The Bustling West Blue, Shiki and Silver Axe

When was the West Blue at its liveliest? Naturally, right at this very moment.

The battle at God Valley had caused the Rocks Pirates to fall apart. Powerful figures from all sides had struck out on their own, each preparing to usher in a new era.

The entire West Blue had also been stirred into upheaval by the aftermath.

After several days of sailing, the Roger Pirates were finally nearing a new island.

As the navigator of the crew, Jaba stood in the crow's nest atop the mast, holding a spyglass as he observed the island from afar.

"Hm?" As though he had noticed something, Jaba frowned slightly. He lowered the spyglass and called down to the deck, "Hey, something's going on at the island ahead. I saw Rocks' flag and ship."

"Huh?" Roger, who had been playing cards on the deck, said in surprise, "Rocks? That can't be, right? Didn't the newspapers say they all went their separate ways two days ago?"

Vikengam, seated across from Roger, played a card and said calmly, "Nothing impossible about it. There were only so many ships at God Valley. They either took a warship or a pirate ship. Either way, they needed something to leave on, didn't they?"

Rayleigh calmly took Vikengam's card as well, then said, "That's right. This island is also the closest one to God Valley. Everyone rushed to God Valley in such a hurry that supplies were probably short. It's only natural to restock nearby. We might even run into some old acquaintances on the island."

"That makes sense." Roger thought it over and agreed. Just as he was about to play a card, Vikengam and Rayleigh rapidly tossed down their hands, one card after another, finishing them all at once.

"Hey! You two cheated, didn't you? I haven't even played a card yet!" Roger froze for a moment before snapping indignantly.

"You didn't say anything, so we thought you were passing. All right, all right, don't be so stingy. You came in last, so hurry up and pay," Vikengam said with a laugh.

"Pay what? Both jokers are in my hand. How could I possibly pass? You're the ones cheating!" Roger said through gritted teeth.

Rayleigh laughed as well. "Who told you to get distracted? Don't try to weasel out of it."

Amid the noisy bickering, the Oro Jackson gradually approached the island known as Stania.

At that moment, three former members of the Rocks Pirates—Golden Lion Shiki, Silver Axe Kyou, and Catfish Wrestler Babel—had gathered on Stania Island.

It was rather interesting. Shiki and Silver Axe could be considered sworn enemies. The two had plenty of conflicts in the past and had often fought each other across the seas. Even after joining the Rocks Pirates, they frequently clashed.

Yet when escaping God Valley, Shiki had ultimately pulled Silver Axe along. Together with Babel, they had seized back a Rocks Pirates ship and arrived here.

They had gotten here faster than the Roger Pirates because Shiki's ability gave him an advantage in this regard.

Inside a restaurant near the harbor docks, Babel was wolfing down food, with heaps of plates and food scraps piled before him.

Shiki sat arrogantly with his legs propped on the table, a cigar clenched between his teeth. His gaze occasionally swept over Babel and Silver Axe, as though he were pondering something.

Across from him, Silver Axe's eyes were hidden behind sunglasses, making his expression impossible to read. He remained silent, seemingly weighing something as well.

After some time, Babel let out a satisfied burp and patted his stomach. His gaze shifted from side to side before he glanced at Shiki and Silver Axe. "I'm full. The supplies on the ship should be replenished by now too. If you two have something to say, say it quickly. Otherwise, I'll take my share of the treasure and leave first."

As if breaking the deadlock, Shiki exhaled a puff of smoke. "Hah... Hey, Kyou, none of us were prepared for this. That bastard Rocks died there in such a muddled way and threw all our plans into disarray. The Rocks Pirates are basically disbanded now. Linlin, Newgate, and that brat Kaido have all run off somewhere. Only the three of us made it out together. What are you thinking?"

Silver Axe raised a hand and rubbed his temples with some frustration. He clicked his tongue. "My head's a mess too. Like you said, this happened too suddenly. I don't know what to do yet either."

Hearing that, Shiki bared his teeth in a vicious grin. "Even though the two of us have had plenty of grudges and bad blood in the past, we did come from the same ship. Now that Rocks is dead, a new wave of chaos is bound to sweep across these seas. Want to join forces with me and accomplish our old goal?"

"Conquer the world with you?" Silver Axe sneered. "Join forces? Who would be in charge, and who would be second? You don't seriously think I'd recognize you as captain, do you?"

"What? You think I'm not fit to be the boss?" Shiki's expression turned cold, his voice sinister.

Silver Axe grabbed the massive battle axe resting against the wall and said darkly, "What? Want to see whether my axe has enough bite?"

"You bastard..." Seeing this, Shiki placed his hands on the two famous blades hanging at his waist: Kogarashi and Oto.

Seeing that the two were about to fight over a single disagreement, Babel curled his lip in annoyance. "If that's all the nonsense you have to say, then I'll be taking my leave."

With that, his massive body rose from the table. He casually shoved the table aside and started toward the exit.

Both Shiki and Silver Axe frowned at this, but just as they were about to say something, a pirate lackey rushed in from outside in a panic.

"Bosses, this is bad! The Roger Pirates' ship is about to enter the harbor!"

"Roger!?" Shiki looked surprised and immediately stood up.

Silver Axe rose as well. "I didn't expect them to choose this place to restock too."

The two had been ready to fight moments ago, but with the Roger Pirates arriving, Shiki and Silver Axe instinctively chose to face them together.

It had to be said that although the people on Rocks' ship had not gotten along particularly well, they still had some foundation of camaraderie.

"Let's go meet them. Those bastards made quite a haul at God Valley. If they're not in good shape, we'll kill them all and take their treasure!" Shiki said after thinking it over, then strode out first.

Silver Axe did not argue with him over this. Without another word, he picked up his battle axe and followed.

The seamless coordination between those two enemies made Babel, who had just been preparing to leave, look a little dumbfounded.

Watching the two walk out of the restaurant one after the other, Babel laughed angrily. "You two bastards really are cut from the same cloth..."

Still cursing under his breath, he chose to follow them.

The battle at God Valley had been far too chaotic, and the Marines had wiped out many pirates there.

Although the core members of the Rocks Pirates had escaped, a large number of the pirate lackeys who had accompanied them had failed to get out.

Even those who had escaped had split off to follow Newgate, Kaido, and the others. As a result, Shiki's side did not have many underlings at the moment.

As pirates from Rocks' ship, even the lackeys had some sense. They knew exactly what the Roger Pirates were capable of. Those people were extremely difficult to provoke, so without orders from their bosses, they did not dare make trouble first.

They could only watch helplessly as the Oro Jackson sailed into the dock and moored.

Then, a gangplank was lowered from the ship, and Roger took the lead in walking ashore.

It was then that Shiki and the others arrived at the harbor.

"Still as rude as ever, Roger. Didn't you see that we arrived on this island first?" Shiki said mockingly, cigar between his teeth as he stood above the docks and looked down at Roger.

Roger did not hold back either, mocking him in return. "What? Are you planning to inherit the Rocks Pirates and become a pirate here? I haven't heard that Stania Island flies your flag, Shiki."

While the two exchanged threats, Rayleigh and Jaba also came down from the ship and stood behind Roger.

On the other side, though Silver Axe was somewhat displeased, he gave Shiki some face at this moment and stood with Babel on either side of him.

Then, the crews from both sides swiftly gathered around them.

Vikengam knew that he was not strong enough yet and had no intention of forcing his way into the spotlight. He stood silently among the Roger Pirates, letting Jaba, Rayleigh, and the others stand in front of him.