For the next stretch of time, Buggy kept working hard to get used to his Devil Fruit ability. After all, it had become part of his body now, and it was also his means of staying alive.
Baichuan had not been idle either. Lately, he had been training like his life depended on it. Yes, literally training to the point of desperation. Other than training, he only ate. The crew never once saw Baichuan sleep.
"If you keep training like this, your body's going to collapse sooner or later. Then you won't achieve what you're training for in the first place," a crewmate warned him.
"Relax. I know my own body," Baichuan replied.
The pirate who had warned him could only shake his head helplessly. By now, he saw Baichuan as someone hopelessly stubborn. He figured once Baichuan tasted the bitter consequences, he would regret it.
But what shocked him was that Baichuan kept training like this anyway. His mind stayed sharp, and his body showed no sign of breaking down.
"What kind of Devil Fruit did he eat? That's insane." Watching Baichuan's suicidal training, the crew could not help feeling envious. If only they had a Devil Fruit like that.
"That kid... what set him off? Is he going crazy?" Roger stood to the side, sea wind in his face, beer in hand, watching Baichuan train.
"Probably the last few battles got to him," someone answered. "He hasn't had any chance to fight other crews' officers. All he can do is clean up small fry. Not enough to push him, but still better than most."
"So he wants a breakthrough?" Roger asked.
"Yeah. I heard he's been learning Observation Haki from Gaban lately. No idea how it's going."
"Then why not test it?" Roger downed a whole bottle of beer in one go, then tossed the empty bottle at Baichuan like it was nothing.
No surprise. Baichuan dodged it.
"Not bad. Looks like you didn't learn Observation Haki for nothing," Roger praised.
"Hey, Captain, you threw that way too obviously. Even if I couldn't use Observation Haki yet, I'd still be able to dodge it," Baichuan said.
His training had been interrupted, so he decided to take a break anyway.
"Is that so?" Roger laughed it off. He really had just thrown it casually, without adding any extra force or speed.
"By the way, Rayleigh, I want to learn Armament Haki." During the break, Baichuan turned his gaze to Rayleigh, who looked utterly unconcerned.
"Then go learn from Gaban. He can use Armament too."
"But I feel like your Armament Haki is stronger than his."
"Is it? Since you put it that way, I guess I don't have a choice," Rayleigh laughed. Even on the Roger Pirates, there was always a bit of rivalry.
Rayleigh might have been the crew's second-in-command, but Gaban's standing was not any lower than his.
"Then why did you go to Gaban for Observation Haki? Are you saying my Observation isn't as good as his?"
"That's you saying it. I didn't," Baichuan said, spreading his hands with an innocent look.
"You little brat," Rayleigh cursed with a laugh.
"Captain, bad news!" Just then, a crewmate came running over in a panic, sweating hard and speaking breathlessly.
"What is it?" Roger's expression turned serious. There were not many things that could make one of his men look like this.
"Captain, up ahead. Up ahead we spotted the Whitebeard Pirates!" the man shouted.
"Newgate, huh." A long-missed, excited grin spread across Roger's face as he strode toward the bow.
Sure enough, up ahead of them, the Moby Dick drifted on the sea, as if it were waiting for them on purpose.
Baichuan also wanted to see the bearing of the man known as the world's strongest. He followed Roger to the front of the ship.
There, in his youth and at the peak of his prime, Whitebeard stood at the front of his own ship as well. In his hand was his signature great blade, one of the Twelve Supreme Grade Blades, Murakumogiri.
Behind Whitebeard stood the captains of his divisions. They were not too different from what Baichuan remembered, except the second division commander was a samurai.
"Long time no see, Whitebeard!" Roger shouted, calling out in greeting.
"I've been waiting a long time for you, Roger!" Whitebeard shot back, refusing to be outdone.
"So this is Whitebeard Newgate, the man called the world's strongest..." Baichuan murmured. Even from this far away, he could feel Whitebeard's pressure. That single shout had kicked up waves on the sea.
"Is that so? I want to see him too." When Roger said that, the atmosphere between the two pirate crews instantly tensed, battle ready to erupt at any moment.
"Is it starting?" Baichuan whispered to himself, when Rayleigh suddenly patted his shoulder.
"Don't be nervous. We're old friends with Whitebeard. But once the fighting starts, when it's time to hit hard, you can't hold back."
"I understand." Baichuan nodded seriously, taking every word to heart.
The Roger Pirates sailed forward until they were about to collide with Whitebeard's ship, then stopped. Both sides disembarked and walked onto the nearby island.
If these two crews were going to fight, it absolutely could not happen on the ships. One careless moment, and a ship might be destroyed.
"Long time no see, Oden," Roger called out again, greeting another pirate beside Whitebeard.
Oden's full name was Kozuki Oden. He was the daimyo of Kuri in Wano Country, and for a time served as the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Roger, however, had a special fondness for him. He had always wanted to poach Oden onto his own ship.
"Hey, Roger, I'm still standing right here," Whitebeard said darkly. Trying to steal someone's crewman right in front of him, did Roger have any shame at all?
"Newgate, you didn't just wait here for no reason," Roger said. "Come on. What do you want?"
"You really don't know what I want?" Whitebeard replied.
The moment Whitebeard finished that sentence, he raised his bisento with both hands and slashed at Roger. Roger did not give an inch. He drew his sword and blocked the strike.
Then, at the point where their weapons met, an overwhelming burst of Conqueror's Haki exploded outward. The sky, which had been clear just a moment ago, turned dark in an instant, as if a thunderstorm might descend in the next second.
Just like that, the battle between Whitebeard and the Roger Pirates erupted. Each man chose an opponent he was familiar with. Rayleigh faced Kozuki Oden. Gaban faced Marco. The others also paired off, officer against officer.
And while the two pirate crews clashed, the Navy received the news as well, sent out by the forces monitoring Whitebeard.
"So Roger and Whitebeard ran into each other again?" Sengoku heard the report. Fleet Admiral Kong issued the order. "Sengoku, you and Garp go. And bring those three little monsters with you."
As for Garp, the moment he heard Roger's name, he had already set off.
Those three "little monsters" were the Navy's future three admirals: Aokiji, Akainu, and Kizaru.
/-\
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