Kegesi Island.

Located in the first half of the Grand Line, the island has a tropical rainforest climate and lush vegetation, with over 60% of its landmass covered in forest.

It is ruled by the Darlons Kingdom, whose royal family is the Arnold lineage. The kingdom maintains a standing army of 7,000 troops.

The island is divided by a river that cuts through it. The front half is home to the Darlons Kingdom.

The dense forest in the back half is rich in wild resources and also serves as a garrison zone.

Half a day before Sakazuki received the call.

…

Half a day earlier.

Kegesi Island, Stonport.

A large pirate ship in resplendent gold and crimson slowly approached the harbor.

A massive skull was painted on the sail, with a fluffy, cloud-like mustache hanging from the skull’s mouth.

At the prow of the ship was a cannon mounted between two mermaid statues.

The Oro Jackson.

Roger stood at the bow, grinning broadly, his rugged, booming voice echoing out:

“Alright, boys! We’re docking!!!”

“Ooohhh!!!!”

As the ship gave a slight lurch, even before it had fully docked, Roger leapt off it.

Rayleigh looked at his captain running off alone and called out:

“Hey! Roger!!!”

Hearing Rayleigh’s shout, Roger turned his head mid-run and laughed heartily:

“Yahahahahaha, Rayleigh.”

“I’m off to find some booze first. You watch the ship!”

Rayleigh’s face darkened with a forehead full of black lines. He tucked his left hand under his right elbow and covered his forehead with his right palm, deadpan:

“Ah, this kind of captain…”

Jaban came up behind him and clapped a hand on Rayleigh’s shoulder:

“Hahahaha, well, that’s just who he is.”

“I’ll go too, Rayleigh.”

Rayleigh gave a helpless smile and nodded. He turned to the others on deck and said:

“If anyone needs to restock on supplies, go ahead.”

“Be back by noon.”

The members of the Roger Pirates disembarked in twos and threes and made their way into the town.

Rayleigh walked into a room, grabbed a newspaper, and made his way to the lounge chair on the second deck.

Rustle!

The sound of flipping pages echoed across the peaceful, quiet ship…

…

Ston Town.

Sunbell and Seagull split up, and Sunbell headed into a restaurant.

His tall and burly frame nearly broke the door as he entered. His fishman features made him appear even more intimidating.

But after all, the seas were the domain of humans. In every era, fishmen had always been discriminated against by humans.

Sunbell had grown used to it. Ignoring the stares, he silently found a corner and placed his order.

As the food arrived, the table quickly piled up with empty plates reaching his height.

Several officers of the Darlons military came downstairs after finishing their meal and couldn’t help but comment when they saw the scene.

“Whoa, those plates are almost as tall as me.”

“How does he eat so much?”

“That’s disgusting.”

“Hey, do you think there are pig-fish in the ocean?”

“Huh?”

“Maybe he’s a pig from under the sea.”

“Hahahahaha.”

“Shut it!”

“Don’t stir up trouble!”

The captain of the Darlons Kingdom Guard’s third squad, Myra Robert, silenced his subordinates with a bark.

Then he turned to Sunbell:

“Apologies, my friend. My men spoke without thinking. Please don’t take offense.”

Seeing the leader apologize, Sunbell’s grim expression softened slightly. He gave a cold snort and resumed eating.

But the few subordinates, seeing this lowly fishman acting so smug, felt provoked and were about to step forward.

Robert forcefully held them back and pulled them toward the exit.

Before they could reach the door, a figure even larger and stronger than Sunbell entered — it was Seagull. A blur flashed by.

He grabbed the neck of the man who had mocked Sunbell as a pig:

“So it was you mocking my comrade, huh!”

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The guards drew their swords, and Sunbell also grabbed a weapon and aimed at them.

The atmosphere grew instantly tense.

…

Ston Town.

In a small tavern on the other side of town, Roger was gulping down beer from a mug nearly the size of his head.

He drained it in one go and slammed the wooden mug onto the bar.

Roger flashed a satisfied grin:

“Ah~ now that’s living!”

He raised his mug toward the bartender, who was polishing glasses:

“Bartender! Another one!!!”

The bartender took the mug to refill it. At that moment, his son burst into the tavern with a little girl, the two of them playfully fighting with wooden swords.

“Ha!!!”

“I’m the Great General of the Darlons Kingdom! Prepare to die!”

“Take this! Unbeatable Slash!”

