New World, Red Port.
Roger boarded the ship Valthior had arranged for him here. As soon as he stepped onto the deck, he immediately shouted, "Quick, quick, quick! Set sail now! Do not stop for even a second! Full speed to Binites Island!"
Seeing the crew quickly raise the sails and lift the anchor, Rouge asked in confusion, "Why are you in such a hurry?"
"Do not underestimate the World Government's intelligence network. Garp might find out at any moment that Dragon and I had contact. Although I never actually influenced Dragon with any ideas, he definitely will not believe that. Now that my whereabouts have been exposed and Garp has seen me, we cannot delay. Otherwise, that guy might catch up!" Roger explained.
Roger truly had not taught Dragon any ideology or beliefs.
But he really had given Dragon a huge amount of food as support.
There was no explaining that clearly, so it was better to run.
Just as the ship was about to leave the harbor, alarms suddenly rang across the port. A group of Marines stationed there rushed out and shouted, "Everyone is forbidden from leaving port! All ships lower your sails, drop anchor, and stop for inspection!"
The crew aboard Roger's ship were all stunned. One by one, they stopped what they were doing.
Seeing this, Roger shouted loudly, "What are you doing? Ignore those Marines and set sail immediately!"
"But Mr. Gold, the Marines want to…" one crew member said hesitantly.
"What are the Marines? This is a ship of the Jaygarcia family. It belongs under one of the Five Elders' families. What right do the Marines have to stop our ship? I am handling business for Lord Valthior. If you delay the lord's important affairs, a hundred heads from each of you will not be enough to pay for it! Ignore them. Listen to my orders and set sail immediately!" Roger shouted, using borrowed authority without the slightest shame.
When the other crewmen heard this, they felt it made sense.
They were working for one of the Five Elders' families.
Who the hell did those Marines think they were? What right did they have to inspect their ship?
Added to Roger's forceful presence, the crew gritted their teeth and no longer cared about the Marine blockade. Without another word, they raised the sails and set out, charging toward the harbor exit.
All the other ships were obeying the Marines' orders, lowering sails and dropping anchor.
Only this ship rushed outward without regard for anything, quickly drawing the Marines' attention.
"Rear Admiral Villa, that ship is trying to break through!" a Marine Lieutenant Commander immediately shouted.
Rear Admiral Villa, who was responsible for sealing the harbor, immediately looked over.
"Whose ship is that?"
"It belongs to the Jaygarcia family. We…" the Marine Lieutenant Commander hesitated.
Rear Admiral Villa, who had originally wanted to fire a warning shot at that ship, froze.
"The Jaygarcia family?"
"Yes. Strictly speaking, we have no authority to deal with it…" the Marine Lieutenant Commander said.
"That is the ship! Vice Admiral Garp specifically instructed us to pay close attention to the Jaygarcia family's ships! Hurry. Although we cannot fire on it, we still have to follow!" Rear Admiral Villa immediately ordered.
Very soon, two Marine warships also chased out of the harbor.
They did not dare attack a ship of the Jaygarcia family.
But Roger had never had any tradition of being afraid to hit Marines.
Seeing those two warships chasing out of the harbor, Roger first had Rouge and the child return to the cabin. Then he walked to the stern of the ship and took a deep breath.
"I did not expect that after hiding away for so long, things would suddenly become exciting again… Well, I brought this on myself anyway…"
As he spoke, a bright smile appeared on his face.
"Sure enough, peaceful days do not suit me at all."
In the original story, Roger had been terminally ill, so he could settle peacefully in the South Blue.
But now, this guy ate well, slept well, and was in excellent health. He had no illness troubling him at all. After spending two years as a countryside landlord, he had always felt that something was off.
His personality was not as steady as Rayleigh's or Gaban's.
Deep in his bones flowed the blood of adventure and thrill-seeking.
Now, he could no longer hold it back.
He rested one hand on the hilt of Ace at his waist.
In an instant, the overwhelming aura of Conqueror's Haki that had once swept across the seas and crushed all who opposed him erupted from Roger's body.
"Divine Departure!"
Roger roared as a colossal slash burst forth.
In the blink of an eye, it tore across both pursuing warships.
In the end, Roger decided to show Garp a measure of respect.
The slash injured no one. Instead, it cleanly sheared through every mast on the two warships pursuing him.
Without their masts and sails, the paddle wheels could still propel the ships forward, but their speed dropped dramatically. There was no longer any chance of catching up.
Standing at the stern, Roger threw back his head and laughed. "Gwahahaha! It's been a long time since I last made a move. Looks like I haven't gotten rusty!"
Twenty minutes later, Garp's warship arrived at the scene.
All that remained were the two warships with their masts severed and the faint silhouette of Roger's ship disappearing into the distant horizon.
The moment he saw it, Garp erupted. "I should've taken that bastard down earlier! Damn it! Full speed ahead! Even if he runs to the ends of the New World, I'll hunt him down!"
The warship did not stop. It cut straight between the two mastless warships and chased toward the ship's silhouette at the far edge of the sea.
A short while later, Sengoku, who was waiting for Garp to return at Marine Headquarters, also received the news.
He was completely stunned.
In Sengoku's office, Momonga was reporting the situation.
Listening to Momonga's report, Sengoku looked utterly confused.
