Chapter 51: Gathering of the Strong

—The red UFO that had been floating in the sky was shot down and crashed onto the deck, leaving behind no trace of its existence.

“W-what the hell was that!?! That UFO was terrifying!!”

“They attacked… That caught me off guard.”

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.

“! —Hey, over there…!!?”

“!! That’s… a Sea King… and yeah, that’s definitely him…!!”

One of the crewmates pointed toward the starboard side, off in the distance. Sure enough, a Sea King had surfaced—and it appeared to be clashing with something flying through the air toward them. Roger, seeing this, couldn’t help but laugh.

“Wahahaha!! That takes me back! He was getting attacked by a Sea King the first time we met too!!”

“Yeah… but that was over ten years ago. He’s not the same now…”

“Yeah—as. you. can. clearly. see.”

“!!”

Rayleigh nodded at Roger’s 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.

“He—He took out a Sea King in one hit!!? W-we’re screwed!! What the hell’s coming at us!?!”

“Think it’s really aliens…?”

“Idiot!!! 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!? —Wait, we don’t have anything like that!!! We’re doomed～～～!!!”

“You’re overreacting. …Actually, should you really be looking away? They’re almost here. Look.”

“—Huh? You mean they’re—”

Buggy turned his head back toward starboard in response to Gaban’s words. And then—

“—Boo♡”

“WHA—!!!? GYAAAAAAHHHHHH～～～～～～～～～～！！！ THEY’RE HEEEEEEREEEEEEE!!!”

A girl’s 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.

“Ahahaha!! What a reaction! You’re so worth scaring~♡”

“…Wait. You’re not even an alien, you bastard!!!”

“Told you she wasn’t…”

A crewmember quipped dryly at Buggy’s 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.

“Well, if it isn’t Nue! Long time no see!!”

“Roger!! It’s been ages! I heard you were nearby, so I dropped in to say hi—and kill you!!”

“Wahahahaha!! Is that so!? Then I guess I’ve gotta give you a proper welcome!! I bet your buddies… and that Kaido brat are coming too, huh!?”

“Of course!! But I couldn’t wait, so I came ahead~♡ I’ll take you on solo for now!! —The ‘Unidentified Entity’… ‘The Fearsome Rainbow UFO Invasion’!!!”

“!! It’s the UFOs again!!”

With Nue’s 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.

“!!!”

“Tch…!!”

“Whoaaa!! That’s Conqueror’s Haki!!”

“Whaaaaat!!? She’s trading blows with Captain Roger!! Is she even human!?”

“Damn… she’s insane…!!”

“Wh-what’s with this kid…!?”

Black lightning crackled across the deck in bursts. Roger’s cutlass and Nue’s trident clashed in a duel of Haki—Conqueror’s clashing with Conqueror’s, Armament against Armament—so intense that their weapons didn’t 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.

“Gah… ahahahaha!! You’re strong! Still strong as ever, Roger!!”

“Wahaha, and you’ve gotten a hell of a lot stronger yourself!! But you’re still not strong enough to take my head!!”

“—Then I’ll be the one to take your head… Roger…!!!”

“! Knew you’d show up.”

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 knowing—another former apprentice had arrived.

“Whoa!!? What is that!?”

“It’s huge～～～～～～～～～!!!? L-let’s not, Captain Roger!! We can’t handle something like that—neither us nor the ship’ll survive!!”

“Gh…!!”

“Damn… Still as massive as ever…!!”

“It’s Kaido…”

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 World—Captain of the Beasts Pirates, “Hundred Beasts” Kaido. Bounty: 1,111,000,000 berries.

He didn’t choose his targets or his victims. He destroyed islands and nations single-handedly—a calamity in the form of a pirate. He’d been defeated, captured, tortured, and sentenced to death countless times, but his body and spirit remained unbroken.

Those who didn’t 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, wasn’t far behind.

“Hey!! Kaido!! I told you—I’d go greet them first, so wait!! Why’d you follow me!?”

“I couldn’t wait either…!! No way I’m letting you hog all the fun!!”

“Ughhh, fine!! Guess we’re doing this together then!!”

“Hell yeah…!! Let’s go…!!!”

““DIE, ROGER!!!””

Together, Kaido and Nue landed hard on the deck of the Roger Pirates’ ship.

