Chapter 15: Garp's Pursuit, Drew VS Aokiji

On the calm and peaceful sea, the Jackson was sailing swiftly. Drew gently pulled out a sheet of paper from his chest—an etching of the Poneglyph—and laid it on the table on deck.

"Captain Roger, mission accomplished."

"Hahahahaha! Drew, you really pulled it off!" Roger burst into hearty laughter as he looked at the paper on the table. While laughing, he slapped Drew hard on the shoulder with his large hand—so hard that Drew's body sank slightly under the force.

"You actually made a rub of it... Drew, you're seriously amazing," said Buggy. Unlike the others who were focused on the historical text, Buggy had his eyes fixed on Drew. After all, they were long-time rivals, and Buggy knew full well how terrifying the Big Mom Pirates were. He hadn't expected that Drew could actually sneak into the center of the island and steal something so important.

"Haha, just lucky, I guess," Drew responded with a calm smile, speaking modestly.

"Whoosh—BOOM!"

Just as the entire Roger Pirates crew was immersed in their joy, the sound of an exploding cannonball drew everyone's attention to its source.

A massive dog-headed warship was speeding toward them, with a towering Marine standing at its bow, arms crossed, looking in the direction of the Jackson.

"Heh... I finally found you, Roger!"

That's right—the one arriving was none other than Vice Admiral Garp, the famed Marine Hero. A man who had always been determined to bring Roger to justice.

The world believed that Garp had led the righteous Marines in destroying the Rocks Pirates, the most feared pirate group of their time. But Garp knew the truth—without joining forces with Roger back then, he could never have completely crushed the Rocks Pirates, let alone killed Rocks himself.

It was exactly because of this that Garp had never forgotten Roger and took him so seriously. Garp was well aware of Roger's terrifying potential—if allowed to grow unchecked, Roger could form a new Rocks-like crew and plunge the seas into even greater chaos.

"Garp!"

Upon seeing Garp so close, Roger's smiling face turned serious. He took a big step forward and drew the sword at his waist in one swift motion.

"Divine Departure!"

"Fist Bone!"

A blade and a fist collided in an instant. Black and red lightning crackled wildly in the air as their attacks clashed, unleashing torrents of Conqueror's Haki. The previously calm sea split apart, a deep, bottomless trench forming out of nowhere. From just one exchange—the sea exploded.

The clouds overhead twisted and spiraled upward under the sheer pressure of their haki, as if mirroring the rift that had opened in the ocean below.

The terrifying shockwaves of their Conqueror's Haki surged through the surrounding kilometers of sea. Many Marines aboard Garp's warship couldn't withstand the overwhelming pressure and collapsed on the spot.

"Hey! What's wrong with you?!"

"Wake up, Mishima! Don't fall asleep now!"

"What the hell is happening? All of you—!"

Seeing comrade after comrade collapse around them, the Marine recruits were thrown into a panic. They shook their unconscious teammates, trying desperately to wake them up.

"Silence! They're fine—just passed out. As for those of you still standing—congratulations. You've survived the pressure of two monsters' Haki," said Bogard, Garp's lieutenant, whose commanding tone quickly brought order. "But the fight is far from over. Muster your courage! As soldiers of justice, we must strike them down!"

Encouraged by Bogard's words, the recruits steadied themselves, gripping their weapons tightly in preparation for battle.

"Sigh… what a reckless senior," Bogard muttered as he looked toward Garp, who was already locked in an intense and inseparable clash with Roger. He shrugged helplessly, then turned to order the veteran Marines to carry the unconscious recruits away.

"Charge!"

Without hesitation, Bogard led the charge straight toward Rayleigh. After so many battles between the two sides, he already knew exactly where he was needed.

"Keh keh keh… Are those fresh recruits I see? Time to die! Lord Buggy is here!"

At the rear of the Roger Pirates' group, Buggy's eyes lit up with excitement as he noticed the trembling Marine recruits aboard the warship. He loved nothing more than bullying newbies.

"Ice Spear Thrust!"

Just as Buggy was about to show off his might, a sudden bone-chilling cold swept toward him. He quickly twisted his neck to look in the direction of the icy air and saw a tall Marine recruit glaring at him, with waves of freezing energy swirling around his arm. The heat and excitement in Buggy's body were instantly extinguished.

"Chop-chopEscape!"

A split second before the ice spear hit his body, Buggy's form burst apart into pieces, narrowly dodging the attack. He spun around with a furious expression, glaring at his attacker.

"Coward! Sneak attacking a kid like me?!"

"Hmph, sneak attack? A Marine of justice has no need for such tactics. Surrender now, pirate!"

This Marine recruit, who happened to be a Logia-type Devil Fruit user, was none other than a young, passionate Aokiji (Kuzan). At this time, he still believed in the absolute righteousness of the Marines and was a firm follower of "Burning Justice."

"Ice Blade!"

Aokiji exhaled slowly, and a long, sharp blade of ice formed in his hand. Its glinting chill sent a shiver down Buggy's spine even under the scorching sun. Looking at Aokiji's serious face, Buggy instantly turned to run.

"Drew! I'll leave this weakling Marine recruit to you!"

As he passed by Drew, Buggy slapped him on the shoulder and declared boldly, as if he were too good to waste his time on Aokiji.

"This guy... I guess he's not changing anytime soon," Drew muttered helplessly with a shake of his head. Despite countless experiments proving that ordinary weapons couldn't kill Buggy, Buggy still chickened out whenever facing a fierce or powerful opponent—always retreating to the back and waiting for the fight to end.

"Bang!"

Drew's figure flickered as he suddenly appeared in front of Aokiji, wielding his Fangtian Huaji (a halberd-like weapon). He struck hard, colliding directly with Aokiji's ice blade. The sheer force of the blow made Aokiji, who had been confident just moments before, falter slightly—his eyes now filled with seriousness as he stared at Drew.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Boom!"

In just a few short seconds, the two exchanged over a dozen blows. Aokiji's ice blades were shattered again and again. Their hand-to-hand combat ended in a draw.

"Ice Time!"

Suddenly, Aokiji discarded his broken ice blade. As he closed in on Drew, he quickly reached out and grabbed Drew's shoulder—releasing a surge of intense cold. In the blink of an eye, Drew was frozen into an ice sculpture.

Just as Aokiji believed victory was within his grasp—

Whoosh!

A sharp slicing sound broke through the air. Drew's Fangtian Huaji descended from above, crashing down with tremendous force. Wrapped in Armament Haki, the halberd shattered the ice shell and struck Aokiji's shoulder. The part of his body that couldn't transform into elements was slashed deeply, blood gushing out and staining his Marine uniform of justice...