In the New World, one moment the sky over a certain sea area was clear, but the next, thunder and lightning flashed, and waves rolled.
A Pirate Crew was advancing on the turbulent sea, and despite the extreme danger, the ship's interior was brightly lit with a banquet in full swing.
Laughter and clamor emanated, making this dark and dangerous sea area seem less terrifying.
Crack!!!
White lightning struck, and the high-flying pirate flag depicted a skull with a curled mustache.
This Pirate Crew was called the Oro Jackson.
Bang!
The cabin door was violently pushed open, and a fat Fishman holding a harpoon, with thick lips, said somewhat urgently, "Captain Roger, Garp is chasing us again."
The originally lively banquet immediately quieted down.
Pairs of eyes looked at the fat Fishman, then clinked their glasses and burst into laughter.
The atmosphere was not affected at all.
"Sanbel, have a shot of strong liquor first."
A man in a simple shirt with a black beard, sitting at the head of the table, picked up the pirate hat and red overcoat beside him, walked to the cabin door, and pointed to his seat.
He was very easygoing.
"Alright!"
Sanbel didn't refuse, put down his harpoon, and plopped down in the main seat, no longer in a hurry.
He had a 'whatever happens, happens' attitude.
"You all keep drinking, I'll go out and take a look!"
Roger put on his overcoat, picked up the long saber placed by the door, and walked out of the cabin.
"I'll go out and take a look!"
Below the main seat, a man with short golden hair, wearing white-rimmed glasses and a black trench coat, stood up.
This was none other than the First Mate of the Roger Pirates, nicknamed "Pluton," the legendary man who would be known as the Pirate King's right-hand man in the future.
Pluton Silvers Rayleigh!
"That Garp fellow is really a persistent ghost."
Across the table, a broad-shouldered man with black hair and sunglasses, chugged a bowl of sake and cursed.
"You all keep drinking, Jabba and I will just go out and take a look."
"I don't think a fight will break out."
Rayleigh motioned for everyone to continue drinking; this kind of scene wasn't a first or second time.
Outside, the wind howled, the entire sky was dark and gloomy with heavy rain, and lightning occasionally flashed through it, faintly revealing a huge Marine warship following behind the Pirate Crew.
Roger stood at the stern, greeting Garp on the warship.
"Garp, we're having a party, why don't you come up and have a drink!"
Roger grinned, his voice clearly carrying over hundreds of meters.
"Damn Roger, you won't escape this time! I'll drink with you in Impel Down."
Garp stood with his arms crossed, his cloak of justice swaying in the gale, while behind him, Marine officers stood with stern expressions, letting the rain drench them completely, their gazes extremely sharp.
This conversation felt somewhat familiar.
"Isn't that Naval Hero Garp?"
"He's sniffed us out again."
At this moment, Rayleigh and Jabba walked up to Roger, waving as if seeing old friends.
Only their greetings were a bit special.
It felt like they were cursing him.
"It's Pluton Silvers Rayleigh and Scopper Gaban!"
The Marine officers on the warship grew even more serious.
"You two bastards aren't dead yet!"
Garp dug his pinky into his nostril, retorting with a look of disdain.
"Haha! Garp, you really shouldn't be a Marine anymore. Come with me and turn the whole world upside down!"
Roger laughed heartily; even though he knew the outcome wouldn't change in the slightest, he still said it.
"Enough nonsense."
Garp couldn't be bothered with more talk. He leaped from the warship, his fist infused with boiling Armament Haki, and charged directly.
Roger maintained his grin; when he reappeared, he was already in mid-air, his right hand gripping his long saber, clashing with Garp's fist.
In an instant, the entire thunder-and-lightning-filled, dark and cloudy sky was dispersed, and golden sunlight suddenly shone down.
With just one collision, the weather in the surrounding sea area was changed.
Imagine... The two figures meet in mid-air, a fist wrapped in black lightning colliding with a blood-red blade. The force rips the clouds apart, creating a perfect circle of blue sky and golden sunlight in the midst of the violent storm, a momentary oasis of calm defiance in the face of nature's fury, before the fight ends and the storm closes back in.
"Haha, your fist is still as hard as ever!"
Landing back on the Pirate Crew, Roger looked at Garp at the bow of the warship and immediately put away his weapon.
"Alright lads, run!"
"Damn Roger, you won't escape!"
"Haha!"
As the Pirate Crew and warship disappeared one after another from this sea area, the clouds that had been dispersed by the collision once again returned to their previous state of flashing lightning and utter darkness.
Not long after, the news of Garp's collision with Roger was placed on the Fleet Admiral's desk in Marineford.
In fact, Garp wasn't the only one in action.
Figures like Zephyr and Sengoku were also in the New World, and even Sakazuki and Borsalino were in the Grand Line capturing pirates or suppressing bases in certain sea areas.
Beyond that, Kaido, Big Mom, World Destroyer, "The Drill" Garp, Moriah, and other figures, as well as kingdom powers, were all stirring up trouble.
These were all well-known figures in the original story, but there were also even more powerful, or equally formidable, great pirates, all pursuing freedom, power, and wealth.
Among them, the Golden Emperor was undoubtedly a hot commodity.
The whole world was searching for him.
But the Golden Emperor had been missing for a month; although he had appeared on St. Poplar Island, it was only a fleeting glimpse.
But this was just the beginning.
If nothing unexpected happened, Kaos would still be missing for some time.
Then he would feel capable again, and then he would cause trouble.
In the early morning, the reddish sun rose above the horizon!
But it brought not warmth, but cold.
At some point, clusters of snowflakes began to fall from the clear blue sky, like countless torn cotton balls, and half the island was already covered in white snow.
On a cliff, Kaos stood shirtless, gazing into the distance, with large amounts of steam rising from his body; the snowflakes melted before they even landed on him due to his rising body temperature.
His left hand still wore a Log Pose, while his right wrist was shackled with Sea Stone handcuffs.
Compared to his weakness three months ago, there was now a significant improvement.
That's right, this time, training with Sea Stone had taken another three months.
The results were naturally immense.
"Little Croc, let's get to work."
Kaos stretched, then turned and delivered a Tempest Kick towards the mountain cave behind him.
In an instant, a crescent-shaped black slash plunged forward, and with a huge explosion, the entire cave seemed about to collapse.
Other various openings could be seen on the cave entrance, indicating that Kaos had done this often.
After the dust settled, Crocodile walked out with a dark expression, also shirtless, revealing his eight-pack abs, and the pitch-black Armament Haki on his hands quickly disappeared.
Compared to three months ago, he was more mature and tougher!
His right wrist also wore Sea Stone handcuffs.
Looking at the man who had turned away, Crocodile's heart was filled with mixed emotions.
He didn't know whether to thank this man, hate this man, or admire this man.
He had been living in hell for the past three months.
But it was undeniable that he had grown stronger, and not just a little bit.
Armament Haki and Observation Haki were initially mastered; now, even when shackled by Sea Stone, he wouldn't lose all his strength, at least not like three months ago when he was sprawled on the ground like a broken mess.
He was grateful because this man had made him stronger.
He hated him because this man had repeatedly shown him the Sanzu River, almost making him take his last breath and die.
He admired him because this man was even crazier than him, and his training pressure was several times greater.
Now, both of them wore Sea Stone handcuffs, and if they were to fight, he wouldn't last ten seconds.
This guy was a monster.
And he worked even harder than him.
Don't you think that's infuriating?
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"The path of a champion is one of constant suffering." - Unknown