Storm

If Rogge had a god's-eye view, he would have seen that their ship was actually following behind the warships. Smoker still decided to lead ten warships to the next island and wait for them there.

Even knowing the chances were slim, Smoker still wanted to persist and see what happened.

News of Earthfire Island being robbed reached Marine Headquarters. More than two billion Beli was no small sum. Even the Celestial Dragons would covet that wealth, let alone when it was the revenue of three World Government member nations. The kings of all three countries had already called the Five Elders and directly lashed out at the World Government.

"They've already entered the Grand Line. Colonel Hina was defeated too, and now that brat Smoker is pursuing them," Sengoku said as he read the report.

"Yes, Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Colonel Hina has sent over the information on the Asura Pirates. Their captain is Marshall Rogge, their navigator is Ham, their cook is Jelly, and they have a Fish-Man Tribe shipwright named Cook. There is also Simon, the famous North Blue bounty hunter known as the Golden Hunter. Those are the only five we currently know of." The Marine lieutenant stood ramrod straight before Sengoku and saluted.

"Inform Smoker and have him keep watching them. Since they intend to continue onward, they will certainly follow the route. There is a good chance of running into them," Sengoku said.

"Yes." The lieutenant took his leave.

"The Chop-Chop Fruit is in Marshall Rogge's hands. The Kangaroo Fruit was eaten by the navigator Ham, and the Vine-Vine Fruit by that cook, Jelly. Just as expected—three Devil Fruit users, a Fish-Man Tribe member, and a famous North Blue sniper. Their strength is nothing to scoff at." Sengoku glanced over the report and handed it to the goat at his feet.

"Fire Fist Ace and Marshall Rogge... these two are worth considering." Sengoku took out two wanted posters and muttered to himself before placing them in a drawer.

The scene returned to the sea, where Rogge and the others encountered a storm. It was the worst weather they had faced since entering the Grand Line. Rain poured down like a waterfall. They secured the ship as it tossed in the storm. The waves were simply too massive, forcing them to give up resisting and let the vessel drift with the current. All they could do was keep it from being smashed apart.

Humans were so fragile before the power of nature. Their ship was sturdy, and none of them were weak, but faced with such terrifying weather, there was little they could do. Even with superb sailing skills, they were helpless.

Even someone as powerful as Shiki had lost to a storm, let alone them. Fortunately, with Ham's skills and Cook at the helm, the two of them held down the Hell and kept it as steady as a rock.

"W-We survived? Is this the weather of the Grand Line?"

The sky cleared and the sun finally emerged, but no one could have imagined that three minutes earlier, this place had been battered by furious winds, torrential rain, and waves several meters high. They had nearly been buried beneath the sea.

Ares had never seen weather like this. He had grown up studying, learned medical skills, and been raised like a treasure. Then he had been imprisoned for twenty years. This was the first time in his life that he had encountered such terrible weather, and he had truly thought he was about to die.

"Whew, we finally made it through. You really can't predict this kind of weather. It has one hell of a temper." Jelly released the vines in his hands. He had just used them to secure the hull. Without his ability holding it in place, the Hell would probably have been damaged.

"It changed in an instant and then suddenly returned to normal. This weather is truly awful." Simon had spent some time in the Grand Line, but even he had never experienced such an abrupt storm. He had nearly kicked the bucket, and looking back on it now, it truly was a nightmare.

Rogge, however, laughed. "Brothers, this is sailing! This is how the sea is supposed to be, isn't it? Sailing peacefully every day would bore us to death. Isn't this the voyage we wanted? Hahaha! It'd be even better if we got one every few days."

"Idiot!"

"Madman!"

"Moron!"

"Dumbass!"

"Sick freak!"

"Billy!"

Rogge looked at Jerry. "What do you mean by that? Is Billy an insult too?"

"You're just like Billy. Stupid," Jerry said, speaking up for once. Even a simple savage like him never wanted to experience weather like that again, yet his idiot captain actually wanted it to happen several more times. Wasn't that just like Billy? Stupid.

"Forget it. None of you understand." Rogge stripped off his soaking clothes and swaggered around in front of everyone. He hung them up, then found a chair and lay down to bask in the sun.

"Tch." Jelly glanced at Rogge and curled his lip. It really was a little bigger than his.

"Rogge, Captain, I can see an island!" Half a day later, Ham shouted to Rogge.

"We're there?" Rogge immediately sprang up, put on his now-dry clothes, and stood atop the skull at the bow.

Sure enough, the outline of an island had appeared in the distance. They had spotted their third island in just one day. No wonder the Log Pose only needed a few hours to set—the distance really was short.

Yet during that single day, they had experienced a storm. Clearly, this route was not easy to travel, and every now and then they would run into weather that had gone completely insane.

"Do you see any Marines?" Jelly and the others had heard Ham and walked over to ask.

"No." Rogge shook his head as he looked through his telescope.

"Maybe the Marines have already given up," Simon said.

"That would be too boring. I wanted to exchange blows with Smoker," Rogge said with a grin.

Jerry walked over while dragging Billy, who was biting his ass. "Is this another world? The sunlight feels so good. Being a pirate is great."

"Right? Pirates are free. But Jerry, remember this: we're pirates—pirates who do every kind of evil. If I tell you to kill someone, then you kill them, understand?" Rogge said with a toothy grin.

Ham and the others watched on. They knew Rogge was trying to lead a child astray, but they did not object. Rogge was right. They were pirates; that was simply what pirates did. Who had ever seen pirates doing good deeds? Those would not be pirates. They might as well call themselves adventurers, like Montblanc Noland.

"I understand. The captain's orders are the highest orders." Jerry nodded with a firm gaze.

"Hehe, that's more like it. Boys, let's keep doing bad things." Rogge laughed.

Everyone laughed. Having a ridiculous captain was not so bad. At least they would never be too bored.

"Let's land on the island! I can smell freedom—though of course, our freedom comes at a price!" Rogge shouted.

"Be careful. Just don't fall into the sea." Ham looked at Rogge, standing excitedly atop the skull, and laughed.

"When will we find an island with people? We're rich now," Jelly said, more concerned about that.

"I think we should prepare for battle first." Simon spread his hands.