---

Landing alongside Kaido, we charged straight for Roger, Rayleigh, and the other top officers, weapons in hand. Naturally—of course we’d want to fight the strongest ones!!

“They’re coming, boys!! Get ready for battle!!”

“Take ‘em downnnnnnn!!!”

“Ugh… Well, figures it wouldn’t be that easy!!”

“Worororo!! Come get some!!!”

Of course, we’re on their ship, and the place is crawling with crew. No way they’d let us get to the captain that fast—but that’s all part of the fun.

Still, I had to keep an eye on the UFOs I’d launched. If they didn’t deal with those soon, I wouldn’t hesitate to let them tear the ship apart. So at least I wasn’t totally swarmed.

“Now, now♡ Who’s up first~? Let’s play!!”

“Enough nonsense…!!”

“Hm~? Don’t recognize you, kid. Hmmm… You look like you’ve got some fight in you for a child, but I don’t really have time to waste on scrubs.”

“Shut up…!! I’m gonna be the strongest…!!”

A dark-skinned, fierce-looking boy charged at me, spitting big talk. Hmmm? Could it be… that kid?

There was something familiar about him—his strength, especially for a child, and even his appearance. And he said strongest. Yeah, it had to be him. Still, that didn’t mean I was going easy on him. I didn’t even bother using my trident—I just smacked him away with my hand like swatting a fly.

“Outta the way~”

“Ghh…!!?”

“Barrett!! You okay!?”

He must not’ve expected me to have that kind of power. The kid went flying with barely any effort on my part. —Yep, definitely Douglas Bullet. The guy who joined the Roger Pirates after the Galtzberg Massacre—a full country wiped off the map. The Fuse-Fuse Fruit guy, the “merging man.” …He was strong for a kid, sure, but still nowhere near satisfying.

Kaido, however, did respond to what he said. Can’t blame him. I just rolled my eyes, but you don’t go saying “strongest” in front of him.

“Who the hell said they’re gonna be the strongest…!? You little runt…!!!”

“Ghh…!! Kuhah…!!”

“Don’t go acting tough when you’re just a damn weakling!!!”

Oooh—Douglas just got launched—!! One clean hit from Kaido’s kanabo, and Bullet is knocked clean out. Hard to say if he’s unconscious or not, but even if he gets back up, there’s no way he can take on me or Kaido. Still, he’ll be useful when our crew shows up—good sparring material for their growth. Honestly, that’s 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.

Roger’s also the perfect opponent in that regard—he rarely kills. He’ll fight seriously, but he won’t finish you off unless it’s truly necessary. If you survive the clash, you live. That’s… kind of honorable.

Not that I’d ever tell my crew that—it’s not like you can afford to let your guard down around him. We’re still aiming for an outright victory. Personally, I’m starting to feel like taking down Gaban or Rayleigh. I know, I know, it’s a total uphill battle. But that’s exactly why it’s worth it!

“Yaaaay!! Rayleigh!! Let’s fight!!”

“Oh? Your Haki’s come a long way…”

“Ehehe, right!? I’ve been fighting all kinds of people and getting stronger all the time!! Still climbing!!”

With that, I lunged at Rayleigh with my spear—he parried with his sword. He countered, and I blocked. Ghh, my arms creak. The gap in our Haki is brutal. Even though I’m confident in my power, he’s pushing me back. And the man hasn’t even eaten a Devil Fruit—just a regular human. A monster of a regular human. They don’t call him the “Dark King” for nothing!! His bounty’s more than double Kaido’s, even with Kaido’s being over a billion!!

“WRAAAAAAHHH!!!”

“Wahaha!! You’ve got way more power than before!!”

“Shut it!! I’ll take you down and claim the title of the world’s strongest pirate crew…!!”

“The greatest pirate crew!! …Though strongest wouldn’t be wrong either!!”

And over there, Kaido was clashing head-to-head with Roger—Haki slamming against Haki, Conqueror’s clashing in a dazzling explosion. Shockwaves rippling out, as always. But even as captains with matching Conqueror’s Haki, Kaido was being pushed back. Kaido. He’s a monster, yeah, but compared to Roger? Roger’s the real beast. A demon.

Roger even cut down UFOs mid-air with sword slashes or gunfire when they threatened his crewmates—in the middle of a fight. It was insane. And Kaido, noticing that, veins bulging on his forehead, roared—

“Tch…!! Roger, you bastard…! Don’t look away mid-fight!!”

