Shiki and the others had come to this island for supplies. There was nothing particularly valuable on the island, and they had just plundered a pile of treasure. They had not even sorted out whether they were breaking up or continuing their partnership.
So they had not raided this island.
But now that the Roger Pirates had arrived and the two sides faced off, the atmosphere on the island suddenly became tense.
"Are you going to start fighting over a disagreement? You pirates really have an exciting way of doing things," Vikengam said quietly from behind Gaban and Rayleigh.
"You're a pirate now too. Don't get your position confused," Rayleigh reminded him.
"Hahaha, he's still just a kid, and a scholar at that. It's normal for him to have reservations when facing people like Shiki. But don't worry, Viking. Before long, you'll get used to it," Gaban said with a laugh.
Clearly, whether it was Rayleigh, Gaban, or the rest of the Roger Pirates, all of them were eager to fight. Apparently, they had not had enough fun at God Valley.
Shiki, on the other side, carefully observed Roger and spotted some bandages exposed beneath his collar.
After noticing this, Shiki raised a brow and said with a sinister smile, "Your injuries haven't even healed yet, and you want to fight me, Roger?"
Roger grabbed his collar and tore it open, revealing the bandages beneath. He showed no weakness as he said, "I'm a little injured, but it's more than enough to deal with you."
The moment he said that, Shiki's gaze darkened. Being looked down on like this clearly made him extremely unhappy.
After a brief silence, a vicious glint suddenly flashed through Shiki's eyes. Kogarashi in his left hand rang as it left its sheath, sending a slash flying straight at Roger. "Slashing Wave!"
Roger had been waiting for this. Without the slightest hesitation, Ace flashed from his waist with a cold gleam as he swung it at Shiki. "Wild Spirit!"
The two slashes collided at high speed, erupting with a violent shockwave.
At the same time, as though this had been a signal, both sides moved at once!
As one of the sea's foremost great axe wielders, Gaban naturally fixed his eyes on Silver Axe. Grinning, he said, "I'll take this one!"
As soon as he spoke, he gripped his axe with both hands, spun it in a flourish, and charged forward.
Rayleigh also drew the sword at his waist. "That Fish-Man is yours. You know about Roger's injuries. It might be disadvantageous to let him fight Shiki alone, so I need to help him!"
"Huh? Me?" Vikengam froze and pointed at his own nose.
I'm fighting Babel?
He had thought he would just fight some of Shiki's underling fodder. How had he suddenly ended up facing one of the Rocks Pirates' top officers?
If he remembered correctly, Babel had a bounty of over four hundred million Beli!
This was not the Straw Hat era, when bounties had inflated ridiculously. At present, a bounty over one hundred million marked someone as a true pirate of the seas, let alone four hundred million Beli.
I'm an eighteen-year-old scholar, and I'm supposed to fight a top officer on Rocks' ship with a bounty of over four hundred million Beli?
But before he could think any further, Rayleigh had already charged out, joining Roger in fighting Shiki.
Gaban had also swiftly entered battle with Silver Axe. Their battle axes howled, and violent currents of air rapidly swept across the entire harbor.
At the same time, Shiki's pirate underlings and the Roger Pirates' combatants all began roaring.
"What are you standing around for!? Get in there!" Doringer, a combatant wielding a large axe himself, shouted as he rushed past Vikengam.
"Take them down! Those bastards must have looted plenty of treasure from God Valley too!" Don Chino roared, gripping a heavy anchor.
At this point, I might as well fight first!
Vikengam swiftly gathered his thoughts. The chain around his arm loosened, and the one-handed axe known as "Merciless" slid down into his palm. After a simple windup, he hurled it straight at Babel.
"You pieces of fodder..." Babel bellowed, raising a hand and sending Doringer flying along with his battle axe in a single Haki-coated palm strike.
Doringer had clearly seen plenty of big battles. The small demonic wings on his back flapped rapidly, stabilizing him in midair.
"You're a Fish-Man calling other people fodder? That's some pretty dark humor," Don Chino said as he viciously smashed his anchor, which looked even larger than himself, toward Babel.
"Fish-Man Karate: Shark Tile True Punch!" Babel did not bother replying, throwing a straight punch from where he stood.
