Rumble! Rumble!
The energy waves from the aerial battle continuously impacted the sea and coast below, one after another.
Under the continuous impact of the battle's aftermath, the coast of Samo Island was affected. The ground collapsed, and cracks spread deeper into the island.
The cliff where Marie and a group of junior cadets were located shook violently, and large sections of rock at the edge of the cliff shattered and fell.
"This place is about to collapse, retreat to the back!" Marie urgently led the cadets to retreat.
Crocodile and Mihawk, who were absorbed in watching the battle, remained unmoved, their feet seemingly rooted to the ground, their heads fixedly gazing at the dazzling light rays in the distant sky battlefield.
Marie had no choice but to run back and drag them both back by their collars, one in each hand.
As the group was still running, the rumbling sound of rocks crumbling could be heard from behind.
At this moment, the entire cliff was covered in cracks, and the solid rock, under successive fierce impacts, had cracks spreading, appearing as fragile as paper.
As the cliff cracks spread, broken stones rained down with a 'whoosh'.
On the coast below, the ground was already covered with dense, crisscrossing gullies, with some areas raised and some sunken, as if being ravaged by earthquake waves.
"...Did I hit too hard without noticing?"
In mid-air, Kenji's peripheral vision caught sight of the island below, with its ground cracking and mountains collapsing, and he couldn't help but frown slightly.
Just then, Roger, facing him, swung his blade, a slash tearing through the sky, but it was blocked by Kenji's right fist.
Then, Kenji's left fist hooked upwards, and Roger quickly moved, deftly retreating to avoid the punch.
But the feeling of treading on air made Roger uncomfortable.
He retreated a bit further, then chuckled and suggested to Kenji, "Fighting in this place is indeed interesting, but as a warrior, it's better to fight where your feet are firmly on the ground.Don't you think so?"
As he spoke, Roger lowered his head and scanned, then, without any surprise, locked onto the distant island, Samo Island.
Seeing this, Kenji almost laughed in anger and said, "Don't you know that island is my territory?"
"Hahahaha! Don't be so stingy!" Roger waved his hand with a mischievous grin.
"It's not easy for us to meet, we have to fight to our heart's content so we don't have any regrets..."
Before he finished speaking, Roger was already rushing downwards, the small 'sonic boom' clouds he created with each step merging into a continuous stream behind him.
Needless to say, his target was naturally Samo Island.
Fortunately, Kenji was directly opposite him, and he immediately threw a punch, the power of his fist instantly condensing to its extreme.
However, Roger was very cunning. His body suddenly darted downwards, then with a flexible little maneuver, he was about to sweep past Kenji from below in mid-air.
Kenji forcibly diverted his punch, the heavy blow's power crashing down from above.
By the time the punch's light beam shot out, Roger had already run behind Kenji, but he was still caught by the energy beam.
At the last moment the beam reached him, Roger only had time to twist his body halfway, striking with his sword in a very strange posture with both hands.
Due to the tight time and great crisis, he had to strike in a very short time and couldn't fully turn around, causing his arms to twist as if dislocated or broken.
Based on Roger's performance at this moment, he was at least a master of Yoga.
"Hiss... So painful!"
The twisted posture of exerting force with both hands, after the punch's power erupted, finally made Roger suffer.
At this moment, he felt intense pain in both hands. His sword, Ace, was almost pressed against his body by the punch's power from a distance.
However, at this moment, Roger suddenly had a flash of inspiration, as if the King of Ideas had possessed him. He withdrew most of his opposing force, allowing the punch's light beam to impact the sword's edge.
Then, the impact rapidly propelled him towards the island behind him.
The crowd watching from afar only saw a beam of light streaking down from mid-air, finally falling into the island's shore.
The coast had previously collapsed due to the battle, and the ground deeper within the island automatically became the new shore.
"What's wrong with Roger? He's not going to lose, is he?" Gaban, seeing that scene from afar, was full of disbelief, but the smile in his eyes betrayed his true feelings.
The others on the ship nodded in agreement upon hearing this.
Some even said things like, 'The opponent is just an old man, and he's still struggling so much!' 'Captain Roger is too weak!' 'If Vice Captain Rayleigh and Gaban-san went, they could definitely win quickly.'
Rayleigh listened with a chuckle, not saying a word.
When the crew had talked and laughed enough, he raised a hand to adjust his glasses and smiled.
"Alright, enough with the jokes, it's time to go meet the Captain!"
As he spoke, Rayleigh drew his sword, cutting through the giant waves ahead.
At this time, the Oro Jackson barely regained control, and after changing course, it sailed with the wind and waves towards Roger.
In the sky, Kenji saw Roger using the force to rush onto the island, feeling somewhat bewildered.
"So desperate... just to get to the island quickly?"
He had never seen someone as crazy as Roger, willing to go to such lengths to achieve his goal. He was truly a ruthless person.
"Huh? No, that's not right..." Kenji looked at Roger's landing spot in the distance, deep in thought.
"That kid, he wouldn't have something big hidden up his sleeve, would he?"
The more he thought about it, the more he felt something was off. His eyes gradually widened, becoming clear and sharp.
Kenji wouldn't believe that Roger was so desperate to get to the island just to see the scenery.
"No, that kid is already excited!"
Kenji stepped on the air, a booming sound coming from beneath his feet, and his figure flashed like lightning, appearing above the shore after several blinks, not rushing to descend.
He looked down and saw thick dust continuously rising from the shore below.
Beneath the dust was a deep pit, its deepest part shrouded in darkness, and Roger was in the pit.
With his Observation Haki, he saw that Roger was slightly injured at this time.
Whoosh!!!
The next moment, a figure rapidly shot up from the dark depths of the pit, then landed steadily without any fancy rolls.
"Oh, finally on solid ground, it feels so much more secure." Roger stamped his feet on the ground, saying with a chuckle.
Kenji watched, frowning, knowing in his heart that it wouldn't be easy to get rid of this kid.
He had a vague premonition of being 'milked'—the kind that damages assets.
"Hmm, Admiral Shirojishi seems to be getting surrounded!"
Deep within the island, the group who had retreated from the cliff stood on high ground and noticed that the battle was shifting in an unfavorable direction.
At this moment, Crocodile and Mihawk walked out of the group, their eyes flashing with impatience and urgency.
"Top-tier powerhouses standing at the world's peak. Such a battle will be hard to encounter again..."
Their eyes were fixed on the distant battlefield, somewhat eager to try.
They knew they were far from qualified to join the battle, but their inner yearning for powerful strength made them want to get closer to the battlefield.
The other cadets behind them also became somewhat restless.
"If I could face the power of a top-tier powerhouse, even for just a second, it would be worth dying for!" Some fanatics were almost losing their minds.
Marie's figure flashed, appearing before everyone, and she commanded without refusal, "Everyone, retreat! No one is allowed to act without authorization!"
"Don't cause trouble for Admiral Shirojishi!"
The cadet team finally calmed down a bit, no longer so boisterous for a while.
However, when Marie turned around again to look at the distant coastal battlefield, her dark pupils suddenly constricted.
She saw that in the distant coast, the Oro Jackson had arrived, cutting through the waves at some unknown time.
World-renowned pirates were rushing ashore, one after another, scrambling.
The Roger Pirates had landed!
(End of Chapter)
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