Golden Lion

Buggy and Kizaru fought fiercely for a while, clearing a large area around the deck of the Marine warship. The two exchanged a powerful kick and retreated. Buggy took six or seven steps back, slightly panting, while Kizaru only took two steps back, making their strength obvious.

"Yo~~ Are all the rookie pirates in Roger Pirates this strong...?" Kizaru said casually, but his increasingly sharp eyes revealed his true thoughts, "If we don't arrest you here, it'll cause big trouble later..."

At this thought, he couldn't help but pause, for in that instant of eye contact with Buggy, he seemed to vaguely see a flicker of determination in the other's eyes, a conviction that he wanted to die together with him. He couldn't help but say, "You... it seems you still want to struggle..."

Buggy withdrew his gaze, closed his mouth, and breathed through his nose, trying to calm his heaving chest and conceal his physical condition. He glanced down at his injuries and thought, "My Armament Haki is exhausted. I can't hurt him anymore. I need to get away quickly!"

Kizaru once again misunderstood Buggy's gaze, and said with a casual, lewd grin, "Yo~~ You Red Nose guy, are you really planning to die...?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Buggy darted out from the sparsely populated area, disappearing in the blink of an eye twenty or thirty meters away.

"Kindness?!"

Kizaru stared in the direction Buggy had fled, momentarily stunned. He blinked a few times before snapping out of his daze, his expression slightly annoyed. He conjured a yellow light in his hand, "Yata Mirror!"

The light refracted through the air, rapidly approaching Buggy and suddenly appearing before him, glaring angrily, "I'm not going to let you get away like that!"

Kizaru raised his foot, and in the next instant, he delivered a light-speed kick. This kick was faster than all the previous ones, and its power was also extraordinary. It kicked Buggy, who was unable to cover his body with Armament Haki, off the deck and sent him flying outwards like Inazuma.

The burst of power caused Buggy excruciating pain. Blood flowed from his mouth, nose, and ears, lingering briefly in the air before dripping down. As the force subsided, his body fell into the sea in a parabolic trajectory.

A black shadow flashed in the air, a long arm gently scooped Buggy up and hoisted him onto its shoulder, then leaped through the air and landed steadily on the deck of the Ailanford.

Rayleigh threw Buggy's body onto the deck, saying with a hint of relief, "You're lucky I saw you, or you'd be dead!"

Buggy's back slammed against the deck, causing him to cry out in pain. His face twitched with embarrassment. He quickly looked around and saw that all the sailors on the deck had been cleared out.

At that moment, scorching lava was billowing from the stern of a nearby Marine warship, and it was still spreading outwards.

It was thanks to Gaban's deliberate provocation of Akainu that the latter acted rashly and attacked with all his might, causing damage to the warship and injuring many of the accompanying marines. This incident also distracted Garp, who had no time to care about Roger anymore and immediately returned to the ship, instructing Aokiji to freeze the scalding lava to prevent the warship from disintegrating and to treat the injured marines.

Summoned by Roger, the other pirates rushed back to the Ailanford from the warship that had become a battlefield. After gathering everyone, the Ailanford, under command, quickly fled into the distance.

Kizaru had intended to use his Glint-Glint Fruit powers to try and disrupt the departure of the Ailanford, but seeing the group of menacing pirates, he stopped in his tracks with great caution. He didn't want to ruin his naval career here, or even lose his life.

Akainu was also furious and wanted to attack again, but Garp stopped him and scolded him, saying that the most important thing now was to rescue the wounded, not to chase the pirates.

Aokiji saw it most clearly. He scratched his head, slung his shoulder bag over his shoulder, and went to help.

After the Marine warship disappeared from sight, Crocus began bandaging the pirates' wounds, leaving those with minor injuries to treat themselves.

Inside the room.

"Your body is getting stronger and stronger, Buggy!" Crocus applied herbs to Buggy's wound, bandaged it up, and patted the latter hard on the back.

"It hurts, it hurts..." Buggy grimaced, the pain from his wound indescribable.