"You are saying Garp ran into Roger in Mary Geoise?"
"That is correct. That is what Vice Admiral Garp said. And he has already confirmed that Roger is Portgas Gold, the man mentioned in the intelligence report—the one who may have changed Dragon's ideology. That was the identity Roger used while hiding in the South Blue. We have also confirmed that the Portgas family on Baterilla Island has indeed sold off its property and fled. Not long ago, using the identity of Portgas Gold, he went through the Jaygarcia family's channels, passed through the South Blue Red Port, and arrived at Mary Geoise. During that journey, he happened to encounter Vice Admiral Garp," Momonga said.
"Then if Garp knew he was Roger, why did he not arrest him!?" Sengoku frowned.
"This… Vice Admiral Garp did not say. But I imagine it was because it was inconvenient to make a move in Mary Geoise?" Momonga said hesitantly.
Sengoku was silent for a moment. Then he said, "Erase all intelligence related to the Jaygarcia family. This matter must never be connected to the Jaygarcia family in any way!"
Sengoku knew very well that he could now be considered one of Saint Saturn's people.
So he had to protect the honor of the Jaygarcia family at all times.
Even though he was very clear in his heart that this matter definitely had deep involvement with Saint Valthior.
On the surface, however, it absolutely could not affect the image of Saint Valthior or the Jaygarcia family.
Besides, Sengoku felt that Saint Valthior had no reason to support an armed force opposing the World Government, right?
Most likely, he had not known what Roger had done. He had only helped Roger with a small favor because of their old relationship as former members of the Roger Pirates.
After sending Momonga away, Sengoku was silent for a while.
In the end, he still dialed Saint Saturn's Den Den Mushi.
No one knew what Sengoku and Saint Saturn discussed.
But very soon, the Marines dispatched a large fleet to the New World to pursue Roger and support Garp.
Immediately afterward, Marine branches across the South Blue and CP agencies began large-scale joint operations. They dealt heavy blows to the Revolutionary Army and searched everywhere for Roger and traces of his movements.
July 16, 1492, Sea Circle Calendar.
Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Garp discovered Roger's trail in the New World. The two sides broke into a fierce battle near the waters of Binites Island.
Two days later, the Pirate King's left arm, Mountain Eater Scopper Gaban, joined the battlefield.
After the two sides fought for a while, Roger and Gaban seized an opening, forced Garp back, and quickly withdrew from the battlefield.
After a brief rest, Garp met up with the Marine Headquarters fleet that had arrived to support him and began chasing Roger again.
This matter caused a huge uproar across the sea.
Many people were extremely shocked that Pirate King Roger had suddenly "returned to the world."
Not only the ordinary spectators—
On the Sabaody Archipelago, Rayleigh stared at the newspaper in complete disbelief.
"My, my," Shakky said with a smile as she lit a cigarette. "Looks like you got left behind. Roger and Gaban are out there in the New World having the time of their lives... and you're the only one who didn't get an invitation."
Rayleigh's mood instantly sank.
Damn it.
The three of them had always been known as the Roger Pirates' Big Three.
Yet Roger and Gaban had suddenly joined forces in the New World to take on Garp, and Rayleigh had only found out afterward through the newspaper.
How could he not feel depressed?
"I need to ask Roger what exactly is going on. We agreed to retire together, so why did they suddenly come back? Did Valthior call them back?" Rayleigh said, taking out a Den Den Mushi and preparing to contact Roger.
Why did they not bring me along?
But before Rayleigh could dial, Shakky suddenly received a Den Den Mushi call from one of her informants.
Listening to the intelligence from the Den Den Mushi, Shakky's expression also became extremely surprised.
"Marine Headquarters' latest bounty notices have been updated? Pirate King Roger's bounty, which has not changed in a long time, has soared to exactly six billion Berries? And he has been marked as the 'World's Worst Criminal'? What does that mean?" Shakky said in shock.
"Big Sister, according to our intelligence, the World Government has also made major updates to Roger's crimes. Previously, his crimes were mostly attacking World Government member nations and the Marines. Now they have become attempting to overthrow the World Government, destroying the world, establishing anti-World Government armed forces in the South Blue, and so on. It is said that he influenced Dragon, the son of Marine Hero Vice Admiral Garp, and turned Dragon into the leader of an armed force against the World Government, continuously stirring up rebellions in the South Blue…" the informant reported.
July 20, 1492, Sea Circle Calendar.
Front page headline of the World Economy News Paper:
The World's Worst Criminal, Pirate King Gol D. Roger—Bounty Raised to Six Billion Berries!
Crimes like intending to overthrow the World Government, being the man behind the Revolutionary Army, and influencing the son of the Marine Hero were all piled onto Roger's head at once.
The title of the Three Pirate Emperors of the New World, which had been so loud before, was instantly overshadowed by this man who swept in like the wind.
Many people said—
No matter how fiercely the Three Emperors made noise, the moment Roger acted, everyone knew what true weight was.
Now that is what you call an international pirate.
"The Pirate King is still the Pirate King. While other pirates are still fighting for fame and profit, he has already begun planning to overthrow the World Government. Who on this sea can compare to that kind of ambition?"
Countless people across the seas found themselves thinking the same thing.
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