonna be the strongestâŚ!? You little runtâŚ!!!â
âGhhâŚ!! KuhahâŚ!!â
âDonât go acting tough when youâre just a damn weakling!!!â
OoohâDouglas just got launchedâ!! One clean hit from Kaidoâs kanabo, and Bullet is knocked clean out. Hard to say if heâs unconscious or not, but even if he gets back up, thereâs no way he can take on me or Kaido. Still, heâll be useful when our crew shows upâgood sparring material for their growth. Honestly, thatâs like⌠20% of the reason I even want to fight Roger. Facing strong opponents in life-or-death battles is the best way to level up. I want my crew to grow stronger.
Rogerâs also the perfect opponent in that regardâhe rarely kills. Heâll fight seriously, but he wonât finish you off unless itâs truly necessary. If you survive the clash, you live. Thatâs⌠kind of honorable.
Not that Iâd ever tell my crew thatâitâs not like you can afford to let your guard down around him. Weâre still aiming for an outright victory. Personally, Iâm starting to feel like taking down Gaban or Rayleigh. I know, I know, itâs a total uphill battle. But thatâs exactly why itâs worth it!
âYaaaay!! Rayleigh!! Letâs fight!!â
âOh? Your Hakiâs come a long wayâŚâ
âEhehe, right!? Iâve been fighting all kinds of people and getting stronger all the time!! Still climbing!!â
With that, I lunged at Rayleigh with my spearâhe parried with his sword. He countered, and I blocked. Ghh, my arms creak. The gap in our Haki is brutal. Even though Iâm confident in my power, heâs pushing me back. And the man hasnât even eaten a Devil Fruitâjust a regular human. A monster of a regular human. They donât call him the âDark Kingâ for nothing!! His bountyâs more than double Kaidoâs, even with Kaidoâs being over a billion!!
âWRAAAAAAHHH!!!â
âWahaha!! Youâve got way more power than before!!â
âShut it!! Iâll take you down and claim the title of the worldâs strongest pirate crewâŚ!!â
âThe greatest pirate crew!! âŚThough strongest wouldnât be wrong either!!â
And over there, Kaido was clashing head-to-head with RogerâHaki slamming against Haki, Conquerorâs clashing in a dazzling explosion. Shockwaves rippling out, as always. But even as captains with matching Conquerorâs Haki, Kaido was being pushed back. Kaido. Heâs a monster, yeah, but compared to Roger? Rogerâs the real beast. A demon.
Roger even cut down UFOs mid-air with sword slashes or gunfire when they threatened his crewmatesâin the middle of a fight. It was insane. And Kaido, noticing that, veins bulging on his forehead, roaredâ
âTchâŚ!! Roger, you bastardâŚ! Donât look away mid-fight!!â
âYou think I want to!? Sure, I enjoy a good fightâbut I care about my crewâs lives, too!! We all live and win together!! Thatâs the only way a real fight matters!!â
âDisgustingâŚ!! Youâre that strong and still that soft⌠Youâre hopelessâŚâ
âWahahaha!! Donât act like you wouldnât save Nue if she were in trouble! Same damn thing!!â
ââŚDonât be ridiculous!! Weâre in battle!! If you lose, thatâs on you!! The weak have only themselves to blame!!â
ââŚAnd what about you, partner? What do you think?â
âIsnât it obvious!? This worldâs survival of the fittest!! The strong live, the weak die!! Thatâs all there is to it!! If you lose, itâs not anyone elseâs faultâitâs your own damn weakness!!â
Roger and Kaido werenât just clashing weaponsâthey were clashing beliefs. Rayleigh, hearing them, struck at me again and asked his own question. I gave him the same answer. My convictions are the same as Kaidoâs. In this world, strength is everything. Power is justice. Those without it canât do anything. They just suffer and die.
The strong rule over the weak and live however they please.
Weâre gonna build the strongest pirate crew, then tear this whole world apart to suit us. Whatever happens to everyone else? Not our problem. If theyâve got a problem with it, they can get stronger and kill us. I donât even object to that.
âPersonally, I think you guys are funâkinda likeable evenâbut fightingâs more fun!! And once we win, weâre turning this sea upside down!!â
âI see⌠But I canât let that happenâŚ!!â
âGh⌠Ahaha!! Youâre laughably strongâŚ!!â
Rayleighâs blade sent me flying againâbut I wasnât going down that easy. No way. Before I even hit the sea, I righted myself midair and recovered.
âStill standing!! Ahaha!! This much wonât bring us down!!â
â! Your enduranceâs improved a lotâŚâ
âAnd those UFOs are way tougher than before!! Donât let your guard down!!â
âYeah!! Got it!!â
âC-come at me, thenâUFOâwait, itâs actually coming!? STOP!! DONâT COME OVER HERE!!â
âBuggy!! Ggh, bring it, UFO!! Iâll take you on!!â
Ahaha, the rest of their crewâs not half bad either! If I sic my UFOs on a ship, normally itâd sink in no time⌠and yet, theyâve been shooting them down nonstop. Iâve probably lost about thirty already? Still, as long as Iâm fighting like this, Iâll keep spawning more UFOs indefinitely. None of that stingy âonly a few at a timeâ nonsense from the old days. With enough power, I can summon as many as I want. Maybe thereâs a cap, but once I passed a hundred, I stopped counting. They get crushed so fast, itâs like the limit doesnât even exist!
That apprentice though⌠Buggy. His reactions are hilariousâmakes it fun to mess with him. Just for laughs, I send about three UFOs his way. Then, stepping in to intercept them, comes a red-haired boy in a straw hatâShanks, with a sword in hand. Whoa, nice! Still just an apprentice, and yet he can hold his own decently. Definitely someone to keep an eye on for the future.
âHey, come on!! How long are these UFOs gonna keep popping up!? Thereâs no end to âem!!â
âMaybe we should just take out Nue!!â
âYeah⌠that might be our best move.â
Ohh, here comes Rayleigh with a flying slashâI saw it coming thanks to my Observation Haki and managed to dodge in time. Well, theyâre not wrong. If I get knocked out, the UFOs vanish. Trying to take me down is a solid strategy. Makes it more exciting for me too. Butâ
âHeh. I donât mind being the target⌠but it looks like our ship has finally caught up!!â
â!! Theyâre hereâŚ! Move the ship!!â
âGot it!!â
As soon as I sensed it and said so, they reacted fastâadjusting course right away.
And before long, we could see it with the naked eyeâour ship. One we recognized instantly, and one theyâd be laying eyes on for the first time.
âAlright then⌠now the real fun begins!!â
âLetâs wreck âem!!!â
And so, the full-blown battle between the Roger Pirates and the Beasts Pirates began.
âBut from the start, we were completely outmatched. It was never a fair fight.
The battle lasted half a day, but the ending came all too suddenly. Kaido and I fought tooth and nail, coughing up blood, refusing to fall unconscious. We fought to bring down Roger and Rayleigh⌠but in the end, we lost.
âUgh⌠damn it allâŚ!!â
âUgh⌠my body wonât move⌠but I still wanna fight, so just wait a sec⌠Iâll be back up in ten minutesâŚ!!â
âKaido-san⌠Nue-sanâŚ!! Damn itâŚ!!â
âDamn⌠let go of meâŚ!!â
Everyone was coughing blood, beat to hell. We were all half-deadâKaido and I, and even King and Queen. Theyâd joined the battle partway through, but you can see how that turned out. Most of our subordinates were down too.
Looking at us, the Roger Pirates wore expressions of disbelief, maybe even pity.
âCome on, you lost. Just give it up already. You seriously canât fight anymore, can you?â
âSo this is the Beasts Pirates⌠Nueâs crew, huh? They all look insaneâŚâ
âC-Captain Roger!! Letâs just sink âem and be done with it!! These guys are nuts!!â
âWahaha, relax. Theyâve got nothing left. Weâve won!! Grab some treasure or whatever and let âem go!!â
So Roger gave that order to his crew. Ughhh, it kind of ticks me offâbeing treated like a kid. But itâs not like he means to belittle us. Itâs just⌠Roger. That guyâs ridiculously softhearted. Heâs not angry or holding any grudge against us right now, so heâs going easy.
Roger is soft. Thatâs just who he is.
Which is probably why Kaido looks furious enough to kill someone with a glare. He canât actually do it, of course, but someone like Buggy is totally losing his mind. Itâs kinda comforting to watch. Honestly, heâd make a great pet. If I ever keep one, it should definitely be a cowardly one.
âUghh⌠this is so unsatisfyingâŚ!!â
âDonât say that!! You were strong!! Come at me again anytime!! Iâll knock you down every time!!â
âWell, weâve got the treasure⌠now letâs just toss âem on the deck andââ
ââC-Captain Roger!! Bad news!! The Marines are here!!â
Thatâs when it happenedâjust as they were loading up the treasure and getting ready to drag us back to the ship. One of their lookouts shouted the alert.
Roger and the others immediately turned their attention away from usâand Roger broke into a big grin.
