One Piece: My code name is Green Bull

"Phew!"

Watching Whitebeard and his crew sail away, Jon let out a heavy sigh of relief.

That was way too close—he had actually managed to walk away from a face-to-face encounter with Whitebeard unscathed.

It was absolutely nerve-wracking.

"Josh, you've got some serious guts! You actually dared to refuse Whitebeard—I thought I was going to die from the shock!"

After holding it in for so long, Craig finally spoke up once Whitebeard and his crew were gone. His gaze toward Jon was filled with complicated emotions.

He had always known that Jon was no ordinary man, but he never could have imagined that Jon would catch Whitebeard's attention—to the point of receiving an invitation to join the Whitebeard Pirates.

Even more shocking was that Jon actually turned him down!

The moment Jon refused, Craig had been scared out of his wits, terrified that Jon's actions would get them all killed.

Jon patted Craig on the shoulder and chuckled.

"No need to be so tense—we're fine now, aren't we? Whitebeard isn't an unreasonable man. Come on, let's get moving."

"Right, right! Let's get out of here! If Whitebeard changes his mind, we're doomed!"

Craig shivered at the thought and immediately ordered his men to hurry up and set sail.

After this encounter, his attitude toward Jon had completely changed—his respect had grown, and there was even a hint of fear.

After all, someone who caught Whitebeard's attention couldn't possibly be an ordinary man.

Once they set sail, Jon finally felt completely at ease.

Thankfully, Whitebeard wasn't the type to act unreasonably—otherwise, Jon probably wouldn't have been able to leave that island alive.

They traveled with Craig's crew for another two days, and Jon planned to part ways with them at the next port so he could figure out how to return to the Marine base on his own.

Suddenly—

"Captain! Weather change ahead! Looks like a storm—we need to change course!"

The crew member on watch immediately reported the anomaly to Craig.

Craig didn't hesitate.

"Alter course! Steer clear of the storm and reduce speed!"

Out at sea, the greatest danger was always the unpredictable weather.

Running into pirates was one thing—you could sometimes negotiate your way out.

But with violent storms, there was no room for discussion. One mistake, and it was total annihilation.

Jon looked ahead and saw dark storm clouds looming over the horizon—a clear sign that a major storm was coming.

Fortunately, they were still far enough away, and changing course would allow them to avoid the worst of it.

The merchant ship quickly adjusted its route, steering clear of the darkened skies.

A few hours later, the storm clouds were completely out of sight, and they resumed sailing along their original Log Pose route.

But just as they thought they were in the clear—

"Pirates! PIRATES!"

The ship's alarm blared loudly, followed by the shouts of the crew.

Jon, who had been resting in his cabin, immediately rushed to the deck and found Craig.

"Pirates? Are you sure?"

Craig nodded grimly.

"Yeah, we spotted a pirate ship closing in fast!"

He handed a telescope to Jon, who took it without hesitation and looked toward the approaching vessel.

The moment Jon saw the pirate ship, he sucked in a sharp breath.

"Turn around! QUICKLY! That's the Roger Pirates!"

"What?! The Roger Pirates?!"

Craig stiffened in horror.

Having spent years sailing the New World, he knew exactly who they were.

A moment ago, he hadn't thought much of it, but hearing Jon's words now, he was utterly shaken.

"Josh, are you sure? I don't see their Jolly Roger anywhere!"

Jon replied without hesitation:

"I recognize that ship! It's them! We need to turn around—NOW!"

Inside, Jon was cursing his luck.

Seriously?!

Three days ago, he had barely escaped Whitebeard, and now he had stumbled into Roger's crew?!

What kind of cursed luck is this?

Because he knew for certain it was Roger's ship, Jon absolutely didn't dare to use his Observation Haki.

That ship was filled with monsters—if they detected his presence, things could escalate quickly.

Craig didn't hesitate any longer—he immediately ordered the crew to change direction.

But even though they turned the ship around, it was too late—Roger's ship had locked onto them and was closing in fast.

Their ship was a merchant vessel, nowhere near as fast as a pirate ship built for battle.

Before long, the Roger Pirates' ship caught up, firing cannon shots to force them to stop.

"Stop! Stop the ship!"

Craig was terrified and immediately ordered the crew to halt.

Meanwhile, Jon was furious.

"What the hell is Roger thinking?! Why the hell is he attacking a merchant ship?!"

He had just gotten out of Whitebeard's den, and now he had walked straight into Roger's grasp.

The only silver lining was that Roger's crew didn't recognize him.

Although they had fought once before, as long as he didn't use his Devil Fruit abilities, