Befer could even respond, Buggy, the trainee idol, blurted out in panic, "Captain Roger, why don't we just agree to his terms for now? It's a huge gamble, but we always look for a ce to escape ter!"

  "Hahahaha, Buggy, are you scared?" Shanks teased with a ugh.

  Both Shanks and Buggy were interns aboard Roger's ship. Uhe overly cautious Buggy, Shanks had an adventurous spirit and weled any opportunity for excitement. Even with Shiki showing up at their doorstep, he wasn't afraid in the slightest.

  "Shanks, that's the Golden Lion Shiki we're talking about! That guy's ruthless; he'd even kill his own men if it suited him. We don't have as many people as he does, so help me vihe captain!" Buggy urged, his voice trembling.

  "What's there to be afraid of? It's not like yon hacked to pieces," Shanks replied nontly.

  "You bastard! Who do you think caused me to end up like this in the first pce?!" Buggy snapped, momentarily fetting about Shiki as his rage at Shanks took over. The two immediately began bickering, paying no mind to the immi danger.

  Seeing his young apprentices' spirited behavier couldn't help but ugh heartily. Then, turning to Shiki, he shouted, "Listen up, Shiki! I, Gol D. Roger, have never done anything that goes against my principles or makes me regret in my entire life. Your ambitions, as grand as they may be, seem utterly b to me. So, I'm turning you down!"

  As soon as Roger finished speaking, Shiki's eyes narrowed, and his presence became overwhelming. The aura of the Golden Lion, with all its arrogant majesty, began to spill out. He bit down on his cigar and spoke in a menag tone, "So, you've made your choice. Are you saying I should kill yht here and now?"

  Roger's lips curled into a grin as he shook his head. He drew his saber from his waist, letting out a bold ugh. "No, Shiki. I'm saying I'm going to crush you here and now!"

  Shiki's expression darkened. He sighed, almost as if he felt sorry fer's decision. Then, putting away his thoughts of recruiting talent, he uhed his owo and Kogarashi, and poihem at Roger. "Fihe's settle this ond for all, Roger!"

  "Just what I wanted, Shiki!" Roger bellowed back.

  In an instant, the two unleashed their queror's Haki, the powerful csh tearing through the calm sea. The o ed violently, and the sky itself seemed to crack open, as if the very world litting apart.

  The previously tranquil waters around Edd War erupted into a se of chaos, a battlefield befitting demons.

  Shiki's vast fleet opened fire, unleashing a barrage of on fire in an attempt to sink Roger's ship. Swordsmen and devil fruit users began ung attacks from the decks.

  Not oo back down, Roger stepped forward and raised his saber. Infusing it with powerful Armament Haki, he unleashed a devastating ssh, shouting, "Diviure!"

  Shiki's eyes gleamed with a fierce light, and he immediately coated his bde in Haki, turning it into a 'bck bde.' Without retreating, he swung baeet Roger's strike, r, "Lion's Threat!"

  The two legendary strikes collided with such force that the air itself seemed to fracture, leaving cracks in the sky. The impact of their blows sighe start of the Battle of Edd War, a fight that would shape the course of history on the seas.

  Meanwhile, aboard a Marine ship caught iorm's fury, Cudius was vomiting untrolbly for the third time. He wasn't alone; for hours now, everyone on the ship had been sick, even Gion, the beautiful swordswoman, who g to the deck's railing while repeatedly retg.

  Many of the crew were already at their limit, barely holding on amidst the stant dizziness and lurg of the ship. The only thing keeping the situation from being even more disgusting was Crocodile's ability to sweep away the mess with his sand powers. Even so, his face had turned pale—not just from vomiting himself, but from the strain of tinuously fortifying the sand barrier against the storm's relentless assault.

  As a Logia user, Crocodile had a vast reserve of stamina. Though he couldn't match monsters like Kuzan and Sakazuki, who could fight for days on end, he was still determio grit his teeth and hold on for as long as it took.

  Cudius gripped the mast with one hand and said weakly, "If this keeps up, we're all dead. We o lower our altitude. If we make it down to sea level, we'll stand a better ce."

  "Lower the altitude? How are we supposed to do that?" Gion asked, her voice trembling as she held on to the railing.

