Hey, Xiao Yi, don't you think you're being a bit shady? You had such a good idea—why didn't you say anything earlier?
Along the side of the Oro Jackson, a row of crewmates sat holding fishing rods, lazily fishing together.
This was Fang Yi's last resort—he really couldn't handle making another batch of dried fish. Inspired by the seabirds constantly trying to steal their catch, he came up with the idea to use the small fish as bait instead. This way, whatever they caught could be eaten fresh, saving them from having to dry it.
Sure, they were still eating fish, but at least they didn't have to process it for hours on end. It was less like fishing and more like feeding the sea.
Buggy's fishing rod was being pulled violently by something, but the guy didn't even bother to reel it in.
"This weather…" Petem looked up at the sky with a frown. "Isn't it starting to look like a storm's coming?"
"Yeah, pressure's dropping. But nothing serious," Fang Yi replied with a smile.
He had learned a lot of navigation skills from his mentor, Jabba, who was the ship's navigator. Coupled with his own [Basic Navigation] skill from the system—which included weather knowledge—Fang Yi was confident in his judgment.
"Sigh… Where the hell is the Whitebeard Pirates anyway? We've circled several times chasing them and still haven't caught up!" grumbled Taro, a combat officer.
The Whitebeard Pirates were a powerful crew. Their general whereabouts weren't too hard to track, but each time the Roger Pirates arrived, the other crew had already left. After several rounds of this wild goose chase, morale was beginning to wane.
"Can't help it. As far as we know, the only person who might be able to read Poneglyphs is the samurai from Wano aboard Whitebeard's ship. We have to find them no matter what," Fang Yi said with a sigh.
"Three o'clock direction—large fleet spotted!" Lookout Gorlan suddenly shouted from the crow's nest.
"Huh?" Everyone looked toward the front-right side of the sea. Sure enough, several distant ship silhouettes appeared on the horizon.
"Marines? That many warships could be trouble," Shanks muttered, narrowing his eyes.
"They're not Marines—they're pirates," Fang Yi said as he lowered his custom monocular.
This was a special item he had won from the system's lottery. Its range was much better than standard scopes. He'd given one each to Gorlan, Roger, Rayleigh, and Jabba—he had spares thanks to his frequent lottery draws.
"Oh? That many pirates moving together? Something must be up," Rayleigh said as he walked over.
Pirates did occasionally gather for events. Sometimes, powerful factions would host competitions—like treasure hunts—to recruit new blood. Winners might earn spots in elite crews. Those who declined invitations? They usually didn't live long.
So seeing a fleet of pirate ships gathering wasn't necessarily strange. But Fang Yi shook his head.
"Rayleigh-san, I don't think it's that simple," Fang Yi said seriously.
From what he saw, this wasn't a bunch of random pirate crews—it looked more like a unified force.
"Captain! It's the Golden Lion's Flying Armada!" Gorlan called out.
Roger had just come up on deck, standing beside Rayleigh. When they heard that, both men's expressions turned serious.
Of all the pirate crews in the world, the Golden Lion Shiki's Flying Armada was easily among the most powerful and fearsome in size.
After destroying Impel Down's Level 6 and plundering its resources and prisoners, Shiki had formed an armada with overwhelming numbers and strength. His reputation and strength attracted countless pirates, swelling his fleet to over twenty ships and more than ten pirate crews.
And lately, rumor had it that Shiki was specifically hunting the Roger Pirates.
Everyone knew why—he wanted to absorb them.
Seeing Shiki's fleet, Roger immediately ordered the Oro Jackson to change course.
But the Flying Armada noticed them as well and began to pursue.
"Captain! They're coming after us!" Gorlan shouted from the mast.
"Looks like they've got us in their sights," Rayleigh said, smiling faintly.
"Shiki's ambitions are no secret," Roger replied with a grin. "But he and I are not the same. If I can't sail freely on the seas—then I'd rather be dead!"
"Then we run. A fleet that big? We're not equipped to face them head-on," Rayleigh said casually.
"Exactly! Guess we have no choice but to flee!" Roger laughed heartily.
While the Roger Pirates were being chased by Shiki's Flying Armada, a Marine surveillance vessel—tasked with tracking Shiki—spotted the Roger Pirates too. They immediately sent a report to Marine Headquarters.
Steelbone Kong, then serving as Fleet Admiral, received the intel and quickly summoned Admiral Sengoku.
"Sengoku, take a fleet to the Edd War waters immediately. Monitor both groups—and if the chance arises, capture them both," Kong ordered.
As Sengoku prepared to set sail, Vice Admiral Garp arrived at HQ and burst into Kong's office.
"Kong, is it true you've located the Roger Pirates?" Garp asked directly.
"You bastard, Garp! I'm the Fleet Admiral! Are you interrogating me?" Kong shouted, but then his tone softened. "Anyway, perfect timing. Here's your promotion letter—you've been appointed Admiral. We're planning the ceremony. As for Shiki, Sengoku will handle it."
"Promotion? No thanks! I'm happy where I am. I'll be on my way now!" Garp waved and turned to leave.
"Garp! Stop right there! I told you, Sengoku's handling this! And I wasn't finished talking—get back here!"
"I heard enough," Garp said as he casually walked out.
"Garp, you bastard—!" Kong's yells echoed from the office, but Garp didn't care. Now that he knew Roger's location, there was no way he was just going to sit and wait at HQ.
"Wahh~ Garp-san, did you just turn down a promotion again? So cool!" A young Kuzan (Aokiji) called out, eyes gleaming with admiration.
"Haha. If you want freedom, you don't need a high rank," Garp said cryptically.
"Garp! I'm already handling the Shiki situation! Go back!" Sengoku shouted as Garp arrived at the docks.
"Wahahahaha! Don't worry, you take all the credit. I'm just tagging along!" Garp laughed.
"Oh? Both Admiral Sengoku and Hero Garp are heading out? This is gonna be big news!"
"Of course—anything involving Roger means Garp will never just sit out!"
"Right. And Shiki isn't someone ordinary Marines can handle."
The officers at the port were stunned to see both Sengoku and Garp mobilizing. But those in the know quickly explained the gravity of the situation—it involved both Roger and Shiki. Sending one admiral and one hero made sense.
Sengoku, however, was already fuming.
He didn't care about credit—he wanted to keep Garp out so his plan wouldn't be disrupted.
With two pirate titans potentially clashing, Sengoku had hoped to clean up afterward. But with Garp barging in, plans could get derailed fast.
Because Garp had only one strategy: punch through everything.
He was so strong that sometimes brute force worked, wrecking Sengoku's more subtle strategies.
Roger's crew was the only group he'd failed to capture so far. Even after cornering them several times, they always escaped.
So anywhere Roger showed up, Garp would always chase after him, orders or not.
Just like now. Even though Kong had assigned Sengoku to the mission, Garp was moving out anyway.
"Aghhh, that Garp… terrifying as always," said Borsalino (Kizaru), smirking slyly nearby.
"That idiot… always acting on his own," Sengoku muttered. "Kong just said he was going to promote him. I bet he refused again."
"Only Garp would turn down a promotion like that," said Vice-Admiral Ephra, laughing.
"Hmph, that's just Garp for you. Anyone else, and Kong would've exploded. Alright, we sail now—if we let Garp reach them first, there's no telling what kind of chaos he'll cause!"
Sengoku shook his head and ordered the fleet to set sail.