I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

"Severe injuries... Were they inflicted by that bat-man? It seems he's stronger than the intelligence indicated."

"Ah."

Akainu nodded vaguely, without denying it.

His heart was filled with a mixture of relief and感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a feeling of mixed emotions, including admiration and awe).

“My blood is stained on the seastone net… He didn’t forget to take the seastone net so that I wouldn’t be found out as a slave again? How thoughtful.”

He exhaled a breath of stale air, his expression returning to its usual seriousness:

"It's just a minor injury. I brought my own medicine; it's nothing serious."

As he spoke, Akainu began bandaging himself in front of Garp.

"What? The newly appointed admiral has suddenly disappeared for more than half a month. Aren't you going to explain?" Garp said casually.

Akainu paused slightly as he bandaged the wound.

"Vice Admiral Garp, I need your help." Akainu's expression was grave.

Although Sieg took the Seastone Net with him, he suddenly appeared at the scene of the slave riot despite being severely injured...

Garp might not think much of it, but those who are interested might have their own wild thoughts.

He then whispered his request:

"I've been secretly pursuing the Bat-Man for some time now, and I don't want to return to the Navy yet... Please pretend you didn't see me."

"Oh?"

Garp looked surprised, as if he were seeing Akainu for the first time, and sized him up with astonishment:

"It seems you've had your share of troubles lately... but you're not as annoying as before."

Akainu's expression changed slightly.

But then he heard Karp laugh loudly:

"Haha... You actually said you don't want to return to the Navy. So you've realized the constraints of being a Navy Admiral and want to take a vacation?"

"Don't worry, I went through a similar phase when I was younger. Back then, I was only focused on chasing Roger and didn't care about any other orders from headquarters..."

Garp's smile vanished:

"Now that you've lost your naval identity, perhaps you can see things more clearly."

Garp's face showed an unusual seriousness as he looked at the Sabaody Archipelago streets in the night.

The slaves were fleeing and cheering, while the thugs of the underground forces continued their pursuit.

The Sabaody Archipelago is a bustling, dreamlike island, adjacent to the Marine Headquarters, making it arguably the closest place to justice.

However, he and Akainu were the only two Marines to appear.

Chapter 874 Clash of Top-Tier Armament Haki

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Chapter 875 The Pirate King is Healed

Naval Headquarters Port.

On the approaching warship, Sengoku stood at the bow, side by side with Kizaru, looking towards Zephyr on the shore.

"Zeffa, you'll be in charge of headquarters while I'm away."

“Leave it to me…” Zephyr nodded, but couldn’t help but add:

"Warring States period, is this really necessary?"

"It's just that Barrett has appeared; Garp can handle him all by himself."

“You are already a marshal, you mustn’t act rashly,” Zefa advised.

“This is different. There’s also a bat-man who attacked the Celestial Dragons.” Sengoku shook his head.

“The bat-man attacked the Celestial Dragons, so it wouldn’t be right not to send out an admiral. Let Borsalino chase after that cowardly fellow.”

“If Barrett gets out of control, even if Garp can defeat him, the Sabaody Archipelago will probably be affected by the battle. It would be best if Garp and I joined forces to finish the job quickly.”

His brows were furrowed.

Actually, he still had something to say.

During the Buster Call, Barrett and Sieg fought side by side, and it's very likely that they've already become allies.

Since Barrett is here, perhaps Sieg isn't far behind...

Looking further ahead, even the unidentified Roger Wang might appear, which is something the Navy should take seriously.

"Let's go!" Sengoku waved his hand, signaling the warships to leave the shore and sail towards the Sabaody Archipelago.

..........

"Transformation time is over."

Sig exhaled a breath of stale air, and his appearance changed back to its original form.

He remained hidden in the shadows, not participating in the battle, but merely observing the confrontation between Barrett and Karp.

At the same time, he quietly took out a Den Den Mushi (snail phone) and dialed Ivankov's number to exchange information about their situations.

Roger is still undergoing treatment, and Riley shows no abnormalities.

"What? You're saying the dragon has arrived? And he's secretly guiding the slaves away?"

Sieg paused slightly.

Dragons are always elusive; even when the Bat King possessed him just now, Sig couldn't find his trail.

Moreover, from the very beginning of the burning of the garbage mountain in the East Blue to the several disturbances in the Sabaody Archipelago, Dragon never appeared on the front lines of the battle, but instead secretly guided the victims affected by the fighting to leave.

“What about Roger Wang?” Sieg asked.

"Siegboy... I'm starting to believe those debunked fake news stories more and more... My healing hormones not only have a low success rate, but they also require at least a day to heal."

"Many patients break down in will because of the torment that lasts for 24 hours."

"And Roger Wang... his condition has begun to improve..."

That's good news.

After hanging up the phone, Sieg continued to secretly observe the battle between Barrett and Karp.

The clash between these two top-tier, domineering powerhouses of the ocean was so powerful that every punch they threw could split mountains and shatter rocks, their attacks as swift as a sudden downpour.

But the current Sieg is different from the one of the past.

After engaging in various open and covert struggles with numerous powerful figures, and even chatting and laughing with Roger, Whitebeard, and others, he not only gained acting skills and experience, but also keen insight.

“Barrett also has his own shortcomings.”

Sieg thought to himself:

"His Armament Haki level is exceptional, completely unique, and perhaps no one in the entire ocean can match it."

"But he's been in prison for too long and has too little experience fighting top-tier fighters like Garp... and he hasn't even used his Devil Fruit ability yet..."

"But for the time being, Barrett can hold on."

Sig thought for a moment, then decided not to stay. Instead, he crouched down, entered stealth mode, and gradually walked away from the edge of the battlefield.

A moment later, he returned to Shaki's bar.

“Sig.” Reilly, who had been pacing alone in the bar, breathed a slight sigh of relief when he saw that it was Sig who had entered.

The two sides briefly discussed the situation before turning the conversation to Roger.

They then got up and went down the stairs to the basement.

Rouge, Ivankov, and the others were already waiting at the tightly locked gate.

"Sigboy, you've come at just the right time."

Ivankov tiptoed, lifted her skirt, and twirled around in place, quite excited.

He stretched out his palm and pressed it against the basement door, sensing the sounds inside.

Monka's Silence Fruit eliminated the sounds in the basement, but he hadn't yet developed it to the point of isolating vibrations; he could still roughly sense the movements inside by touch.

"There's no movement inside anymore, so I don't think he's dead."

"Well then... let's open the door and take a look."

"Open the door." Sig nodded.

They pushed open the locked door and entered the basement.

In the center of the basement, Roger's hands and feet were bound to the bed with thick iron chains.

This was a restrictive measure taken to prevent Roger from going insane due to the excruciating pain.

As you can see, there are large marks and even bloodstains where Roger's hands and feet are bound by chains.

Is it over?

On the bed, Roger slightly raised his head. His face was pale and bloodless, but his eyes seemed to be shining.

Before Rayleigh and the others could step forward, Roger suddenly shuddered, his body covered in glossy black Armament Haki. The sudden burst of ferocious power caused the chains on his limbs to taut, making a teeth-grinding sound.

"The shackles that have tormented me for so many years... are gone from today onwards."

He murmured to himself, his eyes burning as if they were ablaze.

Click, click...

The immense force shattered all the chains, and Roger broke free from the bed, looking at Sieg, Rayleigh, and the others in front of him.

"It seems a miracle has occurred," Ivankov murmured.

"The struggle to heal hormones normally takes at least 24 hours, but you've only had half a day..."

"Perhaps it's because I still have a reason to live."