Roger raised Ace high in his right hand, planted his left foot on the Oro Jackson's figurehead, and shouted defiantly at the rapidly approaching tidal wave.
Fierce winds whipped through Roger's hair, and torrential rain drenched everyone aboard, yet his gaze only grew more determined.
"That madman Roger—what is he doing?!"
From a distance, Golden Lion, who was struggling to save his own ship, couldn't believe his eyes.
He even wondered if Roger had lost his mind from terror in the face of the disaster.
Driving a ship directly into the gaping maw of such a terrifying tsunami was nothing short of betting on a one-in-a-million chance.
This level of insanity wasn't just something no one would attempt—most wouldn't even dare consider it.
Yet to Golden Lion's astonishment, every crew member aboard the Oro Jackson moved with decisive precision, not a single one hesitating or questioning Roger's command!
Almost the instant Roger gave the order, the Oro Jackson's engines roared to full power, violently propelling the entire ship forward.
"Unfurl the sails!" Roger continued issuing calm commands.
Douglas Bullet swiftly released the ship's previously furled sails, which immediately billowed taut from the surrounding gale-force winds.
The sails stretched into an alarmingly extreme curve, making observers fear they might tear apart at any moment.
Against the crimson canvas, the white skull emblem seemed to smile—mirroring Roger's current state of mind, facing everything around him with fearless acceptance.
Boom!
Another massive wave crashed against the hull.
Even though Rayleigh intercepted it, smaller waves still slammed into the ship, producing deafening roars.
At this moment, the vision of everyone aboard the Oro Jackson had completely darkened.
Because right before them was that spiraling, hundreds-of-meters-high tidal wave!
"Rayleigh, let's charge through it!" Roger laughed wildly.
Rayleigh pursed his lips and said seriously, "No problem, Captain."
Boom!
As the wave reached its peak, the seawater at the highest point began to fall back down.
Between the descending and rising seawater, an extremely narrow passage formed—a surfing tunnel created by the chaos of nature.
"We can definitely make it through in ten seconds."
"Woo-hoo! Rayleigh, let's see if that shipwright Tom built a sturdy enough hull!"
Roger stood at the bow, shouting excitedly while Gaban gripped the helm, his face full of trust in Roger as he stared at a pinpoint of light at the end of the passage.
Bullet had already pushed the ship's propulsion system to its maximum capacity.
Under this terrifying thrust, the entire vessel creaked and groaned.
Although Roger's words might seem utterly unreliable to others—charging through a passage formed by waves—the crew of the Oro Jackson had long grown accustomed to their captain's peculiar thought process.
More importantly, Roger had never made a wrong decision before.
It was this years-long trust that made everyone on board fully support Roger's decisions, even something as insane as navigating a passage that would last only a few seconds.
The Oro Jackson roared as it plunged into the seemingly endless passage.
Wind. Seawater. Darkness. The churning of colossal waves.
The Roger Pirates endured the changing environment inside the passage, all for the sake of a faint, distant glimmer of light.
Finally.
BANG!
Behind this world-destroying wave, a massive opening suddenly burst forth.
A sharply pointed ram emerged first, followed by the enormous hull, crimson sails, and the Jolly Roger flag bearing a smiling skull.
The Oro Jackson shot out like a cannonball blasting through a city gate, breaking through the weakest point of the seawater.
Everyone who had been enduring suffocation, seawater, and darkness once again saw the light.
The Oro Jackson slammed heavily onto the sea, sending layers of waves splashing outward.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Roger stood at the bow, laughing uproariously.
His laughter infected everyone else on board, and soon, whether it was Rayleigh or Gaban, they all began to laugh heartily.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Captain, it seems I lost our bet this time."
But before Roger could respond, Rayleigh suddenly sensed something amiss—there seemed to be people in the distance.
Turning to look, Rayleigh's pupils dilated sharply.
He saw three Marine warships.
The largest and most conspicuous among them was a dog-headed vessel.
Having dealt with the Marines for years, especially with Garp, how could Rayleigh not recognize that it was Garp's ship?
"Garp... Why is he here?"
A trace of frustration crossed Silvers Rayleigh's face.
To be honest, their relationship with Garp was complicated.
Garp and they stood on opposing sides as the Marines and pirates, but setting aside these roles, they had joined forces multiple times before, making their relationship exceedingly complex.
Aboard the Marine warship, the well-rested sailors had made thorough preparations.
Their swords were honed to a brilliant sheen, and their firearms and cannons had been meticulously calibrated, all awaiting the Vice Admiral's command to launch an assault on the Roger Pirates.
Garp stretched his body, joints cracking audibly, then removed his navy cloak and declared.
"Raleigh, Kuzan, both of you should return to your own ships. Roger is a formidable opponent, and in the heat of battle, I won't be able to look out for you. Let me face him first. When I give the signal, you can come assist me in capturing Roger."
With that, Garp began directing his crew to move ammunition.
Kuzan rose to head back to his own warship but noticed Raleigh hadn't budged.
Curious, he asked, "Raleigh, why aren't you leaving? Didn't Vice Admiral Garp just tell us to return?"
Upon hearing Kuzan's words, Raleigh rolled his eyes, too lazy to explain, and simply stood up, using Moon Walk to leap back to his own vessel.
Capture Roger? What a joke!
From the moment Garp uttered those words, Raleigh didn't trust a single punctuation mark of it.
The old man's feelings toward Roger were far too complicated.
When Roger was in good form, Garp loved chasing him all over the place.
But the moment Roger was in real danger, it was Garp who ended up helping him.
That was precisely why the "Hero of the Marines" couldn't manage to capture a major pirate and instead allowed him to become the Pirate King.
Raleigh saw through this clearly, but given his current strength, he couldn't afford to openly defy Garp.
Whether in terms of power or connections, the cost of turning against him was too high for Raleigh to bear at this stage.
Better to turn a blind eye and avoid the frustration. After all, aside from Roger's crew, there was also the severely wounded Golden Lion.
Capturing Golden Lion Shiki would further solidify Raleigh's standing within the Marines.
"Ahhhhhhh! Roger! Even in a situation like this, you managed to escape! It seems even the heavens are on your side!"
After the tsunami, the sea was in complete disarray.
Corpses and wreckage floated everywhere.
The Flying Pirates that Golden Lion had brought out were now reduced to less than a tenth of their original force.
Only two ships remained: Golden Lion's own vessel and another that had been close to his.
The rest had been torn apart by the violent tsunami.
And Golden Lion himself was in a pitiable state.
Facing the tsunami, he had pushed his stamina to the limit, surpassing his usual abilities to successfully withstand the destruction.
But in the chaos, a pirate ship was shattered by the waves, and its heavy wooden rudder flew out—straight into Golden Lion's skull, lodging itself deeply and nearly killing him instantly.