A Bountiful Harvest

"Too slow."

Rogge's eyes widened. At that moment, his pupils seemed to change; they contracted to pinpoints, no longer as they had been before.

"This man..." Hina froze for a moment.

"Shattering Fist." Rogge raised his fist and, in the instant Hina was distracted, drove a heavy punch at her.

Hina's reaction was not slow. Iron bars continuously extended from her body, forming a shield that blocked Rogge's fist.

"Bang!"

Under Rogge's fist, the Chop-Chop Fruit's power erupted. The iron-bar shield before his fist shattered, and Hina used the force to widen the distance between them.

Looking at Hina now, Rogge could not help whistling. He smiled and said, "I didn't expect your ability to work like this."

Even in her disheveled state, Hina was still beautiful. She truly deserved her reputation as one of the Navy's finest flowers. But to defend against Rogge's attack, she had used her ability, allowing him to see where those iron bars came from.

Earlier, she had created iron bars with her hands, and Rogge had not seen clearly. This time, he finally understood that the bars did not seem to grow from flesh, but from Hina's bones.

It was somewhat similar to Kimimaro's Shikotsumyaku; those iron bars grew from the bones in her body.

Because she had been defending, those bars had just grown from the ribs in her chest, tearing through her clothes and exposing a large expanse of pale skin. That was why Rogge had whistled.

Hina stared at Rogge. She did not care about exposing herself. As the lone woman among a Navy force full of men, she had probably gotten used to it long ago. She had likely even seen lecherous looks worse than Rogge's.

"Hina is very angry. But what was that just now? Why were you able to dodge?" Hina stared at Rogge with a serious expression.

Rogge clenched his fists and laughed. "I have to thank you for what just happened. If not for you, I probably wouldn't have found the feeling. Even though I've taken plenty of beatings, there was always only a vague shadow. Because of you, I finally saw it. Sure enough, only when you're on the edge of life and death can you break through your limits."

"What are you talking about?" Hina could not understand Rogge at all. But she could tell that he had changed enormously compared to before. He seemed different, stronger, and his face was filled with confidence.

"Haki." Rogge grinned.

"What?" Hina stared at him with wide eyes.

"You're a soldier carefully trained by the Navy. You should have heard of Haki, right? I didn't expect to break through during our fight and find the feeling of Haki. It was only for an instant, but that was enough." Rogge smiled.

"That was Observation Haki..." Hina murmured.

"That's right." Rogge rushed forward, launching a relentless barrage of attacks with both fists.

Hina formed two crutches again and used them to block Rogge's fists. However, Rogge grew fiercer with every strike. He leaped high into the air and concentrated all his strength into his right fist.

"Hah!"

"Bang!"

Hina raised both arms, the two crutches blocking before her. But faced with Rogge's fist, her already damaged crutches shattered, and the impact sent Hina crashing into the cabin.

"Colonel!" The soldiers aboard the warship cried out when they saw Hina being sent flying. Without thinking further, they rushed at him in a swarm.

"Bang bang bang!!!"

To these soldiers, Rogge's fists were simply a nightmare. One punch took down one Navy soldier, and with his Fruit ability added to them, every strike made flesh and blood burst apart.

"Stop for Hina!" Hina charged out of the cabin, carrying a black spear in her hand as she thrust it at Rogge.

Rogge had been watching Hina's movements all along. At that moment, time slowed once more. He could see everything clearly: Hina's path of movement, where she would be in the next second—he saw it all.

This is the feeling. It's so clear. Time is moving so slowly. Rogge sidestepped the attack, raised his palm, and struck Hina's abdomen.

"Pfft!"

Hina's body bent like a shrimp as she fell into Rogge's grasp. The weapon in her hand also dropped onto the deck.

"Colonel!"

Seeing Hina fall into Rogge's hands, the remaining Navy soldiers cried out and tried to rush forward one after another.

Rogge stomped his foot. The deck cracked and the fractures spread outward, opening a ravine before the soldiers and stopping their advance.

"I really have to thank you. If our battle hadn't helped me break through, I don't know how long it would have taken me to master Observation Haki. To thank you, I won't kill you. Besides, killing you wouldn't do me any good, would it, beautiful?" Rogge smacked her peach and tossed Hina onto the deck.

Hina lay on the deck, clutching her stomach, but her eyes remained fixed on Rogge.

Rogge leaped away from the warship and paused in midair. Looking around, he saw that the battles on the other warships were nearly over as well.

Aside from the warship he had been on, the one Jelly was handling was covered in vines. Blood had dyed those vines red, though quite a few soldiers were still alive. After all, those soldiers were not weak. The Navy was not as pathetic as it looked on the surface; otherwise, pirates would have ruled the seas long ago.

Cook and Ham were still fighting as well, though their battle was clearly nearing its end. Not many people had probably died on the last ship, but flames were burning across it after Simon had bombarded it with cannons.

"Hey, stop fighting. We're leaving," Rogge shouted to the three of them.

Hearing Rogge, the three looked toward the warships and realized there was indeed no need to keep fighting. There was no benefit in tangling with the Navy, and who knew whether Navy reinforcements might arrive? Unless there were special circumstances, pirates generally avoided provoking the Navy.

Cook returned with Ham and Jelly, and the four gathered back on their ship. Looking at the battered warships, Rogge stood at the stern and saw Hina on the warship, still staring at him. Her eyes were full of murderous intent. Rogge laughed and waved at her.

"Hina lost." Hina gritted her teeth.

"Ah, that felt great." Rogge laughed.

"What's got you so happy? Don't tell me something happened between you and that beautiful Navy woman?" Ham asked as he watched Rogge grin.

"I got what I wanted from that fight," Rogge said with a smile.

"Tsk, tsk. Fighting a beautiful Navy woman on a ship, tsk, tsk." Jelly laughed lecherously.

"Pervert. Things with women depend on fate, and it's best not to provoke Navy women. She's Navy. If I'm not careful, I don't want to end up without descendants." Rogge spread his hands.