The sea wind howled, and waves battered the reefs...
Roger and Gern stood facing each other, an invisible pressure hanging in the air.
"Ha ha ha!" Roger suddenly burst out laughing, a hint of resignation and relief in his laughter.
"If Garp found out that his half-apprentice had stolen his 'dream,' he'd probably be hopping mad!"
"Vice Admiral Garp's dream is to arrest you himself. As for mine..." Gern shrugged, a lazy smile playing on his lips.
"It's to make the 'Pirate King' a stepping stone for every promotion in my future."
"A stepping stone..." Roger narrowed his eyes. "You planned this long ago, didn't you? Since Edd War, or even earlier?"
"Who knows?" Gern spread his hands, his tone light.
"After all, when you threw me into the sea back then, I told you!
I'd personally drag you onto the Execution Platform. I make a habit of keeping my word!"
Roger fell silent for a moment, then slowly drew Ace and gently brushed the dust from its hilt.
"Gern, you know? I originally planned to leave quietly and turn myself in in the East Blue.
But now..." His gaze suddenly sharpened, and his Conqueror's Haki spread like a tide. The air around them seemed to freeze.
"Looks like I don't have a choice!!" Before his words had faded, Roger vanished from where he stood like a phantom.
The next instant, instead of drawing his sword, he drove a fist wrapped in savage Haki straight toward Gern's face!
Bang! Gern reacted instantly, bringing Black Blade: Eight Desolations across his body.
The instant fist met blade, a terrifying shock wave swept outward. The reef beneath their feet shattered with a crash, and the sea surged backward under the impact.
"You've gotten a lot stronger since then!"
Roger stepped back to create