"You rest first, I still need to go see the other guys," Crocus said before leaving the room.

Buggy lay on his small bed, increasingly doubting the reality of everything. While his current strength on the Ailanford was not considered formidable, and he couldn't compare to the top three— Roger, Rayleigh, and Gaban— he was also far from his former self. Shanks, who hadn't yet undergone significant growth, was no match for him, and he could even contend with mid-level combatants.

In reality, this is an absolutely absurd thing that could never happen—that someone could undergo such a huge change in strength and Awakening dual-color Haki through less than a month of combat training.

Buggy didn't believe it. If strength could be increased so easily, then this world would be overrun with monsters long ago...

But this is all a dream, so how can I wake up? Even the chilling feeling of death can't rouse me. What else can I do? Should I really jump into the sea?

But if what happened on the Ailanford was true, wouldn't committing suicide seem incredibly foolish?

Buggy couldn't figure it out, unable to distinguish between reality and illusion. He sighed slightly. It seemed that he should just take it one step at a time rather than act blindly. With his current strength, if he could really go to Laugh Tale with Roger, he should be allowed to go to the island with him.

Perhaps, I will be able to find the real One Piece in this "reality".

While recovering from his injuries, Buggy also meditated on developing his Devil Fruit powers, making the most of every moment.

Time flows slowly, like the rising and setting sun.

Buggy's injuries had improved slightly, so he began to ask Rayleigh for advice on combat techniques. Shanks to use his full strength, and thus had lost the purpose of becoming a whetstone.

Rayleigh naturally accepted Buggy's challenge and, on the contrary, greatly admired the latter's ambition. While blocking Buggy's attacks, he also pointed out the latter's shortcomings in physical skills with great relish.

As time went on, Roger also became interested, occasionally interjecting with his own words during Rayleigh's guidance. Eventually, he and Rayleigh each took turns handling the first and second halves of the match.

Facing these two top-tier fighters, Buggy felt immense pressure, but it only fueled his competitive spirit. He completely abandoned his confusion about whether this was a dream or reality, and devoted all his energy to the battle and training, becoming incredibly fanatical.

Besides Roger and Rayleigh, Gaban would occasionally Buggy's challenges with great interest. The other crew members were also curious about Buggy's significant increase in strength and all asked to duel him one-on-one.

Even Buggy, who could hold his own against a young Kizaru, still had many pirates on his ship who could easily defeat him and took pleasure in it.

Aside from pirates or marines who attack without warning, Buggy's daily training has become busier—with duel invitations from hundreds of people on his ship.

Time flies, and more than three months have passed in the blink of an eye, but the duel on the deck continues as usual.

"That Buggy kid, I don't know how he got so strong!"

"Who says otherwise? Even I was defeated by this kid a few days ago."

"Haha, it seems our ship is destined to produce a legendary pirate!"

"Don't talk about the future, I think he's already here!"

The pirates discussed the topic with great enthusiasm, while their eyes were fixed on the center of the group, where they shouted encouragement.

Rayleigh and Buggy stood in the middle of the deck, exchanging blows, but neither used their full strength, controlling their power to avoid overdoing it and damaging the deck.

The two were basically exchanging moves and using different body styles.

Buggy's strength has now recovered to about 70-80% of its original level, and even his Devil Fruit ability has been Awakening. Although he can withstand Rayleigh's attacks for a short time, he can easily fall into a disadvantageous position. This is determined by his overall ability, spirit, and experience.

However, it is incredible that he could grow from a low-level apprentice crew member to someone who could fight Dark King Rayleigh in just three months!

"Clap clap clap--"

Just as the pirates were watching the duel with great interest, a burst of applause suddenly came from the air, and someone laughed, "Hahaha, this is so interesting! Roger, when did your ship acquire such a skilled fighter!"

The fighting stopped, and everyone looked up. The newcomer had long, flowing golden hair like a lion's mane, wore orange and yellow clothes, had two swords at his waist, and a cigar in his mouth. The first impression he gave was one of arrogance!

