Whitebeard Pirates

For a while after that, Buggy kept working hard to get familiar with his Devil Fruit ability—after all, it was now part of his body and his means of survival.

Shirakawa hadn't been idle either, training like his life depended on it. No, seriously, like his life depended on it. Aside from training, he only ate; the crew never once saw him sleep.

"If you keep training like this, your body will break down sooner or later, and then you won't achieve your goal anyway," one crewmate warned Shirakawa.

"Relax, I know my own body better than anyone."

The pirate who'd warned him shook his head helplessly. He'd already written Shirakawa off as someone too stubborn to listen—he'd regret it once he tasted the bitter fruit.

But to his utter shock, Shirakawa kept up that training regimen, and his spirits remained high, with no sign of his body collapsing.

"What kind of Devil Fruit did he eat to be this insane?" Seeing Shirakawa's reckless training, the other crewmates were deeply envious. If only they had a Devil Fruit like that.

"This kid, what got into him? Is he trying to go crazy?" Roger walked over, drinking beer and enjoying the sea breeze as he watched Shirakawa train.

"Probably those recent fights got to him. He never had a chance to clash with any other crew's officers—only cleaned up small fries. Not enough to measure up, but too much to settle for."

"So he's trying to break through?"

"Yeah. I heard he's been learning Observation Haki from Gaban. No idea how far he's gotten."

"Only one way to find out." Roger downed a bottle in one gulp and tossed the empty bottle straight at the training Shirakawa.

No question about it—Shirakawa dodged it.

"Not bad. Looks like your Observation Haki wasn't a waste," Roger praised as he saw him dodge.

"Hey, Captain, that throw was way too obvious. Even without Observation Haki, I could've dodged that."

His training interrupted, Shirakawa decided to take a break.

"Oh, really?" Roger laughed it off. He'd just tossed it casually, without any extra force or speed.

"By the way, Rayleigh, I want to learn Armament Haki." During the break, Shirakawa turned his gaze to Rayleigh, who looked completely indifferent.

"Then learn from Gaban. He knows Armament too."

"But I feel like your Armament Haki is stronger than his."

"Is that so? If you say that, I guess I have no choice." Rayleigh laughed. Even on the Roger Pirates, there was a bit of rivalry.

Though Rayleigh was the first mate of the Roger Pirates, Gaban's standing was in no way inferior.

"Then why did you go to Gaban for Observation Haki? Do you think my Observation is worse than his?"

"You said that yourself. I never said it." Shirakawa spread his hands, looking innocent.

"You little brat." Rayleigh cursed with a laugh.

"Captain, trouble!" Just then, a crewmate came running over in a panic, sweat pouring down his forehead.

"What is it?" Roger's expression turned serious. Not many things could make his crew look like that.

"Captain, ahead—the Whitebeard Pirates are up ahead!" the crewmate shouted loudly.

"Newgate, huh." Roger broke into a long-missed, excited smile and walked toward the front of the ship.

Sure enough, ahead of their ship, the Moby Dick was anchored there, as if waiting specifically for them.

Shirakawa wanted to witness the man hailed as the world's strongest, so he followed Roger to the front of the ship.

There he saw Whitebeard, young and in his prime, standing at the bow of his ship, holding his signature greatsword—one of the Twelve Supreme Great Fast Swords, Murakumogiri.

Behind Whitebeard stood his division commanders, not much different from Shirakawa's memory, except that the second division commander was a samurai.

"Long time no see, Whitebeard," Roger called out, greeting him.

"I've been waiting for you a long time, Roger," Whitebeard shot back without backing down.

"So this is the man hailed as the world's strongest, Whitebeard Newgate?" Shirakawa marveled. Even from a distance, he could feel Whitebeard's presence. That single shout had stirred up considerable waves.

"Is that so? I want to see him too."

When Roger said that, the atmosphere between the two crews instantly grew tense, a fight ready to break out at any moment.

"Is it starting?"

Shirakawa thought to himself. Just then, Rayleigh suddenly patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't be nervous. We're old friends with Whitebeard. But when the fight comes, if you have to go for the kill, don't hold back."

"I understand." Shirakawa nodded seriously, taking every word Rayleigh said to heart.

The Roger Pirates continued forward, stopping just before they would have collided with the Whitebeard Pirates' ship. Both crews disembarked and walked onto the island where they'd anchored.

If those two crews were going to fight, they absolutely couldn't do it on the ships—one wrong move and the ships could be destroyed.

"Long time no see, Oden." Roger greeted another pirate beside Whitebeard. Oden's full name was Kozuki Oden, head of the Kozuki Family of Wano Country, and currently the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.

But Roger had taken a special liking to him and had been trying to recruit him onto his own ship.

"Hey, Roger, I'm still standing right here," Whitebeard said, his face dark. Trying to poach someone else's crewmate right in front of him—that wasn't exactly polite.

"Newgate, you wouldn't be waiting here for me for no reason. Spit it out—what's the matter?"

"Do you really not know why I'm here?"

As Whitebeard finished speaking, he suddenly raised his naginata with both hands and slashed toward Roger, who likewise drew his sword without hesitation to block the strike.

Then, at the point where their weapons clashed, an overwhelming burst of Conqueror's Haki erupted. The sky, which had been perfectly clear moments before, instantly turned dark and oppressive, as if a thunderstorm was about to break at any moment.

With that, the battle between Whitebeard and the Roger Pirates began. Each chose a familiar opponent: Rayleigh against Kozuki Oden, Gaban against Marco, and the other officers paired off against their counterparts.

Meanwhile, as the two pirate crews clashed, the Marines received word—sent by the Marine officer monitoring Whitebeard.

"Roger and Whitebeard have crossed paths again, have they? Sengoku, you and Garp go, and bring those three little monsters along too." At the time, Kong, still the Fleet Admiral, gave the order to Sengoku.

As for Garp, he had already set off the moment he heard news of Roger.

Those three little monsters were, of course, the future three Marine Admirals: Aokiji, Akainu, and Kizaru.