  "We need more weight! Crocodile, you add more sand?" Cudius asked urgently.

  Crocodile paused, seemingly calg the risks. After a moment, he responded, "I do it, but the time I maintain this barrier will be cut short. If I run out of strength before we reach the surface, we're definitely done for."

  "If we keep floating like this, who knows how many days it'll be before the storm dies doon't st that long. It's better to take a gamble now. If we force a nding, we'll have a much better ce," Cudius said, g his teeth.

  Though hesitant, Crocodile saw the logi Cudius's pn. Oher hand, Vice Admiral Tsuru, looking equally pale, chimed in, "His Highness is right. If we tinue as we are, we'll just be prolonging our deaths. We have to take a ce!"

  The young Enel, clutg Cudius's leg, was utterly despairing. He had finally escaped from Birka only to face death again in this brutal storm, without ever getting to see the wider world Cudius had spoken of.

  With most of the crew in agreement, Crocodile steeled himself and shouted, "Fihen! If we're going dow's go down swinging! I refuse to be outdone by you stubborn bastards! If I'm going to die alongside you damned Celestial Dragons, then so be it!"

  As Crocodile increased the flow of sand, the balloon octopus keeping the ship aloft started tle. Gradually, the vessel began its slow dest. The tension alpable as Cudius and the others g to the hope that they could make it.

  An hour passed, then two. With every effort from Crocodile, the ship drew closer to the turbulent sea below. His face grew paler by the minute, his strength almost pletely drained.

  "I 't keep this up for much longer. We didn't make it all the way down. Prepare yourselves to be torn apart by the storm!" Crocodile shouted, his voice filled with frustration. "Damn it! To think I, Crocodile, will die here before even making a name for myself. What a joke!"

  Cudius leaned against the mast, despair etched on his face. "Damn it all! I haven't even begun to carve my o history! I haven't seen any of the great heroes of this era yet… I 't die here!"

  "Do you really want to be the stro?" Gion asked with a faint smile as she g to the railing.

  "On these seas, isn't that what every man should aspire to? What's wrong with wanting to be the stro?" Cudius answered, his smile bitter.

  "Nothing at all," she replied. "It's just odd to hear it ing from a Celestial Dragon. I hought I'd end up dying alongside one of you."

  Cudius chuckled. "What's there to pin about? I'm a Celestial Dragon; plenty of people would kill for the ce to be buried with me. But, I have to admit, having a beauty like you for pany on the way to the underworld isn't the worst way to go."

  Meanwhile, out over the storm-tossed waters of Edd War, Shiki hovered in disbelief, grumbling to himself. "What the hell? Didn't they say there wouldn't be any storms for the few days? Those damher forecasters…!"

  Before fronting Roger, Shiki had ensured his meteists had checked the weather forecasts thhly. Yet here they were, right in the middle of a fierce storm. It was as if fate was mog him, undermining all the effort he had put in to er Roger.

  "Damn it all!" he shouted in frustration. "Roger, you're not getting away that easily! Storm or not, I won't let aake victory from the Golden Lion—not the weather, not the sea!"

  But Roger was already taking advantage of the chaos. With the stiving him cover, his ship, the Oro Ja, tore through the encirclement. Seeing his opportunity, Rhed heartily. "Ahahahahahaha Shiki, fate seems to be on my side today. If you don't withdraw now, it'll be too te!"

  Despite their strength, naval battles were ner's forte pared to men like Whitebeard or Shiki, especially since Shiki's mobility in battle was unparalleled. Roger khey might withstand a fight for a few days, but in the end, defeat was iable. Yet fate had other pns. Just hours into the frontation, the sudden appearance of a storm had turhe tide. Roger couldn't help but feel that destiny was fav him today.

  Shiki, seeing Roger's smug expression, was furious. But before he could give the order to retreat, a massive ball of sand appeared iorm, seemingly out of nowhere, hurtling straight toward his fleet.

  "What the hell is this?!" Shiki shouted, bewildered and armed.

  "Could this be some kind of divine punishment?" he thought for a split sed as the massive sand ball barreled towards his ship.

  In the moment, the enormous mass of sand smashed directly into Shiki's gigantic flying vessel, causing chaos to erupt throughout his fleet.