When was the West Blue at its liveliest? Naturally, it was right now.
The battle at God Valley had caused the Rocks Pirates to fall apart. Powerful figures from every faction had struck out on their own, each preparing to usher in a new era.
The entire West Blue had also been stirred into no small number of waves by the aftermath.
After sailing for several days, the Roger Pirates were finally nearing a new island.
As the navigator of the pirate crew, Gaban stood atop the crow's nest on the mast, holding a spyglass as he observed the island in the distance.
"Hm?" As if he had noticed something, Gaban lightly furrowed his brow. He put away the spyglass and called down to the deck, "Hey, there's something 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? No way, didn't the papers say they all went their separate ways a couple of 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 stole Marine warships or pirate ships. Either way, if they wanted to leave that place, they needed a ride, didn't they?"
Rayleigh calmly took Vikengam's card and added, "That's right. This island is also the closest one to God Valley. Everyone had rushed there in such a hurry that supplies were short. It makes sense to resupply nearby. We might even run into some old acquaintances on the island."
"That makes sense." Roger thought it over and felt that was indeed the case. Just as he was about to play a card, Vikengam and Rayleigh rapidly tossed down card after card, finishing their hands in an instant.
"Hey! You two cheated, didn't you? I hadn't even played yet!" Roger froze for a moment before saying indignantly.
"You didn't say anything, so we thought you were passing. All right, all right, stop being so stingy. You came in last, so hurry up and pay." Vikengam laughed.
"Pay what? I have both jokers! How could I possibly be passing? You're cheating!" Roger said through gritted teeth.
Rayleigh also smiled. "Whose fault is it for getting distracted? Don't be a sore loser."
Amid the noisy bickering, the Oro Jackson gradually approached the island called Stania.
Meanwhile, on Stania Island, three former members of the Rocks Pirates—Golden Lion Shiki, Silver Axe Xiong, and Catfish Wrestler Babel—had gathered there.
It was rather interesting. Shiki and Silver Axe could be considered sworn enemies. The two had plenty of conflicts in the past and had fought and clashed across the seas more than once. Even after joining the Rocks Pirates, they often butted heads.
Yet when escaping God Valley, Shiki had ultimately lent Silver Axe a hand. Together with Babel, they had seized back a Rocks Pirates ship and arrived here.
They had reached the island before the Roger Pirates because Shiki's ability gave him a greater advantage in this regard.
Inside a restaurant near the harbor docks, Babel was wolfing down food with his head lowered. A huge number of empty plates and scraps of food were piled before him.
Shiki was even more arrogant, with his legs propped atop the table and a cigar clenched between his teeth. His gaze occasionally swept over Babel and Silver Axe, as though he were considering something.
Silver Axe sat across from him, his eyes hidden behind sunglasses, making his expression impossible to read. He remained silent, as if weighing something as well.
After some time, Babel let out a full belch and patted his belly. 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 nearly replenished too. If you two have something to say, say it now. Otherwise, I'll take my share of the treasure and leave first."
As though breaking the deadlock, Shiki exhaled a puff of smoke. "Hah... Hey, Xiong, none of us were prepared for this. That bastard Rocks died there in such a muddleheaded way and threw all our plans into disarray. Now the Rocks Pirates have effectively disbanded. No one knows where Linlin, Newgate, and that brat Kaido ran off to. Only the three of us made it out together. What are you thinking?"
Silver Axe raised a hand and rubbed his temples, looking rather troubled. He smacked his lips and said, "My mind is a mess too. Like you said, everything happened too suddenly. I don't know what to do for the moment either."
Hearing that, Shiki grinned, revealing a fierce smile. "Though you and I have had plenty of grudges between us, we did come off the same ship, more or less. With Rocks dead, a new storm is bound to rise across these seas. Want to join hands with me and accomplish our previous goal?"
"Conquer the world with you?" Silver Axe sneered. "Join hands? Who's in charge, and who's beneath the other? You don't seriously think I'd acknowledge you as captain, do you?"
"What? You think I don't deserve to be the boss?" Shiki's expression darkened as he spoke viciously.
Silver Axe grabbed the enormous battle axe leaning against the wall, his face gloomy. "What? Want to see whether my axe has enough bite?"
"You bastard..." Shiki placed his hands on the two famed blades at his waist, Kogarashi and Oto.
Seeing the two of them about to come to blows over a single disagreement, Babel curled his lips in displeasure. "If that's all the nonsense you two have to say, then I'll be taking my leave."
As soon as he finished speaking, his massive body rose from the dining 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 underling rushed in from outside in a panic.
"Bosses, bad news! The Roger Pirates' ship is about to enter the harbor!"
"Roger!?" Shiki looked surprised and immediately rose to his feet.
Silver Axe stood as well. "I didn't expect them to choose this place to resupply too."
The two had been ready to fight each other 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, there was still some foundation of camaraderie between them.
"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 took the lead out the door.
Silver Axe did not argue with him over this. Without another word, he picked up his battle axe and followed.
The fact that these two rivals were so in sync made Babel, who had just been preparing to leave, look rather dumbfounded.
Watching the two men walk out of the restaurant one after the other, Babel laughed in irritation. "You two bastards really are cut from the same cloth..."
Still, after grumbling and cursing, he chose to follow them.
The battle at God Valley had been far too chaotic, and the Marines had wiped out quite a few pirates there as well.
Although the core members of the Rocks Pirates had all escaped, a large number of the pirate underlings 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 subordinates at the moment.
As pirates who had served on Rocks' ship, even the underlings had some sense. They knew perfectly well what the Roger Pirates were capable of. In short, they were not people to provoke lightly. Without orders from their bosses, none of them dared make the first move.
They could only watch helplessly as the Oro Jackson sailed into the docks and moored there.
Then, a gangplank was lowered from the ship, and Roger took the lead as he stepped ashore.
It was at that moment that Shiki and the others arrived at the harbor.
"You're really lacking in manners, Roger. Didn't you see that we got to this island first?" Shiki stood above the docks with a cigar between his teeth, looking down at Roger with mockery in his voice.
Roger was no less sarcastic. "What? Are you planning to inherit the Rocks Pirates and become a pirate lord here? I never heard that Stania Island flew your flag, Shiki."
While the two exchanged threats, Rayleigh and Gaban also came down from the ship and stood behind Roger.
Across from them, although Silver Axe was somewhat displeased, he gave Shiki some face at this moment and stood with Babel at Shiki's left and right.
Then, the crews from both sides quickly gathered around them.
Vikengam knew his strength was still insufficient, so he had no intention of forcing his way into the spotlight. He stood silently among the Roger Pirates, keeping Gaban, Rayleigh, and the others in front of him.
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