Garp was a little puzzled at first, but the New World was chaotic, so he was not particularly surprised. Instead, he instructed the Marines beside him, "Go check the island's other sea exits and hidden ports. See if the Oro Jackson is there!"
Generally speaking, an island could not have only one sea exit. Some islands even had hidden ports specifically built for illegal business, receiving criminals from the Underworld and all walks of life. Pirates, for example, loved docking their ships in hidden ports.
After saying that, the gangplank on Garp's side was lowered as well. He swaggered down from the warship, intending to take a look at the unrest in town. As a Marine who upheld justice, if pirates were causing trouble on the island, he still had to deal with it.
The moment Garp's distinctive Dog Head Warship docked here, Jabba, who was buying liquor in the port's trading street, spotted Garp's arrival.
"That guy's nose is still as sharp as ever..." Jabba muttered, then immediately left to notify his companions and prepare to evacuate the island.
As for Zunesha, they probably would not get the chance to see it this time.
Over the years, there had been far too many entanglements and grudges between the Roger Pirates and Garp. Yet after countless encounters, the result had always been the Roger Pirates making a run for it.
It was not that Garp was strong enough to suppress the entire Roger Pirates by himself. The main reason was that the Roger Pirates simply did not want to get tangled up with someone as persistent as Garp. As pirates, wasn't it perfectly normal to run when they encountered the Marines?
Once Garp pinned them down somewhere, Marines would come rushing in from every direction like sharks smelling blood. If they fell into that situation, getting away would become difficult!
Meanwhile, Ortolan and Mihawk joined forces to launch a fierce assault on Rayleigh. However, both of them were still newcomers. Though their potential was extraordinary, their strength truly could not compare to Rayleigh's. Even working together, they were being suppressed by him, and it was obvious Rayleigh was handling them with ease, without even going all out.
On the roof of a distant building, the Roger Pirates were seated along the eaves. Roger held a bottle of liquor in his hand, took two swigs, and laughed heartily. "Didn't expect it, did you? To encounter a legendary Goro Goro no Mi user here!"
"Is this the violent brat you mentioned before, the one who appeared on Cake Island? He wasn't a Devil Fruit user last time, was he?" Crocus asked with great interest as he watched the fierce battle in the street below.
"Right, he probably wasn't a Devil Fruit user last time. But he wasn't like he is now either. Back then, he seemed to have lost his reason. If I remember correctly, that should have been Sulong form. That kid is very likely a Tanned Tribe hybrid!" Roger nodded at once.
After taking another swig, Roger said with feeling, "I didn't fight that kid much, but he broke Shanks's arm with one move. Rayleigh was careless and got sent flying by a single hammer strike too. Later, Rayleigh said the kid's strength was absurd, and he'd cut him once. Judging from the feel of it, that kid's physical abilities were ridiculously strong as well. Now that he's eaten the Goro Goro no Mi, if he can grow up without dying midway, then in a few years, there'll be another formidable figure on these seas!"
The reason he felt regret was that he likely would not live to see such a formidable figure emerge.
Crocus glanced at Roger and said, "If you know you do not have long to live, you should drink less."
"Wrong!" Roger laughed boldly. "Precisely because I know I do not have long to live, I should drink more! Otherwise, I'll definitely regret it later! Hahahahahaha!"
Bururururu... Burururu.
Just as the Roger Pirates were enjoying the show, the Den Den Mushi Roger carried began to ring. He took it out, glanced at it, and asked in confusion, "Could Jabba have gotten lost while buying liquor?"
"Out of all of us, you're the one with the worst sense of direction!" Crocus mocked.
Roger ignored him and answered the Den Den Mushi. "Jabba?"
"We can cancel the plan to observe Zunesha here. I spotted Garp's warship at the port. Unless something unexpected happened, he's here!" Jabba said directly through the Den Den Mushi.
"Garp? You sure you didn't see wrong?" Roger asked, somewhat dumbfounded.
"Idiot, how many times have we dealt with him? Who could mistake that dog-head ship of his!?" Jabba snapped.
