In the Totto Land sea, a pirate ship sailed at high speed.
"Hahahaha! Charlotte Linlin hid the stone in her bedroom!" Roger laughed, shaking a stack of papers in his hand triumphantly. "But that's nothing for me! I hid under her bed until midnight and once she was asleep, I copied the Road Poneglyph text in one go!"
As he said this, Roger's ears turned a little red. Charlotte Linlin's private life was indeed as chaotic as the rumors said. There was a lot of commotion late at night; the bed was almost falling apart. He almost got exposed for such a ridiculous reason!
"So, Roger," Rayleigh said with a grin, "how did you get exposed?"
"I don't know!" Roger tilted his head in confusion. "In my perception, no one should have been able to detect my presence!"
"But as I was leaving, the Charlotte Family found me!"
"Could there be someone in the Charlotte Family whose Observation Haki is superior to mine!?"
It didn't make sense. There shouldn't be many people in the entire world whose Observation Haki was stronger than his.
"Who cares about that, Captain!!" The red-nosed boy, Buggy, who was looking back at the pursuing ships, shrieked in terror, snot flying from his bright red nose. "They're gaining on us!!"
Behind the ship, above the sea, the pursuers had arrived!
A woman in a pink dress was riding a black thundercloud, rapidly closing in on the Roger Pirates' ship.
"Roger!! You bastard! Stop right there!" Charlotte Linlin roared in a fit of rage. If Brûlée hadn't seen Roger's reflection in a mirror, she would never have known that he had infiltrated her palace! The red stone she kept hidden now had some ink stains on it. Roger had copied the text from it! Unforgivable!
The legend of the Great Treasure was vague, but what if it was true? If the legend was real, the value of that stone would be immeasurable! Roger must have come for that stone, right?
Rage completely clouded Charlotte Linlin's mind. She and her children began a relentless pursuit of Roger. She had even managed to outpace her children and was now chasing him alone.
"Roger! Stop for me!" Seeing the ship in front of her speed up, Charlotte Linlin's rage intensified. She roared and swung the giant sword in her hand.
"Elbaf's Lance—Hakoku!"
A massive shockwave roared out, turning into a lance that pierced the sky! The Roger Pirates' ship looked tiny in the face of this immense shockwave, as if it would be crushed in an instant.
"Eek!!" Buggy, who was still looking back, screamed, his face ashen. "We're doomed! Captain! Save me!"
"Don't act like you've never seen anything like this before, Buggy." A low chuckle sounded as a figure leaped from the ship's rail.
"Axe Heaven's Melody!"
In mid-air, Jabba's twin axes were covered in black lightning. With a laugh, he swung them forcefully. Two giant intersecting slashes tore through the sky, colliding with the oncoming shockwave.
Boom!
Amidst the roar, a huge explosion created a gust of wind that filled the ship's sails, causing it to accelerate even further.
"Time is a cruel mistress." Jabba landed lightly on the rail, pushing up his small sunglasses. He sighed sadly as he looked at Charlotte Linlin in the distance. "My, my, the beautiful Linlin has become like this."
Charlotte Linlin, back in the Rocks Pirates days, was the dream woman for many men on the sea. How did she end up like this in just a few years?
"But, she actually dared to chase us?" Rayleigh walked over, his hand on the hilt of his sword, and said with a light chuckle. "It seems we're being underestimated, Roger. Should we—"
"I was the one who stole her stuff, so let's not go too far!" Roger laughed, leaping onto a mast. He took a deep breath.
"If you keep chasing, we'll fight back, Charlotte Linlin!"
Charlotte Linlin, who was chasing on her thundercloud, suddenly stopped. Her anger-fueled mind regained a bit of clarity. She flinched. She couldn't chase them anymore! If she were to truly go to war with the Roger Pirates, she and her family were not strong enough! Roger, Rayleigh, and Jabba—the trio of Gold, Silver, and Bronze—were all monsters among monsters. Even the weakest, Jabba, was not someone she could easily defeat!
So... her thundercloud stopped. Charlotte Linlin floated in mid-air, her eyes burning with rage as she watched the pirate ship gradually sail away.
"Roger!!" She could only express her frustration in a fit of impotent rage.
On the deck of the ship, Buggy wiped the sweat from his forehead after making sure Charlotte Linlin had finally stopped chasing. Then, the terror on the red-nosed boy's face vanished, replaced by a smug grin. He put his hands on his hips and shouted, "Hmph! Finally figured out who's the boss? If she dares to chase us, we'll sink her to the bottom of the sea!"
No one reacted to his words. Everyone knew what Buggy was like.
