One Piece: New Order-Chapter 57: The Battle of Sgri (Prologue)

Whoosh!

Sakazuki and Whitebeard vanished at the same time, reappearing high above, locked in a clash between the split tips of the Precipice Blade.

Clang!

The sound of clashing steel rang out as the two collided, both gripping their weapons tightly. Shockwaves erupted from the collision, and crackling streams of black-purple lightning from their Conqueror's Haki danced through the air. Suspended in a deadly stalemate, they slowly fell.

Behind them, the two massive black magma blades began to crack and crumble piece by piece. Chunks of molten rock rained down like meteors, crashing into the sea below.

Neither warrior backed down. Their eyes locked, and the killing intent between them grew so dense it seemed to thicken the very air.

Suddenly, Sakazuki took a deep breath. His broad chest swelled before he exhaled sharply.

Whoosh!

A compressed blast of black smoke and volcanic ash erupted from his mouth, expanding outward like a shockwave. From a distance, it looked as if a giant black disc had formed around the Precipice Blade, suspended over a thousand meters above the ocean.

Inside the swirling black fog, flashes of lightning and streaks of sword energy lit up the darkness. The scene resembled a doomsday storm cloud, crackling ominously over the sea.

Vision was completely cut off within the smoke. But even without seeing, both fighters relied on their powerful Observation Haki to sense each other's every move.

Whitebeard clenched his left fist and gathered his strength. Sensing Sakazuki's presence, he swung fiercely in that direction. The air shattered as an endless wave of shockwaves blasted forward.

The vice admiral reacted instantly. Stomping hard, he propelled himself sideways, narrowly dodging the attack.

The blast tore open a massive hole in the smoke, but in the blink of an eye, rushing air dragged the surrounding black fog back into place, sealing the gap.

Their fierce battle raged on, bursts of lightning and violent explosions continually flashing through the black storm clouds.

...

Far away, Sengoku hovered midair, staring at the unnatural cloud with a deep frown. In his arms, the life force of Quell grew weaker and weaker.

Just then, the sound of a Den Den Mushi echoed.

Transforming back into his human form, Sengoku cradled Quell carefully with one arm while fishing the snail from his clothes with the other.

The moment he connected the call, Kong's voice came through.

"Sengoku, what's the situation on your end? There's movement from Golden Lion in the New World. He's gathering his fleet and heading for G4 Base."

Sengoku's expression turned grim. His voice was low and serious.

"All the soldiers at G4 base have fallen, except for Quell. Sakazuki is still fighting Whitebeard. And what about that government agent? Quell's life force is fading fast. I'm afraid he won't hold on much longer."

...

In his office, Kong furrowed his brows after hearing Sengoku's report.

"Alright. I'll contact the government side immediately. You two hang in there for a while."

The snail fell silent for a few seconds without a response, so Kong asked, "Sengoku?"

Sengoku's heavy voice came from the other side. "I'm afraid Golden Lion isn't the only one. I saw... Roger."

Kong went quiet for a moment.

"The pirates and their web of favors... I understand. Hold on."

Ending the call, Kong swiftly contacted the World Government, asking them to dispatch their special agent to Marineford at once. At the same time, he signaled his adjutant to issue an emergency alert across headquarters.

Moments later.

Buzz—buzz! Buzz—buzz! Buzz—buzz!

Urgent alarms blared throughout the Marineford. Everyone on the island dropped what they were doing.

All civilians hurried into their homes and waited for further instructions. Every marine entered a state of full alert, while all officers of the rank of Commodore and above rushed toward the central fortress.

...

At Zephyr's home.

Zephyr, who had been in a slump for days, jumped to his feet the instant he heard the alarm.

He looked toward the direction of the Fleet Admiral's office. Without wasting a second, he grabbed his heavy cloak with the word "Justice" written on it, threw it over his shoulders, and charged out the door.

...

At the Marine Academy.

