Loguetown, an island located in the first half of the Grand Line, boasts a tropical rainforest climate with lush vegetation, covering 60% of its landmass in forest.
It is ruled by the Kingdom of Darunse, whose royal family, the Arnold clan, commands a standing army of 7,000.
The island is divided by a river, with the front half serving as the seat of the Kingdom of Darunse and the latter half, a dense forest teeming with countless wild resources, also acting as a garrison.
Half a day before Sakazuki received the call.
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Loguetown, Port Stoon.
A ship, entirely gold and crimson, slowly approached the port. Its sail bore a giant skull with a cloud-like beard hanging from its mouth. The bow was equipped with a cannon, supported by two mermaid statues.
The Gold Jackson.
Roger stood at the bow, grinning broadly, his rough and hearty voice ringing out:
"Lads, we've docked!!!"
"Woooo!!!!"
As the ship jolted, before it even docked properly, Roger leaped out. Rayleigh watched his captain run off alone:
"Hey! Roger!!!"
Hearing Rayleigh's call, Roger turned back as he ran, laughing:
"Yahahahahaha, Rayleigh."
"I'm going to find some sake first, you check on the ship!"
Onboard, Rayleigh's forehead was covered in dark lines. He held his left arm under his right elbow, his right hand supporting his forehead, utterly defeated:
"Ah, this captain..."
Jabba walked up from behind, placing a hand on Rayleigh's shoulder:
"Hahaha, that's just him, isn't it?"
"I'm heading down too, Rayleigh."
Rayleigh smiled helplessly, nodded, and turned to the crew behind him:
"If you need to procure any supplies, go ahead."
"We'll gather back at noon."
The Roger Pirates disembarked in twos and threes, heading towards the town. Rayleigh, meanwhile, went inside to grab a newspaper and settled into a deck chair on the second level, reading.
Rustle!
The sound of flipping pages echoed on the quiet and leisurely ship...
Stoon Town.
Samber separated from Shikal and headed to a restaurant. His tall and stout physique almost pushed the door in, and his Fish-Man features were somewhat intimidating.
However, the sea was ultimately human territory. Regardless of the era, Fish-Men had always been discriminated against by humans, so Samber was accustomed to it. Ignoring the peculiar glances from everyone, he quietly found a corner and ordered.
As the dishes arrived, the table was soon piled high with empty plates, almost as tall as a person. Several Darunse officers, who had finished their meals upstairs and were coming down, couldn't help but discuss it:
"Hey, hey, those plates are almost as tall as I am."
"How did he eat all that?"
"Truly unsightly."
"Hey, do you think there are pig-fish at the bottom of the sea?"
"Huh?"
"Maybe he's a pig of the sea."
"Hahahaha."
"Shut up!"
"Don't cause trouble!"
Myla Robert, the third captain of the Darunse Kingdom's Guard, silenced the subordinates who were joking around. He then addressed Samber:
"My apologies, friend. My subordinates are ill-mannered. Please forgive them."
Seeing the leader apologize, Samber's unpleasant expression eased slightly. He snorted and continued eating.
Those subordinates, seeing the lowly Fish-Man being so arrogant, were impulsive and wanted to step forward. Robert forcibly held them back and pulled them outside.
Before they even reached the main entrance, Shikal, who was even taller and sturdier than Samber, walked in. A blur of motion, he grabbed the neck of the person who had just mocked Samber as a pig:
"Was it you who was mocking my comrade!"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The guard soldiers drew their swords. Seeing this, Samber also picked up his weapon and aimed it at them. The atmosphere immediately became tense.
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Stoon Town.
In a small tavern on another side of town, Roger raised a mug almost as big as his head and drank deeply from his beer, finishing it in one gulp. He slammed the wooden mug heavily onto the bar counter.
Bang!
Roger revealed a smile of satisfaction:
"Ah~ I'm alive!"
He raised his mug and offered it to the old man wiping small glasses behind the counter:
"Boss! Another one!!!"
The boss took the mug and went to refill it. At that moment, the boss's son, leading a little girl, rushed into the tavern, playing with small wooden swords.
