"What did you say!?"
Sengoku's face twisted in shock. He couldn't believe his ears.
How did that brat Daren end up on Fish-Man Island?
No, that wasn't even the main point.
The real question was, why was he fighting Roger there!?
With his current strength, how could he possibly be a match for Roger!?
Sengoku's mind spun wildly. He didn't even bother wiping the tea from his mouth as his expression shifted back and forth.
He knew better than anyone just how powerful Roger was.
Even if he teamed up with Garp, he couldn't guarantee victory.
Especially at their level—true top-tier forces—there was rarely much difference in power. Unless some special ability suppression or an environmental advantage was involved, it was almost impossible to determine a winner quickly.
In the past, when Garp had managed to corner Roger's crew, it was mostly thanks to overwhelming Marine firepower.
Daren may have firmly stepped into Admiral-level strength now,
but against a "legendary" and "dominant" figure like Roger...
he still had a gap to bridge.
"No..."
Sengoku suddenly took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, and muttered to himself,
"If it's just Roger alone, even if Daren can't win, he should at least be able to retreat easily... With that monster-like physique of his, Roger wouldn't be able to kill him quickly."
"Yeah... that should be right..."
At that moment, the messenger swallowed nervously and added,
"According to intel... the entire Roger Pirates are on Fish-Man Island."
Sengoku: ...
"Why didn't you say that earlier!?"
His eyes bulged with rage as he grabbed the messenger by the collar, spraying spit everywhere.
The poor messenger looked like he was about to cry.
Wasn't it you who just said, "Stay calm, old man's here, nothing's unsolvable"...?
He trembled and said,
"They've already started fighting. The exact situation is still unclear..."
Sengoku grunted, letting him go, and strode toward his desk with a dark look, snatching up the military Den Den Mushi and shoving it into the messenger's hands.
"Get me Garp! Now!"
The messenger hesitated and whispered,
"But Admiral Sengoku, Vice Admiral Garp is... on vacation?"
Sengoku's anger surged again. He slammed the desk and roared,
"I don't care if he's on vacation or not!!"
The messenger shivered and hurriedly dialed.
After a few rings—the call connected.
"Bwahahaha! Sengoku, you have time to call me for a chat?"
Garp's loud voice came through the Den Den Mushi.
"Oh, and by the way, I didn't steal the senbei from your office!"
No wonder the whole box of senbei had mysteriously been reduced to half!
Sengoku ground his molars furiously, but now wasn't the time to settle scores.
He said in a deep voice,
"Garp, your vacation's over."
"Daren's locked in a fierce battle with pirates on Fish-Man Island. You're vacationing nearby, right? Head over immediately and back him up!"
On the other end, lying lazily on a beach chair under the sun, Garp laughed casually,
"Daren's plenty strong now. No need for me to butt in. I finally got a few days off..."
"His opponent is Roger."
There was a brief moment of silence on the Den Den Mushi.
Then came the sound of a beach chair flipping over and a glass shattering.
"You tell that brat Daren to hang on! I'm already on my way!!"
Garp's panicked roar echoed through the line.
Sengoku: ...
...
Near the entrance to Fish-Man Island.
The area within a thousand meters had already been reduced to rubble and scorched earth.
Powerful shockwaves, mixed with black and red lightning, burst densely in the air, radiating outward.
Everyone, including Roger's pirate crew, had retreated to a distance, watching in horror as the two figures clashed amidst the ruins, their hearts filled with overwhelming shock.
Black-red sword beams, thunder-wrapped fists—the two were completely consumed by battle rage.
Each collision was like meteors colliding, erupting with earth-shattering force.
Above Fish-Man Island, the sea of clouds was blasted apart and gathered again,
and even the massive bubble membrane enveloping the island showed visible ripples under the impact of the hellish storm, making Neptune and the other Fish-Men tremble with fear.
"Wahahaha!! This is awesome! Besides Garp and Newgate, I didn't think there'd be anyone else who could fight me like this!"
In midair, Roger laughed heartily, his eyes glowing red.
His eyes and nose were swollen and purple, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
But he didn't care at all, completely lost in the thrill of battle.
As he spoke, he slashed out with a sword wrapped in Haki, fast as lightning.
The blood-red blade cleaved the charging Vice Admiral straight from midair into the ground, sending a towering cloud of dust skyward.
A second later, a blood-soaked figure shot out of the smoky crater.
At this point, Daren was covered in countless slash wounds, blood gushing out, his body looking like it had been dragged through a vat of dye.
But the madness in his eyes only grew stronger, and the grin at the corner of his mouth couldn't be suppressed.
He could even hear it—the sound of his body growing stronger with every impact!
Conqueror's Haki +0.76!
Conqueror's Haki +0.89!
Conqueror's Haki +0.87!
Conqueror's Haki +0.92!
...
The strength of his Conqueror's Haki was climbing at an unprecedented speed!
At this rate, he would soon break through the 80-point threshold!
And based on past experience, any stat that broke through 80 points would unlock a new "entry" bonus—something Daren was eagerly anticipating.
"Don't back out now, Roger! You promised a one-on-one fight!"
Daren grinned fiercely, his hands forming into three-fingered dragon claws in midair, the ferocity of his Armament Haki erupting into red lightning as he thrust toward Roger's throat.
"Pull up your pants, don't let them fall again!"
"Ryusoken!"
Roger swept his longsword upward, blocking the strike head-on. Sparks flew violently as he laughed loudly:
"Wahahaha, don't worry!"
"This fight is just between the two of us!"
"And this time, I switched to a plastic belt buckle!"
The two clashed and instantly separated, feet pounding the ground as they charged at each other once more.
The skies darkened.
In the distance, Rayleigh, Gaban, and the others heard Roger's words and couldn't help twitching the corners of their mouths, their faces full of black lines.
Only their idiot of a captain would fall for such an obvious taunt!
"Captain Rayleigh! Shouldn't we go together? Let's kill that Marine here!"
At that moment, Buggy ran over, his face red with anxiety.
He was terrified.
How long had it been?
That terrifying Marine had already grown strong enough to fight Captain Roger head-on.
Although he was being suppressed, even Roger would need quite some time to defeat him in his devil form.
If they couldn't kill him now and let him escape...
Buggy shivered all over.
He hadn't forgotten—that Marine wanted to kill both him and Shanks!
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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