Chapter 82: Reenacting the Wood Dragon Technique! Roger's Shock
When Chinjao said those words, he naturally had his own selfish motives.
He had long heard that the Azure Emperor Lotte possessed unparalleled talent—the youngest cadre in the history of the Rocks Pirates, with progress in strength far exceeding ordinary people.
From Chinjao's perspective as a West Blue hegemon,
He had always wanted to know exactly where he stood compared to the powerhouses of the New World.
If he could spar with the Azure Emperor,
Even if he lost, it would greatly help him prepare for eventually entering the New World.
Lotte easily saw through Chinjao's thoughts with Voice of All Things
And revealed a playful smile.
"Since Commander Chinjao has put it that way, refusing would make me seem quite unreasonable."
"But you should also understand—if my identity is exposed,"
"What kind of consequences that would bring?"
If Marine Headquarters and the World Government learned he was in the West Blue, they would absolutely not miss this golden opportunity to capture him. It wouldn't even be impossible for them to deploy an Admiral.
After all, the strength he displayed in Sabaody Archipelago
Was already beyond what Garp alone could arrest!
Chinjao replied gravely,
"This matter will absolutely not be known to a second person. My subordinates will only know the result of the match."
He had no desire to get involved in the conflict between Marine Headquarters and the Azure Emperor.
So he planned to conduct this arena battle in secret.
"There is an underground passage in the Happo Building leading to a facility built by the previous pillar."
"We'll hold the fight there—no one will know."
Lotte lightly clapped.
"Since you've already prepared the venue, let's go now."
He hadn't had a proper spar with a strong opponent in quite a while. Though his various abilities were still steadily improving, nothing accelerated growth like real combat.
So this fight with Chinjao
Was also a perfect opportunity for Lotte to test his progress.
Lotte carried the white cat and calmly followed Chinjao's steps through the underground passage. Soon they arrived at an abandoned training ground in the outskirts.
Chinjao touched his pointed head and smiled.
"This was the previous pillar's training ground, but I didn't like it so I changed locations."
"Besides the previous pillar and me, no one knows about this place."
Lotte nodded in satisfaction. He set down the white cat and rubbed its head.
"Watch carefully from here."
Olvia—in her white cat form—quietly watched the scene. Hearing this, she raised her head full of anticipation, obediently squatting to one side and staring intently.
Though she had already seen Lotte's strength before,
She was still extremely excited.
At this moment,
The two stood facing each other on the training ground.
Chinjao looked at Lotte before him and took a deep breath. Then, with a sudden roar and stomp, an astonishing aura erupted from his entire body.
Conqueror's Haki surged forth.
Lotte calmly watched the scene and released his own Haki to clash head-on.
Crackle crackle—!
Black lightning flashed between their colliding auras.
The resulting shockwave made the surrounding trees tremble nonstop.
"Eight Impact Fist – Headbutt!"
Chinjao stomped powerfully and leaped high, descending like a falling meteor. His cone-shaped head was coated in Armament Haki.
His full body weight combined with terrifying force made this move even more devastating!
Lotte simply stood calmly in place.
"Wood Release – Tree Boundary Wall."
As his words fell, multiple wooden vine shields rapidly grew from the ground. Lotte then placed his finger against the shield.
Pitch-black Armament Haki coated it as well.
Clang!
The cone head and shield collided violently.
The astonishing shockwave tore through the surrounding trees like dry weeds.
Even Olvia in her white cat form was nearly blown away. Fortunately, her training in Breathing Styles and swordsmanship had strengthened her physique.
Her vertical pupils were filled with shock.
That seemingly impossibly heavy strike
Had been blocked so easily by Mr. Lotte!
Chinjao's face also showed gravity.
He had initially underestimated the wooden shield, thinking it was just wood—but the moment he made contact, he realized he had been completely wrong!
The hardness of that wood combined with Armament Haki far exceeded his imagination!
Truly worthy of the Rocks Pirates' genius!
BANG!
Chinjao stomped again and leaped high off the shield.
His gaze locked onto Lotte as he roared deeply once more.
"Azure Emperor! If you can take this move, from now on the Happo Navy will follow you without question!"
"But this technique is extremely dangerous—please be extremely careful!"
Lotte grinned.
"Come on. I've been wanting to test a new move myself."
Seeing this, Chinjao took a deep breath. Armament Haki coiled around his cone-shaped head as all his strength converged into one point.
"Cone Dragon Cone Nail – Chinjao Opening Gate!"
This was Chinjao's most proud technique.
If even this couldn't be stopped, he would have nothing left to say.
Lotte's expression remained unchanged. He pressed his hands together and spoke in a deep voice.
"Wood Release – Wood Dragon Technique!"
...
New World.
Guided by the information obtained from the previous ruin,
The Roger Pirates didn't take long to reach the next ruin site.
It was a seemingly desolate, isolated island.
They spent nearly a week just barely digging out a passage.
When Roger and the others walked through the tunnel and arrived at the ruin, what met their eyes was a massive mural painting. Beside the mural was a line of text left behind.
Roger stood frozen in place staring at the mural.
Rayleigh beside him murmured,
"The more prosperous the world becomes, the more rotten its roots."
"When the fated one reaches the island, the eyes of the king turn into stars overlooking the land."
"No one can escape the gaze that eradicates sinners."
Though it sounded like a hint of something, Rayleigh couldn't quite understand.
What did this have to do with the God Valley they were searching for?
Roger's expression suddenly changed dramatically. He tightly gripped the hilt of Ace at his waist, his face turning grave.
"I know what Uranus really is now!"
"Damn it! To think such a thing exists—no wonder that Rocks is pursuing it so desperately!"
"We absolutely cannot let him obtain Uranus, or things will become a disaster!"
As a member of the D clan,
Roger saw far more clearly than Rayleigh what those words truly meant.
If the ancient weapon Uranus really was that kind of existence,
Then if Rocks obtained God Valley, the harm he could cause would be far greater than Roger had imagined!
Though Roger disliked the World Government's rule,
That didn't mean he would accept Rocks' mad ambition to become King of the World!
Just as Roger was about to destroy the island first,
Suddenly a young pirate rushed in from outside the cave and shouted toward Roger.
"Captain, bad news!"
"Garp's brought warships to chase us again!"
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