Luckily, Buggy had a good friend. The red-haired Shanks said with a chuckle, "Buggy, you were scared when you didn't need to be, but now that you should be, you're acting so smug?"
"Huh? Scared?" Buggy looked confused. "What do you mean? They're not chasing us anymore, are they?"
"The real danger is just beginning," Rayleigh said. "Charlotte Linlin won't let this go easily."
"Now we'll see how strong their alliance is," Jabba added with a sigh.
"Huh?" Buggy's forehead began to sweat again.
Oh, right! Charlotte Linlin had a pirate alliance behind her! Golden Lion Shiki, Roa, Kaido, Wang Zhi... those monsters were all her allies!
Just thinking about it made Buggy's legs tremble.
"Wahahaahaha! We'll cross that bridge when we get to it!" Roger just laughed. "In any case, we still need two more stones!"
He looked back and met the gaze of a white-haired woman holding a baby girl. The woman gave him a small nod. This was their shared dream.
Meanwhile, on Whole Cake Island, Charlotte Linlin was raging as she picked up a Transponder Snail and began dialing.
"Damn you, Roger!! Don't think this is over! I'll make you pay!"
She wasn't strong enough alone, but she could call for backup!
On Egghead Island, Roa and his crew had not yet left. While Roa didn't care much for the factories on the island, they were still very useful. The technology of the equipment inside these factories was highly advanced. Even the Germa Kingdom would have a hard time producing something of the same quality. So, of course, he had to make use of it.
Roa planned to turn this place into a massive production base. All he needed to do was modify the machinery and relocate some people. The Germa Kingdom's scientists were now leading the clone soldiers in a large-scale renovation project. As for the chief scientist, Judge, he claimed to have made a breakthrough in his research on artificial Devil Fruits and had holed himself up in his lab. True to his style, he probably wouldn't come out until he had results.
Before Judge entered the lab, Roa had watched his somewhat frail but determined back and wondered if he should give him the Vampire Fruit. Roa had thought about this many times, especially every time he saw Judge looking like he was on the verge of collapsing from overwork. Judge's importance to the Calamity Company was undeniable. Roa still believed that finding Judge immediately after leaving the Endless War Country was the best decision he had ever made.
However, Roa reconsidered. Giving Judge a Mythical Zoan would be a waste. Maybe he could ask Hanafuza, the one who liked to collect ancient Zoans, if he had any stockpiles when he went to Wano Country.
Right now, Roa was watching Dylan train Loki with great interest. Loki had been thoroughly thrashed by King before. His strength, which he was so proud of, was useless against King's invulnerable body. And King's flames could make him scream in pain.
After suffering a humiliating defeat, Loki was now motivated to learn Haki and get his revenge. Roa was pleased. Loki had the potential to reach the top, and now with his determination, his future was limitless!
Just as he was admiring Loki's potential, the Transponder Snail rudely rang.
"Hello?" Roa answered with interest. Not many people had his number.
"It's me!" A furious voice came from the other end.
"Oh? Auntie Linlin?" Roa's interest grew. "What's wrong? Did something interesting happen?"
This auntie wouldn't contact him for no reason. She must have run into some serious trouble.
"I'll give you a channel. Join immediately. There's something important I need to discuss with everyone!" With that, Charlotte Linlin gave him the channel number and hung up.
Huh? She needed to discuss it with everyone? It must be a big deal then. Roa had thought that Charlotte Linlin was calling because she couldn't find Kuma in the Sorbet Kingdom in the South Blue. It seemed something even more interesting had happened.
With the mindset of "the more drama, the better," Roa used his Transponder Snail to enter the communication channel Charlotte Linlin had provided.
"So, what happened?" Coincidentally, the voice of Wang Zhi came from the Transponder Snail.
The so-called communication channel was essentially a group chat, allowing many people who entered the channel to chat happily. At this moment, some people were already in the channel.
"Who knows?" Captain John's voice was heard. "Linlin must have run into some trouble."
"Did the government make a move on her?" Then came the voice of Silver Axe. "But that doesn't make sense. In terms of threat level, the first targets would be either Shiki or Roa. And geographically, you, John, are the best target."
"So it's not the World Government," John said flatly, with the sound of him drinking.
"Linlin! What do you want to say? I don't have time to waste!" Kaido's voice sounded. He, like the others, didn't seem to understand the situation.
"Linlin probably hasn't joined yet," Wang Zhi said casually. "Of course, I'm also very curious about what she wants to say."
"Zehahahaha! Maybe she has a big deal. So, is everyone here?" Shiki's laughter echoed.
"It's just Auntie Linlin herself, right?" Roa said leisurely.
