"Yo, Roger, long time no see. I've really been missing you."
The instant Bai Chuan spotted the dog-headed warship, a booming voice thundered into his ears.
"To have his voice carry from that far away, what a set of lungs."
The distance between the two ships was at least 300300 to 400400 meters, yet Garp's voice still overwhelmed even the roar of waves pounding against the hull.
"Garp, I don't want to see you. Your face makes me sick, and we literally met two months ago."
Roger's voice was just as imposing as he fired back without backing down.
"Is that so? I forgot."
Garp picked his nose with his pinky, then flicked whatever he got into the sea.
"Garp, you really are my nemesis." Hearing that, Roger's face darkened as he muttered in a low voice.
He could not understand it. There were clearly the Golden Lion and Whitebeard pirates out there too, so why did Garp insist on hounding them?
Right after that, Roger stood at the bow, raised his saber high, and shouted, "Partners, prepare for battle!"
"Yeah!"
In an instant, the crew burst into excitement, and even Bai Chuan felt his blood heat up.
But just as his passion flared, someone doused it, like a bucket of icy water poured straight down from head to toe, freezing him to the bone.
"You, stay in the rear," Rayleigh said, grabbing Bai Chuan by the collar from behind at some point.
"What's wrong with an apprentice? Apprentices have to contribute too!"
"No need. If you stay here, you'll only get in the way, and we'll have to split our focus to protect you."
"I don't need your protection."
"Still not allowed." Rayleigh's attitude was rock-solid. No matter what, he was not letting Bai Chuan onto the battlefield.
"Fine." Bai Chuan looked like he had accepted his fate.
"Buggy, keep a close eye on Shanks and Bai Chuan. If anything happens, I'm holding you responsible."
"Don't worry, Vice-Captain. I'll complete the mission!" Buggy puffed out his chest and lifted his head as he spoke.
Rayleigh knew Shanks' personality too well. He was the type who could never sit still. The moment there was a fight, his whole body would start itching to jump in.
As for Buggy, everyone on the ship knew his temperament. Unless something unexpected happened, he was not going to the front lines.
Rayleigh was not sure Buggy could truly keep Shanks and Bai Chuan under control, but there was no time to deal with that now, because Garp was already attacking.
Cannonballs filled the sky as they slammed toward the Roger Pirates, and it was obvious they were not being fired from normal cannons.
"Garp's strength is as terrifying as ever."
On the ship, the crew showed their own methods. Some used swords, some used guns, some used fists. In the end, not a single cannonball struck the hull.
"Alright, stop staring. Let's hurry up and find somewhere to hide," Buggy said urgently to the two of them. He wanted to get away from this dangerous place as fast as possible.
If they were out on the open sea with nowhere in sight, then the only place to hide was inside the ship.
Bai Chuan and Shanks were dragged into a small room by Buggy, unwilling to go. From there, they could only watch the battle through a tiny pane of glass.
As the ships drew closer and closer, the fight turned into a boarding battle.
The first one to charge over was Garp, and the ones blocking him were Roger and Rayleigh. It took the captain and vice-captain working together to stop that monster.
Barrett, meanwhile, was being held down by a female Marine. Standing together, they looked like beauty and the beast. That female Marine was not even as tall as Barrett's waist.
But from Barrett's expression alone, it was clear this female Marine was not easy to deal with.
"Who's that female Marine fighting Barrett? She looks pretty strong," Bai Chuan asked Shanks.
"Her? Her name is Tsuru. Her rank is Rear Admiral or Vice Admiral, I forgot."
"So that's Tsuru?"
Bai Chuan really had not recognized her. Right now, Tsuru looked nothing like the white-haired, skin-and-bones figure from Bai Chuan's memories.
"Don't look at Tsuru and think she's weak just because she's small. That'd be a huge mistake. Her Devil Fruit ability is terrifying. Even Barrett doesn't dare to get hit by it."
Bai Chuan watched carefully and realized Barrett was attacking Tsuru while wearing some kind of restraint, and whenever Tsuru counterattacked, Barrett would always dodge.
"By the way, who's that crewmate fighting the Marine who uses ice? His strength is insane." The ice-using Marine was naturally the future Admiral Aokiji, but Bai Chuan honestly had no impression of who that sword-using crewmate was.
"Your memory is terrible. Didn't I introduce him to you already?" Shanks looked at Bai Chuan with disdain.
"Did you? I completely forgot." Bai Chuan laughed awkwardly.
"His name is Sikal. He looks pretty chubby, but his speed isn't slow at all. On this ship, he's one of the top five in strength."
"You really can't tell just by looking."
"Watch a bit longer and you'll see. That ice guy isn't Sikal's opponent."
Sure enough, just as Shanks said, after a few exchanges, several wounds appeared on Aokiji's body. Blood also seeped from the corner of his mouth. He had clearly suffered internal injuries.
Sikal, on the other hand, had nothing besides slightly ragged breathing. No injuries at all.
Even so, that Marine had no intention of retreating. If anything, he fought more fiercely the longer it went, even as his wounds piled up.
"That Marine's pretty impressive too."
"Yeah. The captain said it too. He's a real Marine. If nothing unexpected happens, he should become an admiral someday."
"Then the captain is seriously amazing. He can just casually pick someone and they end up becoming an admiral."
"It's not casual. We've run into that Marine several times already. Both sides know each other a bit by now."
The battle on deck had been going on for a while, but Bai Chuan and Shanks could only watch helplessly, and it really felt awful.
Bai Chuan especially wanted to verify what level his two months of hard work had actually reached.
"Bai Chuan," Shanks called softly.
"What is it?"
Bai Chuan turned back in confusion. The moment he saw Shanks gesture toward Buggy with his eyes, he instantly understood what Shanks wanted to do.
"OK."
Then Shanks and Bai Chuan faced Buggy and revealed sinister smiles.
"What are you two trying to do?" Seeing their smiles, Buggy immediately sensed trouble, but he still forced himself to sound tough.
"Let me tell you, the vice-captain already handed you two over to me. In here, I'm the one calling the shots."
"You can call the shots," Shanks and Bai Chuan replied with their expressions unchanged, "but if you can't talk, then we're the ones calling the shots."
"N-no, don't!"
Looking at Buggy like that, Bai Chuan felt like he was seeing himself from two months ago.
But precisely because of that, Bai Chuan wanted to do it even more, maybe just to satisfy some twisted little urge in his heart.
/-\
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