Robbing Earthfire Island

Bang!

The gunshot rang out. The middle-aged man Rogge had sent flying endured the pain and raised his rifle, firing a shot.

The gunshot immediately drew the attention of the townspeople, and countless people quickly gathered.

"What's going on?" More than a dozen men in suits pushed through the crowd.

"Sir, they... they're pirates." The middle-aged man pointed at Rogge and the others.

"Pirates?" The suited men looked up at Rogge.

Rogge waved and smiled. "Hello. Now, let me give you some unfortunate news: I'm here to rob this island."

"Marshall Rogge, the pirate who attacked the Heavenly Tribute!" one of the suited men cried out.

"So it's you. The World Government has been searching for you. Get them! Take them down!" the leader shouted.

At once, over a hundred people drew their weapons and charged at Rogge's group. They were clearly intelligence agents under the World Government, but they were not CP9 and did not know Rokushiki. Their combat strength was ordinary.

A hundred men were nothing more than a single exchange for Rogge's group. They all fell to the ground, and fewer than half of them were still alive.

"That's all you've got? I thought you'd be stronger. Looks like I overestimated you." Rogge shrugged. He had not expected them to be so weak. Clearly, not every agent was called Rob Lucci.

"Hurry up and loot the place. Take whatever you can. This island looks rich." Rogge charged forward.

When the island's ordinary residents saw that even the World Government officials had been taken down, none of them dared resist. They all fled in panic.

Rogge charged ahead without meeting nearly any resistance, heading straight for the town hall. That was his true goal.

Seeing Rogge's impatient expression, Ham could not help complaining, "That guy has forgotten that there are only six of us."

"I said before that the captain should recruit more people. The few of us are enough to sail, but we still don't have the numbers a complete pirate crew should have," Simon said helplessly.

"Rogge knows that himself, but he thinks there's no need to recruit too many people yet. He wants to establish the core first. Besides, we won't find particularly strong companions in the first half of the Grand Line. He wants to go to the New World, and once we get there, that guy has a plan," Jelly said.

"Will we recruit more people later?" Ares asked curiously.

"Of course. You don't really think our pirate crew will only have this few people, do you?" Cook said.

"More people would be good. With only a few of us, things are somewhat inconvenient, whether in battle or sailing." Ares nodded.

"Let's go. That guy has charged too far ahead. Still, this island seems weaker than expected," Jelly said.

"They really aren't strong. Mainly because this island is under the World Government's protection. Several nearby kingdoms have troops stationed here. Look, the garrisons are coming," Simon said, pointing ahead.

Sure enough, three armies were approaching. Their armor differed, representing three kingdoms. Earthfire Island had not originally belonged to any nation. When it was first discovered, it drew little attention, but after people found that it was suitable for growing grain, the three kingdoms began migrating people here, and conflicts repeatedly broke out.

The three kingdoms fought fiercely, while the landowners on Earthfire Island also wanted to establish a kingdom. After founding the Earthfire Kingdom, they were immediately destroyed by the joint forces of the three kingdoms.

As the three kingdoms continued fighting, their kings had even fought several times at the Reverie over this island. In the end, the World Government could no longer stand it and intervened, placing the island under direct World Government control. The grain was divided equally among the three nations and the World Government. The World Government managed the island, while the three nations sent troops to protect it.

They had dealt with countless pirates and were long accustomed to pirate attacks.

In their eyes, Rogge's group was probably just a few insignificant pirates who did not know their place. But when the three armies clashed with Rogge, their armor crumbled beneath his fists, and they realized they had encountered a true enemy.

Rogge thoroughly enjoyed fighting. He weaved through the crowd, savoring the thrill of battle.

The army had too many people, and Rogge alone could not quickly defeat an army of over ten thousand. Their goal was the wealth here, so Jelly and the others joined the battle.

After a chaotic brawl, an army of over ten thousand sounded like a lot, but after more than an hour of fighting, people lay sprawled everywhere. Rogge was panting heavily, yet he wore a smile. The others were not as crazy as Rogge, but defeating an army of over ten thousand was something they had never imagined.

"They've already contacted the Marines. We don't have much time," Rogge told the others.

"We've gotten the information. The vault is near the tallest building. That's where the World Government officials work." Cook dragged a World Government official along as he spoke.

"Okay."

Most of the city's residents had already fled. At first, they thought Rogge's group would be taken down quickly, but Rogge had wiped out an army of over ten thousand. The combat strength he displayed was simply too terrifying.

Inside the office building at the highest point of Earthfire Island, an official with black-and-white facial hair held a Den Den Mushi and nervously looked out the window.

"Hello? Haven't you arrived yet?" the official shouted.

"We're moving as fast as we can. It'll still take a few hours. Doesn't Earthfire Island have troops stationed there? Can't they even hold back a pirate crew of a few people?" the Den Den Mushi said.

"The army has already been completely wiped out! An army of over ten thousand was no match for those few people. They're already heading this way. Their target should be the vault. Damn it, this quarter's wealth is all here. It can't be taken by pirates!" the official shouted.

If anything happened to this money, he would definitely end up in Enies Lobby. Then Impel Down would be the only fate awaiting him. Who would want to go to a place like Impel Down? Entering it was no different from dying.

"Doesn't the island have other defensive forces? Stall them for time." The person on the other end of the Den Den Mushi had not expected the army to be wiped out either and frowned.

"No! What other defensive forces does Earthfire Island have? This isn't several decades ago!" the official shouted.

"Then delay them for as long as you can." The Den Den Mushi hung up after saying that.

The official closed the Den Den Mushi's shell as well. He paced back and forth in his office. After a long while, he suddenly thought of something, walked to his desk, pulled open a drawer, and took out another Den Den Mushi.

"Hello, release Jerry. Have him bring those monsters out to intercept the enemy," the official said.

"Yes!"

In a place on Earthfire Island covered entirely in ice, a man dressed in thick furs walked out. His hair was long, and he held a whip in his hand.

"Hehehe, you're out. You can have blood to drink now—warm, fresh blood." The man cracked his whip. It let out a deafening boom, and countless pairs of blood-red eyes lit up within the icebergs.

The World Government agent who had come to deliver the message was so frightened that he collapsed onto the ground. As he watched the man walk away, those eyes behind him all stared at him, drooling greedily.