Crash—!
The waves rolled and churned.
From the distant sea, a pirate ship slowly came into view.
The Roger Pirates.
One look at the flag was enough to identify them.
That's right.
This was the Roger Pirates—one of the most famous crews sailing the seas. After the disbandment of the Rocks Pirates, an era of rising powers had begun, and Roger's crew had come to be recognized as one of the Three Great Pirate Crews.
But that raised a question.
Why were there Four Great Powers, yet only Three Great Pirate Crews?
The reason was simple.
Britannia was not a pirate crew.
Arthur's faction was fundamentally different from ordinary pirate organizations. Because of that, Britannia was never counted among the pirate crews.
"Hahaha!"
Standing on the deck, Roger laughed loudly.
"So this is Britannia, huh? It really is beautiful!"
"Volcanic islands… frozen islands… and…"
He lifted his head, trying to peer upward.
But the towering waterfall prevented him from seeing what lay above.
Outsiders could not enter the land beyond the waterfall.
After all, only a fool would start a war against Britannia within its own waters.
Unless—
You were absolutely confident you could defeat Britannia even under those conditions.
Otherwise, it was unthinkable.
Roger himself was curious.
But he had no intention of starting a fight.
If things turned into a battle, the Roger Pirates might very well end up trapped within Britannia's territory.
Everyone knew this.
Within the waters of Britannia, Morgan le Fay was practically a god.
Her strange power allowed her to treat every island like an extension of herself. She could manipulate them freely—and even control the surrounding sea.
Facing such an ability carelessly could lead to disaster.
Because of that, anyone with common sense would never attack Britannia while Arthur and his forces were present.
Even if you succeeded, the cost would be catastrophic.
And if you failed…
Well, that didn't even need explaining.
"Hmm."
Rayleigh pushed up his glasses and spoke calmly.
"So Roger, what do you think of this place?"
Roger scratched his chin.
"Honestly? It's amazing!"
"Britannia really is beautiful. If I ever get old someday, I'd like to retire here."
"Hahaha!"
Rayleigh burst out laughing.
"If that day ever comes, Arthur might not even let you stay."
"Tch!"
Roger clicked his tongue, while the rest of the crew laughed and joked among themselves.
It was worth mentioning that over the past year—since the God Valley Incident—the Roger Pirates had grown in size.
Their crew now numbered around fifteen members.
But no one dared underestimate them.
Though small in number, every single member was a powerful elite.
That was the Roger Pirates.
A crew composed entirely of top-tier fighters.
Their strength was unquestionable.
People often debated what mattered more:
quality or quantity.
The Roger Pirates themselves were proof that elite strength mattered more.
With just over a dozen members, they had become one of the New World's three greatest pirate crews—surpassing many far larger forces.
That was the value of elite fighters.
Of course, that didn't mean numbers were useless.
Take Shiki's Flying Pirates, for example.
While they appeared to rely heavily on numbers, those numbers were filled with strong fighters. Their strength simply wasn't as concentrated as the Roger Pirates'.
In truth, the Flying Pirates were a combination of both numbers and strength.
And numbers themselves could never be ignored.
If Arthur were given enough time, he could raise a knight army of one hundred thousand soldiers.
With such a force, he could theoretically crush even Roger through sheer military power.
But creating elite soldiers on that scale was extraordinarily difficult.
Very few forces in the world could manage it.
Perhaps none at all.
At least, in theory.
The only known example was the Marines.
They could gather 100,000 elite troops from across the world.
During the God Valley battle, they had mobilized around 150,000 elite soldiers.
If Roger, Edward, or Shiki tried to charge straight into that army, they would be crushed.
That was the only large-scale elite military force openly known.
Whether others existed elsewhere, perhaps on the Red Line—was impossible to say.
"Roger."
At that moment, Scopper Gaban asked curiously:
"You're sure this will work?"
Clearly, the Roger Pirates hadn't come to Britannia for sightseeing.
They had business here.
Rayleigh and Gaban both had their doubts.
Roger waved his hand casually.
"Relax!"
"When I was younger, that guy and I were friends. There won't be any problem."
"Hmm…"
The crew wasn't entirely convinced.
