One Piece: Hell Pirates

Teach Angel and Bull were exhausted just from watching. Roger had been fighting Jack Sparrow since after lunch—nonstop until sunset. How could one man possibly have that kind of stamina and fighting power?

And this was Roger at full strength. If he were up against a pirate of the same level, the battle might've dragged on for eight whole days and nights.

The fact that he could go toe-to-toe with Jack for four to five hours was astonishing. This battle alone might make Roger a household name across the New World—an overnight legend.

"It's getting dark—we can't waste any more time. Let's go, Gaban!" Rayleigh shouted, his sword drawn as he launched himself into the fray. Gaban followed, gripping both axes tightly.

"As for Angelica and Bull, it's up to them if they want in!" Rayleigh added mid-flight.

Teach Angel and Bull exchanged glances—then rushed in. After all, they were the ones who lured Jack here in the first place. How could they just stand by and watch?

Surprisingly, all of the pirates from Jack's ship had already been defeated by the Roger Pirates. These weren't just any pirates either—they were elite fighters from the Diger Pirates, some with bounties over 100 million berries.

Now, they were lying scattered across the beach, groaning in pain.

Even Jack hadn't expected this. It seemed the damn Navy had really underestimated the strength of Roger's crew. If Xiao Feng had come instead, they would've all been slaughtered—him included.

"Have rookies gotten this strong?" Jack thought grimly. "Are the likes of Byrnndi all this monstrous?"

He remembered what Diger had once said: that this era was about to enter a rampage—an age full of heroes and powerhouses. Maybe this was what he meant.

The last couple of years had indeed birthed terrifying rookies. Not just the freaks from the Hell Pirates, but others too—like Naguri and Chinjao, who had awakened advanced forms of Haki. Now even Roger was showing signs of it.

Then there were monsters like World, who wielded the Moa Moa Fruit.

The Hell Pirates were on a different level entirely. They had the Goro Goro no Mi (Rumble-Rumble Fruit), the most powerful of the Logia-class fruits; the Gura Gura no Mi (Tremor-Tremor Fruit), the strongest Paramecia; the incredibly annoying Fuwa Fuwa no Mi (Float-Float Fruit), the terrifying Soru Soru no Mi (Soul-Soul Fruit); and even Brook's strange Yomi Yomi no Mi (Revive-Revive Fruit).

Jack was still lost in thought when Rayleigh slammed into him with a clean strike, pushing him back. Gaban followed up with a brutal double-axe attack, and Angel and Bull didn't hesitate to chain their own strikes.

"Another Conqueror's Haki user?!" Jack was stunned as Rayleigh's aura surged.

He barely dodged the next set of attacks. Could it be that Roger's ship, just like the Hell Pirates, had more than two Conqueror's Haki users?

Even the Overlord Pirates didn't have that kind of firepower. Most top crews only had one Haki monarch—either someone with Emperor's Haki or Butcher's Haki. A second user was unheard of!

And that guy with the glasses—his swordsmanship wasn't far off from Roger's!

Now surrounded by five powerful fighters, and with his own crew in tatters on the beach, even Jack—infamous as he was—began to consider retreating.

He'd run before—from David Kyons, Saracha, even Ewald. Rocks himself had chased him down once. Jack had always been a rogue—wandering, chasing women, invading territories just for fun. He never had a problem turning tail when things got too hot.

But retreating now—forced back by a still-rising rookie crew—would be humiliating. Diger would mock him, and the rest of the crew would lose respect.

Yet... Angel was still free. Retreating now would be too bitter a pill to swallow.

So, despite the mental storm brewing inside him, Jack held out until full darkness. Roger had already exited the secret technique that pushed his potential beyond the limit.

All five attackers continued the fight under the cover of night using Observation Haki. But their frequency had slowed. They were clearly tiring.

Finally, Jack made his choice—he'd retreat and fight again tomorrow.

"Angel, think hard tonight," Jack growled, unleashing a sudden burst of Haki to push all five attackers back. "That guy won't be able to use his potential again tomorrow! I'll crush you all one by one!"

With that, he leapt back toward his fallen crew, gathering them up and retreating to his ship, The Bad Girl. Roger's crew backed off, intimidated by the sudden surge in Jack's power.

Rayleigh quickly ordered the crew to hold position. He could tell that Roger had grown weaker after tapping into that secret technique. If they provoked Jack now, he might go berserk—and none of them would survive.

The fact that Roger's pirates had taken down Jack's entire crew in itself had wounded Jack's pride. But that they didn't kill them outright? That made it worse. It was like being toyed with—and Jack hated that feeling.

Had they gone all out and killed his crew, Jack might've gone mad. Could the five of them really stop a rampaging monster worth 1.1 billion berries?

As The Bad Girl sailed away into the night, Teach Angel finally let out a breath of relief. The crisis was over—at least for now.

"Captain Roger, thank you so much for your help today. You guys are incredible," Angel said gratefully. If not for them, she would've already been captured.

"Haha! Don't mention it!" Roger laughed heartily. "This was the most fun I've had in ages! Way more thrilling than my fight with Golden Lion Shiki!"

Roger didn't care about the aftermath or the danger. All he knew was that this fight had pushed him to his limit—and it felt great.

"Let's celebrate tonight!" she said cheerfully. "No need to worry. I already contacted Captain Brook and the others—they'll be back by tomorrow!"

Angel quickly added the news to calm everyone's nerves—especially when she saw the serious expression on Rayleigh's face.

And sure enough, when Rayleigh heard that reinforcements were on the way, he finally looked at ease again.

Though... he couldn't help but think of that strange vampire girl once more.

