Nothing That Can't Be Shattered

Well, so much for finding a sharpshooter. Rogge had thought he'd struck gold: a ship's doctor who could double as a sniper.

But looking at the muskets and cannons aboard, Rogge decided they really did need a sharpshooter. Otherwise, all that firepower would just sit there for show.

"How about we visit Sky Island?" Rogge asked, without a trace of nerves.

"Sky Island? The one from that big liar Noland's story?" Ham read plenty of books. He clearly knew the tale from the North Blue.

"That's right. He wrote about Sky Island," Rogge said with a smile.

"Wasn't that a hoax? The whole world knows Noland was a liar," Jelly said.

"No. Sky Island really exists. You just don't know about it," Cook said, shaking his head.

"There's really a Sky Island? Ten thousand meters up in the sky?" Jelly asked in surprise.

"Fish-Man Island lies ten thousand meters beneath the sea. Why couldn't it exist? There are even pirates in outer space. Jelly, you're like a frog at the bottom of a well!" Rogge burst out laughing.

"Bastard! You talk like you know everything. Wait, why are we going to Sky Island?" Jelly asked, coming back to his senses.

"Isn't it obvious? It'd be a shame not to go. If we're setting out on an adventure, we should see it for ourselves. Don't you want to see an island ten thousand meters in the sky?" Rogge asked.

"I really do," Jelly admitted with a nod.

"If Sky Island exists, I'd like to see it too. An island that high up..." Ham nodded.

As they kept chatting, Ares gripped his musket and wondered if he'd boarded the wrong ship. The enemy was bearing down on them, and these guys were shooting the breeze. What kind of lunatics were they?

"Enough! The enemy's right in front of us, and you're talking about Sky Island? Let's survive this first! Forget Sky Island—we'll all be at the bottom of the sea soon!" Ares shouted, tightening his grip on the musket.

"We know. Ares, you really need to work on your nerve. You wiped out an entire country. How did you manage that if you're this scared?" Rogge said, digging at his ear.

"I didn't kill anyone! I only meant to teach them a lesson. The virus mutated on its own. I didn't do it on purpose!" Ares protested.

"Enough excuses. You released the virus, and everyone in that kingdom died because of it. You're worse than any of us, yet you're still scared? What of? Millions died because of you. Has a single ghost come looking for revenge? No! The dead are dead. They can't take revenge. You need to face what happened," Rogge said, patting his shoulder.

Ares had nothing to say. He clutched the musket so tightly his hands shook.

"All right, enough chatting. Sky Island's over on the Grand Line. First we cross Reverse Mountain. Cook, take us over," Rogge said.

"Ares, the ship's yours," Cook said, glancing at him.

"What?" Ares had barely recovered. Cook's words sent him straight back into a panic.

Cook leaped into the water, his dorsal fin breaking the surface. Ham laughed and jumped in after him, landing squarely on Cook's back. He raised both arms, and Rogge and Jelly climbed onto them.

"First strike is ours." Rogge grinned. Cook shot forward like a torpedo, and Rogge felt as if he were flying.

"Hahaha! The Third Brother's motorcycle tactic!" Rogge laughed as he took in the four of them.

"What motorcycle tactic? Do you see a motorcycle anywhere?" Jelly asked.

"Nothing." Rogge shrugged.

Cook brought them up to the pirate ships, then stopped so sharply that all three riders flew off his back. In midair, Ham hurled Rogge and Jelly toward two different ships.

"They can do that?" Ares stared from their ship, dumbfounded by the stunt.

Boom!

Rogge slammed both feet onto the deck. Showing off, he put plenty of force into it and added his fruit's power for good measure.

Splinters flew. The whole deck burst apart, and Rogge dropped straight into the hold.

"Cough, cough!"

Rogge climbed out of the hold. He had smashed the foredeck, but the pirates had moved clear before he landed. None of them had been hit.

"That's a little embarrassing," Rogge muttered as he hauled himself up.

"Kill him!"

Before Rogge could say anything else, the ship's captain pointed his blade at him and ordered his men forward.

"What's the rush?" Rogge asked, throwing a punch.

Bang!

Even without putting strength behind it, his punch sent one pirate flying into several others.

Rogge was soon surrounded, but he sprang through the crowd, fists and feet flashing. One pirate after another fell.

Of course, he was nowhere near as efficient as Jelly. Vines had already covered Jelly's ship, binding its pirates. Taking them down was easier than slaughtering chickens: one slash apiece, no trouble at all.

Ham had taken the form of a kangaroo. He bounced across the deck, dropping one pirate with every punch as though the ship were a boxing ring.

Boom!

While Rogge and the others fought, a deafening crash came from beneath another ship. The entire vessel lifted off the sea. A huge hole gaped in its bottom, and its keel had been snapped in two.

"Damn, that's brutal." Rogge looked over. Beneath the water, he could just make out something shaped like a hammer.

To a Fish-Man, a sea battle was child's play. Who could stop Cook in the water? His companion looked formidable too—and ruthless. He had gone straight for the keel. Once it broke, the ship was finished.

In an ordinary naval battle, destroying a keel meant either having enough power to snap the ship outright or attacking from beneath it.

Only members of the Fish-Man Tribe could fight at full strength underwater. This battlefield was perfect for Cook.

"Looks like I'm moving too slowly. There are plenty of ships left." Rogge flexed his fingers, then curled them into a fist.

"Sky-Shattering Fist!"

His fist struck the air. The pirates aboard heard something crack, then watched fissures spread across the sky.

"How is that possible? The air is..." The pirate captain's eyes widened in shock.

Rogge smiled faintly. "Nothing's impossible. The Chop-Chop Fruit is stronger than I thought. Too bad it can't match the Tremor-Tremor Fruit for destructive power, but shattering the air is easy enough. Are you ready? Death's here. Heh."