The moment Morris heard the alarms, he ordered the instructors to lead the cadets into battle readiness. Then, with several department heads, he sprinted toward the Fleet Admiral's office.

Among the students, Enel gripped his golden staff a little tighter. A faint sense of foreboding gnawed at him.

"Uncle Sakazuki..." he muttered under his breath.

...

At the headquarters' port.

Dozens of warships lay anchored. The moment the alarms blared, the crews sprang into action.

On Sakazuki's warship, Carlo, who had been overseeing the soldiers' training, turned to look toward the Fleet Admiral's office.

Then he shouted out:

"Everyone, prepare for battle! Check all supplies, inspect ammunition, and ready the ship for combat!"

After giving his orders, he stomped down with one foot, his figure vanishing as he shot toward the central fortress. The crew on the warship quickly got busy, making all necessary preparations.

From high above, the moment the alarms sounded, the entire headquarters came alive. Civilians were seen rushing back to their homes. Soldiers were gathering toward the port. Meanwhile, streams of figures moved against the flow, racing toward the central command.

...

Time shifted back to a few hours earlier.

In the second half of the Grand Line, in the New World, the Sgri Sea.

This area, including the Marines' G4 base and several surrounding islands, was all marked on nautical charts under the name Sgri Sea.

At the edge of the Sgri Sea, aboard the Oro Jackson.

Roger lounged against the rail with a bottle of wine in hand, taking a long swig and finishing it in one gulp.

"Ha, we've finally shaken off that mad dog Garp. Hahahahaha."

Rayleigh stood nearby, a faint smile at the corner of his mouth. "Looks like it."

Roger laughed again, but his attention quickly shifted. Both men turned their heads skyward.

"That's one of Newgate's boys, isn't it?"

Rayleigh nodded. "Seems so. But judging from his aura, he looks badly hurt."

"Let's call him down and ask."

As Roger spoke, a surge of Conqueror's Haki exploded toward Marco. Already heavily wounded, he fell straight out of the sky.

Rayleigh shook his head slightly. 'Really...'

He stepped forward, kicked off the deck, and appeared midair, catching the falling Marco. By now, the latter had already lost consciousness.

Returning to the ship, he quickly summoned the ship's doctor, who bandaged Marco simply and forced some water into his mouth.

It might have been a bit rough, because Marco coughed and choked on the water, waking up in the middle of it.

Still coughing, he looked around cautiously.

"Cough... You guys... Cough..."

Roger pushed through the crowd surrounding Marco and approached with a smile.

"No need to panic, kid from Newgate's crew. It's me."

Marco's eyes lit up with surprise. He recognized Roger. After all, he and Whitebeard had shared drinks and counted each other as friends. The crew members of both sides were familiar with each other.

Marco struggled to stand up, bowed deeply, and said respectfully, "Captain Roger, please help my pops!"

Roger's eyes narrowed slightly. "Tell me everything."

After a while, having heard the whole story, Roger gave the order to turn the ship around and head toward the G4 base.

He stepped out of the cabin and stood at the bow of the Oro Jackson. Holding a Den Den Mushi in one hand, Roger dialed a number.

Once the line connected, a wild, cackling laugh came through the snail.

"Shihahahahaha! Roger! Finally ready to become my right hand?"

Roger grinned. "Wahahahaha, not a chance, Shiki. This time, I'm calling about Newgate..."

...

Aboard a huge floating ship, "Golden Lion" Shiki ended the call and burst into laughter.

"Shihahahahaha! How interesting! Let's make this world roar with chaos!!!"

He waved over one of his subordinates and issued a summon. As the order spread, dozens of pirate ships from across the seas began moving to rendezvous with the Golden Lion.

The title of Pirate Admiral was no exaggeration.

Inside his cabin, Shiki thought for a moment, then pulled out a pink Den Den Mushi. The moment the line connected, a hearty, boisterous woman's voice came through.

Facing the snail, Shiki laughed. "Shihahahaha! Linlin!"

...

