, "What is it?"
Roger looked straight at Patri Vic.
"Do you have any news about Byrnndi World?"
"Byrnndi World?"
Roger paused.
After thinking for a moment, he answered honestly, "As a matter of fact, I did see him a few days ago."
The Roger Pirates hadn't been at sea for long. The ship they were sailing on now wasn't the Oro Jackson, just an ordinary vessel.
They wanted to sail to the New World.
But their ship was too poorly equipped. Even after it had been coated, it was easily destroyed when they encountered Sea Kings.
With no other choice, they had to ask the shipwrights of the Sabaody Archipelago to build them another ship.
That was sure to take quite a while.
They had been staying on the Sabaody Archipelago during that time.
A few days ago, they'd run into Byrnndi World there.
World's name was well known in the New World, too. He had a remarkable track record: provoking Navy Headquarters and attacking the Rocks Pirates Ship before making a clean getaway.
Roger naturally remembered him.
"Do you know where he went?" Patri Vic pressed.
He'd only asked on a whim, but it turned out Roger really did know.
"Wouldn't it be better to have a drink while we talk?" Roger said with a grin.
"Oh?" Patri Vic smiled.
"Ha ha ha... Cheers!"
The three glasses clinked together with a crisp sound.
"It's been a long time since I've had such fine liquor." Whitebeard drank deeply.
"Not bad." Patri Vic set down his glass and praised the drink.
"Ha ha ha... I come here to drink all the time. Out of all the taverns on the Sabaody Archipelago, only this one serves liquor to my taste."
"All right, you can tell me where Byrnndi World is now."
Patri Vic was enjoying his drink, but he hadn't forgotten the main reason he was there.
"Judging by the route he took that day, he should be heading toward North Blue," Roger answered honestly.
"Why are you looking for Byrnndi World?" Rayleigh asked curiously.
"It's nothing. We just want to kill him." Patri Vic took a sip of liquor and answered calmly.
"Is it because he attacked your Rocks Pirates Ship?" Gaban chimed in.
He'd read the news about Byrnndi World. A few months ago, World had attacked the Rocks Pirates Ship, and the incident had made the papers.
That was most likely how he'd made an enemy of the Rocks Pirates.
Patri Vic nodded slightly.
"He's no ordinary opponent," Roger said solemnly.
When they'd met a few days earlier, Roger and Byrnndi World had fought, but they stopped when the Navy got involved.
Roger had still managed to memorize the route World took when he sailed off.
"Are you underestimating us?" Whitebeard laughed.
Byrnndi World was certainly powerful, and he had an extraordinary Devil Fruit.
But Whitebeard was Whitebeard!
Why would he fear some little Byrnndi World?
"Ha ha ha... Want to have a fight, Edward? Let me see how strong the Rocks Pirates' officers are," Roger asked with interest.
Since he'd run into an officer of the Rocks Pirates, this was a perfect opportunity to test the strength of their officers. He couldn't let it pass.
But they weren't fighting to the death; it would just be a friendly spar.
"You want to challenge me? I doubt you could even beat Vic," Whitebeard said with a hearty laugh.
"Is that so?"
As he spoke, Roger looked over at Patri Vic. "How about a fight, Vic?"
Roger was quite curious about the strength of the Rocks Pirates' officers, but he was most curious about Whitebeard.
After all, Whitebeard had spent years in the New World, and his bounty was higher than Patri Vic's.
So Roger naturally assumed Whitebeard was stronger.
But since he couldn't fight Whitebeard, battling Patri Vic was a fine alternative.
"Sure!"
Patri Vic also wanted to find out how strong Roger was now.
······
The two men headed to the shore of the Sabaody Archipelago.
"I'll go easy on you, Vic," Roger said, a confident smile on his face.
"Of course. I'll do the same," Patri Vic replied with a nod.
"Bang!"
The two men vanished from where they stood. A moment later, a deafening boom erupted between them, kicking up a cloud of dust and sand.
Their fists collided.
Though Roger was in the first half of the Grand Line, he was far from weak.
He had mastered the Three Types of Haki, and his Body Technique was impressive, giving him the strength of an officer of the Rocks Pirates.
"Bang, bang, bang!!!"
Neither of them used any other abilities. They relied solely on Armament Haki and Body Technique.
The ground beneath them was riddled with cracks, torn up and utterly devastated.
Their battle naturally drew the attention of many Sabaody residents.
"That man in the straw hat—is he Roger?"
A pirate pulled a wanted poster from his pocket and stared at Roger excitedly. "That's him! Gol D. Roger, with a bounty of four hundred and fifty million Berries!"
Roger's name was well known in the first half of the Grand Line. After all, it was a pirate's paradise, where a bounty of over a hundred million was enough to draw the attention of many powerful people.
And Gol D. Roger had a bounty of four hundred and fifty million Berries!
"Who's the man fighting him?"
Some weaker pirates in the first half of the Grand Line hadn't seen the wanted posters of the New World's strongest pirates yet.
So they didn't recognize Patri Vic.
"He... He's an officer of the Rocks Pirates, Patri Vic!"
A pirate nervously pushed up his glasses, a bead of cold sweat appearing on his forehead.
The Rocks Pirates were a force to be reckoned with throughout the New World, and their name was feared far and wide.
Even if pirates in the first half of the Grand Line hadn't seen the wanted posters of the Rocks Pirates' officers, they'd certainly heard of the Rocks Pirates.
"Why is an officer of the Rocks Pirates here? Could they be planning to take over the Grand Line?"
"If even the Navy can't deal with the Rocks Pirates, taking over the Grand Line would be easy for them."
A pirate swallowed hard and said in a trembling voice.
The New World was universally recognized as the most dangerous sea in the world.
And the Rocks Pirates were thriving even there.
Wouldn't taking over the Grand Line be a piece of cake?
But Rocks didn't care for the pirates of Paradise, and the countries in the first half of the Grand Line were far less wealthy than those in the New World.
So unless something special came up, Rocks had no desire to visit the "countryside."
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