---------------------------

After hearing that the Hell Pirates were on their way, Roger and Gaban decided it was fine to enjoy a drink tonight. After all, the Hell Pirates and the Diger Pirates were both dominant forces, and currently allies—at least in name.

So, it was unlikely another war would break out. Especially with the remnants of the Rocks Pirates still lurking, hoping to unite the entire New World under their banner.

On the jet-black ship Bad Girl, Jack Sparrow looked helplessly at his injured crew. Three officers had bounties over 100 million berries, and the thirty or so elite pirates were all heavy hitters with bounties ranging from 20 to 90 million.

Yet, they'd just been thrashed by about twenty so-called "ordinary" members of Roger's crew.

"How is this even possible?" Jack muttered. "These guys were handpicked from the Diger Pirates—how are they getting beaten by these nobodies?"

And that wasn't even the worst part. Roger's core monsters—the guy with the gold-rimmed glasses who mastered Armament Haki, and that sunglasses-wearing warrior with twin axes—hadn't even joined the fight.

From this alone, Jack realized just how dangerous Roger's crew truly was. In terms of potential and cohesion, they might even surpass the Ice Demon Pirates and the Butcher Pirates.

"If the Butcher Pirates ever go down, the Roger Pirates might just take their place at the top."

Jack had always wanted to recruit powerful members to his crew, but he was already a subordinate under the Overlord Pirates. In that kind of crew, a pirate with a 200 million bounty was just a regular officer—no way someone like that would serve under him aboard the Bad Girl.

Even the three current officers he had, all with bounties over 100 million, had been assigned by his father—Diger Sparrow. At this rate, even if Brook and the others returned with the bounty, he still wouldn't be able to win over Angel.

"Is it fate?" Jack muttered, bitter. "Am I destined to die alone?"

He finally had a chance to meet Angel after the Hell Pirates left the New World, yet not only had he failed to seduce her—he couldn't even rob her!

"And now these Roger Pirates show up outta nowhere!"

Just as he was debating whether to call for backup, his Den Den Mushi rang. It was Xiaofeng.

Xiaofeng and Beaver were already en route to assist and asked for his current location.

Jack's eyes lit up. "So fate is on my side!"

With Xiaofeng and Beaver's help, not only could they take down the Roger Pirates, they might even crush the Ewald Pirates too. Angel wouldn't escape him this time.

He quickly steered the Bad Girl to a nearby island to rest for the night, waiting for reinforcements. He just hoped Roger, Angel, and the others wouldn't slip away.

But with Xiaofeng's Wind-Wind Fruit, famous for accelerating ships to insane speeds, it wouldn't be long before they caught up.

Tomorrow, he thought, he'd finally capture Ange—and if luck was on his side, maybe even conquer Roger's Pirate Crew.

---

Meanwhile, on the golden spaceship, things were speeding along at full throttle.

Inside the strategy room, the lighting was bright. Brook, Redfield, Shiki, and Linlin were all seated at a massive table, each holding gold-inlaid poker cards.

This wasn't just a regular card game—it was a test of Observation Haki.

In this unique version of poker, players could use Observation Haki to enhance memory, reaction, and even foresee the future. It also helped resist Redfield's mind-reading ability, which worked through a refined form of Observation Haki that could peek into thoughts!

Hiruba was currently helping Kaido and Tiger train against this mental snooping. Being the youngest and still growing, they were the easiest targets. Better to toughen them up now than let them get exposed later.

"Redfield," Shiki said, biting down on a cigar, "ever since I found out your Haki could read minds, you've been seeing through all my ambitions. It's annoying as hell."

He grinned. "So I trained my Observation Haki specifically to block you out. I'd say I'm doing a pretty good job, wouldn't you? Hmph!"

Shiki poured more Haki into his mind, pushing back against Redfield's probing aura. It wasn't unlike a battle between Conqueror's Haki—Observation Haki could clash too.

Take Red-Haired Shanks, for example. His Conqueror's Haki was so potent, it could directly disrupt future-sight Observation Haki, making any predictive ability completely useless against him.

Against someone like Shiki, who was using his Observation Haki with full intent and skill, even Redfield couldn't read him clearly. If an opponent was unaware of Redfield's abilities, even top dogs like admirals or Emperors might get exposed. But not someone like Shiki.

Still, Redfield smiled coldly.

"You're just defending, Shiki. I'm on offense. One day, I will read your little secrets."

When Brook was in his Underworld Form, Redfield couldn't read his thoughts at all. And even now, Redfield only used his mind-reading in specific scenarios—never on Brook without permission.

Brook had made that clear from the moment Redfield joined.

In fact, Redfield typically only read the minds of new recruits under Brook's orders, as a way of vetting their intentions.

So now, as the four sat around the table, their Observation Haki clashed like invisible waves. No one could predict the outcome. It would come down to skill—and luck.

---

Elsewhere on the bridge, Shakky was busy monitoring New World weather patterns, making sure the golden sship could maintain maximum flight speed.

Stussy stood nearby, taking notes. She had to learn more from Shakky—and from Weatheria, the floating island of weather tech. There was no such thing as knowing too much.

Back on Squid Island, Angel, Bull, and the others were caught up in the Roger Pirates' celebrations.

Many of them had defeated enemies with bounties far higher than their own. Their own bounties would definitely rise after today's battle.

For them, today felt like a turning point.

No longer just rookies—today, they felt like real contenders in the New World. Like a crew of true pirates.

Angel glanced at the crowd, quietly thinking.

"Why didn't Captain Brook ever try to conquer Roger's crew? They're strong, sure... but so are we. Our top four officers all have Conqueror's Haki. So why live in peace with them?"

Could it be… the Roger Pirates had a secret?

Something even Captain Brook respected?

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