Chapter 33:
That day, Aaron returned to the Plant Scholars in a great hurry.
"Captain, it's bad! The Roger Pirates are here!"
Aaron said urgently to Victor, who was eating delicious food.
"What? The Roger Pirates are here?"
Victor paused upon hearing about the Roger Pirates.
"Yes, absolutely true. Captain, we should escape quickly."
Aaron said with furrowed brows.
"Hahaha, Aaron—don't be afraid. We've finally encountered the Roger Pirates. It took them so long to find me—I've been waiting for this for too long."
Victor didn't feel afraid upon hearing the news; instead, he became excited.
Heracles and the others also heard about the Roger Pirates and instantly gathered around.
"Roger Pirates? That's the real deal—top-tier powerhouses on the seas."
Heracles said with furrowed brows.
The other crew members were also a bit worried.
But since the captain insisted, there was nothing more to say.
Soon, the Roger Pirates appeared.
At this time, the Roger Pirates had not yet built their dedicated ship, the Oro Jackson.
When Roger saw the Plant Scholars, he immediately broke into a smile.
"Hahaha, I didn't expect the Plant Scholars to be so big and so impressive. This really makes me envious of that kid Victor."
Roger said with a big laugh.
"Hey, Captain—are you planning to steal Victor's ship, or recruit Victor?"
The handsome Rayleigh beside him said calmly.
"Hahaha, of course I want both—but it depends on what the kid Victor thinks. Approach them."
Roger said with a face full of amusement.
On the deck, Victor saw the Roger Pirates drawing near.
"Hey, Roger, Rayleigh."
Victor showed no fear at all; instead, he shouted loudly with a smile.
"Oh? The kid Victor knows us. Hahaha."
Roger looked at Victor's reaction—it was quite different from other pirate crews.
Ordinary pirate crews would either attack directly or flee immediately.
Very few welcomed Roger and his crew with a smile like Victor did.
"Kid Victor, you've got some guts."
Rayleigh looked at Victor in front of him, his eyes full of appreciation.
"Hey, kid Victor—how about joining our pirate crew?"
Roger didn't launch an attack; instead, he shouted loudly.
"Roger—the top powerhouse on the seas with a bounty of four billion. Rayleigh—top powerhouse with a bounty of over three billion. Jabba—top powerhouse with a bounty of over two billion.
And a group of powerful crew members behind them. Truly worthy of being one of the New World's top pirate crews."
"Roger—if you want to recruit me, you can. But first, defeat me. And I have one condition."
Victor loudly stated the situation of the Roger Pirates, then put forward his own condition.
In truth, he hadn't expected Roger to try recruiting him. His original plan was to fight Roger and break through himself in battle.
After all, Roger was a very easygoing person, not bloodthirsty, similar to Victor—not a true pirate in the conventional sense.
This was why Victor dared to face the Roger Pirates.
Roger heard Victor's words and immediately burst into laughter again.
Rayleigh and the others, hearing Victor's words, also relaxed.
Meanwhile, the other crew members on the Plant Scholars felt extremely uncomfortable at this moment.
They had finally integrated into the Plant Scholars, treating it as their second home.
Now someone wanted to take their home away—they felt extremely angry.
Especially Beli and the Elli-Eni twin doctors—their eyes turned red.
Victor knew the eventual fate of the Roger Pirates, and he wanted to follow them to participate in the God Valley battle.
He also hoped to take the chance to snatch some Devil Fruits from God Valley.
But his crew members didn't know these things—though it didn't matter; he could handle it.
"Partners—except for the ship doctor, everyone else must join the fight and give it your all. Of course, the premise is to guarantee your own life safety."
Victor turned and said to the crew members.
"Yes!"
The entire crew roared in unison with determination.
Roger and the others saw the scene on the Plant Scholars—their eyes full of appreciation. Their desire to recruit Victor grew even stronger.
Not only that—they now even wanted to recruit the entire Plant Scholars crew.
"Rayleigh—what do you think of them?"
Roger asked with a smile.
"Hmm, really a nice family. Quite similar to us."
Rayleigh also greatly admired Victor.
"Hmm, looks like we're in for a fun fight. But don't hurt our future partners."
Roger was extremely happy at this moment.
"Don't worry—we know what we're doing. Nothing will happen."
Rayleigh nodded and said.
Soon, they found a small island.
The moment they landed, the battle began.
Mainly because Beli and the others couldn't hold back anymore—they immediately unleashed their Devil Fruit abilities toward the Roger Pirates.
"Hoho, looks like our partners are impatient. Since that's the case, we'll accept the challenge."
Rayleigh smiled as he looked at Beli and the others, then directly joined the fight.
In an instant, the two groups were locked in chaotic battle.
However, Rayleigh and the others held back—they wouldn't injure Heracles and the others.
The Roger Pirates' members were essentially acting as sparring partners, but they still left Heracles and the others dazed and confused.
But after the Plant Scholars crew fought with full force, their strength would definitely see a massive improvement.
Meanwhile, Roger and Victor were undisturbed by anyone else.
Because this was a battle between captains—no one was allowed to interfere.
"Kid Victor—let's begin. Let me see your strength."
Roger said with a smile.
"Roger—this battle is something I've been looking forward to for a long time. Let's fight."
Victor's eyes were filled with incomparable excitement at this moment; his entire body began trembling slightly with thrill.
Right now, he craved battle—because only fighting top-tier powerhouses could make him grow faster.
At this moment, his eyes had already started turning red—showing Victor's current state.
"Hahaha, looks like the kid is already excited. Then come at me."
Roger saw this and also burst into laughter.
So Victor instantly activated Armament Haki, leaped high, and charged toward Roger like a cannonball.
"Hahaha, kid—you've got a bit of Garp's style."
Roger laughed loudly and drew Ace from his waist.
Roger's top-tier Conqueror's Haki instantly coiled around his arm and the blade of Ace.
Victor's full-force strike collided directly with Roger's Ace.
Bang! A massive sound.
Immediately, a huge shockwave erupted and spread outward.
The battle began in earnest.
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