“Hmph! I’m the mighty pirate Erica! You don’t scare me!”

“Yaha!”

The two kids ran around the tavern wildly. The girl, calling herself the great pirate Erica, stumbled and was about to fall, her head about to hit a chair.

The tavern patrons collectively held their breath — there wasn’t enough time… That was everyone’s shared thought.

Suddenly, a red blur dashed past.

Erica was caught mid-fall.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief. The bartender roared angrily at his son:

“Ted!!!”

“No roughhousing in the tavern!”

“If not for this gentleman, Erica would’ve been hurt!!!”

The boy protested:

“It’s not my fault she fell!”

“She’s just clumsy!!!”

The bartender raised a mug, about to hurl it at him:

“You little—!!!”

Roger stopped him:

“Haha, they’re just kids.”

The bartender huffed at his son:

“Because of our guest, I’ll let you off today.”

“But no more roughhousing in the tavern!”

Ted seemed annoyed. At that moment, Erica grabbed Ted and ran up to Roger.

Seeing his clear pirate captain’s outfit, her eyes sparkled:

“Are you a pirate?!”

Roger grinned wide and flashed his gleaming white teeth:

“That’s right, little girl.”

Erica gasped:

“Wow!!!!”

“Can you tell me an adventure story?!!”

Roger downed the rest of his beer and handed the mug to the bartender for a refill. He looked at the two children:

“Hahahahaha, sure! Let me think… Hmm… I’ll tell you about Fishman Island.”

Roger’s bold, booming voice rang out as the two children stared at him in awe.

More and more tavern patrons gathered around, drawn by the tale.

Eventually, no one knew how long he’d been telling stories or how many mugs had been refilled, but Roger’s cheeks were flushed with a tipsy glow.

Whoosh!!!!

A sharp flare shot into the sky.

Its shrill sound echoed throughout the town — even the palace at the island’s center heard it.

The king stepped outside and saw the flare that signaled:

Enemy invasion.

Ordered the Seventh Squad of a thousand soldiers to engage the enemy.

Roger, who was in the tavern telling a story, noticed the people around him suddenly panicking, some even starting to rush outside.

He slurred slightly as he asked the tavern owner what was going on.

The tavern owner replied:

“Guest, this is the signal for an enemy invasion. Please, hide in my cellar quickly.”

“Ted, hurry and take Erica into the cellar in the back.”

Ted nodded and immediately led Erica into the backyard.

But Roger seemed intrigued instead. Enemy invasion? Interesting. He tossed a handful of Belly to the owner and, without waiting for a reaction, charged out the door toward the direction of the signal flare, eager to watch the excitement!

…

On the other side of town, the restaurant had already turned into a heap of rubble.

Robert, the Third Captain of the Royal Guard, gripped a sword in his right hand. His left arm hung limply at his side—it was clearly broken.

Several of his subordinates lay dead behind him. With his last strength, he had managed to fire a signal flare, now standing guard against two opponents.

As the Captain of one of the kingdom’s seven elite guard squads, Robert did possess some strength—barely enough to protect himself.

Whoosh!

Three figures clashed, the sounds of blade, sword, and trident colliding filled the air.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!…

Roger, who had rushed out of the tavern, activated his Observation Haki to sense the scene.

To his surprise, he realized that two of the fighters were his own crew members.

So it turns out we’re the invaders.

Roger burst out laughing at the thought and picked up his pace, running straight toward the scene. He wasn’t the least bit worried about his men being injured.

He knew their strength very well.

Soon, Roger arrived at the battlefield of the three:

“Hahahahaha! Sunbell, Seagull, what’s going on here?!”

Seagull, seeing their captain arrive, grumbled angrily:

“These bastards insulted Sunbell, so I killed them.”

Roger paused for a second, his usual cheerful face darkened ominously—terrifyingly so.

He looked at Robert on the other side and said in a low voice:

“You bullied my crewmates, didn’t you.”

Robert, who had already lost several subordinates and had been on the losing side of the fight, couldn’t hold back his rage any longer:

“That’s right. So what?”

Roger’s expression grew even darker as he nodded slightly:

“In that case…”

He drew his Supreme Grade sword, “Ace.”

Hummm!

Conqueror’s Haki swirled around the blade. Fueled by alcohol, Roger’s eyes gleamed with bloodlust as he looked at Robert:

“Then pay with your life.”

With a single slash, a massive black crescent-shaped wave of sword energy surged toward Robert.

