At a distance, sitting atop a massive broken stone, Roger looked at the scene and chuckled, "Hahaha, interesting fellow. When did such a freak appear?"
"Ah… a pirate hunter from the North Sea. Two people coming all the way here, that's no simple feat!" Rayleigh nodded in agreement. The two of them reaching this place wasn't just luck; their navigation skills weren't ordinary.
Unbeknownst to Rayleigh and the others, Grimm's navigation… well, let's not talk about it. They arrived here entirely by luck. Plank's navigation skills… forget it!
But the good thing was, Plank was now gradually getting on the right track.
"Captain Roger!" From afar, the red-nosed Buggy ran over, tears and snot streaming down his face. Accompanying him was the future Yonko, Shanks with red hair, though he was just an intern now and looked quite panicked.
"Buggy, kid, when will you stop being so jumpy?"
Rayleigh shook his head. Waiting for the two to arrive, he crossed his arms and asked, "What happened? Did something else happen? Is it the Navy?"
"No… no… it's not!"
Buggy wiped his nose and gasped out, "The… the government! The flag of the World Government! Two… two warships have entered the coast!"
Old crew members like Gaban and others, upon hearing "World Government," instantly became visibly moved.
All along, they'd been hunted by the Navy, never once by the government itself. Why did they suddenly change their stance now?
"Wait a minute!"
Rayleigh rubbed his chubby chin thoughtfully. "How can we be sure the World Government is here to catch us?"
"Ah… Mr. Rayleigh, if not for us, then who else would they be after?" Buggy blinked, confused.
Currently, among the Seven Water Capitals, the only pirates that could attract the government's attention were probably the Roger family!
"Hm!"
Rayleigh tilted his head slightly toward Grimm. The others immediately looked over—could it be them?
At this moment, Grimm was also settling accounts with Tom and others. A crew member from Tom's workshop said to Grimm, "Cumulative total now is 210 million Beli. Amazing, to accumulate this much in such a short time!"
Grimm looked toward the steel ship already built on the coast. The ship had roughly taken shape, about 150 meters long and 50 meters wide. Grimm estimated and asked, "With this speed, how long until completion?"
"Hmm… at least a month," the worker scratched his head.
"Oh!" Grimm nodded helplessly, then turned to look behind him.
"Huh?" He saw that the group from the Roger Pirates had vanished from afar!
Generally speaking, Grimm wouldn't care about this kind of thing. But for some reason this time, he felt something was about to happen. Usually, the Roger Pirates would leave two people behind to keep watch, but this time, no one was left.
Grimm swiftly jumped onto a vantage point on the western coast and looked into the distance.
"North coast?" Grimm muttered to himself, then quickly headed toward the north of Water City.
At this moment, the Roger Pirates had just arrived at the north coast. Two ships with the unmistakable flag of the World Government, with the five-ring emblem, were docked there. A few people dressed in white, wearing strange masks, were walking down, escorted by a group of men in black suits.
Of course, there was also a ship flying the navy's flag, actually a warship under the government's banner. The officer on board, a newly promoted vice-admiral named Mice, was a swordsman!
Because the north coast was the main port of Water City, it usually gathered quite a few people. When they heard it was a ship of the World Government, many couldn't help but be curious and gathered nearby to watch the spectacle.
Meanwhile, Roger and his team were hidden among the crowd, observing carefully.
Even the mighty pirate crew's first reaction to seeing a navy warship would be to run, let alone the World Government. Even Roger, with his thick nerves, knew that at this moment, they shouldn't show themselves. Better to observe quietly.
Moreover, the ship wasn't fully transformed yet.
"CP0…"
Rayleigh stood beside Roger, stepping back into the crowd. When he saw the masked men disembark from the ship, he couldn't help but grit his teeth.
They've sent a troublesome opponent. No—whether they are Roger's opponents or not, still unknown.
"What should we do, partner?" Roger whispered.
"Don't rush, Roger. And everyone else too. Let's see what they're up to! Whether their target is us or not!"
Rayleigh first reminded the others in Roger's crew, then said to Roger, "Roger, your Observation Haki is almost unbeatable in this world. Even at this distance, you should be able to hear what they're saying clearly. Please, be careful!"
"First, control the surrounding sea area, monitor the ships sailing out, and ignore other pirates. The main target: Tirion D Grimm." The CP0 leader issued orders to his agents, and Roger overheard every word clearly.
"Hahaha, they're definitely after that kid," Roger laughed loudly.
"Grimm!" Shanks asked nearby, puzzled, "Mr. Rayleigh, should we do something?"
"Mind your own business!" Rayleigh said with a smile. "Although I usually don't mind fighting these government guys, our ship is still under construction. For now, let's lay low and stay incognito."
"Can I see what will happen between the government and that self-proclaimed Holy Light Lord?" Shanks asked with a smile.
This time, it wasn't Rayleigh speaking, but Roger: "Hahaha, perfect. I want to see too. Do you want to come along, Buggy?"
"No, no, I don't want to get involved, Captain Roger," Buggy hurriedly waved his hands, refusing. Better to be a plain old salted fish without ambitions!
While Roger's crew was talking, the CP0 agents had already begun moving. Besides sealing off nearby waters, they also started searching for Grimm in the town, including three of the highest-ranking CP0 officers—all dressed in white with silver masks.
"CP0…"
Grimm and Plank stood atop a building, watching the commotion below. Their outfits were so conspicuous that Grimm recognized them at a glance.
In the original story, CP9 displayed its combat prowess, but Rob Lucci, who dared to go head-to-head with Sabo, was helplessly defeated by Luffy's protagonist aura.
Of course, that's not embarrassing—what's truly embarrassing are Old Sakazuki and Red Hair: when asked who's the strongest among pirates, it's obviously me, the Mountain Bandit King, smashing a bottle of sake on the Four Emperors, stepping on the future Pirate King. Only I, the Mountain Bear Demon King!
And what about CP0? That's a complete mystery.
But a group that can scare the mad scientist Caesar, with a bounty of 300 million, speechless—absolutely formidable.
"They're looking for me!"
After a period of observation, Grimm noticed many government agents looking at copies of his photo, questioning nearby residents about him.
"Damn it, I've been acting too high-profile lately!" Grimm clutched his cross necklace. Over the past few days, he'd been raising money by killing pirates—often too conspicuous. Today, he even killed someone on the street. Many people probably recognized him.
Being exposed was only a matter of time. Since that's the case, he might as well strike first.
"Plank, deal with those two ships' personnel. The rest, leave it to me." Grimm summoned his griffin and told Plank to fly straight to the coast. His target was the three leaders of CP0.
But before confirming their strength, Grimm thought it'd be safer to take more resurrection tokens—resurrecting bodies was too troublesome. As for Plank, if he died, so be it. The tavern resurrection was cheap—only 200 Holy Light points.
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