“You think I want to!? Sure, I enjoy a good fight—but I care about my crew’s lives, too!! We all live and win together!! That’s the only way a real fight matters!!”

“Disgusting…!! You’re that strong and still that soft… You’re hopeless…”

“Wahahaha!! Don’t act like you wouldn’t save Nue if she were in trouble! Same damn thing!!”

“…Don’t be ridiculous!! We’re in battle!! If you lose, that’s on you!! The weak have only themselves to blame!!”

“…And what about you, partner? What do you think?”

“Isn’t it obvious!? This world’s survival of the fittest!! The strong live, the weak die!! That’s all there is to it!! If you lose, it’s not anyone else’s fault—it’s your own damn weakness!!”

Roger and Kaido weren’t just clashing weapons—they 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 Kaido’s. In this world, strength is everything. Power is justice. Those without it can’t do anything. They just suffer and die.

The strong rule over the weak and live however they please.

We’re gonna build the strongest pirate crew, then tear this whole world apart to suit us. Whatever happens to everyone else? Not our problem. If they’ve got a problem with it, they can get stronger and kill us. I don’t even object to that.

“Personally, I think you guys are fun—kinda likeable even—but fighting’s more fun!! And once we win, we’re turning this sea upside down!!”

“I see… But I can’t let that happen…!!”

“Gh… Ahaha!! You’re laughably strong…!!”

Rayleigh’s blade sent me flying again—but I wasn’t going down that easy. No way. Before I even hit the sea, I righted myself midair and recovered.

“Still standing!! Ahaha!! This much won’t bring us down!!”

“! Your endurance’s improved a lot…”

“And those UFOs are way tougher than before!! Don’t let your guard down!!”

“Yeah!! Got it!!”

“C-come at me, then—UFO—wait, it’s actually coming!? STOP!! DON’T COME OVER HERE!!”

“Buggy!! Ggh, bring it, UFO!! I’ll take you on!!”

Ahaha, the rest of their crew’s not half bad either! If I sic my UFOs on a ship, normally it’d sink in no time… and yet, they’ve been shooting them down nonstop. I’ve probably lost about thirty already? Still, as long as I’m fighting like this, I’ll keep spawning more UFOs indefinitely. None of that stingy “only a few at a time” nonsense from the old days. With enough power, I can summon as many as I want. Maybe there’s a cap, but once I passed a hundred, I stopped counting. They get crushed so fast, it’s like the limit doesn’t even exist!

That apprentice though… Buggy. His reactions are hilarious—makes 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 hat—Shanks, 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.

“Hey, come on!! How long are these UFOs gonna keep popping up!? There’s no end to ‘em!!”

“Maybe we should just take out Nue!!”

“Yeah… that might be our best move.”

Ohh, here comes Rayleigh with a flying slash—I saw it coming thanks to my Observation Haki and managed to dodge in time. Well, they’re 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. But—

“Heh. I don’t mind being the target… but it looks like our ship has finally caught up!!”

“!! They’re here…! Move the ship!!”

“Got it!!”

As soon as I sensed it and said so, they reacted fast—adjusting course right away.

And before long, we could see it with the naked eye—our ship. One we recognized instantly, and one they’d be laying eyes on for the first time.

“Alright then… now the real fun begins!!”

“Let’s wreck ‘em!!!”

And so, the full-blown battle between the Roger Pirates and the Beasts Pirates began.

—But 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.

“Ugh… damn it all…!!”

“Ugh… my body won’t move… but I still wanna fight, so just wait a sec… I’ll be back up in ten minutes…!!”

“Kaido-san… Nue-san…!! Damn it…!!”

“Damn… let go of me…!!”

Everyone was coughing blood, beat to hell. We were all half-dead—Kaido and I, and even King and Queen. They’d 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.

“Come on, you lost. Just give it up already. You seriously can’t fight anymore, can you?”

“So this is the Beasts Pirates… Nue’s crew, huh? They all look insane…”

“C-Captain Roger!! Let’s just sink ‘em and be done with it!! These guys are nuts!!”

“Wahaha, relax. They’ve got nothing left. We’ve won!! Grab some treasure or whatever and let ‘em go!!”

So Roger gave that order to his crew. Ughhh, it kind of ticks me off—being treated like a kid. But it’s not like he means to belittle us. It’s just… Roger. That guy’s ridiculously softhearted. He’s not angry or holding any grudge against us right now, so he’s going easy.

