With a single cannon blast from the Oro Jackson, the battle between the two pirate crews officially began.
At Golden Lion's command, the dozens of pirate ships surrounding the Oro Jackson launched their attack all at once. In an instant, waves of cannonballs came screaming toward them, a literal rain of shells.
"Men, prepare to counterattack!"
Roger drew his beloved sword and spoke with soaring battle spirit. Even if they were to die in this sea, they would have no regrets.
Faced with the overwhelming bombardment of dozens of shells, the Roger Pirates did not panic in the slightest. Gaban fired several bullets, each one striking a shell with flawless precision and detonating it in midair.
As for swordsmen like Rayleigh, one slash was enough to cut through more than a dozen cannonballs at once, causing them to explode before they could reach the ship. In short, not a single shell landed on the Oro Jackson.
Golden Lion was not the least bit surprised by this.
If the Roger Pirates had really been sunk by such an attack, then that would have been the truly shocking outcome.
Both sides understood each other's strength well, and Golden Lion did not take action personally yet. He wanted to give Roger a little more time to think things over. Joining him would definitely be the wise choice.
"Roger, still not willing to join me?"
Wave after wave of cannon fire continued, while every member of the Roger Pirates resisted stubbornly. Whenever they found an opening, they even managed to sink one of the enemy ships.
But the enemy simply had too many ships. Taking down one or two had very little effect on the overall battle.
As more and more time passed, Golden Lion finally decided to act personally. Since he could not have them, then he would destroy them. That was the thought in his mind now.
Using his Devil Fruit power, Golden Lion flew up into the sky, drew his sword, and slashed in the direction of the Roger Pirates.
"Lion's Wave!"
The slash was terrifyingly powerful. If that attack were allowed to fall on the Oro Jackson, the ship would be split clean in two in an instant.
At that moment, Rayleigh rushed forward and struck out with a slash no weaker than Golden Lion's. The two attacks collided in midair, grinding against each other until they exhausted themselves and slowly dissipated into the air.
"Rayleigh, was it? I admire you too. How about joining my pirate crew?"
Golden Lion extended an invitation to Rayleigh as well.
For all the sheer number of members under Golden Lion's banner, the truth was that he was the only real top-tier fighter among them.
Among the three great pirate crews, he could honestly be considered the weakest in terms of high-end combat power, and that had always been one of his deepest frustrations. He had thought of ways to strengthen his side, but he simply had not been able to.
Anyone with real strength had already been poached by the other pirate crews. As for those who were strong but still unknown, he could not find them.
He had once issued a recruitment call as well, but what showed up were nothing but worthless riffraff and a bunch of undercover Marines. In the end, not a single one of those recruits was left alive. He killed them all.
Because of that, the Marines had clashed fiercely with Golden Lion once, but Golden Lion was far too cunning. Combined with the power of the Float-Float Fruit, he could remain effectively unbeatable in nearly any battle.
"Roger, are you still refusing to surrender?"
After several more rounds of bombardment, the ordinary members of the Roger Pirates were already exhausted. Only the middle and high-tier fighters were still resisting stubbornly.
"Golden Lion, I already told you. If I can't sail according to my own will, then what's the point of being a pirate?"
"So stubborn to the very end, huh? Then you and your pirate crew can all sink into the sea together!"
"Lion Senjiki!"
In just a few short seconds, Golden Lion unleashed dozens of slashes. Every single one of them was no weaker than the Lion's Wave from before.
"So you're finally going all out, Golden Lion."
Lion Senjiki was Golden Lion's signature move. There were precious few people in the world who could withstand it.
"Oden Two-Sword Style: Disorderly Cross Dance!"
At that moment, Kozuki Oden rushed to the front. He unleashed his self-created Oden Two-Sword Style, Disorderly Cross Dance, an attack very similar to Senjiki, one that could release dozens of sword waves in an instant.
The two attacks collided and neutralized one another once again.
"If I remember right, you're Whitebeard's Second Division Commander, Kozuki Oden, aren't you?"
The moment he saw someone else block his attack, Golden Lion immediately remembered who Oden was.
"So why are you on Roger's ship now? Don't tell me you betrayed Whitebeard. As far as I know, Whitebeard has always hated traitors. Well then, how about joining my ship? I guarantee Whitebeard won't so much as touch a hair on your head."
"No need for your concern. I came here with Pops' permission."
"Is that so? Then what a pity. Whitebeard probably never imagined that one of the sons he was most proud of would die by my hand."
If it were Whitebeard the one surrounded by Golden Lion, he could have dealt with this situation with ease. The power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit was a natural disaster in itself. Dozens, even hundreds of pirate ships would not be able to withstand Whitebeard's full-powered blow.
But Roger was different.
There was no one on his ship with that kind of massive area-of-effect destructive power.
At that moment, the wind suddenly grew stronger and stronger, and rain began pouring down in sheets. In the distance, the shadow of Marine warships could faintly be seen.
"The Marines got here pretty fast."
"Roger, stop resisting."
Golden Lion felt as if the weather itself had been custom-made for him, as though even the storm were proclaiming his dominion.
Golden Lion descended onto the prow of his ship.
But then Roger smiled mysteriously.
Neither his eyes nor his expression showed the slightest trace of panic.
"Roger, what are you laughing at?"
Seeing Roger smile, Golden Lion felt a flicker of unease. Did Roger still have some hidden trump card? This time, Golden Lion had made every preparation precisely to strike without warning.
"I'm laughing because your entire fleet is about to be wiped out."
"What do you mean?"
Golden Lion's expression grew serious. He knew Roger never said baseless things.
"Just wait and see."
At that moment, the wind grew wilder and wilder. The waves came one after another, each one larger than the last. The sea itself looked like a set of stairs, rising and falling in jagged succession.
"What is this?"
Golden Lion also realized something was wrong with the weather, but by then it was already too late. Several of his pirate ships had already been swallowed by the waves and smashed into the sea.
"Boys, get ready! We're getting out of here!"
Roger shouted to his crew.
For some reason, along the path the Roger Pirates were taking, the waves were noticeably weaker, and even the wind seemed to favor them, pushing their ship forward faster.
"Damn it! Chase them down!"
Golden Lion could not bear to watch Roger escape and immediately ordered his fleet to pursue them.
But at this point, it was already impossible.
The waves seemed to have surrounded Golden Lion's entire fleet. One monstrous surge after another crashed down, and in an instant, dozens of pirate ships were destroyed. Somewhere in the chaos, a ship's rudder flew from who knew which wrecked vessel and lodged itself straight into Golden Lion's head.
But he did not even notice.
His eyes were fixed the whole time on Roger's pirate ship, which was getting farther and farther away.
"Damn it!!!"
Golden Lion let out a furious, unwilling roar.
By the time the winds calmed and the sea settled, the Roger Pirates had long since vanished without a trace. Even if Golden Lion used the Float-Float Fruit to pursue them now, the remnants of his fleet were no longer a match for Roger's crew.
"Captain, Marine warships have been spotted behind us," one of his men reported at that moment.
"We're leaving."
Golden Lion gave one final look in the direction Roger had escaped, then lifted the remaining pirate ships into the air and drifted away into the distance.
"So Golden Lion got away again. But this time, his losses were devastating."
The Marines had witnessed the entire scene.
/-\
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