"I'm here!" The voice of the group chat creator sounded. "Now that everyone is here, I'll get straight to the point!"
"Just now, that bastard Roger attacked Whole Cake Island!"
"Roger?" x5
Almost instantly, five voices sounded at the same time: Shiki, Kaido, Wang Zhi, Silver Axe, and John. All of them sounded urgent and surprised.
Ahem... Roa's lips twitched. Would it be odd if he didn't react like them?
"Roger?" he said, feigning surprise. "Why? Roger isn't the type to just pick a fight for no reason."
It must be for the stone Charlotte Linlin has, right? That meant Roger already had two stones? Roa's eyes narrowed. So, did Roger have an incurable disease now? He didn't see Crocus the last time he passed through Reverse Mountain.
Is it time?
Roa's smile became more and more unrestrained. He had been looking forward to this for a long time. Had this day finally come?
"Roa's right, so Linlin," Shiki's voice came again, with a hint of interest. "What did Roger attack you for?"
"You don't need to know. All you need to know is he came for my treasure!" Charlotte Linlin was very possessive and didn't intend to explain the stone to them. She just said angrily, "The existence of that bastard Roger is too dangerous! Roa has already driven away Whitebeard, so are we just going to let Roger run wild in the New World?"
"Silver Axe, the Roger Pirates are heading toward your territory. What, are you going to pretend you don't see them?"
"This..." Silver Axe was at a loss for words. After all, the Roger Pirates were indeed too dangerous. After the collapse of the Rocks Pirates, there was no other pirate crew in the world that could compare to them.
"At the end of the day, you were wronged, so you want us to help you get revenge, right, Linlin?" Wang Zhi's voice was full of laughter. "But that's not how you ask for help, Linlin. Roa is right. Roger isn't the type to just cause trouble. To get to your territory, he must have passed through others', but he didn't attack them, did he?"
"Wang Zhi is right," Captain John said flatly. "You want us to fight a monster like the Roger Pirates without any compensation. Who will bear the risk? Who will cover the losses? What if we die fighting Roger?"
Roa wanted to laugh. These guys are so united. As the saying goes, "There's no love lost when there's no mutual benefit." The existence of the Roger Pirates was a risk, but was going to war with them not a risk?
"You bastards! Fine, what do you want?" Charlotte Linlin cursed through gritted teeth, preparing to bleed.
"No, I'll pass," Captain John said directly. "I have a lot of things to deal with on my territory. I don't have time to travel all that way to fight Roger."
He knew his limits. In terms of strength, he was the weakest of the seven. If they were to go to war with the Roger Pirates, it would be his unlucky day. Even if it was just a possibility, he was not willing to take the risk. As he spoke, Wang Zhi quickly chimed in, "Me too. But if Roger comes this way, I can help you find out their location, Linlin."
This might be a good opportunity! Linlin, lure a few more guys! Then go and fight Roger to a standstill!
"I... me too!" Silver Axe said eagerly.
"You bunch of cowards! Is one Roger enough to scare you to this extent!?" Charlotte Linlin angrily scolded, but Wang Zhi and the other two didn't take her seriously and remained silent.
So, Charlotte Linlin had to call out names. "Kaido, you bastard, you're not going to refuse me, are you? That's Roger! And don't forget, you owe me a favor!"
"You old hag! Why are you bringing up something that happened so long ago!" Kaido said angrily.
"What? Are you going to be ungrateful, you brat?"
"Hmph! Let's get one thing straight. Roger is mine to kill." Kaido still grunted.
"Zehahahaha! What a joke! Roger is my prey!" a big shot said. "Linlin, I can help, but in return, the Charlotte Family's information network must be shared with me!"
The Charlotte Family's intelligence network was exceptionally strong in the entire New World. Of course, this was assuming that Roa's intelligence network hadn't been exposed.
"..." Charlotte Linlin paused for a moment but didn't hesitate too long. "Fine."
"That leaves one last person," Shiki said with a chuckle. "Roa, what do you say?"
"Roger, huh? Sounds like it'll be fun," Roa said with a happy smile. "Count me in."
"Excellent!" Charlotte Linlin's voice was excited. With Kaido, Shiki, and Roa, even without those three idiots, the combined forces were more than enough to crush the Roger Pirates!
"But, Auntie Linlin," Roa said with interest, "as a condition, how about I build some factories in Totto Land? A combination of Homies and weapons sounds very promising, right?"
"I agree!" Charlotte Linlin didn't hesitate at all. Roa's condition was nothing compared to Shiki's.
And so, the anti-Roger alliance was formed!