Aboard the Big Mom Pirates' ship, Big Mom narrowed her eyes after ending the call.

"That magma brat, huh," she muttered, remembering the magma bomb incident during the God Valley battle.

Without hesitation, she shouted orders. Her ship changed course, heading straight for the Sgri Sea.

...

Back on the Oro Jackson, just as Roger finished his call with Shiki—

Swoosh!

Boom!

A cannonball whistled through the air and exploded against the sea in the distance, sending a towering plume of water dozens of meters high.

Roger's big grin dropped. "That mad dog again, huh?"

He immediately turned toward the ship's navigator and ordered:

"Target: Marine G4 Base! Full speed ahead! Wahahahahaha!!!"

...

On the marine warship trailing behind them, Garp watched as Roger's ship suddenly veered left, confusion flashing across his face.

But after a second, he shrugged. Who cared what Roger was plotting?

He barked at his men to follow the new course and locked his eyes on the pirate ship.

Grabbing two cannonballs, Garp coated them in Armament Haki and hurled them with terrifying force. The Haki-infused shells screamed through the sky like meteors, crashing down toward the Oro Jackson.

"Roger! Die already!!!"

...

A few hours later—

The Roger Pirates finally arrived, but instead of G4 Base, they were greeted by a towering cliff nearly a thousand meters tall. Dark clouds churned around its peak, crackling with lightning and slashing winds.

Roger sensed a familiar presence within the chaotic storm. A wide grin stretched across his face, and a glint of killing intent flashed in his eyes.

"Magma brat."

Far off in the air, Sengoku clutched a Den Den Mushi tightly with a grim experience. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke solemnly into the line connected to Fleet Admiral Kong.

"I'm afraid Golden Lion isn't the only one. I saw... Roger."

Kong was silent for a moment on the other end.

"The pirates and their web of favors... I understand. Hold on."

With that, the line went dead.

At the same time, Sengoku sensed another familiar presence arriving behind the Roger Pirates.

Feeling Garp's aura approaching fast, his furrowed brow finally eased a little. His gaze shifted to Quell, giving a brief nod before kicking off the air and speeding toward Garp's battleship.

....

Roger and the pursuing Garp both sensed Sengoku's presence ahead.

Standing on the deck of the Oro Jackson, Roger chuckled softly. Through his Haki, he also felt a fading life force near Sengoku.

Drawing Ace, his supreme-grade blade, the pirate's smile grew.

Vmmm—!

In an instant, the blade was coated in a dense layer of Armament Haki, overlapped by a storm of Conqueror's Haki surging along its edge. Gripping the sword with both hands, Roger stepped forward.

With a stomp, he unleashed a massive black slash, hundreds of meters wide, tearing through the air toward Sengoku.

Far behind, aboard the pursuing battleship, Garp caught sight of the attack. Without a second thought, he grabbed a heavy iron chain, stabbing one end into a cannonball.

Clutching the chain with one hand, he hurled the cannonball with the other.

Boom!

An explosive sonic boom ripped through the air as Garp, tethered to the cannonball, rocketed forward with it.

Just before Roger's slash could hit Sengoku, Garp intercepted, placing himself firmly between the two.

"Haahhhh!!!"

He roared, the muscles in his right arm swelling monstrously. His fist, now sheathed in an impenetrable layer of Armament Haki, swung straight into the oncoming slash.

Sss—! Sss—! Sss—!

Sparks and crackling energy exploded from the collision of ultimate Haki and the Conqueror-infused slash.

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A web of fractures splintered across the slash. With a final burst of strength, Garp shattered it completely, the remnants dispersing into wild winds.

Without pausing, Garp stomped hard midair, generating another sonic boom as he accelerated straight toward Roger, blinking rapidly through the sky like a streak of light.

On the other hand, Sengoku, having safely landed on Garp's battleship, quickly handed Quell over to the medical officers. Not wasting a second, he leapt back into the sky, charging at full speed toward the battlefield.

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