ââŚThis presence⌠Who is it?â
âItâs a Marine fleet!! Garp and Sengoku are on board!! This is bad, Captain!!â
âGarp and Sengoku~~~!? Hell yeah!! Letâs do this!!â
âWait a second, Roger. We just finished a battle.â
âYeah!! No way weâre in any shape for another one!!â
âWahaha!! Sure, we could try to runâbut theyâll catch up anyway!! So might as well get in a fight then make a run for it!!â
A Marine fleet. And with Garp and Sengoku on board? Most pirates wouldâve bolted the moment they heard that. Those two are scarier than demons.
But Roger was grinning like a kid on a field trip, eyes sparkling with excitement. His crew just looked exasperatedâclearly used to this. Poor guys⌠he really could stand to listen to his crew every now and then.
ââŚThatâs fine and all, but what about them?â
Rayleigh nodded toward us, clearly asking what the plan was. Roger tilted his head for a moment, then broke into a roguish smile, like heâd come up with a brilliant idea. Looking at me and Kaido, he said:
ââThe fightâs over anyway. How about teaming up and escaping together!? If youâre still up for a scrap, we can fight side by side!!â
ââŚHuh?â
âExcuse meâŚ?â
âThere it is⌠classic RogerâŚâ
Queen and King were both thrown off by the proposal. I didnât really know what to say. Roger was always like thisâcompletely absurd. He was actually serious about working together. Not that I minded⌠but thereâs no way Kaido would ever go along with it.
And sure enough, the second he heard it, Kaido snapped, voice rising with fury.
âHaaah!? What the hell are you talking about!? No way!!â
âCome on, you guysâll be in trouble if you get caught too, right? Working togetherâs the smart move if we want to escape the Marines!!â
ââŚ!!â
Oh boy. Kaido looks like heâs about to blow. Ugh⌠guess Iâve got no choice. If we drag this out, itâs just gonna get messy. And in our current state, taking on Garp and Sengoku directly? Yeah, no thanks. Might as well take advantage of the situation.
ââŚSo, is it fine if we slip away while youâre fighting?â
âYeah, I donât care. Just stay out of it. Theyâre my opponents.â
âYou heard the man, Kaido.â
ââŚ!! Damn it⌠this is bullshitâŚ!!â
He didnât agreeâbut he didnât refuse either. Thatâs as good as a yes, from Kaido. Not that heâd ever nod outright. So him just swearing under his breath is the closest weâre gonna get.
I mean, if it were just me and Kaido, maybe weâd throw down anyway. But with King, Queen, and the others already hurt, we canât risk it. Against just any pirates? Sure. But Garp and Sengoku? Our handpicked, personally-recruited crewmates would get wiped out. Best bet is to let Roger be the decoy and slip awayâ
âŚWait, huh?
ââŚâŚâŚâŚâ
ââŚWhat is it? Why are you staring at the sky, Nue?â
ââŚOhhh, you know⌠just thinking, of all the times⌠it had to be now, huh? Bad timing really loves company.â
âHuh? â!! Wait, this presenceâŚ!!â
âShit⌠Roger, this just got worseâŚ!!â
At my words, the Roger Pirates began to realize it too. Even these battle-hardened veterans couldnât help but give an uneasy chuckle.
Because floating down from the overcast sky came a shipâornately massive, a golden lion at its prow. One of the great pirate vessels of the New World.
And standing at its prow: a man with golden hair, a cigar in his mouth, two swords at his waist. Using his power to levitate himself and his shipâa pirate who sailed the skies. His name:
ââJihahahaha!! Heard Roger entered the New World, so I came to invite him aboard⌠but whoâdâve guessed Iâd find the Beasts Pirates and the Marines here too!! Canât tell if Iâm lucky or cursed!! Either wayâbeen too long, you lot!!â
âShikiâŚ!!â
The boss of the Golden Lion Pirates, âGolden Lionâ Shiki. Bounty: 2,744,000,000 berries.
Fleet admiral of a pirate armada stationed in the New World, and one of the four strongest of the era.
And to Kaido and me, he was also a former comradeânow descending from the skies to join the chaos.
â
And from the seaâ
âBwahahahaha!! I was chasing Roger and ended up running into the Golden Lion and the Beasts Pirates!?â
âThis is no time for jokes, Garp!! This could go sideways fast⌠weâd better brace ourselves!!â
âYeah, yeah, I know!! Every last one of âemâweâre taking âem in!!â
At the front of the Marine fleet stood two men, each commanding their ships: Admiral âBuddhaâ Sengoku of Marine HQ, and Vice Admiral âFistâ Garpâhero of the Navy and living legend. The strongest force the Navy currently had to offer⌠and they were now charging straight for the gathering of pirates.
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