"Hahaha... I like your strength, Vic," Roger laughed.
His arm coated in Armament Haki, veins bulging across his forehead, Roger swung his fist with all his might at Patri Vic.
Patri Vic coated his arm in Armament Haki and struck back.
Their immense forces collided, black sparks of lightning flashing around them.
A visible shockwave swept outward like a violent storm.
Many of the pirates watching couldn't withstand the shockwaves and fell to the ground.
Both Roger and Patri Vic wore calm expressions.
Their fists clashed for a full minute before they finally pulled apart.
But the next second, they vanished from the spot and collided again.
Patri Vic found an opening, coated his fist in Haki, and put all his strength into a punch that landed squarely on Roger's face.
At the same time, Roger's fist struck his face.
"Bam! Bam!"
They each took a punch to the face, then flew backward, carving long trenches into the ground.
"The officers of the Rocks Pirates really are no ordinary bunch," Roger praised, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.
They were evenly matched in their contest of Body Technique and Haki.
"You're pretty good yourself," Patri Vic said with a smile.
He wasn't just being polite. He genuinely thought Roger was strong.
Even before he'd fully come into his own, Roger already possessed such terrifying strength. No wonder he would become the Pirate King in the original story.
"He can actually hold his own against our captain?" Gaban pushed up his glasses, somewhat surprised.
In the first half of the Grand Line, their captain Roger was terrifyingly strong.
They had rarely encountered anyone who could stand against him without being at a disadvantage.
As expected, every officer in the Rocks Pirates was a monster.
"The Rocks Pirates are renowned throughout the New World. If one of their officers can stand against our captain, just how terrifying must their captain, Rocks, be?" Gaban mused, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.
"Someone at that level... I doubt even our captain could beat him," Rayleigh said, feeling a little uneasy.
The Roger Pirates had always wanted to go to the New World. In the first half of the Grand Line, few pirate crews could stand against the three of them working together.
But going to the New World meant they might run into the Rocks Pirates. Before, they hadn't paid much attention to them.
Now, though, Rayleigh had realized that even one of the Rocks Pirates' officers could match their captain.
And the Rocks Pirates had plenty of officers. If they clashed with them in the New World, they'd be bound to lose!
Rayleigh thought that once Patri Vic and Roger's fight was over, he should have a serious talk with their captain and suggest they wait a while longer before going to the New World.
After all, heading there too soon, while they were still too weak, could easily get them into trouble.
"Hahaha... Vic, if you hadn't joined the Rocks Pirates, I'd have wanted to invite you to join my crew," Roger laughed.
Patri Vic was nothing like the vicious pirates Roger had imagined. His personality really appealed to him.
And there was no doubt that he was strong.
Roger wanted to recruit Patri Vic, but he knew he was an officer of the Rocks Pirates and would never join his crew.
"I can't join your crew, but how about joining the Rocks Pirates instead?" Patri Vic teased.
"Sorry, Vic. I don't think I'd get along with the Rocks Pirates... But you and I would get along just fine," Roger replied with a shrug.
He had never seen the Rocks Pirates with his own eyes.
But the news reports about their exploits had made him realize that his ideals differed from theirs.
So Roger and the Rocks Pirates weren't on the same wavelength. Naturally, he wouldn't choose to join them.
But Patri Vic, on the other hand, really appealed to him.
Whether the two of them could become close friends, however, remained to be seen.
They were both pirates, after all, and stood on opposing sides. If they met in the New World in the future, they would probably draw their swords against each other.
"I get along with you, too," Patri Vic said slowly.
It was because Roger's personality appealed to him that he was willing to drink with him and spar.
"Gurarara... Vic, if you're done fighting, let me take over," Whitebeard interjected.
When Whitebeard saw Roger's Body Technique and Haki stand up to Patri Vic, he'd grown interested in him.
Even here in Paradise, Whitebeard could tell that Roger was strong.
"Edward, our fight has only just begun," Patri Vic replied, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
"Vic, I'm going to get serious now," Roger said solemnly, drawing the blade at his waist.
Roger was a skilled swordsman. In their fight so far, he hadn't used his swordsmanship; they'd only tested their Haki and Body Technique against each other.
The moment he drew his sword, it was clear that Roger acknowledged Patri Vic's strength. His opponent was finally worthy of a serious fight.
"Then I won't hold back either," Patri Vic said calmly.
Sword in hand, Roger charged straight at Patri Vic.
"Whoosh!"
Roger swung the Western-style sword in both hands and swept it forward with a fierce slash.
A red Sword Qi surged toward Patri Vic like a primordial beast, advancing with unstoppable force and threatening to destroy everything in its path.
Patri Vic coated his entire body in Armament Haki, raised both arms in front of himself, and took the blow head-on.
"Creeeak..."
A long trench appeared in the ground as the force of the blade shoved Patri Vic's body back dozens of meters.
Blood slowly seeped from his Haki-coated arms.
Even with Haki covering his arms, Roger's attack had still injured him—but for Patri Vic, it was nothing serious.
"You really are something, kid," Whitebeard praised Roger.
A single blast of Sword Qi had sent Patri Vic flying dozens of meters and even inflicted a minor wound.
If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed Roger came from "Paradise."
"Our captain has the makings of a king," Gaban replied proudly.
"It's just Conqueror's Haki. It's nothing to brag about," Roger said blandly.
"Don't get distracted while you're fighting, Roger."
Patri Vic had already charged while Roger was turning to answer.
Nintaijutsu power covered his body, and a tremendous pressure bore down on Roger like a massive mountain.
At the same time, his Haki-coated fist came crashing toward Roger's face.
At the critical moment, Roger raised his Western-style sword in front of his face and blocked the blow, but the force sent him skidding across the ground, leaving a trench dozens of meters long.
"Is that the power of a Devil Fruit?" Roger asked, shaking his numb arm.
With Nintaijutsu activated, Patri Vic's strength and speed had both increased dramatically.
Even Roger was surprised by the sheer, brute force.
"I told you I haven't eaten a Devil Fruit. Do you believe me?" Patri Vic replied with a helpless smile.
People always assumed he had a Devil Fruit, but he really hadn't eaten one. He just wasn't "ordinary."
"Do you think I believe you?" Roger said with a laugh.
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