Chapter 35: A Rout, Yet an Elated Crew

Half of the entire Kingdom of Joromia had been sunk, and the other half lay in ruins.

"This is bad, they got away. This is really gonna be hard to explain to Fleet Admiral Kong! Wahahaha…" On a stretch of rubble, Garp, bare-chested and laughing heartily, exclaimed.

His uniform had been torn to shreds during the battle. Instead of bothering to fix it, Garp had simply ripped it off and continued brawling with Rosinante and the others.

The battle had raged for half a day, and half the Kingdom of Jolomia had been obliterated. Yet, all Rosinante and his crew managed to accomplish was shredding Garp's uniform. In the end, they had no choice but to rely on Bins' ability to escape.

If it hadn't been for Silent Healer's continuous support throughout the fight, everyone present would have died multiple times over.

"Garp! Get your ass back here NOW!" came the thunderous voice of Fleet Admiral Kong, shouting through the Den Den Mushi.

He had every reason to be furious. The report said Garp had single-handedly leveled half the Kingdom of Joromia. The incident had shaken the Navy's reputation, and even the Five Elders had called to inquire.

After all, the Five Elders didn't care about the lives of the commoners, but Joromia's iron mines were crucial resources. Now that the whole kingdom was on the verge of collapsing, were those mines even still intact?

…

North Blue.

Doflamingo picked up a newspaper. The moment he saw the headline, his brow furrowed.

"What's the matter, Doffy? Something big happen?" Diamante asked.

"Fufufufu… That schemer Rosinante really stirred up a storm this time!" Doflamingo said with a grin, tossing the paper onto the table.

Everyone gathered around to read. The front-page headline screamed: Vice Admiral Garp Sent to Capture National Traitor Rosinante—Half of Joromia Kingdom Sunk; Navy Increases Bounties on Rosinante's Crew!

"Oi oi, the Navy actually sent Garp to capture Rosinante? That's overkill. Poor Rosinante doesn't stand a chance," Trebol commented.

"Fufufufufu… If Rosinante had really been done in, the Navy wouldn't have raised his bounty. Look at the wanted list for his crew. Fufufufu… That bastard Rosinante has quietly assembled a serious force!" Doflamingo chuckled darkly.

Diamante looked down and saw the updated bounty list:

-> Rosinante, the National Traitor – 800 million Berries

-> Raelmann the detonator – 730 million

-> Jack the Mammoth – 700 million

-> Burs the crazy Axe – 530 million

-> Bartley the One-Eyed Wolf – 510 million

-> Hemmie the Bloodsword – 513 million

-> Bins the Piercing Knight – 500 million

And at the very bottom:

-> Charlotte Katakuri – 900 million, former second son of the Charlotte Family, suspected of joining Rosinate's crew.

As Diamante and the others read further, their hearts grew heavier. The Navy wouldn't place such massive bounties unless Rosinante was now considered an extreme threat.

Once a lone wolf without backing, Rosinante had now gathered a squad of monstrous strength—far surpassing their own crew both in power and influence.

"Fufufufu… Rosinante has already leapt ahead of us. We need to pick up the pace," said Doflamingo.

"Doffy, sure, he may be ahead now, but you know what happens to those who stick their heads out first—they get shot. Even Garp was dispatched. No matter what happened, things can't be easy for Rosinante right now. We should just stick to our plan. The New World's still out of our reach," Trebol nervously advised.

"Relax. I'm not charging into the New World just yet. I've got my own strategy. Fufufufufu… I'll become the kingpin of all the underworld in North Blue," Doflamingo declared.

…

Elsewhere—Whole Cake Island.

"What?! Katakuri actually joined Rosinante's crew? That traitorous bastard dared to betray me?!" BIG MOM's face twisted with fury, her overwhelming Conqueror's Haki exploding in all directions, altering the very weather around her.

"Mama! Mama! That's just what the Navy's saying! Katakuri probably got caught up in it by accident. I mean, they were up against Garp! Teaming up with Rosinante was probably the only option at the time—there's no way he actually joined them!" Perospero quickly explained.

"Exactly, Mama! Brother Katakuri would never betray you!" Charlotte Daifuku echoed.

"Find him! Alive or dead, I want to see him with my own eyes! He better give me a damn good explanation!" BIG MOM roared.

"Yes, Mama!" the members of the Big Mom Pirates responded in unison.

…

Thousands of meters above the sea, a fleet of ships floated in the sky, pulled forward by dozens of burly men outside.

"Haha, man, this time we really got wrecked!" A voice laughed from one of the central ships, coming from a figure so wrapped in bandages he looked like a mummy.

"Your Majesty, how can you still laugh? We nearly died! And we lost Joromia Kingdom!" another bandaged crewmember grumbled.

Everyone around was similarly covered in bandages, sitting silently, their faces gloomy.

These were none other than Rosinante and his crew.

In the end, the battle for Joromia had ended in their defeat. Garp's strength was beyond monstrous. Even after Rosinante's entire crew unleashed their full power, removing all physical limitations, they still couldn't bring him down.

It was only thanks to Silent Healer's relentless stalling that Bins had time to evacuate everyone—and some treasure—before things got worse.

Only now did Rosinante truly understand why Garp remained untouchable: with a revolutionary for a son, a pirate for a grandson, and another adopted grandson who was both a pirate and the son of the Pirate King—yet he still held his place in the Navy.

It wasn't just his reputation—it was his unshakable fists. Not even the World Government could truly deal with him.

But in the aftermath, every single one of them was battered, bloodied, and barely clinging to life. Their wounds were so severe they could've died several times over.

Rosinante was afraid that too many injuries sealed within the Silent Zone would overload its limits, so he ordered some wounds to be released for proper healing.

"How can I not laugh? We stood face-to-face with one of the strongest men in the world… and we lived! We survived a clash with Garp and didn't end up in Impel Down. That's a rare feat in this world. We're gonna be famous now! I bet all our bounties just got a huge bump," Rosinante said with a big grin.

Hearing his words, everyone on board suddenly broke into relieved, joyous laughter.

"Your Majesty, are we really retreating from the New World? Are we abandoning Joromia Kingdom?" Bins asked.

"You saw it yourselves. Against someone like Garp, even with all our might, we couldn't win. What does that tell you? It tells us that the New World is still too early for us. We'll head back to the first half of the Grand Line, heal up, strengthen ourselves, and we'll return. And when we do… I'll rule the New World," Rosinante declared.

His confident tone rekindled the fire in everyone's hearts.

Truth be told, they had been crushed by Garp's overwhelming power, their confidence shattered. But seeing Rosinante's unwavering spirit reminded them why they followed him in the first place—and their hope reignited.

"As pirates, the most important thing is understanding the gap between you and your enemy. You should be thankful for this battle—it showed us the pinnacle of power in this world. And you should be even more thankful that we survived it. That means we still have a shot at reaching the top!" Rosinante declared.

"So let's have a feast—to celebrate our rebirth!" Rosinante shouted.

"Yeah, we should celebrate. But before that… shouldn't we pick a name for our pirate crew?" Jack said calmly. "You've already sunk half the Joromia Kingdom. Pretty sure you're not gonna be a king anymore. Time to start a real pirate crew."

Everyone, including Burs and the others, turned expectantly to Rosinante.