"Hah!!!"
"I am the great general of the Kingdom of Darunse! Die!"
"Take this! Invincible Slash!"
"Hmph, I, the great pirate Erika, will not fear you!"
"Yaha!"
The two children darted around the tavern. The little girl, who called herself the great pirate Erika, tripped and was about to fall, her head heading towards a chair.
Everyone in the tavern watched with anxiety, thinking it was too late... This was the collective sentiment.
Just then, a red figure flashed and caught Erika.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The tavern owner angrily shouted at his son:
"Ted!!!"
"Don't mess around in the tavern!"
"If it weren't for this gentleman, Erika would have been injured!"
The little boy was somewhat unconvinced:
"It wasn't me who made Mite fall!"
"She's just clumsy!!!"
Seeing his son dare to talk back, the tavern owner picked up a mug and was about to throw it:
"You!!!"
Roger stopped him:
"Haha, children."
The tavern owner grunted at his son:
"For the customer's sake, I'll let you off today."
"No more messing around in the tavern."
Ted was somewhat impatient. At this moment, Erika grabbed Ted and ran to Roger. Seeing Roger's typical pirate captain attire, her eyes sparkled:
"Wow!!! Are you a pirate!!!"
Roger grinned, revealing a row of white teeth:
"Yes, little girl."
Erika gasped:
"Wow!!!"
"Can you tell me adventure stories!!!"
Roger downed the rest of his beer, handed the mug to the boss for a refill, and looked at the two children:
"Hahahaha, sure, I'll tell you a story about Fish-Man Island."
Under their admiring gazes, Roger's hearty voice rang out, gradually attracting more and more customers who gathered around him to listen to the exciting adventures.
Until, after who knows how long, after how many refills, Roger was already slightly tipsy, his cheeks flushed red.
WHOOSH!
A sharp signal flare sound swept through the town and reached the royal palace in the center of the island. The King in the palace saw the signal flare representing foreign invasion.
He ordered the seventh squad of one thousand men to meet the enemy.
In the tavern, Roger, who was in the middle of his story, saw everyone start to panic and even run out. He drunkenly asked the boss what was happening.
The tavern owner replied:
"Customer, this is a signal for foreign invasion. You should hide in my cellar quickly."
"Ted, quickly take Erika to the cellar in the back."
Ted nodded and quickly led Erika to the backyard. Roger, however, became interested. Foreign invasion, interesting. He threw the boss some money and, before the boss could react,
He rushed out of the tavern and headed towards the direction of the signal flare, eager to see the excitement!
On the other side of town, the restaurant had already become a ruin. The third captain of the guard, Robert, held his sword in his right hand, his left arm hanging down and shaking, seemingly broken.
Behind him lay the corpses of several subordinates, all dead. He managed to fire a signal flare and stood guard against the two.
As a captain of one of the seven guard teams of the kingdom, Robert still had some strength and could barely defend himself.
Swish!
The figures of three people crisscrossed, and the sound of swords and forks clashing together.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!......
Roger, who had rushed out of the tavern, sensed the battle with his Observation Haki. He discovered that two of the fighters were his own crewmates. So I was the invader.
Thinking this, Roger laughed heartily and quickened his pace towards them, not worried about his crewmates getting injured, as he knew their strength well.
Before long, Roger arrived at the battlefield of the three:
"Hahahaha, Samber, Shikal, what's going on!"
Seeing their captain arrive, Shikal said indignantly:
"These guys insulted Samber, so I killed them."
Roger's smile froze. His usually jolly face turned grim and terrifying. He looked at Robert opposite him and said in a low voice:
"Did you bully my dear comrade?"
Robert's side, having lost several subordinates and being constantly suppressed, could no longer control his temper:
"Yes, so what."
Roger, with a dark expression, nodded:
"In that case."
He drew his supreme grade sword, "Ace," from his waist.
Buzz!
Conqueror's Haki flowed and wrapped around the blade. Fueled by alcohol, he looked at Robert with a hint of ferocity in his eyes:
"Then pay with your life."
