"Has the captain still not taken care of that kid?"
Unknowingly, Rayleigh, whose upper body was wrapped in bandages, had already returned. Seeing the two fighting in the distance, he couldn't help but ask, and the fight scene was very strange—like the two of them were just playing around.
"Senior Rayleigh, it's been three hours. If the West Coast wasn't so far from the city, we would have already attracted the Navy!" Shanks answered with a grimace.
He originally thought this would be some earth-shattering duel, but as they fought, it gradually felt like a routine: Roger wanted to pierce through Grimm's head's vital points, but Grimm naturally wouldn't let him do that. While blocking, he fought back, but he couldn't actually hurt Roger, and Roger didn't even bother to dodge Grimm's attacks.
This stalemate had lasted for three hours now. In short, this deadlock was still ongoing.
Of course, Grimm was also feeling uncomfortable. Three hours, 50 Resurrection Coins spent—he'd been killed exactly 50 times by Roger. And it was very strange: Roger's sword never actually hit Grimm. Grimm felt as if his head had exploded from inside.
Actually, this was an attack from Armament Haki.
Generally, there are three ways to activate Haki.
1. Normal way: Covering the body to increase attack, defense, and other attributes. This is the basic operation of Haki. If one is strong enough, no other methods are needed. Famous example: the Black Arm Zephyr!
2. Haki attack: Projecting Haki like sword aura or air cannons, called "Ryuuyou" in Wano. Example: the dual-sword master of Wano, Kozuki Oden.
3. Rare method: Directly or remotely sending Haki into an enemy's body to destroy from within. Roger uses this method—"remote Haki attack"—which is extremely powerful.
Of course, Grimm didn't know how to properly use Haki, and since he didn't use it, he inexplicably died 50 times.
Now he still has 30 Resurrection Coins left. Grimm felt he was about to give up; after all, he still needed to save some coins.
"Roger's stamina is enough to fight ten days and nights without issue. The key is that little Grimm—he won't die, but I don't know if his stamina is being drained!" Gaban suddenly said.
Crocus, who was performing surgery on Rayleigh, also came back with him. Seeing the two inside the ruins, he looked grim. "No, prolonged fighting is definitely not good for Roger. I'm not talking about the outcome of the fight, but his health."
He paused briefly, then continued: "And the future journey—he can't let his life force be drained here."
Roger was already suffering from a terminal illness. He absolutely couldn't overconsume his life force in this fight, especially since the fight itself was of little significance—no need to say more.
After exchanging some glances with the other members of the crew, Rayleigh stepped forward and shouted toward the two fighters: "Roger, don't waste your strength on such meaningless battles. You should understand what I mean!"
Hearing this, Roger, who had been in a fierce attack state, turned his pupils sideways. After some thought, he suddenly swung a mountain-splitting sword aura, carving a deep ravine into the coast, then he quickly retreated some distance.
Meanwhile, Grimm directly activated his Holy Light Shield to block. Not to mention, the Holy Light Shield of the Silver Hand was much tougher than before, directly countering Roger's sword aura.
After a slight tremor that shook the entire island, Roger was now standing on a wooden plank over two meters high, laughing loudly: "Kid, fighting like this is pointless. Do you still want to continue?"
Hearing this, Grimm was very happy. He just couldn't find a reason to back down now. He looked at Roger, pretending to be profound and said: "Holy Light is merciful. Let's end today's fight here."
"Huh?"
Everyone was stunned upon hearing Grimm's reply. Was this guy so easy to talk to?
The main reason was that the proficiency of the Silver Hand had stagnated at 10%. He had been fighting for half an hour with no progress at all. The gains were so low that wasting Resurrection Coins was pointless.
As for the bounty, go find other pirates. Mayor's bounty posters were everywhere, and it was no problem to find a few.
The members of the Roger Pirates, whom Grimm now found difficult to kill, naturally wouldn't waste time.
In everyone's eyes, Grimm didn't say anything more and simply walked over to Tom's shipbuilding workshop, smiling as he looked at Tom: "Respected Mr. Tom, can I start building my ship a little earlier? I'll come pay soon!"
After witnessing Grimm's strength, everyone knew he definitely wouldn't delay the payment. They nodded quickly: "No problem. Just bring the money before the ship is finished."
"There are still quite a few pirates on the island, so we need to hurry!" Grimm muttered as he entered the city of Water 7. He had already arranged a meeting place with Mayor.
"A young guy like that, able to fight Gol D Roger to this extent, isn't simple!" one of Tom's assistants exclaimed in admiration.
Not long after Grimm left, Roger and the others arrived. Rayleigh stepped forward and asked: "Just to confirm again, you are the famous shipwright Tom, right? I want to invite you to build a ship for us!"
To reassure Tom, Rayleigh added: "Rest assured, we will absolutely not reveal that you built this ship for us. Even if the Navy comes asking, you can shift all the blame onto us—say we threatened you!"
"Hmm... that's not the main issue now. The little guy you just fought with has already booked us to build a ship, and the workload is huge. If you really want to build one... it will take another month at this rate."
Tom looked quite troubled. He didn't want to offend a notorious great pirate, but caught in the middle, he could only tell the truth.
"Ah... that guy always causes trouble!"
Buggy opened his mouth wide and said, then Gaban, without hesitation, punched him on the head and patiently said: "Quiet down, Buggy. Neither Roger nor Rayleigh has said anything yet!"
"What do you think, Roger?" Rayleigh turned to ask. He knew Roger's time was running out.
"Let's wait." Roger waved his hand and smiled: "Waiting is worth it for future voyages. We'll also go back to say farewell to the old ship. It told me it was very happy sailing with us."
After saying this, Tom stared at Roger blankly for a long time. For some reason, he suddenly had a thought hidden deep in his heart: "If I have to build the best ship, the Adam is the most suitable material. I believe you all deserve to have it."
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