Stand down, part one

Bang!

Rogge was forced back and landed on the warship's upper deck. The two stared at each other.

"You really do live up to the title of Admiral." Rogge shook out his hand. An Admiral's true strength really was an enigma.

Fortunately, this wasn't the one who could supposedly crush the Four Emperors if his paycheck was big enough. Most people believed the Three Admirals hadn't reached the legendary heights of the Four Emperors. This was Rogge's first time fighting an Admiral, though he had never fought an Emperor either. At most, he had faced their officers and the other Shichibukai.

Now that he was actually fighting an Admiral—and Akainu at that—Rogge felt utterly outclassed in Haki. Even his Chop-Chop Fruit couldn't break through Akainu's Haki defenses. That alone showed how powerful Akainu's Haki was.

Akainu slowly lowered his raised foot, his eyes fixed on Rogge. They stared at each other.

Rogge was shocked by Akainu's strength, but Akainu was no less surprised by Rogge's abilities.

He had never imagined that a pirate who had only been at sea for two years could be this powerful. He finally understood why Sengoku valued Rogge so highly, even forgetting that he was a Shichibukai because his business ventures had flourished over the past year.

Rogge was a pirate with an impressive record, yet Akainu had never paid him much attention. Now he had no choice but to take Rogge seriously. He saw a threat in him.

They sized each other up without making another move.

Above them, the thunderclouds continued gathering. Lightning was already flickering through them, filling the Marines with a sense of danger.

"Thunder God Enel, was it?" Akainu looked up at the sky. The thunderclouds seemed to have reached their breaking point.

"Don't do anything reckless, Rogge!" the three