He swung his sword, and a crescent-shaped, giant black sword energy shot towards Robert. Unable to move due to Roger's Haki lock, Robert was ground to dust by the sword energy, leaving only his feet on the ground.
The sword energy ripped through the sky, directly destroying all the houses in front of it and continuing into the forest behind.
Boom!
It exploded, forming a mushroom cloud.
The seventh guard of the kingdom, seeing the mushroom cloud from afar, knew that the opponent's strength was formidable. He instructed a subordinate to return and inform the King.
Then, he led his men and rushed towards the town at full speed.
Roger sensed a large army charging towards them with his Observation Haki. He called out to the two to gather the crew back on the ship, stating he would cover their retreat.
A moment later, seeing the approaching army, Roger didn't hesitate and charged in, engaging in a chaotic battle. Blood and gore flew everywhere, and no one could withstand him for more than one round.
Those struck by Roger's sword were cut in half. The town was instantly turned into a sea of blood.
When the fourth and fifth guard squads arrived, they witnessed this scene.
Roger was completely drenched in blood, his beard stained red, standing alone in the middle of the bloody sea of dismembered bodies.
He looked at the arriving army, his eyes flashing with ferocity. With a cruel smile, he raised his sword and charged at the newly arrived guard:
"Hahahahahahahaha!!!"
The sea of blood continued to expand...
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After dispatching the fourth and fifth guard squads, the King of Darunse became anxious and quickly requested aid from the Marines. As an allied nation, the Marines could not ignore a pirate invasion.
However, after hearing the description of the pirate, the operator was stumped and could only notify Fleet Admiral Kong.
Kong was also troubled. Sengoku and Zephyr were in the New World, and Garp was unreachable. The other Vice Admirals were not strong enough; no one could stop Roger at the moment.
He then remembered Sakazuki, who had reported his position three days prior on Jaya Island. Jaya Island was not far from Loguetown. He used a Den Den Mushi to call Sakazuki.
The gist of the message was to arrive later and just go through the motions, as Fleet Admiral Kong considered the bigger picture. Sakazuki, with his magma-Devouring fruit ability, would be more valuable to the world once he matured.
Moreover, Sakazuki's strength meant he might have a chance to escape even if he accidentally encountered Roger. But remembering Sakazuki's personality, he quickly tried all sorts of ways to contact Garp.
On the other end of the line, Sakazuki, hearing Kong's intentions, frowned deeply. This...
After hanging up, Sakazuki ordered to accelerate towards Loguetown. Feeling that the warship was too slow, he found a sea chart, pinpointed the direction, flicked his cloak, and used his ability to soar into the sky.
In Stoon Town, Roger had already annihilated the fifth wave of troops and sobered up a bit. The ferocity had lessened, but he remained unrestrained, killing whoever came his way.
Just as he was about to unleash a Flying Slash at the army charging out of town, Roger sensed something:
"Hmm?"
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Four spears of magma fell from the sky, forming a square around Roger's nearby vicinity. A red light flared, and then the ground beneath Roger's feet rapidly turned red.
BOOM!!!!
The ground erupted like a volcano, along with the four magma spears, spewing out billowing black smoke and lava that buried Roger within.
The erupted lava filled more than half of the town, resembling hell.
Meanwhile, Sakazuki, descending rapidly from the sky, showed no signs of complacency. He pulled his hands together, and a three-meter-long magma katana appeared.
Buzz!
Armament Haki wrapped around the blade, turning it a deep purple. Power surged from his back, unleashing an immense thrust that propelled Sakazuki downwards at high speed.
Sakazuki raised his katana high above his head, using the thrust from his back to descend like splitting a mountain, fiercely slashing towards the center of the magma sea.
In the magma sea, Roger, enveloped in Haki, was unharmed. The supreme grade sword in his hand, wrapped in Conqueror's Haki, and his external Armament Haki cleared the surrounding magma.
He looked up, grinned, and met the attack with his sword.
CLANG—!
HISS—!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Extreme Armament Haki clashed with wrapped Conqueror's Haki, unleashing countless black lightning bolts that shot outwards, leaving craters several meters long where they struck.
"Hello, Marine."