"What on earth happened here?" Looking at the countless shipwrecks floating on the sea, Vice Admiral Garp asked with a confused look on his face. "Could it be that... the Roger Pirates actually defeated Shiki's Flying Fleet?"
Although he acknowledged Roger's strength, he knew that it was almost impossible for the dozen - plus members of the Roger Pirates to stand a chance against Shiki's Flying Fleet.
"Vice Admiral Garp, I heard that before we arrived, there was a super - storm here that has never been seen in previous years. I think the battle between them must have been interrupted by the storm!" Kuzan said thoughtfully.
"Hmm? Do you mean... that Roger and Shiki have both been buried at the bottom of the sea in that storm?" Garp frowned slightly and asked.
"It's just a guess. After all, we also felt the aftermath of the storm when we came. In such extreme weather... it would be very difficult for both sides in the battle to escape!" Kuzan nodded and replied.
"Not to mention others, Roger isn't that easy to kill! And Shiki is no ordinary character either. Let's contact Sengoku first! See if they have any news. Didn't they arrive here earlier than us?" Garp thought for a while and then said.
Soon, after Garp had someone contact Sengoku, he got more accurate information.
The Roger Pirates and the Golden Lion Pirates officially clashed in the Edd War Sea area. But right at the start of the battle, they were struck by a super - storm. As a result, Shiki's Flying Fleet took heavy losses, with more than half of the pirate ships and crew members lost. The whereabouts of the Roger Pirates remained unknown, though some witnesses claimed they had safely escaped the storm area.
After learning that Roger had indeed left safely, Garp immediately launched a search. He was determined to find them and arrest them while they were in a poor state.
At this time, the members of the Roger Pirates were lying on the deck sleeping. After experiencing the terrifying storm, everyone was extremely exhausted.
"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Rayleigh!" Rowan, the helmsman with a bandage on, said with a smile to Rayleigh, who was helping him steer the ship.
"Are you rested?" Rayleigh replied with a gentle smile.
"Yes, I'm fine. Crocus has examined me. I'll be okay after a few days' rest!" Rowan nodded and replied with a smile.
His injuries were not caused by the battle but by forcibly steering the ship during the storm.
Apart from him, some other crew members on the ship were also injured. Some were hit by objects when the ship was tossing about, and some were hit by things blown up by the strong wind. Fortunately, none of the injuries were serious.
Just as the two were chatting, suddenly, there was a commotion on the deck.
"It seems that our captain has woken up!" Rayleigh said with a soft laugh when he saw this.
Hearing this, Rowan smiled in agreement.
Roger was such a person. He didn't like being alone and loved a lively atmosphere. He did everything in a grand and spectacular way.
"Wowahaha (a typical loud and hearty laugh in the novel)... Yao Yi, let's have a banquet!"
When the two of them reached the deck, Roger was trying to hold a banquet on the grounds of having escaped danger.
Cook Yao Yi was helpless, but since it was the captain's order, he had no choice but to call the crew members to help prepare the banquet ingredients.
"Ahahaha... If it weren't for me, Buggy, going all out to rescue him, that little brat Fang Yi would have been toast!" At the banquet, Buggy, who had had too much to drink, was loudly boasting about how he had rescued Fang Yi and Sambel in the critical moment.
Although all the crew members on the Oro Jackson had been involved in the incident, they still listened with great interest.
"Thank you so much this time!" Sambel, a fish - men with bandages on his body, found Fang Yi and said gratefully.
"Come on, we're companions, and I didn't really do much!" Fang Yi smiled and waved his hand.
After he found that Sambel had disappeared, he immediately started searching for him nearby, and soon he found the latter struggling in the ocean current.
It turned out that Sambel, who had been behind Fang Yi, helping him manage the ocean current and sending signals to the Oro Jackson, was unfortunately hit by the wreckage of a pirate ship in the sea.
Although most of the wreckage was just wooden fragments, after being carried by the strong ocean current, they were moving at a very high speed, and being hit by them could cause quite serious injuries.
Sambel was even more unlucky. His fin was hit by the wreckage, causing him to immediately lose the ability to control his direction in the sea, and then he was carried away by the surrounding ocean current.
However, since Sambel was a fish - men, even though his fin was injured, he still struggled and wasn't carried too far by the ocean current, so Fang Yi found him soon.
Rescuing him was relatively easy. Since Sambel could still move, Fang Yi used the frozen arrow to directly freeze the ocean current.
Although the ocean current was frozen only for a moment, it was enough for Sambel to break free from it. After that, the two of them reached the sea surface and looked for the Oro Jackson. Soon they were spotted by Buggy, who used his ability to rescue them onto the ship directly. That was why Buggy was boasting so much at the moment.
After this incident, Fang Yi felt that he had grown closer to the crew members. However, when the banquet was about to end, Captain Roger announced his real physical condition to everyone.
"What?" The crew members couldn't believe it. Captain Roger didn't look like a man on his deathbed with only a few years left.
"Haha... Guys, don't be like that. No one in this world lives forever. But the will passed down through the generations, the changes of the times, and people's dreams can never be stopped! So don't worry about me!" Captain Roger said with a big laugh.
He didn't seem to worry about his own body at all. He was more concerned about whether he could fulfill his dream in his lifetime.
"Mr. Crocus, is there really no way to cure Captain Roger's illness?" After the banquet, many crew members found the doctor, Crocus, and asked about Captain Roger's condition.
"I really don't have a good solution. All I can do now is maintain Captain Roger's physical condition and give him time to fulfill his dream!"
However...," Crocus hesitated for a moment and said, "Xiaoyi once came up with an idea. He said there's a Devil Fruit called the Ope Ope no Mi. If a doctor eats it, the abilities it can unleash are incredibly powerful. It can basically cure over ninety percent of the diseases in this world!"
"The Ope Ope no Mi?"
"Xiaoyi?"
Only then did everyone notice that Fang Yi hadn't come to inquire about the captain's condition. Shanks was also absent.
"Does that mean... Xiaoyi knew about the captain's illness long ago?" the helmsman, Rowan, asked in a solemn voice.
Crocus naturally understood what everyone meant and said with a smile, "Don't underestimate him. That little guy is very meticulous. He discovered it on his own!"
With Crocus's explanation, everyone naturally wouldn't dwell on this matter. However, it also made many people change their views on Fang Yi. They thought he was no longer the little kid he used to be; he had grown up and could notice things they couldn't.
"So, what exactly is this Ope Ope no Mi that Xiaoyi mentioned?" a crew member asked in confusion.
Crocus gave a general explanation of the Ope Ope no Mi, and the crew members fell into deep thought.
"So... is finding the Ope Ope no Mi the only way to save the captain now?"
"Not sure! This was just an idea proposed by Xiaoyi. After all, none of us has ever seen a user of the Ope Ope no Mi, and we don't know if that ability can really cure the captain's illness!" Crocus shook his head and said.
Hearing what Crocus said, the crew members fell silent.
"Guys... something's wrong. Barrett wants to challenge the captain!" Just then, Buggy burst in, yelling anxiously.
"What?" Everyone was stunned. Why would Barrett challenge Captain Roger at this time?
Generally speaking, only when a crew member has a different opinion from the captain and has to defend something, with no other choice, will the crew member challenge the captain. Usually, it's when a crew member has a new place to go and wants to leave the ship, but the captain doesn't agree. In such a case, the crew member will initiate a challenge. If they win, they can leave the ship smoothly; if they lose, they have to obey the captain's orders.
Those who have challenged the captain's authority usually don't stay on Roger's ship for long.
There was no time to ask more. Everyone rushed towards the deck. On the way, Buggy explained the whole thing to everyone.
It turned out that after he learned about Roger's illness, Barrett couldn't accept it. He thought Roger couldn't possibly have an incurable disease. If that were the case, then what was he, someone who had always lost to Roger?
So Barrett directly challenged Roger, seemingly trying to prove something.
But Barrett's actions made Fang Yi unhappy. If he didn't know the captain's physical condition, Fang Yi wouldn't have said much about Barrett's challenge. However, now that he clearly knew Captain Roger's physical condition, and Barrett still proposed a challenge, Fang Yi naturally wouldn't agree.
Moreover, if Barrett were allowed to challenge Roger, he would definitely not be able to stay on this ship in the future. The way the other crew members looked at him would make him feel extremely uncomfortable.
However, Roger smiled and agreed to Barrett's challenge. In his eyes, the eighteen - year - old Barrett was still just a child.
When the crew rushed to the deck, they happened to see Fang Yi trying to stop Barrett from challenging Roger. Rayleigh and Jabba beside them were smiling and didn't stop them.
"Barrett! Wanna challenge the captain? Beat me first! Forgot you once lost to me, huh!" To prevent Barrett from challenging Roger, Fang Yi even resorted to the provocation method.
Barrett indeed cared about this matter all the time. So when Fang Yi brought it up, he got annoyed!
"Fine! Then I'll beat you first! Come on, Fang Yi! Let's really decide the winner today!" Sure enough, after being provoked by Fang Yi, Barrett shifted all his attention to Fang Yi.
"Phew~" Hearing Barrett's words, Fang Yi quietly let out a sigh of relief and said, "Okay, since you want to fight, I'll accompany you! But you know, I'm an archer. I can't fully display my skills on the ship! So let's start our fight when we reach the next island. How about that?"
Barrett hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay! Let's fight when we reach the next island then!"
After saying that, Barrett returned to the cabin alone.