"So it's you, Shiki..." Roger looked up at the sky, his tone neither warm nor cold. He wasn't exactly welcoming, but he wasn't deliberately trying to get rid of him either.

"Roger, it's been a long time since we last met, hasn't it?" Shiki landed from the sky and sat on the ship's railing, reminiscing with amusement.

"It will probably take a long time..."

"Hahahaha!" the Golden Lion laughed, "It seems you don't miss your old friend!"

"I don't think there's anything to say between us, is there?" Roger said coldly.

Golden Lion didn't seem to care much about Roger's opinion. "How could that be? We've known each other for so many years, we should have endless things to talk about!"

"..."

Roger narrowed his eyes slightly, but Gaban spoke up instead, "Shiki, just say what you want to say, don't beat around the bush!"

"Brother Gaban, you're so straightforward! Hahaha!"

The Golden Lion's lips curled into a smile, his intentions becoming clear. "I've said this countless times, Roger. Though we had our share of grudges in our youth, let's forget about them. With the world-destroying weapon you know of, my military strength, and the perfect plan I've spent years developing, we can rule this world in no time..."

His eyes gleamed with an aggressive excitement that pierced Roger's very soul. "Come, become my right arm!!"

"Really,"

Roger remained unmoved and said firmly, "Shiki, you still have this goal. However, I will not grant your request. I have no interest in ruling the world. What's the point of being a pirate if you can't do what you want?"

"No, don't rush to answer me. I'll give you a few days to think it over, and I believe you'll make the right decision!"

Having said that, the Golden Lion laughed heartily and floated up, disappearing into the distance as a tiny golden dot.

Even after leaving, a figure like Golden Lion left a strong sense of oppression on the ship. Roger didn't pay any attention to it, but Buggy felt a mix of unease and an indescribable desire for battle, vaguely sensing that something was about to happen.

Sure enough, three days later, the weather changed drastically. The sea became turbulent, sometimes with waves hundreds of meters high, and sometimes with currents flowing down like landslides.

Not far away on the sea, there were countless pirate ships, with all sorts of pirates standing on the decks. There were ordinary pirates, as well as pirates with bounties of over 100 million, and even several great pirates with bounties as high as 500 or 600 million. They were all famous figures in the New World, and they had all gathered under the command of the Flying Pirates led by Golden Lion.

The Golden Lion hovered in the air, gazing at the Ailanford, confident yet extremely arrogant, "Roger, how about it? You should be able to give me a satisfactory answer, right?"

"I refuse! I will not cooperate with you, Shiki!"

Roger's voice could still be heard clearly amidst the crashing waves.

The sky was shrouded in dark clouds, gloomy and gray, like a drop of ink falling into a small basin of water, where white and black mingled together, yet remained distinct, each occupying its own space.

The Golden Lion's composure vanished, replaced by a hint of embarrassment and anger. He spoke in a threatening tone, "You mean I should kill you right now, Roger?"

Roger remained unfazed, a smile playing on his lips, and shouted with a powerful voice, "No, it means I will crush you all!"

Blind confidence can cause you to lose everything completely!

The Golden Lion frowned deeply, his face turning cold. "Since you're going to betray my good intentions, then we have nothing more to say!"

He flew back to the fleet's flagship and gave the order. Instantly, countless pirate ships braved the wind and waves from all directions, surrounding the Ailanford.

Rayleigh asked habitually, "Roger, what do we do?"

Roger smirked, "Now that things have come to this, it's time for war!"

"Let them know that the Roger Pirates aren't to be trifled with," Buggy responded first, a smug smile playing on his lips as he gazed at the gloomy sky. "What will be the outcome of this Battle of Edd War...?"

All the pirates on deck were full of morale. They had experienced countless battles, big and small, and had overcome all obstacles. Even if the enemy was the famous Golden Lion, they would never be forced to submit—because they had seen that even the youngest member of the ship, Buggy, had made such a resolution!