The Cannon Roared

"This is it."

The pirate ship gradually descended. Louis had good eyesight, and he could already see the people aboard the ship below, make out their faces.

"Gol D. Roger!"

He looked unremarkable. Compared to Golden Lion's wild, domineering presence and lion-like appearance, Roger looked like an ordinary pirate from the New World—no, from any of the Four Blues. He wore a hat with two points and sported a thick mustache, and he held a sword whose make was hard to identify. His face was neither handsome nor ugly. The man standing beside him, Pluto Rayleigh, seemed more like a great pirate.

And yet this unremarkable man had single-handedly ushered in the turbulent Great Pirate Era. He was the man everyone acknowledged as the One Piece.

"Jiehahahaha! We meet again, Roger!"

Golden Lion's voice boomed across the sky. "How've you been?"

"I'd be doing just fine if I hadn't run into you!"

Roger sneered.

The two men faced each other across the sky, one high above and the other below.

"Golden Lion, what do you want?"

Roger's voice rang out, loud enough to carry like a storm to even the rearmost pirate ships.

"I've told you plenty of times, Roger. A lot happened between us when we were young, but let's wipe the slate clean now! I don't care about it anymore!"

Golden Lion extended his right hand and clenched it, as if he held the whole world in his grasp. "The two of us could join forces. With the Ancient Weapon that only you know the location of—the one that can destroy the world—along with my forces and the perfect plan I've spent years putting together, this world..."

"Will be ours in no time!!!"

More pirate ships converged from every direction. Not only the sky, but the sea as well was blocked by pirate ships. The Roger Pirates were surrounded on all sides.

"I have no interest in ruling! Shiki, you've had it wrong from the start! What's the point of being a pirate if you can't do whatever you want?"

Roger's voice grew especially fierce. "Do you think you can make me submit? No matter how much pressure you put on me! No matter how many times you ask! My answer is always the same, Golden Lion—"

"I refuse!!!"

Louis felt an overwhelming force bearing down on him. It wasn't Conqueror's Haki, just sheer presence. This man was a monster who could rival Golden Lion.

"Captain! Couldn't you just go along with him a little? There are dozens—no, hundreds of ships here!!!"

Louis could faintly hear a shrill voice shouting.

"Jiehahahaha!! So what you're saying is, Roger..."

Golden Lion's laughter boomed. "You want me to kill you right here?"

"No."

Roger raised his sword and swung with all his might. A roaring slash shot into the sky, like a Milky Way splitting heaven and earth, and hurtled straight toward Golden Lion's flagship.

"I'm saying I'll defeat you all right here!"

"Jiehahahaha!!!!"

"Wave Slash!"

An equally dazzling slash suddenly came down from Golden Lion's flagship and collided with Roger's.

"Whoosh."

A gale suddenly swept across the sky and sea.

"Ugh."

Louis shielded his face with his arm. The gust from that casual exchange alone nearly blew him away. If he actually had to face an attack like that, well...

"Don't be afraid, Mario," Captain Rhode said beside him. "We're not the main fighting force! All we need to do now is provide artillery support."

"Roger! Since you've refused my generous offer..."

Golden Lion shouted, "Then die!!!"

"Boom!!!"

Without a moment's hesitation, the enormous cannons on Golden Lion's flagship erupted in flames. The oversized cannonballs were a caliber above even fortress guns, moving too fast for the naked eye to follow as they roared away, trailing long tongues of fire.

As if someone had pulled the trigger on a starting pistol, every pirate crew under Golden Lion's command began firing at once.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!"

The cannons' thunder shook the sky as a dark mass of cannonballs hurtled toward the Roger Pirates.

"Fire! Fire!"

Louis shouted aboard the Blood Hand Pirates' ship. "Don't hold back on the ammunition! Don't give them a chance to catch their breath!"

This was where their numerical advantage showed. One volley from the Golden Lion Grand Fleet, which had surrounded the Roger Pirates, sent a volume of cannonballs that dwarfed the Roger Pirates' ships hurtling their way with terrifying force. Even if only a tenth of them hit, it would be enough to blow the Olga Jackson to pieces, despite the ship being built from Adam Tree.

"Whoa! We're done for!!!"

A red-nosed kid aboard Roger's ship covered his face and shrieked in despair. "We're definitely going to be sunk this time!!"

"Buggy! Quiet!"

The red-haired brat in the straw hat pressed a hand down on his companion's head. "Quiet!"

"One side each. No problem, right?"

Roger stepped forward and swung his sword. His slash was even more powerful than the last, forming an impassable barrier that swept away every cannonball ahead of them. It didn't stop there: like a tsunami, it instantly wiped out several pirate ships in front of them.

"Then I'll take the left."

Rayleigh adjusted his glasses and drew the long sword at his waist.

"I'll take the right."

The man with a ponytail and sunglasses looked to the right.

"Then I suppose the rear is left to me?"

The gentle-looking man in a kimono turned around.

"Whoa! What was that?"

Louis exclaimed. That kind of firepower had all been stopped by a single slash—and it had even sunk more than twenty warships from the Golden Lion Pirates.

"Are the Roger Pirates all monsters? And do they all use swords?"

"I have to admit, when it comes to top-tier fighters, the Roger Pirates are unmatched in the New World."

Rhode sighed, then rallied. "But even so, they're doomed today!"

"Jiehahahaha! Nicely done, Roger!"

A golden streak cut across the sky as Golden Lion soared upward. "But what about this?!"

"Boom!"

A Spiral Slash spiraled down from above, striking the Olga Jackson like a tornado.

"Roger, this won't work. We can't keep going like this—we're too passive."

Rayleigh launched another slash, setting off a chain of explosions in the air.

"Hahahaha! I'll take care of that bastard Shiki!"

Roger laughed, lightly leapt onto the mast, and pushed off hard. His body shot into the sky. Geppo wasn't especially difficult; plenty of the New World's strongest pirates could use it.

"That bastard!"

Rayleigh laughed, cursing him.

"Hahahaha, Mr. Rayleigh, let's go have some fun!"

The grinning Big Cat said, carrying a trident in each hand. A Big Dog stood beside him.

"Hahahaha! Then let's have some fun!"

Rayleigh laughed. "Full speed ahead!! We'll charge into their fleet! Firepower is their advantage, but that may not be true once we're fighting ship to ship!!"

The Olga Jackson braved the Golden Lion Grand Fleet's terrifying barrage and began charging toward the fleet on the sea.