Race Between Life and Death

"Mm..."

"Did something just happen inside?"

The two CP agents guarding the door held their weapons, one of them turning sideways to look toward the cabin.

"Impossible. You must have heard wrong. We're guarding the only entrance, and this isn't a cabin below deck. It would be nearly impossible to break in here," the other CP agent said with a laugh.

"You're right. They're just a bunch of backwater bandits. Over the years, there have been very few pirates capable of raiding the Heavenly Tribute."

"It'll be over soon. They don't stand a chance against the elite soldiers of Marine Headquarters."

Boom!

Doberman leaped onto the warship. The pirates at the harbor had already been routed. This was the pirates' target—the warship carrying the Heavenly Tribute—and they were still desperately attacking it.

After dealing with the pirates at the docks, Doberman returned to the warship.

Boom!

With a single slash, he carved a crack into the deck, sending several pirates flying into the sea.

"Is the Heavenly Tribute all right?" Doberman asked the CP agents guarding the warship.

"No problem. What can these useless fools do? There are just a lot of them," one CP agent said, shaking his head.

"As long as it's fine." Doberman stared out toward the sea. Only a dozen or so pirate ships remained, fleeing in disarray, while large numbers of pirates in the water desperately swam toward them.

The tide had turned. Bandits would always be bandits. Though the Marines had paid a price as well, they had crushed the pirates overwhelmingly.

"Hmm?"

At that moment, Doberman's ear twitched. His expression immediately changed, and he spun around and charged into the cabin, smashing through the door headfirst.

"Finally, I got them." Rogge held a box containing three strange fruits of different colors. These were his targets—three Devil Fruits.

"Is someone in there?"

Just as Rogge was about to sneak out, he suddenly heard a voice from outside.

The moment he heard it, Rogge's face changed drastically. He recognized Doberman's voice. Doberman had commanded the Marines through a Den Den Mushi earlier, and Rogge had remembered his voice. Hearing it now, Rogge knew Doberman must have discovered something.

Rogge looked around. Hiding here was practically impossible. His heartbeat would give him away. A Marine Headquarters vice admiral with both types of Haki could expose his position with even the faintest sound of a heartbeat.

If he tried to return by the way he had come, he would definitely run into Doberman. In that split second, Rogge made his decision. He raised his foot and stomped down on the wooden boards.

Outside the door, Doberman was questioning the two CP agents standing guard.

"No, we've been guarding this place the whole time. How could anyone have gotten in—"

Boom!

Before the agent could finish speaking, an explosive crash came from within the cabin. All three of them turned to stare at the door.

"Impossible!" the other agent cried out.

"Move."

Doberman spread his arms, knocking the two aside, and charged straight in.

Rogge had already jumped into the hole and reached the air chamber.

"Damn it."

The sound of the door being smashed open came from behind him. Rogge knew Doberman had charged in. He did not have much time left.

Before Rogge even landed on the boards, he exerted force with both legs again and stomped down hard.

Compared to the boards on the floor above, these boards were clearly much sturdier. However, Rogge was no longer an ordinary person. His kick cracked the boards, but he had not expected the force of the seawater rushing in to send him flying.

A massive surge of seawater swept Rogge back. In that brief pause, he looked up and met Doberman's eyes.

Their four eyes met. The sight was so terrifying that Rogge felt he was about to die.

"Get up here." Doberman did not hesitate. He reached out to grab Rogge.

"No!"

Rogge had only one thought: he could not be caught. He stomped on the top of the air chamber, pushed off with all his strength, and rammed headfirst into the breach where seawater was pouring in.

Splash!

Doberman actually jumped into the cabin as well. Half of Rogge's body was already outside, temporarily blocking the flood of seawater. That gave Doberman his chance.

Rogge was dumbfounded too. His body was wedged in the hole in the hull, unable to move. His heart went ice-cold. He knew all hope was lost. Doberman was already walking toward him, about to reach out and grab his foot.

Just as Rogge fell into despair, a hand suddenly reached out from the sea, grabbed his shoulder, and yanked him out of the hole.

As Rogge was pulled free, seawater rushed straight into the cabin under gravity. Watching his prey slip away at the very last moment, Doberman's eyes widened as he hurriedly rushed out.

In the sea, he saw a Fish-Man pulling Rogge swiftly away. Rogge flashed him a broad grin.

Doberman had not expected Rogge to have a Fish-Man waiting for him in the sea. To compete with a Fish-Man in swimming speed, one would need a mermaid. The Merfolk Tribe was the fastest-swimming race in the world, followed only by the Fish-Man Tribe.

Even if Doberman could give chase, he would never catch Rogge with a Fish-Man Tribe escort. He could only watch helplessly as Rogge fled through the sea, clutching a treasure chest.

"That guy..." Doberman noticed the Marine uniform on Rogge.

He etched Rogge's face deeply into his memory. He would have to investigate this matter thoroughly.

Doberman returned to the warship, where the two CP agents were already inside the cabin, carefully checking the losses.

"What's missing?" Doberman asked from the doorway, drenched from head to toe.

"The three Devil Fruits offered by the Kingdom of Gess are gone," one CP agent said, sweat covering his face.

"Devil Fruits... Were Devil Fruits their target? Find out exactly who that person was," Doberman said through gritted teeth.

He had been careless. If he had moved faster, he could have caught Rogge just now. Even with a Fish-Man waiting for him in the sea, he believed that under his strength, a mere Fish-Man would have been no match for him.

Elsewhere, Rogge held his breath as the Fish-Man swiftly led him far away from the Marine fortress.

Rogge felt as though he was about to die. He could not hold his breath any longer, but the Fish-Man did not stop swimming and instead kept accelerating.

Boom!

Rogge was flung out of the sea and landed on a ship. At last, he could open his mouth and gulp down air.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Rogge laughed madly, while Jelly and Ham stared at him from the ship with delighted expressions.

"Did we succeed?" Ham cried out.

"Heh heh." Rogge opened the chest.

"So these are Devil Fruits?" Jelly asked in surprise as he looked at the three bizarre fruits.

"I don't know what kind of fruits these are either," Rogge said to them. "We'll have to rely on our luck."

"Then we won't hold back." Ham and Jelly each reached out and grabbed one.

Rogge grabbed the middle fruit as well, a white fruit covered in cracks. His intuition told him that this Devil Fruit was extraordinary. If Jelly or Ham had chosen it, he would have fought them for it without hesitation. Fortunately, neither of them had taken a liking to the cracked fruit.

Crack! Crack! Crack! The three of them bit into their fruits at the same time.

"They taste awful!" All three of their expressions changed at once.