The powerful fist collided with the anchor. As a genuine top officer aboard Rocks' ship, Babel's strength was fully displayed in that instant. Don Chino could not withstand such force at all. His footing slipped, and he was sent flying along with his anchor.
At that moment, Vikengam's chain axe smashed into the arm Babel had used to throw the straight punch. Vikengam then gave it a hard yank, and the chain sprang upward like a serpent, swiftly wrapping around Babel's arm.
"I'll fucking make you fly!" Vikengam roared as he bound Babel, exerting force with both arms and violently pulling the chain.
After eating a Mythical Zoan fruit, his strength had increased tremendously. Judging from his contest of strength with Bartholomew Kuma, he now possessed roughly the strength of an ordinary giant.
But clearly, he was still far inferior to Babel. After all, this man was known aboard Rocks' ship as the "Catfish Wrestler."
Caught off guard, Babel was pulled forward by Vikengam and staggered two steps. But that was all. He quickly steadied himself, forcefully drew in the arm bound by the chain, and bellowed, "For a piece of fodder, your strength is decent. But this is as far as you go. Get over here!"
The surging power gave Vikengam no room to resist, and he was directly yanked toward Babel.
"Nozdon!" Vikengam shouted as he was dragged through the air.
Then, a muscular man over ten meters tall, no smaller than Babel, punched away one of Shiki's underlings who had been tangling with him. He grinned. "Coming!"
The next second, Vikengam reached Babel. Babel's other hand was already poised to strike, ready to deliver a heavy blow in midair.
But clearly, due to a lack of intelligence, he did not know that Vikengam was a Devil Fruit user.
"Frost Breath!" Before Babel could throw his punch, Vikengam opened his mouth and blasted out a stream of freezing breath.
The distance between them was extremely short, and Babel had no defense against it at all. The frost breath directly hit him in the face.
Biting cold erupted at once, completely freezing his enormous body in almost an instant.
At the same time, the hulking Nozdon arrived. He condensed Armament Haki in one hand, coating his fist with it, and without a word, threw a heavy punch at Babel's frozen body!
The fierce punch shattered the ice in a single blow, but immediately afterward, Babel was revealed within, protected by Armament Haki like a suit of armor.
Sure enough, although the attack had come suddenly, Babel's combat experience was still exceptionally rich. Before being frozen, he had wrapped himself in a suit of Haki armor!
Nozdon's Armament Haki-coated fist slammed viciously into Babel's chest, colliding with his Haki and kicking up a wave of force.
Babel was undoubtedly far stronger than Nozdon. Even with the advantage of striking first, Nozdon's heavy punch did not achieve much.
In the blink of an eye, Vikengam landed beside Babel. The moment his feet touched the ground, he let out a low growl, and his body rapidly transformed. His over-three-meter-tall body expanded further and became more bestial, turning in an instant into a tall tiger-leopard beastman covered in white fur and radiating icy cold.
Without the slightest hesitation, Vikengam yanked hard on the chain, then clamped both hands around one of Babel's arms and forced it forward.
Seeing this, Nozdon did not hesitate either. He grabbed Babel's other arm and locked it down tightly, bellowing as he unleashed all his strength and pressed it forward as well.
One on each side, they each pinned one of Babel's arms. For a moment, they actually left the Catfish Wrestler's chest completely exposed.
The Roger Pirates' combatants might not have possessed outstanding strength, but they had all seen major battles and possessed abundant combat experience.
As Vikengam and Nozdon restrained Babel's arms and exposed an opening, Eye Dragon, who had participated in the World Fighting Tournament and won the title of champion, stomped his foot and reached Babel in an instant.
"Champion's Strike!" Eye Dragon roared, fiercely driving an uppercut into Babel's left abdomen. He was clearly planning to give Babel a kidney massage.
The punch landed solidly. Even with Haki protecting him, Babel was in considerable pain. His expression twisted, and he staggered backward.
But in the next instant, he steadied himself again. Then, like a raging beast, he let out a roar. The muscles across his body bulged and surged as his arms erupted with immense power, dragging Vikengam and Nozdon into a brutal bear hug!
Good lord, Vikengam, Nozdon, and Eye Dragon were instantly crushed together, nearly losing consciousness.
Before you continue