In an instant, a terrifying energy erupted from Kenji's fist, the light dazzling, shooting out like a pillar of light.
In the blink of an eye, the pillar of light from the fist's impact collided with the slash.
The entire surrounding area was stripped of sound at this moment, and endless light enveloped the world.
Then, a strong shockwave spread out with the booming collision sound, stirring up massive waves.
Kenji stood at the bow, trying his best to maintain the warship's balance and prevent it from being swallowed by the waves.
As for behind him, Anna was already pressed against the side of the ship, barely able to remain conscious, while on the other side, Brugurasu had been knocked unconscious at some point, falling into a coma.
Another ship in this area that suffered from the residual impact was the ship of Patrick Redfield.
Originally, Patrick was planning to control his ship to go find Roger again, but he didn't expect his ship to be pushed further and further away by the giant waves caused by the shockwave.
"That Shirojishi… he actually possesses such astonishing power."
Patrick looked at Kenji, who was getting further and further away, a rare look of shock appearing in his eyes.
"Heh, today was a worthwhile trip, another target added… Shirojishi Admiral, Kenji!"
On the sea battlefield.
The residual impact gradually dissipated, and the waves on the sea finally became relatively calm.
At this moment, the Oro Jackson was already approaching the warship.
Although there was still some distance between them, Roger, standing at the bow, had already excitedly raised his hand high, greeting Kenji with a smile.
"Long time no see, old man Kenji!"
Upon hearing this, the Marine side had no reaction yet, but the Roger Pirates' crew members were shocked first.
"Old man Kenji? What exactly is going on?"
"Did you know that Admiral before, Captain Roger?"
"Shirojishi Admiral… I never heard Captain mention him before, only heard that this new Admiral's strength was quite weak…"
"Strange, Captain Roger seems quite familiar with that Kenji."
The Oro Jackson was almost "boiling over."
Except for a few veteran members of the Roger Pirates, most of the other crew members were hearing the name 'Kenji' mentioned by their Captain for the first time.
Their reaction was even more intense than that of the Marines on the opposite warship.
Of course, most of the Marines on the warship had already been knocked unconscious by Roger's Conqueror's Haki enhanced slash, so they couldn't react.
At the bow of the warship, Kenji, hearing Roger's greeting, couldn't help but turn his head to look at Brugurasu, who had long since fallen unconscious.
"It seems… I wronged her."
At first, he thought it was Brugurasu who had led the Roger Pirates here. But now, he could confirm that Roger was coming for him, Kenji, and he had indeed wronged Brugurasu.
Turning back, Kenji looked at Roger's figure at the opposite bow, gradually overlapping with a young figure from his memories many years ago.
The same looking at each other from ship to ship, the same slightly naive, pure smile, even the way he waved when excited was just as before.
Roger had undoubtedly changed a lot compared to his youth, but his character seemed to have remained the same.
"I've told you many times, don't call me that." Kenji emphasized his tone, his expression a little helpless.
"Hahaha! Don't be so formal, you've done me a great favor!" Roger waved his hand with a grin, his eyes almost narrowed into slits.
Kenji became even more speechless at this, sighing, "Didn't I just give you a warship once… And I told you, giving you a warship wasn't my original intention."
"Hehe, no matter what, that time you really helped Rayleigh and me a lot, it's a favor that must be seriously remembered!"
Roger put away his smile, his expression serious and earnest, with light flickering in his bright eyes, and sincerity in his gaze.
"And not just that one time…"
On the warship, Kenji looked at Roger's expression and demeanor, which were like his younger self, and couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion, recalling the first time he had met Roger many years ago…
About twenty years ago, when Kenji was still just a Rear Admiral, he had led a fleet to transport funds and military expenses, and accidentally encountered Roger and Rayleigh along the way.
At that time, the two of them unluckily ran into stormy weather. Their ship was destroyed, and they were struggling in the sea.
After Kenji understood the situation, he immediately gave them a warship. It wasn't because he was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see pirates in distress.
It was purely because his main warship at the time was loaded with a large amount of funds and military expenses.
Once a battle started, those two 'monster' rookies, Roger and Rayleigh, would cause a huge ruckus, and then not only the supporting warship, but most likely even the main warship carrying the funds would capsize into the sea.
The situation at that time was quite similar to the current one. He had two warships, one of which was loaded with a large amount of treasure, and there were many Marineford elites on the warship.
In fact, among the group that followed Kenji to transport military expenses twenty years ago, over ten people were later promoted to Marine officers, and even more became non-commissioned officers.
And on Kenji's warship now, there are even more Marineford elites.
Past and present, then and now, it's exactly the same.
Even Roger's excited, smiling wave was almost identical.
However, there were some circumstances that were not quite the same.
Last time, one warship was enough to send Roger and Rayleigh away, but this time it seemed it wouldn't work.
"Long time no see, your appetite has grown, kid. What? You don't fancy one warship anymore?" Kenji crossed his arms, asking with a calm smile.
"Haha, don't say that, it sounds like I'm here to rob… I wouldn't do that!" Roger scratched his head, laughing somewhat awkwardly.
"Actually, when I heard you were promoted to Admiral, I started preparing… I got delayed for some time, so I'm indeed late, haha."
As if to cover his embarrassment, Roger kept laughing "haha" while reaching for a treasure chest.
The treasure chest was not large, small enough to be held with one hand, clearly not able to hold much.
However, Kenji felt a bit familiar looking at that treasure chest.
'It's quite similar to those Celestial Dragons' treasure chests from God Valley six years ago.'
"That kid Roger, he wouldn't have stolen something from the Celestial Dragons, would he?"
Kenji felt a surge of suspicion in his heart. He was very sure that this was something Roger could do, and that he also had the strength to steal things.
Whoosh!
From the bow of the opposite Oro Jackson, Roger held the treasure chest and casually threw it towards Kenji.
"The treasure chest contains my congratulatory gift for your promotion to Admiral, chosen by me!"
The treasure chest traced a perfect parabola in the air, finally landing precisely on the deck beside Kenji, making only a soft sound upon impact.
Kenji tilted his head to look at the treasure chest beside him, not rushing to examine it, and not even showing much interest.
At this moment, he just felt a bit dumbfounded.
"A Legendary Pirate giving a congratulatory gift to me, a Marine Admiral…"
(End of Chapter)
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