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A hundred meters away, on the ship shrouded in darkness, several dozen cold-faced big men stood on the bow. Under the moonlight, their weapons glinted with a chilling light; clearly, they came with ill intentions.
Even from over a hundred meters away, Rojen could clearly sense the unmistakable killing intent. The shadows cast over everything made it hard for Rojen to make out their faces from this distance.
"Captain, I'm done washing up!" Just then, Jason walked out from the kitchen, wiping his hands.
"When are you gonna cook up another feast? That little bit earlier wasn't even close to filling me up!" Grumbling, Jason approached Rojen.
"Get ready for battle, Jason." Rojen's tone was somewhat serious as his right hand tightened around Rainbow Abyss.
As time passed, the enemy ship drew closer and closer, and a strange feeling of tension pressed down on him.
The sea breeze seemed to grow stronger. But what really caught Rojen's attention was that in his rapidly spinning tomoesharingan, he could actually see grains of sand floating in the air, something that made him instantly alert.
Sand? Floating in the air over the sea?
"That can only mean…"
His eyes suddenly narrowed, and Rojen looked toward the distant ship again.
"A Devil Fruit!"
Sure enough, the Grand Line was no joke. Even in the middle of the night while resting, they could run into a mysterious group launching an ambush. And from the looks of it, these guys weren't weak either; in fact, they were stronger than expected.
"Enemies, huh?"
Hearing Rojen's words, Jason dropped his complaints, stepped forward, and looked ahead.
"It's a pirate ship!" He recognized it instantly.
By the moonlight, Jason could make out the faint outline of a black skull flag on the enemy ship. Though the exact design was still unclear due to the darkness, the identity of the enemy was now beyond doubt.
"Get ready. When the fight starts, don't let it affect Rouge and the others. No matter what, make sure of that." Rojen warned, his expression serious.
This was his first real enemy encounter on the Grand Line, so he couldn't afford to be careless.
Soon, the sea began to ripple as the pirate ship sped up.
As it drew closer, the grains of sand floating in the air became more numerous in Rojen's vision.
"A sand-based ability?"
His eyes flickered with suspicion, though even now, he hadn't seen any recognizable figures on the enemy ship.
"Captain, they're almost here!" Jason lowered his voice as the enemy ship drew within thirty meters of The Logan.
Clenching his fists, he was already primed for combat.
With his power, Jason was confident that he could go 100x full burst in an instant, and smash apart a quarter of their ship, tossing those dumbass pirates into the sea.
"Yeah, prepare to attack!" Rojen nodded, his right hand resting on the sword hilt at his waist.
At the same time, inside a cabin on the slowly approaching pirate ship, a brief conversation took place.
Amid swirling smoke, a rugged face emerged in the haze. The man had a fierce appearance, though clearly still young, and held a cigar between his lips. As he spoke, white smoke continuously curled up from the cigar.
"Captain, we've approached the target. Only two people visible on the enemy ship. A young man and a big guy." The crewmate's report was simple and to the point.
"Only two? Then, they're not pirates?" The captain slightly raised his eyebrows, the smoke from his cigar thickening somewhat as his voice grew deeper.
"Yes, there's no pirate flag on their ship either. They should be ordinary people, but the strange thing is, they dare to sail in this sea region."
The crew member spoke with doubt.
"The Grand Line has seven routes, all leading to the same final destination. After Roger died, these seven routes were completely taken over by pirates and have become their playground. Even the Marines dare not send forces here recklessly, this place is a slaughterhouse."
"In this era, things have gone wild. Whoever dares to come into this sea region, aside from pirates, is likely already dead!"
His words carried a cold indifference; the captain's face showed no emotion.
"Along the way, we have eliminated thirteen foolish groups who didn't even understand their own limits. The Marines have raised my bounty poster to 45 million by now, but there are still plenty of idiots in this sea."
"The world doesn't need weaklings, nor fools." The captain spoke calmly, as if recounting something unrelated to dealing with Rojen and his group, yet he remained completely still.
The crew bowed respectfully, listening carefully, seeming to understand the captain's meaning.
"I believe you know what to do now, don't you?" The deep voice carried authority, making the crew shiver as fear crept in, recalling the power of the man before them.
"Understood, captain!" The crew shouted loudly and immediately turned to leave the cabin.
"Captain's orders: wipe them out immediately!"
Yes, as the captain said, the sea needed no weaklings, and certainly no fools.
If the enemy were weaklings, then they deserved to die. If fools, then without question, death was inevitable!
"Understood."
The crew nodded and quickly sprang into action. Their movements were silent, efficient, and perfectly coordinated , clearly they had done this countless times before.
"Load the cannonballs!"
"Adjust the cannon aim!"
A cold, stern man stood at the bow, giving orders meticulously.
The crew moved swiftly, soon completing all preparations as commanded.
On the ship's bow, wooden panels slid open, revealing one black cannon muzzle after another, all aimed directly at The Logan.
In an instant, a chilling killing intent enveloped the entire The Logan.
Jason's expression instantly changed. Being locked onto by cannon fire on the sea , and at such a close distance, meant something very clear.
"Captain!" Unable to hold back, Jason called out.
Last time, Rojen had effortlessly dealt with the Marines' enormous barrage of cannon fire, so Jason pinned his hopes on Rojen.
With nothing in his hands, Jason was completely helpless in this situation.
"I understand!"
Taking a deep breath, it had to be said, facing this group of pirates put some pressure on Rojen.
The first battle in the Grand Line: mysterious and seasoned vicious pirates, the pitch-black night, dark cannon muzzles, and the faint sand grains floating in the air.
All of these signs showed that their opponent was no ordinary enemy.
"Come on, let me see what kind of people you really are!" His eyes sharpened, the blood-red sharingan spinning the black tomoe rapidly.
"Open fire!" At that moment, a low roar shattered the night on the sea.
(End Of This Chapter)