Vikengam: Meek Before Pirate Big Shots, Fists Flying Before Marine Big Shots!

Standing on the rooftop and scanning the streets, Garp found no trace of Roger.

But he had always trusted his instincts, so he did not give up.

His eyes narrowed slightly, and then invisible, intangible Observation Haki radiated from his body, rapidly expanding outward in every direction.

Several streets away, Roger and the others were heading toward the southern city gate.

Just as they reached the camel caravan and prepared to ride out of the city with it,

Roger, Rayleigh, and Jaba sensed something at the same time. The three of them abruptly turned to look back toward the city.

Vikengam was a little slower to react. He followed their gazes and looked behind them, somewhat uncertainly asking, "Observation Haki?"

"It's Garp's presence... That guy really does have a dog's nose!" Roger could not help complaining.

"What do you think the dog head hanging from his warship is for?" Rayleigh laughed.

"Run already! What are you standing around for?" Jaba was the first to crack his whip against the camel beneath him, then raced off into the desert.

Roger, Rayleigh, and the others did not waste any time either. They quickly cracked their whips and fled on their camels.

Yet the moment they passed through the city gate, that familiar roar came from behind them.

"Roger!!!"

That booming voice seemed to shake the ancient city of Alubarna, startling quite a few people.

"Who was that?"

"That's the Marine hero, Vice Admiral Garp!"

"Then the Roger he called out to... could he be?"

"No mistake, it has to be that pirate!"

Both Garp and Roger possessed immense deterrent power. When the two appeared at the same time, it often meant a terrifying battle could erupt at any moment.

The entire southern district of Alubarna immediately descended into chaos.

Seeing this, Vice Admiral Tsuru cursed helplessly, "Why are you shouting so loudly!?"

The figure constantly darting across the rooftops ahead was Garp. Without turning his head, he said, "If I shout, they'll speed up their escape. Once they're farther away and out in the desert, won't I be able to cut loose?"

"Are you sure you want to chase them? Their main force is all there, while we..." Tsuru could not help warning him.

"Since when do Marines fear pirates? If the two of us join forces, we only need to hold them down until reinforcements arrive..." Garp said without hesitation.

Reinforcements, my ass, Vice Admiral Tsuru could not help mocking inwardly.

This was the enormous island of Alabasta, and they were in inland Alubarna. Never mind whether there were any Marines nearby qualified to provide support—just getting to Alabasta and crossing the desert from the nearest port would take three days!

But then again, setting all that aside, Garp's words—"Since when do Marines fear pirates?"—had completely shut down everything Tsuru wanted to say.

Ignoring everything else, Garp rushed toward the city gate at top speed.

Roger and the others urged their camels onward as well. Jaba even jumped down and ran while carrying his camel on his shoulders.

They had no choice. The camels could not run as fast as they could, but they could not abandon them either. They still had to cross the boundless desert to reach Nanohana, and without camels, they would be in serious trouble!

So they could only run while carrying the camels!

"This won't work. We'll definitely be caught at this rate. Roger, you stay behind and cover our retreat!" Rayleigh said as he cracked his whip.

Roger, who had been preparing to copy Jaba and run off with a camel over his shoulders, froze for a moment before cursing, "You bastard, are you even human, Rayleigh? Since when does the captain stay behind to cover the retreat? Shouldn't it be you?"

"What good would it do if I stayed? Garp's target is obviously you. When the time comes, he'll definitely leave Tsuru behind to hold me back and keep chasing the rest of you. Once he catches up, he won't need to do anything else. He just has to kill all our camels, and we'll have a hard time getting through the desert quickly. Then he can tail us while calling for reinforcements. If we get delayed too long and the Marine forces arrive, we'll be in real trouble!" Rayleigh analyzed calmly.

It had to be said that Rayleigh's reasoning made perfect sense.

Garp had not thought that far ahead yet, but Tsuru had already figured it out.

She immediately told Garp not to rush. As long as they killed the pirates' camels, there was plenty they could do!

"That's right. This time, I support Rayleigh. Roger, you stay behind and cover us. I can carry two camels by myself. Hold Garp and Tsuru here and buy us at least two days. That'll let us get closer to Rapeseed Flower Port. Then you can follow the Vivre Card and find us. We'll have a real fight with them there. That's our best chance of escaping!" Jaba said as well.

Roger felt it was strange for him, the captain, to be the one staying behind, even though he had done this sort of thing plenty of times before. The difference was that he had volunteered back then!

Still, Rayleigh and Jaba were completely right.

There was no sea ahead, only desert. Being held up here would be extremely disadvantageous for them. But if they could buy two days, then the closer they got to Rapeseed Flower Port, the better their odds became.

Just then, Vikengam spoke up. "How about you run first, and I'll try to hold them off?"

Roger immediately said, "You're a scholar. How could you possibly hold back that bastard Garp? I'll—"

Before he could finish, Rayleigh was the first to react. "Let Vikengam try first. We run now, and if it doesn't work, you can stay behind. They won't dare arrest Vikengam anyway. Don't forget who he is!!"

Roger immediately understood. Right, damn it, Vikengam was a Celestial Dragon! He was not like them, a bunch of backwater pirates!

Honestly, if the ones chasing them were ruthless monsters like Newgate, Charlotte Linlin, or Shiki, Vikengam would definitely have fled with Rayleigh and the others without another word.

Why?

Because those people really dared to kill Celestial Dragons. Back at God Valley, they had crushed Celestial Dragons and God's Knights like speed bumps, without the slightest hesitation!

But the ones chasing them were Marines, which was entirely different.

What a joke. Even Garp's big brother, Steel Bone Kong, would not dare act recklessly in front of Saint Jaygarcia Vikingum!

Granted, Garp was a little outrageous. When he went berserk, he would even punch the Five Elders—at God Valley, he had been the first to attack Saturn.

But that depended on the situation. At the time, he could have claimed he had not known who it was, since Saturn had already turned into a monster.

But if he attacked Vikengam here, that would be a completely different matter.

Even if he dared, Vice Admiral Tsuru would absolutely stop him!

What a joke. I, Saint Jaygarcia Vikingum, had not been stripped of my divine status yet. I was the young master of a Five Elders family. You dared hit me?

According to World Government regulations, if you hit me, I'll call in a Marine Admiral to hit you. Let's see what you, Garp, do then!

It was basically exploiting a loophole.

The others quickly accepted Vikengam's suggestion. They fled at full speed, while Vikengam grabbed the camel's reins, stopped moving, and turned to face Garp and Vice Admiral Tsuru, who had just chased out through the city gate.

As they were about to rush over, Vikengam took a deep breath and activated his power.

In an instant, the scorching desert was invaded by biting cold. In the blink of an eye, a towering wall of ice appeared behind Vikengam, cutting off Garp and Tsuru's line of sight.

"How insolent! Who are you people, to dare offend this Saint!?" Vikengam demanded with authority.

At that moment, every inch of him radiated the arrogance of a Celestial Dragon!