Chapter 80: Battle on the Brink
While Luo Han was having breakfast, over on Line Island, the members of the Roger Pirates were also waking up one by one from the previous night's banquet.
"Hey, Roger. Are we really just going to wait here for Golden Lion and the others?" Rayleigh asked, rubbing his temples. "I heard Whitebeard's nearby too."
Splash, splash! Roger splashed handfuls of water onto his face, calm and completely unconcerned.
"No worries, brother!" Roger laughed heartily. "I have a feeling this will be an amazing stage. Just wait for Captain Roger's grand performance!"
"Yeah, Rayleigh, don't worry about the captain," Jabber said with a grin. "You should be more worried about how you're going to deal with that woman."
Haha! The rest of the Roger Pirates burst into laughter, some doubling over. Clearly, Rayleigh had been through quite the ordeal with a certain woman, hence their reactions.
"You guys! You're still joking at a time like this?!" Rayleigh roared.
The group immediately fell silent, glancing at one another—then burst into even louder laughter. Roger's laugh was the loudest of all.
"Roger!!" Rayleigh bellowed, voice low and furious.
"Uh-oh…" Roger suddenly felt a chill down his spine. Meeting Rayleigh's sharp gaze, his eyes darted around, silently begging for help.
"Nope, nope, nope!" Everyone backed away in unison, staring up at the sky, pretending not to hear. You're the captain—this one's on you.
Without any backup, Roger smiled gently and tried to explain, "Brother, I get what you're feeling, but you were the one in the wrong. That woman's something else—I can't help you there."
That only enraged Rayleigh further, and he chased after Roger with a swing of his sword.
Laughter echoed across the island. As they watched the chase unfold, the rest of the crew couldn't help but smile fondly. They were used to it.
Then, Roger suddenly stopped. His expression turned serious as he gazed out across the sea.
"What is it, Roger?" Rayleigh immediately sensed the change and approached, no longer angry.
Roger said nothing, still staring at the ocean.
Rayleigh followed his gaze but saw nothing. "Is it Golden Lion? Or Whitebeard?" Though nothing was visible, Rayleigh trusted Roger's instincts.
"They're coming, Captain," Jabber said, arriving with the others and dropping the previous joking tone.
"It's Golden Lion's crew," Roger replied, a smile tugging at his lips. He turned to his crew, eyes gleaming. "Get ready, brothers. Starting today, we run no more!"
"Haha! Finally, we can go all out," Jabber said excitedly. "Let's give them a surprise!"
Everyone responded with enthusiasm. Rayleigh, watching this scene, held his forehead in silence.
"Relax, brother!" Roger clapped Rayleigh on the shoulder. "Don't worry about everyone. We're the ones who are going to shake the world—we're not stopping here!"
Looking at Roger's confident figure, Rayleigh felt a blinding light pass over him. In that moment, all his doubts vanished, replaced by battle fervor. His eyes began to burn with determination.
"Haha!" Roger laughed. "Now that's the first mate I know!"
"I lost my cool there, Captain Roger," Rayleigh said with a smile.
…
"We're almost at Line Island. Speed up and prepare for battle!" Golden Lion ordered, seeing a faint black line forming on the horizon.
"We're close!" Ochoku (Wang Zhi)gripped his greatsword, eyes gleaming.
Shing! Shing! At that moment, two flying slashes shot toward Golden Lion's fleet like soaring hawks from Line Island.
"Quite the welcome. A battle declaration, huh, Roger?" Golden Lion muttered, casually swinging his swords to intercept and shatter the incoming attacks.
Boom! Boom! Kyo (Silver Axe) planted his twin axes into the deck, gazing toward Line Island and murmuring, "The war has begun."
"Faster!" Golden Lion shouted again, his eyes blazing with battlelust. Roger's opening salvo had clearly lit a fire in him.
As Golden Lion approached, the Roger Pirates stood ready. The battle was about to erupt.
At the same time, Luo Han and Whitebeard were speeding toward Line Island from the opposite direction. Based on the timing, they were expected to arrive about an hour late.
Standing at the bow, Luo Han could feel the tension in the air. His heart was pounding—he could already sense the intensity of the upcoming clash.
Tap, tap. Tucker came up beside Luo Han. "Boss Luo Han, I've mastered Armament Haki," he said, revealing his right hand covered in a faint black hue.
Luo Han glanced at it. The color was still light—perhaps the Haki wasn't fully developed yet.
"In the coming battle, stay far away with your crewmates," Luo Han said seriously. "This fight's going to be even fiercer than the last. One mistake, and you could die."
"But I've learned Armament Haki… I still can't fight?" Tucker's eyes dimmed.
"Still not enough," Luo Han shook his head. This wasn't a joke. People would die.
"…Alright. I'll train even harder, Boss!" Tucker said solemnly, then returned to the cabin.
Luo Han looked toward the sky—dark clouds were gathering. "Has the war already begun?"
…
Elsewhere, from a position 90 degrees away from Luo Han's path and 100 kilometers from one end of Line Island, a Marine warship floated silently.
"Sengoku, what the hell is this order from the World Government?" Garp grumbled.
That morning, the three of them had received a call from the Fleet Admiral—direct orders from the Five Elders: Garp, Sengoku, and Zephyr were to observe the battle between the Roger Pirates and the Rocks Pirates (Whitebeard and Golden Lion's forces) and absolutely not interfere—especially Garp.
Though Sengoku and Zephyr didn't fully understand the reasoning, they didn't object. After all, letting pirates kill each other wasn't such a bad thing.
Only Garp looked visibly annoyed. He had just powered up his fists and was itching to test them out.
Now this order had ruined everything. He sat between Sengoku and Zephyr, both of whom were gripping his arms tightly.
"You two, knock it off!" Garp roared.
"Just sit still and don't try sneaking off again," Sengoku and Zephyr replied flatly.
There wasn't much else they could do. As soon as the order came in, Garp had immediately tried to slip away to the battlefield. Fortunately, the Fleet Admiral had expected this and told Sengoku and Zephyr to physically restrain him.
"You damn bastards!" Garp growled. But he didn't break free. Calming himself down, he chose not to disobey orders just for the sake of his own fighting passion.
With no choice, the three of them turned to watch the unfolding battle from afar. A loud boom echoed in the distance—it was clear the two pirate forces had engaged.
The three exchanged glances, then looked toward Line Island with solemn expressions.
(END CHAPTER)
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