Chapter 534: Tides of Legends

“Was that really Roger?”

“Yeah, he admitted it himself. That’s the Pirate King Roger.”

“How come Roger looks like such a pretty boy now?”

As the two chatted, both the Navy and pirates nearby eyed Roger suspiciously. His appearance raised plenty of questions.

Gone was the wild man of his execution day. Now, Roger had a neat crew cut and a clean-shaven face, looking nothing like the bearded, long-haired legend.

“Ahahaha, this is great!”

“Hey, are you really Roger, the Pirate King?”

“Oi, I’m Luffy—I’m gonna be King of the Pirates someday!”

Still clutching Admiral Udyr in one hand, Luffy dragged his bruised captive over and stuck his head next to Roger, flashing a goofy smile.

Luffy always wanted to set sail because of Roger’s legend, with a little help from fate and his mentor Shanks. That’s where his dream to become the Pirate King began.

“Yo, kid. You’re full of spirit.”

“Maybe you’ll really be the next Pirate King.”

“Thanks for the compliment—waaah!”

Just as Luffy was basking in his glory, Udyr suddenly broke free. With a fierce grip, he flung Luffy aside, sending him crashing onto the icy ground.

“Don’t get too cocky, pirate.”

Udyr spat on the ice, steadied himself, and in an instant towered over twenty meters tall, transforming into a gigantic, tawny bear.

His blood-red eyes, glowing like lanterns, locked straight onto Luffy sprawled on the ice.

Suddenly, Dill stepped out from behind Roger, gripping a blue-black spear made from frozen moisture in the air, its shaft swirling with thick Armament Haki.

“Doesn’t matter if you’re Roger or not. You can’t run wild in Navy Headquarters.”

“Your life is mine!”

“Divine Departure!”

Roger spun, drawing his blade. Not only did he shatter Dill’s spear, but he sent Dill himself flying, crashing into a wall hundreds of meters away.

“Don’t let your temper get the best of you, kid.”

“If young folks weren’t hot-headed, they wouldn’t be young! You old fossil!”

From overhead, Tradis rained down a barrage of golden-red feathers targeting Roger on the ground.

“Gurararara, let’s catch up later. For now, you’d better head back!”

Whitebeard, hulking and mighty, grabbed Ace with his left hand and tossed him toward the exit. Then, with his right, he swung Cloud Cutter, summoning a blinding white shockwave that slashed straight at Tradis in the sky.

“Iron Fist!”

“Real or fake—doesn’t matter. You came here, you’re staying here.”

He might go easy on his grandson, but Garp had no intention of holding back against Roger, his fated rival.

He unleashed his full strength. The shockwaves compressed the air, making a loud cracking sound.

“Urorororo! Garp, you might be the Navy’s hero, but that’s no reason to underestimate me.”

“Descent of Three Worlds: Draw Down to Naraku!”

Kaido leaped into the air, spinning his iron staff wreathed in crackling Conqueror’s Haki, then smashed it down at Garp’s head. In a flash, Garp blocked with his left arm.

The earth beneath Garp splintered from the force of the blow.

“Ahahaha, Garp! You should deal with Kaido first, then come find me. For now, I need a chat with my old friend.”

“Divine Departure!”

To be honest, even Garp might not be able to defeat Roger right now—and Roger’s intentions were obvious.

His target: Kong, the former Navy Fleet Admiral and now Supreme Commander of the armed forces, standing off to the side.

High-level combat broke out once more, and the clash sparked chaotic fighting between the Navy and pirates. The truce was gone.

This time, the pirates had the clear advantage, forcing the brawl over the ruins of Navy Headquarters.

Meanwhile, over on the Red Line…

The final battle had erupted!

“Your Majesty, was that noise just now really…”

“Yeah, looks like Karl wasn’t lying to us. It’s our time to strike.”

“All forces, charge! Target: the Red Line!”

“Roar!”

With Loki’s command, hundreds of thousands of giants raised their weapons and stormed into the depths of the Red Line alongside the Revolutionary Army.

With the giants leading the way, they crashed through everything like bulldozers, splitting the battlefield into chaotic segments.

Deep inside a mysterious room, Im was just about to hit the attack button to wipe out the intruders in one fell swoop.

But suddenly, massive red dots started popping up all over the map.

“What is going on?”

“Could it be… more of those gene-modified soldiers?”

There was a reason Im called the Golden Giants gene-modified soldiers. The last time Karl invaded the Red Line, Im handed some of their flesh over for research. Turned out they were all cloned bioweapons.

“This complicates things. Can’t strike so recklessly now.”

The dashboard glared with the number 3000—meaning only three Heavenly King Uranus units could launch a total of 3000 attacks.

But with hundreds of thousands of red dots, that’s a drop in the bucket. It might not even scratch Karl.

Karl was the true mastermind. Unless he fell, slaughtering all the minions did no good.

“Brrrring! Brrrring!”

Im wouldn’t make that mistake. He directly called the Five Elders.

“Moshi moshi?”

“Lord Im, awaiting your orders!”

Marcus answered the Transponder Snail, instantly recognizing who was calling. He sprang to his feet, nerves taut as he addressed the snail.

Could something have gone wrong on Im’s end? The Heavenly King’s attack hadn’t even launched before this call came.

Fortunately, Im didn’t keep him waiting for long.

“A massive number of lifeforms with insane power just appeared on the Red Line. Wipe them ALL out!”

Only by erasing all those red dots could he properly lock onto the real threats.

That was one flaw in the Heavenly King Uranus—its way of determining targets was based on life signatures.

Every giant is a massive powerhouse. With Karl lost among them, Uranus would never be able to pinpoint him directly.

Even Karl hadn’t expected that bringing in the Giants would be this effective. If he knew, he’d probably laugh for days.

“Understood, Lord Im. We’ll handle it immediately.”

“Not immediately—right now! This instant!”

“Yes, Lord Im. We’ll deal with it now.”

Click!

Marcus stared at the coldly disconnected Transponder Snail, his expression grave. He turned to the others.

“You all heard Lord Im. Looks like we can’t start pulling back yet. Send everyone—we need to deal with those giants in the plaza now.”

Woqiuli took the lead, heading out at once.

“If it comes to it, all five of us may have to join the fight. Let’s go.”

With Marcus’s words, the other three Elders had no choice but to follow.