Viking: What Roger Pirates? They Were Just Slaves Playing Pirate House with Me!

That rash fool Garp hadn't even caught what the man nearby was muttering.

All he saw was the guy suddenly raising an ice wall that blocked his view, clearly trying to create an opening for the Roger Pirates to escape.

What was there to think about?

Just smash him and keep chasing!

So Garp roared, coating his fist in Haki as a terrifying aura erupted from his body.

"Fist Bone..." Garp shouted.

It had to be said that Garp, currently at the peak of his strength, was truly terrifying. Before he even arrived, Vikengam already felt a suffocating pressure.

Damn it, no wonder Newgate, Charlotte Linlin, and Kaido immediately ran whenever they saw him.

Wasn't that aura a little too absurdly strong?

But Garp's actions didn't truly frighten Vikengam. The one they frightened was Vice Admiral Tsuru, who was following behind him.

Garp might have been slow in the head, failing to recognize who Vikengam was or hear what Vikengam had just said.

But Tsuru was sharp-minded, and she had heard every word clearly.

She recognized him immediately. He was the one Admiral Kong had repeatedly warned them not to provoke!

The heir of a Five Elders family, Saint Jaygarcia Vikingum—the man using the alias "Jaygo Vikengam"!

If Garp smashed him with one punch, they would be in huge trouble. They'd be completely finished!

With that thought, Vice Admiral Tsuru hurriedly shouted, "Stop! Garp!!!"

As her voice fell, white light bloomed from Vice Admiral Tsuru's hands. She had clearly activated her own power, but her target was not Vikengam—it was her comrade Garp, directly in front of her!

Before Garp could throw his punch, Tsuru slammed both hands onto his shoulders. The power of the Paramecia-type Wash-Wash Fruit activated instantly!

Normally, with Garp's peak strength, it would have been impossible for someone to sneak up on him from behind.

But the person behind him was a companion who had fought alongside him through life and death for many years.

Garp had no guard up against Tsuru at all.

So Tsuru succeeded!

The Wash-Wash Fruit subdued the imposing Garp in an instant, washing him into a paper-thin figure on the spot. He stumbled limply and fell into the desert, while Tsuru pressed both hands on his paper body and pinned his lower back with one knee, stopping in a half-kneeling posture.

"Little Tsuru, what are you doing!?" Though Garp's body had been washed, the Wash-Wash Fruit had not affected him too severely. His will had not undergone any strange change, and he could not help demanding an explanation.

Vice Admiral Tsuru ignored him completely. Still half-kneeling atop Garp and restraining him, she said softly and respectfully, "Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Tsuru greets Saint Vikengam."

Those words finally made Garp calm down.

Holy shit, a Celestial Dragon?

Oh, so this guy was Saint Vikengam, the one who had joined the Roger Pirates?

No wonder he looked familiar!

"Hmph. Why are you Marines pursuing me? Are you trying to rebel?" Vikengam sat high atop his camel, looking utterly arrogant as he questioned Tsuru, who was half-kneeling before him, and Garp, who was sprawled on the ground.

"We would never dare. Disturbing Saint Vikengam's journey so rashly is a crime deserving death, but please allow us to explain ourselves. We saw the Roger Pirates, and capturing pirates is the duty of the Marines, as well as the responsibility entrusted to us by the World Government..." Vice Admiral Tsuru said with her head lowered and a respectful tone.

Still, there was something pointed in her words.

"That's right. I was chasing Roger, not you," Garp added.

"What Roger? They're merely this saint's slave pirate crew. It was rather boring staying in Mary Geoise, so this saint wanted to go to sea for some fun and experience the thrill of being a pirate," Vikengam declared shamelessly.

"You..." Garp was rendered speechless by that response.

You sure had some nerve. You called the Roger Pirates your slaves—did you even believe that yourself?

But no matter how outrageous it sounded, Vikengam was a genuine Celestial Dragon. As long as he had not been stripped of his divine status, the Marines could not act presumptuously before him.

