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Chapter 98: The King of North Blue
With the release of Marine's information, news about the legendary great pirate, "World Destroyer" Byrnndi Waldo, being attacked and killed by Marine in North Blue quickly spread throughout the entire sea thanks to various newspapers.
As soon as the news broke, it was like a heavy bomb falling into a calm lake, causing huge waves.
In a certain sea area of the New World, the sky was covered with white, liquid-like clouds. The blue sky and the deep sea seemed to merge together. A gigantic pirate ship quietly rested on the sea, looking like a white whale from a distance. The skull flag marked with a white machete beard fluttered on the towering mast, level with seagulls flying high.
"Father!! Something big happened!!"
A boy with a golden pineapple-shaped head screamed in shock and ran towards the bow, holding a freshly printed newspaper high in his hand. He saw a figure sitting on the bow, holding a bottle of strong wine and exuding a strong smell of alcohol.
"How many times have I told you, Marco? You must calm down first when dealing with things," the man slowly stood up. As he moved, his presence grew like a towering mountain rising from the ground, seemingly endless. Beneath the giant whale-like pirate ship, the calm sea suddenly started to boil, with ripples and bubbles forming like raindrops on the surface.
"I'm sorry, Dad!" The boy named Marco immediately came to a halt, bent over, and bowed, looking anxious. "But you need to see this!"
The burly man standing there turned around slowly. The sun shined brightly on him. He wore a wide captain's cloak, and a huge naginata with an exaggerated shape stood beside him. His long, golden hair danced slightly in the sea breeze. This was Whitebeard Edward Newgate, the legendary great pirate regarded by Marine as an "enemy," known across the New World as the "strongest man in the world."
Whitebeard looked down at the boy in front of him, his eyes suddenly softening. "Tell me, what happened?"
Marco, out of breath, took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and said loudly, "Byrnndi Waldo... he was killed by Marine!"
The other crew members on the deck, who were busy with their tasks, stopped in shock and gasped.
The sound of crashing waves came in the background. "Oh? That guy Waldo was actually killed by Marine?" A look of surprise crossed Whitebeard's face. As a great pirate himself, Whitebeard had once fought against the Ward Pirates led by Byrnndi Waldo and knew something of Waldo's strength. Their encounter had been tentative, as they didn't have much enmity and didn't need to fight to the death. Both men were cautious of each other's Devil Fruit powers and wanted to avoid large-scale casualties among their crews, so their fight was more a flashy show of power than a real battle. Notably, it was Whitebeard who shattered Byrnndi Waldo's "100 times gun."
"Was it Sengoku or Garp who made the move?" Whitebeard asked in a low voice.
"Neither," Marco shook his head. "It was someone I've never heard of. A colonel from the Marine stationed in North Blue. His name is Rogers Darren!"
Whitebeard narrowed his eyes. He took the newspaper from Marco and read the headlines on the front page that took up a large space.
"'King of the North Blue' Rogers Darren!! Successfully defeated the legendary pirate, Byrnndi Waldo!!"
"North Blue's strongest admiral!! 'Marine Future Admiral'!?"
"'World Destroyer' Byrnndi Waldo, died in North Blue!?"
"Shocking!! The Marine supernova who attacked Byrnndi Waldo turned out to be a scum!? Is this a distortion of human nature, or a loss of morality!?"
The news report was accompanied by a photo of Darren standing on the corpses of countless pirates during a military operation, with gunpowder behind him.
"It seems like an ambitious young man," Whitebeard said, staring at the photo of the grinning black-haired Marine before letting out a loud laugh. "Gura la la la!! Little ones, it seems that you will have a good opponent in the future!!"
His heroic laughter, like a great bell, shook the world. In the distant sea, huge waves surged without wind, layer upon layer, like a dragon roaring. The sea was shaking!
Meanwhile, in the Grand Line, a sea area was experiencing a violent storm. Thousands of pale thunderbolts tore through the pitch-black sky, and roaring thunder illuminated the torrential rain.