Roger is soft. That’s just who he is.

Which is probably why Kaido looks furious enough to kill someone with a glare. He can’t actually do it, of course, but someone like Buggy is totally losing his mind. It’s kinda comforting to watch. Honestly, he’d make a great pet. If I ever keep one, it should definitely be a cowardly one.

“Ughh… this is so unsatisfying…!!”

“Don’t say that!! You were strong!! Come at me again anytime!! I’ll knock you down every time!!”

“Well, we’ve got the treasure… now let’s just toss ‘em on the deck and—”

“—C-Captain Roger!! Bad news!! The Marines are here!!”

That’s when it happened—just 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 us—and Roger broke into a big grin.

“…This presence… Who is it?”

“It’s a Marine fleet!! Garp and Sengoku are on board!! This is bad, Captain!!”

“Garp and Sengoku~~~!? Hell yeah!! Let’s do this!!”

“Wait a second, Roger. We just finished a battle.”

“Yeah!! No way we’re in any shape for another one!!”

“Wahaha!! Sure, we could try to run—but they’ll catch up anyway!! So might as well get in a fight then make a run for it!!”

A Marine fleet. And with Garp and Sengoku on board? Most pirates would’ve 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 exasperated—clearly used to this. Poor guys… he really could stand to listen to his crew every now and then.

“…That’s fine and all, but what about them?”

Rayleigh nodded toward us, clearly asking what the plan was. Roger tilted his head for a moment, then broke into a roguish smile, like he’d come up with a brilliant idea. Looking at me and Kaido, he said:

“—The fight’s over anyway. How about teaming up and escaping together!? If you’re still up for a scrap, we can fight side by side!!”

“…Huh?”

“Excuse me…?”

“There it is… classic Roger…”

Queen and King were both thrown off by the proposal. I didn’t really know what to say. Roger was always like this—completely absurd. He was actually serious about working together. Not that I minded… but there’s no way Kaido would ever go along with it.

And sure enough, the second he heard it, Kaido snapped, voice rising with fury.

“Haaah!? What the hell are you talking about!? No way!!”

“Come on, you guys’ll be in trouble if you get caught too, right? Working together’s the smart move if we want to escape the Marines!!”

“…!!”

Oh boy. Kaido looks like he’s about to blow. Ugh… guess I’ve got no choice. If we drag this out, it’s 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.

“…So, is it fine if we slip away while you’re fighting?”

“Yeah, I don’t care. Just stay out of it. They’re my opponents.”

“You heard the man, Kaido.”

“…!! Damn it… this is bullshit…!!”

He didn’t agree—but he didn’t refuse either. That’s as good as a yes, from Kaido. Not that he’d ever nod outright. So him just swearing under his breath is the closest we’re gonna get.

I mean, if it were just me and Kaido, maybe we’d throw down anyway. But with King, Queen, and the others already hurt, we can’t 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 away—

…Wait, huh?

“…………”

“…What is it? Why are you staring at the sky, Nue?”

“…Ohhh, you know… just thinking, of all the times… it had to be now, huh? Bad timing really loves company.”

“Huh? —!! Wait, this presence…!!”

“Shit… Roger, this just got worse…!!”

At my words, the Roger Pirates began to realize it too. Even these battle-hardened veterans couldn’t help but give an uneasy chuckle.

Because floating down from the overcast sky came a ship—ornately 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 ship—a pirate who sailed the skies. His name:

“—Jihahahaha!! Heard Roger entered the New World, so I came to invite him aboard… but who’d’ve guessed I’d find the Beasts Pirates and the Marines here too!! Can’t tell if I’m lucky or cursed!! Either way—been too long, you lot!!”

“Shiki…!!”

The boss of the Golden Lion Pirates, “Golden Lion” 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 comrade—now descending from the skies to join the chaos.

—

And from the sea—

“Bwahahahaha!! I was chasing Roger and ended up running into the Golden Lion and the Beasts Pirates!?”

“This is no time for jokes, Garp!! This could go sideways fast… we’d better brace ourselves!!”

“Yeah, yeah, I know!! Every last one of ‘em—we’re taking ‘em in!!”

At the front of the Marine fleet stood two men, each commanding their ships: Admiral “Buddha” Sengoku of Marine HQ, and Vice Admiral “Fist” Garp—hero 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.