Still, since Roger insisted so confidently, they chose to believe him—for now.
After all, their captain had a long history of doing reckless things.
"Even if the captain says so…"
"I still think something feels off."
"Same here."
Several crew members muttered among themselves.
Roger's reliability was questionable at the best of times.
Sure, he was dependable when it truly mattered.
But outside of that?
No one could predict what he might do next.
"Hey! I can hear you idiots!"
Roger shouted angrily.
"Hahahahaha!"
The entire crew burst into laughter.
Splash—
The ship finally docked.
The people stationed on the island quickly noticed the newcomers.
"Roger Pirates?"
"What are they doing in Britannia? Are they here to start a war?"
"Are you stupid?"
"Roger Pirates picking a fight with King Arthur in Britannia?"
"That's suicide!"
"No one even knows what kind of monsters Britannia is hiding!"
The onlookers whispered among themselves.
And honestly, they weren't wrong.
Fighting at sea was one thing.
But challenging Arthur inside Britannia itself?
That was suicide.
Those who lived on the volcanic islands knew better than anyone how terrifying the hidden power of this land truly was.
Among all the places on the seas, where would an invasion be most difficult?
Some might say the Red Line.
But in the past six months, many had started saying something else.
Britannia.
Invading Britannia was a nightmare.
Step. Step.
Roger strolled casually through the harbor, looking around with interest.
"So this is the volcanic island, huh?"
"Not bad. Plenty of people around."
Rayleigh scanned the surroundings calmly.
Many factions had gathered here.
Agents from powerful nations, members of various pirate crews, representatives of underground organizations…
Numerous forces had established a presence on the island.
Some came to observe Britannia.
Others came to do business.
After all, Britannia exported many useful materials.
The quality was excellent—even if the prices were slightly higher.
Since Britannia wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, many groups simply decided to trade instead.
Everyone remained cautious—but pragmatic.
"What's wrong?" Gaban asked Rayleigh.
Rayleigh replied thoughtfully:
"This island has attracted a lot of attention."
"Superpowers, underworld emperors, dark rulers… even agents of the World Government."
"Though I suppose that's not surprising."
Gaban rubbed his chin.
"That makes sense. I heard Britannia sells large quantities of materials."
"The prices are only about ten percent higher than usual, but the quality is far better."
Rayleigh nodded.
"Exactly. That's one of the reasons Britannia has become so influential."
"Let's keep moving."
But then he frowned slightly.
"…The person we're looking for is really somewhere around here?"
"Everyone knows that person is in Britannia."
"But they're being protected extremely carefully."
Gaban sighed.
"There's no helping it."
"For what we need to do, that person is the only suitable choice in the entire world."
"Yeah…"
Rayleigh agreed.
After all, the future of the Roger Pirates depended on it.
Step. Step.
At that moment, a figure approached them.
He had short golden hair, wore a set of white knight armor, and carried a knight's sword at his waist.
He should have looked dignified.
But somehow…
He gave off an oddly carefree vibe.
Almost as if he didn't take things seriously.
Rayleigh narrowed his eyes slightly.
A strong one.
Yes.
Even though the man appeared relaxed, Rayleigh could clearly sense it.
He was powerful.
Gaban and the others noticed it as well.
And judging from his direction, he was clearly heading toward the Roger Pirates.
Almost instinctively, the entire crew grew cautious.
They might act carefree, but the Roger Pirates never lowered their guard.
After all, pirates lived with their lives constantly at risk.
One moment of carelessness could mean death.
That was the reality of the seas.
What made things even stranger was that none of them had ever seen this man before.
Which meant only one thing.
He was likely another hidden knight of Britannia.
"Hahaha!"
Roger grinned at the approaching figure.
"Hey there, kid!"
"You're one of the Round Table Knights, right?"
"I've never heard your name anywhere on the seas."
"Britannia really has a lot of strong fighters, huh?"
Roger asked boldly, completely unafraid.
The knight walked calmly toward them with a smile.
"Of course."
Stopping before them, he spoke in a playful tone:
"Knight of the Round Table—"
"Knight of Marine: Kay."
"Gentlemen…"
"Welcome to Britannia."
"Our King…"
"Is already waiting for you."
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