The roaring storm stirred up turbulent waves, like the big hand of an invisible giant constantly tossing a pirate ship speeding through the sea.
"Captain Roger! Something big is happening!"
Through the rainstorm, a kid with a red nose and a hood ran wildly on the deck.
"Hahahahaha! Buggy, don't slip!"
A black-haired man exuding an unruly Haki stood on the bow of the boat, laughing against the storm. His red captain's coat fluttered and danced in the strong wind, splashing a large amount of rain.
Gol D. Roger!
"Let me tell you! I found it first, Buggy!"
Another red-haired kid ran out of the cabin and hugged the red-nosed Buggy tightly.
"Damn it, Shanks! Who told you to run slow?!"
The two brats rolled and struggled on the deck, their young faces gnashing their teeth and squeezing each other until they were twisted.
Roger, sitting on the bow of the boat, smiled and looked at the man not far away who wore a shirt and rimless glasses.
"It's so full of energy, so full of passion and youth. It reminds me of when we first went to sea... Don't you think so, Rayleigh?"
Hearing this, Rayleigh rolled his eyes angrily, thinking that only Roger had passion and youth back then. If this bastard had not been stalking him, he would have lived a retired life long ago.
"Say it together, Buggy, Shanks," Rayleigh waved his hand and said.
"Yes, Mr. Rayleigh!"
Shanks and Buggy glared at each other fiercely, then stood up obediently and shouted the latest news headlines:
"'King of the North Blue' Rogers Darren! Successfully defeated the legendary pirate, Byrnndi Waldo!"
Roger and Rayleigh were stunned upon hearing this.
"King of North Blue? I've never heard of this nickname before..." Rayleigh took the wet newspaper and frowned as he read the blurred words.
But Roger's eyes shone eagerly.
"This nickname sounds like he is a very capable guy..."
Rayleigh's mouth twitched as he said helplessly:
"It seems like he's just a boy under twenty years old."
"Hahahaha! So what!?"
Roger laughed disapprovingly.
Boom!
A wave suddenly exploded on the side of the Oro Jackson, splashing a large area of salty water.
"It's a shelling!"
"Captain Roger! The Marines! The Marines are catching up!"
Boom! Boom! Rumble!
Black cannonballs tore through the rain curtain, drew parabolas from high in the sky, and fell toward the pirate ship.
Bang!
The light of the sword shone brilliantly like flowing flowers.
Several artillery shells that fell from the sky were cut into pieces by Rayleigh and exploded above their heads, creating thick smoke. The flickering firelight reflected Rayleigh's solemn expression.
"Roger! You can't run away!"
A powerful roar came from the sea far away from the stern of the ship.
In the hazy view, a Marine with a muscular, bare upper body stood on the bow of a dog-headed Marine warship, constantly throwing cannonballs at them with his bare hands.
"Ahhhhhh! Here we go again!"
Buggy held his head and screamed, his face full of horror.
"Why does this bastard keep following us? We're really going to die this time!"
"Shut up!" The red-haired man covered Buggy's mouth with his hand and said viciously. However, his pale face showed he was also extremely uneasy.
"Hahahaha, Garp, I'm not in the mood to play with you!"
Roger made a face at Garp from a distance, smiling mischievously like a child.
"Hurry up and run! That guy is the 'strongest marine'!"
"Okay!" the crew members cheered in unison.
Under the control of the sailors, the sails of the Oro Jackson bulged, and the speed surged due to the storm's force.
"Damn!"
Garp gritted his teeth and threw the cannonballs faster and faster, his hands almost turning into phantoms, and roared:
"Don't run away if you dare, Roger!"
"Don't chase me if you have the guts, Garp!"
Rumble!
"Don't run!"
"Then don't chase me!"
...
Similar scenes happened in every corner of the ocean. Regarding the headlines in the newspapers, some people sneered, some mocked, some were silent, some cheered, some were angry, some reacted indifferently, and some were ready to take action...
But one thing is certain: today, the name "King of North Blue" Rogers Darren has officially appeared on the stage of this sea!