"What a buzzkill..." Roger said helplessly, then continued, "Then let's meet directly on the ship. Go raise anchor first. As long as we get moving before him, Garp's warship won't be able to catch our Oro Jackson!"
"Got it. Just don't let him tie you up over there," Jabba reminded him before hanging up the Den Den Mushi.
The Den Den Mushi was on speaker, so Roger did not need to explain anything. The other Roger Pirates had already risen to their feet the moment Jabba began speaking.
"You guys go first. I'll go let Rayleigh know!" Roger waved his hand. Then, without giving anyone the chance to speak, he leaped from the rooftop toward the distant street.
Crocus and the others were long accustomed to this. With a wave of his hand, the group swiftly withdrew from the rooftops and headed for the hidden port on the other side of the island.
Back on the street, Ortolan slammed the heavy hammer in his hand into the wall of a building beside the road. The wall, built entirely from sturdy stone blocks, was instantly smashed apart by the blow.
As his attack missed, lightning flickered in Ortolan's eyes, and two laser-like beams shot out before him.
Rayleigh held his sword in one hand, while Armament Haki covered the other. Facing Ortolan's laser beams, he swatted them away with a single slap. The surging power of lightning was utterly useless before that overwhelming Haki and was scattered at once.
At the same time, Mihawk brought his blade down, only for Rayleigh to block it with the longsword in his hand.
"You two are both pretty good. Train for a few more years, and this old man might not be able to handle you anymore," Rayleigh said lightly with a teasing smile.
Excitement gleamed in Mihawk's hawk-like pupils. "I originally thought coming to this island would be a wasted trip. I never expected to cross blades with the famous Pluton. This trip has not been in vain!"
Ortolan planted the Warhammer into the ground and rolled his shoulders. His powerful muscles rippled like waves.
Then Ortolan fixed Rayleigh with a blazing stare. "Don't speak too soon. The warm-up is over. Now it's only just beginning!"
The instant his words fell, dense lightning energy began seeping from within his skin. Unlike the wild and violent discharge from before, this energy was quieter.
It clung to the surface of his body without erupting outward.
As the lightning enveloped him, Ortolan's presence gradually rose. His arms were quickly covered in Armament Haki, while faint lightning patterns began to emerge around the corners of his eyes.
The Tanned Tribe possessed a very unusual talent: they could generate vast amounts of static electricity through the friction of their fur, then use that static power to enhance their attacks.
Although Ortolan was a Tanned Tribe hybrid, he did not possess the thick fur of his kin. As a result, he could not generate static electricity through extensive friction at all, making this talent effectively useless to him.
But now that he had mastered the power of the Goro Goro no Mi, things were different. This was lightning power countless times stronger than static electricity.
Relying on his innate talent, his development and control of this lightning seemed to come naturally. He wanted to do it, and he did it!
A massive amount of lightning power gathered over the surface of his body while stimulating his cells, giving Ortolan a remarkable increase in strength, speed, and reaction time.
His gaze locked tightly onto Rayleigh. Two seconds later, he explosively pushed off the ground. This time, he did not use his Devil Fruit power to flash and teleport. Instead, like a tiger descending the mountain, he lunged straight at Rayleigh!
His hands formed claws, lightning coiling around them. With the power of Haki combined with such dense lightning, it felt as though his fingertips could tear open space itself!
Just as Rayleigh prepared to deal with Ortolan's so-called "official start," a slash suddenly shot toward them from the other side!
It was Roger!
"Kamunmiti!!!" Roger shouted.
Naturally, the target was Ortolan. Ortolan instinctively sensed the threat and immediately changed his attack, crossing his Haki-coated, lightning-wreathed arms before his side.
The next second, the slash called Kamunmiti crashed directly into Ortolan's arms. Its overwhelming force instantly lifted his feet from the ground, forced his blocking arms against his chest, and then sent him flying.
"Damn it, no honor at all! A sneak attack!" Ortolan only had time to curse once before he was blasted away.
Fighting the final boss the moment he stepped outside—Roger was one of the sea's very strongest fighters. When Roger launched a sneak attack on Ortolan, there was simply no way Ortolan could dodge it.
Before you continue