The Grand Line, Here I Come

Boom!

The impact arrived as promised, a powerful, unstoppable force surging straight toward the pirates.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bloody chunks exploded one after another. The pirates' bodies shattered under the impact, blown apart into separated flesh and blood.

Watching even the cabins get blasted away, Rogge shook his head. It did not have the terrifying range of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, but the Chop-Chop Fruit possessed a shattering power beyond ordinary understanding.

Anyone struck would suffer a shattering effect. In other words, whether Rogge touched them himself or they were hit by an impact he unleashed, the Chop-Chop Fruit's attacks carried the attribute of destruction.

With one easy punch, he crushed every pirate aboard a ship. Rogge then turned his gaze toward the other pirate vessels. He had to admit that their numerical advantage would make this take longer.

Although they lacked the advantage in numbers, each of them could fight a thousand enemies alone. The problem was that the enemies were too scattered, making it far from easy to deal with them one by one.

Rogge had only destroyed his third ship when Cook had already sent five ships to the bottom of the sea. The entire ocean surface was filled with heads, and all those who had fallen overboard desperately swam toward other ships.

"Why did this happen? There are only five of you," a pirate captain standing before Rogge said despairingly.

The deck was covered in blood and chunks of flesh, but Rogge was already used to it. His ability seemed rather disgusting.

Only the captain holding a knight's shield remained on the ship. The shield was already badly damaged, but it was clearly capable of blocking Rogge's shattering power.

"Because we're stronger than you. So what if you have more people? Killing you is only a matter of time. To be honest, the West Blue can no longer stop us. The Grand Line is where our journey lies, understand? You're blocking our path." Rogge walked over and stepped on the shield, now no larger than a frying pan. Its last remaining fragment instantly shattered.

"No, don't kill me! I'm willing to be your dog! I don't want to die! I was tricked!" The captain dropped to his knees and repeatedly kowtowed.

"Become my dog? Hahahaha!" Rogge burst out laughing.

"Go to hell."

Suddenly, the kneeling man pulled a dagger from his clothes and stabbed it toward Rogge's chest, aiming straight for his heart.

"Tsk, tsk."

Rogge instantly reached out and grabbed the dagger without fearing its sharp blade. In his hand, the dagger became nothing more than a strip of iron, leaving only its hilt behind.

"You like doing this, don't you? I'll grant your wish." Rogge drew the dagger at his waist, grabbed the man by the neck, and viciously plunged it into his stomach. He pulled it out, then stabbed it in again. Only after punching a huge hole through the man's abdomen did Rogge let the corpse fall.

"If you have no strength, why go out to sea? Once you set sail, you should be prepared to die. If you don't even have that resolve, why become a pirate? I treat every day as the last day of my life. I've never been attached to this world." Rogge calmly wiped the blood from his dagger.

"Rogge, you're too slow." Cook surfaced from the sea nearby.

"Aren't they already running away? Don't waste any more time. Let's go to the Grand Line." Rogge looked toward the distant Red Line.

The West Blue was far too boring. It no longer posed any challenge to him. He had killed the highest-bounty pirate, tricked more than half the pirates in the West Blue to their deaths, and now crushed them once again. Rogge felt no attachment whatsoever. He could not wait to reach the Grand Line.

"True. There's no need." Cook looked at the remaining ships fleeing in the distance and had no intention of giving chase. He slung his iron hammer over his back.

Rogge entered the cabin and looted the ship's wealth. Although he always claimed he had no interest in money, who would ever complain about having too much of it?

There were only a few million Beli, enough to buy a few sets of clothes.

Ares had already sailed their ship over, and the four of them regrouped. Seeing Rogge covered in blood, Jelly could not help sneering. "Rogge, why don't you give up the captain's position? You only took out three ships in half a day."

"How about we fight?" Rogge shot Jelly a glance.

"Forget it. I won't argue with a violent maniac. In your worldview, fists represent everything, right?" Jelly spread his hands.

"Of course. This world is ruled by the strong. Bigger fists are reason itself. Other than fists, what else can represent everything?" Rogge said irritably.

Ham patted Jelly on the shoulder and said calmly, "You need treatment."

"Huh? What's wrong with him?" Ares, who had not gotten a chance to contribute, immediately shoved his face close to Jelly's, asking with a worried expression.

"I'm fine!" Jelly snapped in embarrassment and anger.

"I'm going to change clothes." Rogge entered the cabin to bathe and change. He had the most blood on him. Jelly and Ham had much more artistry in battle; they were nothing like Rogge, that Madman who fought without a care for anything.

Before long, Rogge came out after bathing and changing clothes. Ham had already finished counting their gains. Altogether, they had only obtained a little over forty million Beli. At last, they had some savings. The money they got from the Bloodhand Pirates had all been spent buying supplies, so they were hardly wealthy. This would replenish their funds nicely.

"The weather's getting worse." Jelly raised both hands as raindrops began falling into his palms.

"Didn't we come here before? Look, that Marine base." Ham said with a smile.

"You've been here before?" Ares asked curiously.

"These three once made a move against the Heavenly Tribute. If you're interested, you can look through the old newspapers," Cook said.

Ares froze, staring at Rogge and the other two as though he had seen ghosts. "The Heavenly Tribute? You even dared to touch that?"

"It was mainly our captain, not us. Hahaha! Otherwise, how could he be captain? Everything we have today is because the captain risked his life to earn it for us." Ham laughed.

The reason he admired Rogge was precisely because Rogge dared to do what others would not. Many had coveted the Heavenly Tribute. Nearly every pirate in the world wanted to make a move on it, but the price was too great, and few succeeded, especially a bunch of weaklings like them.

The only one who could truly be considered successful was Donquixote Doflamingo, who used the Heavenly Tribute to threaten the World Government into making him one of the Shichibukai. They did not count as successful. They had merely used a scheme to steal three Devil Fruits from the Heavenly Tribute. That was why the World Government had not targeted them yet. Once they entered the Grand Line, they likely would no longer enjoy such peace.

As they spoke, they arrived beneath the Red Line and saw the waterway leading up the mountain. Looking at the route that stretched straight into the sky, Rogge stood atop the skull figurehead and spread his arms.

"The Grand Line, here I come."