One Piece: Starting with God Valley, intercepting the Dark-Dark Fruit

Although Roger never used his full strength against Garp, Garp was one of the few opponents Roger truly acknowledged.

Gig, who could defeat Garp, could naturally be considered to be on par with Roger.

Bucky patted Shanks on the shoulder and said earnestly,

"So, if I ever encounter the Black Dragon again, I'd better stick close to you!"

Shanks blinked, puzzled.

"What do you mean? You don't actually think I can defeat the Black Dragon, do you?"

Bucky looked at Shanks like he was an idiot and said,

"What an idiot! Didn't you notice? That black dragon's attitude towards you is very special!"

"Special? You mean he saved me once?"

"Judging from your tone, you think saving you once isn't a big deal?"

"Uh, of course not, this is a life-saving grace, I will always remember it, and I will definitely repay him when I have the chance!"

"Forget it, how are you going to repay him? With your own head? Your bounty isn't even enough to fill a tooth gap for someone of his caliber!"

"Bucky, don't say that! Although I'm just an intern now, I believe I'll become as famous as Captain Roger someday!"

"You? Pfft! I'm not going to argue with you. Think about Black Dragon's deeds. Has he ever been merciful to pirates?"

"......No."

"That's settled then. Don't you think it's strange that a navy officer like him would actually save an unknown pirate like you?"

Shanks frowned and said,

"That makes sense. So why do you think that is?"

Bucky stroked his chin, his gaze sweeping over Shanks' face, and said,

"Maybe it's because you two look a bit alike!"

"what?"

Shanks was momentarily speechless, pointing to his face and saying...

"Is that why?"

Bucky nodded vigorously, but Shanks rolled his eyes and ignored him.

He thought Bucky was talking complete nonsense; his reasoning was utterly unconvincing!

Bucky scoffed at this and snorted.

"My intuition tells me that if I encounter the Black Dragon, following you will save my life!"

Shanks crossed his arms and sneered.

"Bucky, we're the freest men on the sea, how can we be so afraid of death?"

Bucky said dismissively.

"Stop trying to be cool! What's with all this 'manly' stuff? We're pirates! The ultimate goal of pirates is, of course, endless treasure! How can we go looking for treasure if we're dead!"

"Boring! The ultimate goal of pirates is clearly freedom!"

"Treasure!"

"free!"

Shanks and Bucky pressed their faces together, like two angry bulls locked in a gladiatorial contest, butting heads back and forth.

The commotion reached Roger, who closed his newspaper and saw Shanks and Bucky locked in a standoff. He looked at them with a helpless expression and said...

"Hey Shanks, Bucky, don't you two get tired of arguing like this all day long?"

Roger got up, intending to walk over to Shanks and the others, but suddenly his expression changed, and he clutched his chest and sat back down.

This scene also startled Shanks and Bucky. Shanks quickly ran over to help Roger up, while Bucky rushed to call the ship's doctor, Crocus.

Large beads of sweat dripped from Roger's forehead, and his previously rosy complexion had turned deathly pale. Shanks asked with a worried expression,

"Captain Roger, what's wrong?"

Roger shook his head and forced a smile.

"It's nothing, I just feel a little sad to see an old friend go through something like this."

As he spoke, Roger patted Shanks' head and said softly,

"Shanks, I heard what you just said. You and I are really alike. We both pursue freedom."

Shanks was in no mood to talk about this. He raised his hand and gently patted Roger's chest, just wanting to make Roger feel better.

At this moment, Crocus had already run over, followed by the Roger Pirates crew.

Upon seeing these people, Roger immediately broke free from Shanks, a hearty smile returning to his face, and said,

"Why are you all here? Is it another banquet?"

Krocas completely ignored Roger's words and placed the stethoscope directly on Roger's chest. After a while, Krocas breathed a slight sigh of relief and said,

"It's alright, it was just an unexpected situation, but Roger, you need to be careful, otherwise..."

Roger raised his hand to stop him, but amidst the worried gazes of the crew, he grinned.

"What kind of expressions are those? Smile!"

The group exchanged bewildered glances. Rayleigh gave Roger a deep look, then echoed,

"Alright, alright, it was a false alarm. Everyone, go and bring out the wine, let's start the banquet!"

Chapter 149 Bloodstained Holy Land

After leaving Kap in Impel Prison, Giger led his team back to Marineford.

As soon as he got back, Giger was summoned to Kong's office.

Sora first asked about Garp's situation, and then said,

“Gig, Garp is now serving in prison, so there’s no one to take over his mission. You know, although Garp’s rank is only lieutenant general, his previous missions were beyond the capabilities of ordinary lieutenant generals. After thinking it over, the only one capable of taking over his mission now is you.”

Giger pondered for a moment, then said,

"Marshal Kong, you mean the hunt for Roger, right?"

Kong nodded and said,

"The Roger Pirates have always been a key target of the World Government's manhunt, and their behavior in recent years has been extremely suspicious, so the work of capturing them must not be relaxed."

"Got it. Just let me know when you need me to go out."

After a brief handover of tasks, Giger returned to his office and then called Garin to mention the current prison warden's incompetence.

Impel Down prison and the Navy are two separate institutions. Even the Admiral of the Navy has no right to interfere with personnel changes within the prison, let alone the Director.

Of course, no matter which organization it is, it's just a "branch" of Giger's own company. If he sees someone slacking off at work, he'll naturally have to deal with it.

When Garin found out, he told Giger not to worry about it, and that he would mention it to Satan.

A simple conversation between the uncle and nephew led to a change in the warden of Impel Down prison.

After recounting the events at the prison, Garin's tone suddenly turned serious.

“Jig, you’d better come back sometime during this period. Gulando’s time may not be long.”

Giger frowned and asked,

"Uncle Garin, what do you mean by saying he doesn't have much time left? Is he going to die?"

"Almost there. His Blood-Blood Fruit is probably not far from going out of control. Although he won't die when it goes out of control, he will become a monster devoid of emotions. I will kill him immediately when that happens. So if you still want revenge, come back as soon as possible."

Upon hearing this news, Giger didn't hesitate and immediately said...

"I'm going back right now!"

Without waiting for Garin's response, Giger hung up the phone. He briefly explained a few things to Lucia and the others, and then used his divine power to leave Marineford.

He had been to Mary Geoise more than once, and it was still very convenient for him to go by himself.

Not long after Garin hung up the phone, Giger had already arrived at his bedroom.

Upon arriving, Giger was immediately struck by the strong smell of blood. His eyes instantly turned crimson, and he slowly licked his lips with his tongue.

He's a Vampire Fruit user; the stronger the smell of blood, the more excited he gets.

Giger took a deep breath, suppressing his impulse, and looked at Garin, saying...

"Uncle Galin, I'm back. Where is Gulando?"

Without saying a word, Garin pulled Gige out of the room. When they arrived at the palace gate, he pointed in a direction that led to the palace of Gulando.

Jig followed the gaze and saw a cloud of blood mist, almost tangible, shrouding the palace of Gulando.

Within that blood mist, Giger could vaguely see numerous blood-red ghost faces entangled within, a sight that looked exceptionally terrifying.

Garin slowly began to speak.

"This is a sign that the Blood-Blood Fruit is about to go out of control, just like your grandfather did back then. I just didn't expect this day to come so soon."