The Roger Pirates also heard the enormous and solemn bell chime, and everyone simultaneously looked upward toward the cloud sea above.
"Hey, Roger, that's a bell, right?"
"Could that be the direction of the Poneglyph you're searching for?"
Rayleigh adjusted his glasses while staring into the sky above the cloud sea and questioning his captain.
"No idea. But a bell capable of making such a huge sound must definitely be tied to a piece of ancient history."
"The only question is, who rang it? Don't tell me it was the Marines?"
Roger's words caused the crew members to exchange confused glances.
'The Marines?'
'Since when did those Marines become archaeologists?'
"Captain Roger, look over there! What's that??"
"A huge cloud?"
Suddenly, Shanks pointed toward the sky.
Roger focused his gaze.
'Well damn, it really was a huge cloud.'
'But why was that cloud flying toward the Marine warship?'
"No, that's not a cloud. There are people on it!"
"It's the Marines!"
Thanks to his powerful perception abilities, Roger could clearly sense human presences atop the cloud.
And the aura of the leading figure was especially strong.
"Hammer?"
"Roger? What should we do?"
Rayleigh handed the decision over to Roger.
"Hehehe, do we even need to discuss it? Let's go ask him what that bell sound was all about!"
"I guarantee it had something to do with him!"
Accompanied by Roger's hearty laughter, the Oro Jackson also began sailing toward the Warhammer.
.......
Meanwhile, Hammer also spotted the Roger Pirates' ship immediately from the air.
"Holy crap, why is that bastard heading toward my warship too?!"
"Shirley, help me check! Am I seeing things?"
Unable to believe his own eyes, Hammer hurriedly called over his observer.
Shirley pulled out a pair of glasses, put them on, and carefully looked toward the pirate ship.
"Hmm... you're not mistaken. They really do seem to be heading toward the Warhammer."
"!!!?"
"Lance! Call the Marines staying behind and tell them to move south! NOW!"
Lance didn't dare delay and immediately placed the call.
Soon, the Warhammer also began moving.
Even without wind, with Wind Dials available, the Warhammer could still advance.
Although the speed was significantly slower.
Hammer also immediately went full throttle.
Part of the Cloud Armor transformed into clouds carrying people, while another part formed two enormous wings.
At the same time, he utilized the shockwaves from the Hammer-Hammer Fruit.
Bringing everyone along, he rapidly charged toward the Warhammer.
"It really is Hammer! Those clouds actually grew wings!"
"There's no one besides that Marine capable of doing something like this!"
The moment Gaban saw the cloud sprout wings midair, he instantly confirmed the identity of the person riding atop it, Marine Vice Admiral Hammer.
"Gaban! Activate the propulsion system!"
"We can't let him escape!"
"Got it!"
Roger directly ordered the Oro Jackson's propulsion system activated.
Gaban immediately acknowledged the order and ran off to prepare it.
"Hehehe, brat! You dared strike me with lightning before! You're definitely paying for that!"
Rayleigh looked at roger, '...So you're still holding a grudge, huh? Just admit you want revenge.'
Buggy at the side nodded, 'I agree! Captain Roger! Beat that hammer idiot up!'
Thus, with the Warhammer as their target, both sides accelerated at full speed.
"Propulsion system activated!"
At Gaban's shout, the Oro Jackson's propulsion system roared to life.
The pirate ship surged forward like a rocket, blasting toward the Warhammer.
"OH COME ON! You're even using propulsion?! Roger, you shameless bastard! Can't you act with a little dignity?!"
"Air Hammer! Air Wall!"
"I'll block you!"
Seeing that the Roger Pirates were significantly faster than him, Hammer panicked.
Cursing Roger for being shameless, he activated the Hammer-Hammer Fruit's air manipulation at maximum output.
Countless hammer strikes instantly materialized behind the Warhammer, forcefully condensing into a massive wall of air in an attempt to block the Oro Jackson's advance.
"Hahahahaha! Brat! Dream on!"
"Even Whitebeard can't block the road ahead of me!"
Roger laughed loudly as he stepped onto the bow of the ship.
The Supreme Grade Blade Ace instantly unsheathed from his waist.
Black-red lightning exploded outward.
'??? Motherf#ckr! You're opening with your ultimate move right away?!'
Just as Hammer was about to start cursing again, a massive figure acted before Roger could.
"Ahahahahaha! Roger, let me do this one!"
"Oden Two-Sword Style! Paradise Totsuka!"
The attack descended like a tiger leaping across a ravine, carrying overwhelming momentum.
Mostly because Oden yelled really loudly.
The noise was so intense that Roger beside him covered his ears.
Two flashes of cold light instantly appeared as terrifying slashes smashed apart Hammer's Air Wall.
"Nicely done, Oden! That attack's gotten even stronger!"
"Hahaha!"
"Now you've got nowhere to run, Hammer!"
Seeing Oden's devastating strike shatter Hammer's Air Wall, Roger burst into delighted laughter.
But when he looked back into the sky, the clouds were gone.
The people were gone too.
"Damn you, Roger! If you've got guts, go fight Garp instead! Why are you chasing me?!"
"What did I ever do to you?!"
An annoyed roar instantly erupted from aboard the Warhammer.
Roger looked at oden, 'When the hell did he get back onto the ship? Why didn't I notice?'
Oden noticed the meaning of the gaze, 'I didn't notice either!'
The Roger Pirates sighed. 'Idiot captain.'
What they didn't realize was, the moment Hammer created the Air Wall, he simultaneously unleashed his strongest hammer strike.
Using the recoil force, he blasted apart the air itself and propelled everyone straight back onto the Warhammer.
At this moment, Hammer had already ordered the crew to increase Wind Dial output, accelerating the Warhammer as much as possible.
While, Hammer personally led the officers to the stern, glaring intensely at the Roger Pirates behind them.
By now, both ships had traveled far away from Angel Island.
They were currently south of it.
"You damned Marine! Hammer, was it?! Why did you strike me with lightning last time?!"
"...."
"No, how the hell would I know you got struck by lightning? Wait, why are you blaming me for getting struck by lightning anyway?!"
"At Edd Sea War! Weren't you the brat responsible for that lightning storm?! If not you, then who?!"
Roger raised Ace once more, scaring Hammer into frantically waving his hands.
"That was Sengoku's idea! If you're gonna slash someone, go slash Sengoku! I was just a small soldier carrying out orders!"
'Huh... that actually makes sense. Maybe I should slash Sengoku instead?'
"Wait that doesn't matter! I'll beat you up first and figure the rest out later!"
"Brat Hammer! Take this attack!"
'Damn guy! So in the end you still wanna slash me?!'
Black-red lightning exploded once again, causing Hammer's expression to drastically change.
"Everyone prepare yourselves! Something insanely brutal is coming!"
"Shirley! Hina! Joint defense!"
Seeing Roger preparing to attack, Hammer immediately ordered everyone into defensive positions.
"Slacker King Aura!"
"Cloud Armor! Thousand-Layer Waves!"
"Shield-Shield! Adamant Shield!"
"Cage-Cage! Iron Tree Silver Branches!"
White cloud waves.
Dark golden shields radiating brilliance.
Pitch-black iron branches.
Three layers of defense instantly formed behind the Warhammer.
Then, Hammer's furious roar and Roger's battle cry sounded simultaneously.
"Divine Departure!"
"Divine Departure? I WON'T DODGE! I'M EVEN MORE BADASS THAN THAT!"
Roger: "????"
Rayleigh: "????"
Everyone else: "????"