Raising Legends in Roger’s Shadow

Chapter 296 296: Luffy, Call Me the Pirate King

Sengoku could see it clearly. The people approached by Tesoro's agents, the ones most likely to be swayed, were all individuals with real strength and real potential. Reed had completed his screening and recruitment without deploying a single soldier. He had used nothing but five billion Berries and a chaotic, brutal free for all.

Those who died or were eliminated were either future enemies, or people with no value to him at all.

Worse still, these hardened fighters had just witnessed battles between top tier monsters. Their minds were shaken, their confidence rattled. Offering an olive branch at this moment was perfect timing. Under such circumstances, recruitment became far easier than usual.

"Should we intervene?" Vice Admiral Tsuru asked quietly, her voice heavy with helplessness.

How could they intervene? And on what grounds?

The host was simply holding a banquet and a "game" on his own territory. Everyone else had joined of their own free will.

If one side wanted to withdraw after losing, and the other side chose to engage in friendly diplomacy and recruitment, the Marines had no legitimate reason to interfere. Could they really say, "You are not allowed to form ties with Reed"?

Sengoku slumped back in his chair and rubbed his aching temples. He could do nothing but watch as Reed's influence snowballed, growing larger and larger through methods that were absurd, yet terrifyingly efficient.

"That damned Lord of the Mist," Sengoku growled through clenched teeth, his voice thick with anger and frustration. "He has turned the entire ocean into his chessboard."

"Akainu, deploy the Marines we brought with us. Recruit anyone willing to join the Marines in the name of justice."

This was the only move Sengoku had left. For now, the World Government and the Marines were still the largest openly acknowledged violent power in the world.

At the same time, Reed, the master of manipulation, yawned lazily.

The Blood Mist conjured a blanket and draped it over several small figures sleeping on the table. Reed yawned again and muttered at the glowing screen, "It has been three days and they are still fighting. This is so boring."

He soon drifted off to sleep, snoring softly, as if everything happening before him had nothing to do with him at all.

But that was not true.

This was the hundred day celebration for Tesoro's daughter. Reed's presence alone carried meaning. Tesoro, not Reed, was the one controlling the atmosphere of the banquet.

Reed did not need to act. Just being here was enough.

The island's chaotic battle had dragged on for days. The warriors were visibly exhausted. Their attacks were still fierce, but no longer carried the same sharp edge as when they first arrived. The treasure chest still hung quietly in the center of the island, sustaining everyone's will to fight.

The stalemate continued. Every nerve was stretched tight.

Then the sky suddenly darkened.

A crushing, savage wave of Conqueror's Haki pressed down like the sky itself was falling.

Everyone still fighting, whether Buggy, Shanks, Marco, Donquixote Doflamingo, or Charlotte Katakuri, froze in place and looked up in shock.

A massive figure crashed down from the sky like a falling star, slamming into the center of the battlefield beside the treasure chest. The impact thundered like an explosion. The ground split apart and dust rolled outward in waves.

As the smoke slowly cleared, the battle worn yet even more ferocious face of Douglas Bullet was revealed.

He was bare chested, his muscles hard as steel.

Dark, oppressive armor clung tightly to his body. It was not a bulky, clumsy machine suit, but sleek and close fitting, like armor born purely for slaughter. It traced every line of his explosive strength.

From childhood to adulthood, Reed had crushed him again and again with overwhelming power. That towering mecha had been useless before Reed. From those brutal defeats, Bullet had learned. Even when he was chained by seastone in Impel Down, his mind never stopped replaying how to defeat Reed, how to surpass him. Reed was the enemy of his entire life.

Reed stared at the screen.

"Too cool, huh?"

"Hmph. A bunch of trash. You have been fighting for days and still cannot even grab a box?"

Bullet looked around with open contempt. He did not care who stood around him. He bent down and reached straight for the treasure chest that had drawn countless powerhouses into battle.

"Bastard, put it down!"

"That is my five billion!"

"Do not even think about it!"

Several furious roars exploded at once.

Bullet's move was a direct provocation to every top tier force on the battlefield.

The instant his armored hand touched the chest, four massive waves of Conqueror's Haki surged at him from four different directions.

"Damn it, where did these bastards crawl out from? How dare you touch my treasure. Huh? Bullet? Fine then, put it down."

Buggy roared, his usual ridiculous cowardice gone without a trace. His purple Haki cut through the air like blades that could tear the world apart.

"You cannot just take it like that," Shanks said, pressing down the brim of his straw hat as his crimson Conqueror's Haki surged toward Bullet.

"Hey, hey, that is the Whitebeard Pirates' target," Marco muttered, a trace of helplessness flashing through his tired eyes as his blue Conqueror's Haki erupted.

"I knew this would happen. Your arrogance," Katakuri said coldly, his deep red Conqueror's Haki twisting the air itself.

As for Perospero, he was not here. He did not possess Conqueror's Haki. The Big Mom Pirates already had their key figures. He had not been chosen to step onto this level. This time, Perospero had been thoroughly outshone by his own siblings.

Four top tier Conqueror's Haki waves crashed into Bullet at the center of the arena, each carrying the full will and pride of its master.

The sky seemed to collapse.

Dark clouds gathered wildly. Black and crimson lightning tore through the heavens, born purely from the collision of wills. The world groaned. The ground shattered inch by inch under the pressure. The remaining small time pirates did not even have time to scream before collapsing in clusters, eyes rolled back, as if struck by an invisible hammer.

People say high level battlefields are not meant for fodder. Do you really think the soldiers at Marineford were fodder? They were all elites.

Crackling thunder roared as Conqueror's Haki collided, like glass shattering and space itself tearing apart. A circular shockwave exploded outward, violently pushing the sea back at the edges of the island, carving out a massive hollow in the water.

Yet at the very center of this storm, Bullet let out an even more savage, more ecstatic roar.

"Come on!"

His own Conqueror's Haki erupted in response, thunderous and overwhelming, a fifth monstrous will crashing into the clash.

Reed blinked at the screen.

"Wait. If I keep writing like this, am I just turning this into One Piece?"

Then he chuckled to himself.

In the movies, Luffy always gets even stronger. Maybe that is only natural. In films, even if Imu showed up, he would probably only get slapped twice.

In the anime, you can call me Luffy.

In the movies, you have to call me the Pirate King.