Nor did they have the right to question a Celestial Dragon's words!

"What? Are you dissatisfied with what this saint said?" Vikengam lifted his chin arrogantly and asked with disdain.

"No. It was our Marines who acted rashly. We did not know this was your game..." Tsuru swiftly replied, pressing Garp's head into a sandpit just as he was about to say something.

"It matters not. The ignorant are not guilty. This saint is broad-minded and will not hold it against you," Vikengam said slowly after sitting silently atop the camel for a moment.

"Thank you for Saint Vikengam's forgiveness," Vice Admiral Tsuru hurriedly said.

See that? They even had to say thank you!

Vikengam nodded at those words, then said, "Rise."

Only then did Tsuru release the Garp she had been holding down and respectfully stand.

Though Garp was extremely unhappy, he did not act too impulsively. He brushed the sand from himself, stood up with an irritated expression, and looked at Vikengam.

Just as Tsuru worried that the atmosphere was becoming dangerous and that Vikengam, as a Celestial Dragon, might make trouble over this—

Vikengam suddenly burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha, Vice Admiral Garp, this should count as our first official meeting, right? The last time you spoke with Admiral Kong, you even cursed at me, didn't you?" Vikengam said with a smile.

That sudden shift in attitude left Garp somewhat confused.

"Oh... Hiss, I think something like that did happen?" Garp said carelessly, scratching the back of his head.

Vice Admiral Tsuru, standing nearby, was getting anxious just hearing that. Was that something he could admit? Wasn't he afraid Vikengam was trying to trick him into saying it? Did he have no brain?

Even if he really had cursed at him, he should deny it to the end and say no such thing had happened!!!

"Vice Admiral Garp truly has a straightforward temperament." Vikengam clearly did not care about that. After offering a compliment, he looked at Vice Admiral Tsuru and said, "Beautiful Marine lady, I have a few words I wish to discuss with Vice Admiral Garp alone."

Although Tsuru worried that Garp might cause trouble, she clearly had no right to refuse a Celestial Dragon's wishes. She immediately said respectfully, "Please permit me to take my leave."

After saying that, she hurried toward the city gate.

Still chasing Roger? Chase his ass. Judging from today's situation, as long as Saint Vikengam was not stripped of his divine status by Mary Geoise, the Marines would be unable to do anything at all about the Roger Pirates...

With that in mind, once she passed through the city gate, Tsuru quickly contacted headquarters.

Not long after, Admiral Kong's voice came through the Den Den Mushi. "Little Tsuru? What is it?"

"Admiral, what attitude should Marine Headquarters take regarding the Celestial Dragon within the Roger Pirates?" Vice Admiral Tsuru asked.

"A Celestial Dragon? You mean Saint Vikengam?" Admiral Kong paused in surprise.

"That's right. After Garp and I completed our escort mission, we encountered the Roger Pirates in Alabasta. But Saint Vikengam intervened and stopped us from pursuing them. This has made things very complicated. If this continues, Marine Headquarters will have no way to act against the Roger Pirates in the future. And clearly, Roger's group has been moving around everywhere these past two years, planning something significant. If we cannot track, investigate, or even stop them, they may cause a great disaster someday!" Tsuru said with complete calm.

On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Admiral Kong rubbed his brow, finding the matter extremely troublesome.

According to Saint Saturn, as long as they did not get Saint Vikengam killed, they could arrest whoever they needed to arrest and issue whatever bounties they needed to issue without worrying too much.

But even if that was what the higher-ups said, did a subordinate really dare handle things according to that standard?

Did he have water in his brain?

It was precisely because Admiral Kong had such concerns that, despite Vikengam hanging around with the Roger Pirates for two and a half years, he had never received a bounty to this day.

Even the Roger Pirates' bounties had not increased for anyone!

Of course, that was also largely because they had spent the past two years exploring various ruins and had not committed many crimes.