Raising Legends in Roger’s Shadow

Chapter 289 289: My Lifelong Rival

Marco's blue flames and Perospero's torrent of candy carved two parallel streaks of light across the sea. The two ships drew so close that

well

you could practically step from one deck to the other.

In simple terms, they crashed.

"Perorin, is that the Phoenix of Whitebeard's crew?" Perospero licked his candy cane. "Last time in Wano, the results were…"

"Enough talk!" Marco spread his wings, blue flames bursting into the shape of a blazing phoenix as he shot straight toward the candy warship. "The ambush your Charlotte Family set on the Whitebeard Pirates' allied crews ends today!"

Crack. Crack. Crack.

A wall of candy hardened instantly, but the moment it touched the blue flames, it melted into thick syrup. In the original story, Marco's flames seemed to have no real heat. Here, however, they burned with terrifying intensity. The manga's own depiction of his flames had always been inconsistent, and this Marco was far stronger.

Perospero let out a strange laugh and drew a candy whip. "Candy Craft: Guillotine!"

Mor's close up camera shook violently. "Quack quack. A historic moment. The Whitebeard Pirates versus the Big Mom Pirates, clashing head on once more!"

Jozu watched the fierce battle in the air. "Need help?"

These were both right hand men of emperors. Did a first mate really need backup? The difference in strength was obvious. If Jozu stepped in, no matter the outcome, Marco would lose his dignity.

Vista crossed his twin swords in front of him. "Don't move. This is Marco's fight."

Katakuri stood calmly on the deck. "We will not interfere. Just keep the ship on course."

Boom!

Marco kicked straight through the syrup, sending Perospero's top hat flying. Candy puppets surged in from all sides, but the moment they touched the blue flames, they dissolved into nothing.

"This is all you have?" Marco leaped into the air, his wings unfurling as a fiery vortex roared around him. "The first division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates is not someone you can…"

"Candy Colossus!"

Perospero roared. A towering candy giant rose from the deck, nearly a hundred meters tall. Its massive fist smashed downward with a shriek of tearing wind.

Mor zoomed the camera out in panic. "Quack. Are they trying to wipe each other out?"

The news anchor stared blankly. So what now?

Whoosh.

A blue green beam suddenly cleaved through the candy giant. Dracule Mihawk's coffin shaped boat drifted along the far side of the battlefield.

"Don't block the route. I'm passing through."

Mihawk had no desire to interfere, but his small boat could not withstand the raging waves. "If you want to fight, wait until I'm gone."

From that moment on, Mihawk's longing for a large ship grew stronger than ever.

Donquixote Doflamingo watched from a distance, munching on popcorn. "Fufufufu… how about a three way battle?"

"Get lost!" all three shouted in unison.

Three waves of Conqueror's Haki erupted at once.

Doflamingo should have been furious, but he considered himself a visionary. "I have a way to kill all of you," he told himself. As for charging to the front line, that never crossed his mind. Anyone who rushed ahead only became target practice.

No one knew how many people were waiting behind him, eager to climb over his corpse to a higher position.

Marco's wings snapped shut as he shot through the remains of the candy giant. Perospero's pupils shrank.

Boom!

A brutal knee strike slammed into his abdomen. The candy armor cracked and shattered.

"Argh!" Perospero spat blood as he was sent flying backward. In midair, he lashed out with a syrup chain and wrapped it around the mast. "Candy Craft: Beehive!"

Mor's feathers stood on end in excitement. "Quack. The eldest son of the Charlotte Family is getting serious!"

Whoosh.

Marco drew in a deep breath. Blue flames spiraled around him.

"What a troublesome ability!" Perospero muttered, his long tongue hanging in the air.

Honestly, it was mentally exhausting to watch, like staring at a frog flicking out its tongue.

"The medical commander is not just for show." Marco appeared behind him, his flaming right leg rising high. "Blue Flame: Phoenix Seal!"

All right!

Boom!

Perospero crashed into his own cabin like a living cannonball, while Marco slammed back onto his own deck like a roasted bird launched from a catapult.

Katakuri's scarf fluttered in still air, yet he remained motionless, arms crossed.

"Cough. What a joke." Perospero crawled out of the wreckage, his candy cane stained with blood. "Perospero will show you the true meaning of…"

"How could I lose to a frog!"

"Who are you calling a frog, dead bird!"

"Enough."

Katakuri's trident thrust down between them, forming a barrier of mochi that cut the battlefield in two. "If you keep fighting, we will miss the rising wave."

This battlefield was not the only one burning.

Everyone knew the one person who truly harbored open resentment toward Shanks was Buggy. Buggy's hatred was entirely one sided.

The Red Force and the Big Top sailed side by side across the sea, ten meters apart. This was an unspoken rule between Shanks and Buggy. They fought each other, not each other's ships.

"Gyahaha! Buggy!" Shanks' Gryphon gleamed as Conqueror's Haki surged around him. "We finally get to fight properly!"

Buggy's body exploded into hundreds of pieces. "Nonsense! Don't get in the way of my fifty billion! I'll flatten you first, then go claim my prize!"

"Shanks!" Buggy's body split into countless fragments, each wrapped in dark purple Haki. "Chop Chop: Stardust Cyclone!"

Space itself seemed to shatter like glass. Countless fragments turned into a meteor shower that rained down on the red haired pirate. Shanks drew Gryphon, Conqueror's Haki coiling around the blade.

"Dodge God!"

The moment the crimson blade collided with the shattered space, deep gashes tore across the surface of the sea.

Ben Beckman's cigarette was snuffed out by the shockwave. "The captain is having fun again…"

Buggy's right hand suddenly appeared behind Shanks. "Super Chop: Fingertip Blast!"

Bang!

Without turning his head, Shanks swung his sword. Armament and Conqueror's Haki fused into a torrent that deflected Buggy's finger. "Your Observation Haki has improved, hasn't it?"

"Don't get smug!" Buggy's main body burst from the sea, his legs twisting into a spiral drill. "Clown Kick!"

Shanks suddenly grinned and, unexpectedly, sheathed Gryphon. He lifted his leg to meet the attack head on. "Let's see who hits harder!"

Boom!

Both men were blasted backward.

"Hurry up!"

Red sat in the plaza eating donuts, his expression dark and his head aching.

What were those two idiots thinking? One was a master swordsman, the other a Devil Fruit user. And the moment they met, they decided to compare raw physical strength?

What kind of logic was that?

Red did not understand it, but he respected it.

Let us turn the camera back to the skies above the two ships.

Shanks and Buggy left afterimages on the sea's surface. Every collision sent circular shockwaves rippling outward.

Bang!

Buggy's knee slammed into Shanks' raised forearm. Sparks from clashing Armament Haki scattered into the ocean, boiling the water into clouds of steam.

"Hahahaha!" Shanks flipped backward with the momentum, landing barefoot on the crest of a wave. "How was that move?"

His fist suddenly darkened, wrapped in crackling black lightning of Conqueror's Haki, and smashed straight into Buggy's face.

Whoosh.