Robert, frozen in place by Roger’s Haki, couldn’t move a muscle. The sword energy tore him apart completely, leaving only his feet behind on the ground.

The slash ripped through the air, demolishing all the buildings in its path, continuing all the way into the distant forest.

BOOM!

An explosion erupted, forming a mushroom cloud.

The Royal Guards, watching from afar, saw the cloud.

They realized the enemy must be terrifyingly strong. One of them was sent back to notify the king.

The rest immediately led the troops toward the town at full speed.

Roger, sensing the approaching army through Observation Haki, ordered his two crewmates to gather everyone and return to the ship while he stayed behind to cover their retreat.

Moments later, as the army arrived, Roger didn’t hesitate—he charged straight in and began slaughtering.

Blood and flesh flew everywhere. No one could withstand even a single round against him.

Anyone struck by Roger’s blade was instantly cleaved in two. The town turned into a sea of blood.

…

By the time the Fourth and Fifth Guard Units arrived, this was the scene that greeted them.

Roger was completely drenched in blood, even his beard stained red.

He stood alone amidst the dismembered corpses in the blood-soaked town center.

Seeing the arriving soldiers, a cruel glint flashed in Roger’s eyes. He smiled viciously.

Raising his blade, he charged at the new troops:

“Hahahahahahahahaha!!!”

The sea of blood grew wider and wider…

After dispatching the Fourth and Fifth Guard Units, the king of Darlons could no longer sit still.

He quickly requested aid from the Marines. As a World Government member, having pirates invade was not something the Navy could ignore.

But after hearing the pirate’s description, the call operator was stumped and had no choice but to notify Fleet Admiral Kong.

Kong was troubled too—Sengoku and Zephyr were in the New World, and he couldn’t reach Garp.

The remaining Vice Admirals didn’t have enough strength. None of their current forces could possibly stop Roger.

Then he remembered that Sakazuki had reported his presence on Jaya Island three days ago.

Jaya wasn’t far from Kegesi Island. Kong picked up the Den Den Mushi and called Sakazuki.

The gist of the message: take your time, just go through the motions—Kong was thinking of the bigger picture.

Sakazuki was a Logia-type Magma-Magma Fruit user. Once he grew stronger, he’d have a greater impact on the world.

And even if Sakazuki ran into Roger, he at least had a chance to escape.

But remembering Sakazuki’s personality, Kong quickly tried every way he could to contact Garp.

On the other end, Sakazuki frowned deeply upon hearing Kong’s intentions…

After hanging up, Sakazuki ordered the warship to increase speed toward Kegesi Island.

But feeling the ship was too slow, he pulled out a sea chart, identified the direction, threw off his cloak, and shot into the sky using his powers.

…

In Ston town, Roger had already annihilated the fifth wave of troops. The alcohol had begun to wear off.

His bloodlust subsided slightly, but he was still ruthless—no matter how many came, he would kill them all.

Just as he was about to unleash a flying slash at the next wave of incoming soldiers, he sensed something:

“Hmm?”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Four magma balls dropped from the sky.

They landed in a square pattern not far around Roger, radiating red light. The ground beneath his feet began to glow intensely red.

BOOM!!!!!!

The ground erupted like a volcanic crater, magma surging forth in unison with the four magma spears.

Billowing black smoke filled the air as molten rock flooded the area, burying Roger within.

The overflowing magma engulfed more than half the town—it was like hell itself.

…

From high in the air, Sakazuki dove down with no trace of relaxation. With both hands, he formed a three-meter-long magma greatsword.

Humm!

Coated in Armament Haki, the blade turned an ominous shade of blackish-purple.

Power gathered at his back, and with a burst of explosive force, Sakazuki hurtled downward.

He raised the sword high above his head.

Using the propulsion behind him, he came crashing down like a mountain-splitting strike, slashing fiercely at the center of the magma sea.

…

Within the magma, Roger remained unharmed thanks to his Haki.

His Supreme Grade sword was now shrouded in Conqueror’s Haki, and his whole body radiated outward with Armament Haki, instantly clearing the magma around him.

Roger looked up and grinned.

He raised his blade to meet the strike.

Clang—!

Szzz—!

Ultimate-grade Armament Haki clashed with swirling Conqueror’s Haki, sending bolts of black lightning erupting in all directions.

Wherever the lightning struck, it blasted deep craters several meters wide.

“Hello there, Navy.”

—

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