Chapter 177
Seeing Roger escape by diving into the sea, Shiki had no good way to pursue him.
After all, Roger was a Devil Fruit user.
Shiki looked out over the vast ocean and finally fixed his gaze on Roger's pirate ship.
He believed that as long as he could sink Roger's pirate ship, even if Roger had great ability, he would still perish at his hands.
Thinking of this, Shiki immediately gave the order to his crew.
"Jie hahahahaha!" "Little ones, chase them!" "No matter what, we must completely wipe out the Roger Pirates."
Hearing Shiki's command, the Lionheart Pirates crew immediately ran toward their respective pirate ships.
Before long, the Lionheart Pirates' ships had gathered together.
They formed a massive fleet and pursued the Oro Jackson.
Among the Lionheart Pirates, some Devil Fruit users with flight abilities immediately spread their wings and flew into the sky, constantly reporting the Roger Pirates' movements to Shiki.
Under Elio's steering, the Oro Jackson sailed more than a thousand meters out before stopping on the open sea.
Seeing the Roger Pirates suffer such heavy losses, the atmosphere on the ship instantly became extremely heavy.
At this moment, everyone was immersed in grief and could not pull themselves out of it.
Seeing this situation, Rayleigh could only constantly comfort everyone.
With his guidance, the Roger Pirates crew gradually began to emerge from their sorrowful mood.
"Where is Captain Roger? Why hasn't he come back yet?"
Seeing Rayleigh leaning against the railing smoking, Jabba walked over to his side and quietly asked.
Hearing Jabba's concern, Rayleigh immediately smiled confidently.
"Hehe, don't worry." "Roger isn't that easy to take down!"
As his words fell, the two of them, who had been chatting idly, suddenly saw a straw-hat-wearing, battered figure emerge from beneath the sea surface, showing them a happy smile.
But he quickly fainted, his body uncontrollably beginning to sink slowly into the sea.
Seeing Roger injured, a worried look immediately appeared in Rayleigh's eyes.
He jumped into the sea, took Roger in his arms, and rescued him onto the deck.
After removing Roger's clothes, Rayleigh, Jabba, and the others looked at the crisscrossing sword wounds on Roger's body, worry filling their eyes.
What troubled them most was the crisscross wound on Roger's chest.
They couldn't imagine how Roger had managed to swim all the way here with such a severe injury.
"Ship doctor, hurry and treat Captain Roger's wounds!" "Elio, set sail immediately — if Shiki catches up with us, we're done for."
Hearing Rayleigh's orders, the Oro Jackson immediately became busy.
In this hectic atmosphere, the Oro Jackson quickly disappeared into the sea.
However, what the Roger Pirates crew did not notice was that at this moment, a thousand meters in the sky, a winged figure was reporting all their movements to Shiki.
"He's still not dead?" "What a tough bastard." "I wonder if you'll have such good luck next time."
"Little ones, full speed ahead."
"Yes, Captain!"
After locking onto the Roger Pirates' movements, Shiki had no intention of letting them go.
He immediately ordered the Lionheart Pirates crew to steer their ships in pursuit of the Roger Pirates.
Shiki's movements naturally could not escape the eyes of the Navy or Rocks.
Upon learning that Roger had caused quite a bit of trouble for Shiki, Steel Bone Kong, who was working at Marine Headquarters, immediately showed a satisfied smile on his face.
The conflict between the Roger Pirates and the Rocks Pirates was exactly the result he hoped to see.
Beehive Island.
After years of development, this place had long become a true pirate paradise.
Chaos, disorder, brutality — it was simply the most depraved place in the world.
People coming here could often see drunken pirates fighting each other.
Rather than stopping this, Rocks encouraged its development.
Moreover, every so often he would hold a gladiatorial tournament.
Any pirate who won the final victory would have the chance to receive a Devil Fruit from his hand and join his crew.
This also attracted countless ambitious pirates hoping to join the Rocks Pirates.
In the central gladiatorial arena of Beehive Island, on a massive black throne.
At this moment, Rocks was watching the battle below with a bored expression.
As a burly pirate raised a huge battle axe and cleaved his opponent in half with one swing, this gladiatorial match came to an end.
Seeing the victor of this round appear, a happy smile finally appeared on Rocks' face.
Under the expectant gaze of this pirate, he immediately stood up and stepped down from the platform.
Under the pirate's fanatical gaze, he arrived in front of him.
Looking at this muscular pirate, every muscle filled with explosive power, Rocks raised his hand and patted him firmly on the shoulder:
"Not bad. You're qualified to become my crew member." "This is your reward!"
Saying that, under the pirate's expectant gaze, Rocks casually took out a Devil Fruit shaped like an apple covered in intricate patterns and handed it to him.
Seeing that he had finally obtained the long-dreamed Devil Fruit, the pirate immediately knelt on one knee in front of him, raised both hands to receive the fruit, and quickly swallowed it.
Seeing the other party show such respect, Rocks finally showed a satisfied expression.
"From now on you are my crew member. Carry the name of Rocks and conquer the seas!"
As this gladiatorial match ended, Rocks lost interest in staying any longer.
He patted his clothes and, under everyone's fanatical gaze, slowly walked away and returned to his palace.
Back in the palace, Rocks immediately picked up the Den Den Mushi and called Newgate.
Listening to the "bru bru bru" sound from the Den Den Mushi, he sat thoughtfully on his golden throne, looking at the world map in front of him and quietly waiting for Newgate to answer.
After just a moment, the Den Den Mushi in front of him sprouted a crescent-shaped mustache, looking quite comical.
"Hello, Captain, what's the matter?"
Hearing Newgate's voice, a faint smile appeared on Rocks' face. He laughed pleasantly:
"Hehe, I recently heard that things are quite lively in the central New World!"
Newgate, who was hugging Barkin and drinking, heard Rocks' words and immediately showed a puzzled expression on his face.
Barkin saw that Newgate didn't understand what Rocks meant. She immediately explained the situation with Shiki to him.
Hearing that an interesting newcomer had appeared in the New World again, interest appeared in Newgate's eyes.
Early access to upcoming chapters is available on Patreon.
Support the translator and binge ahead! patreon.com/arthursink Means a lot – thank you! ✍️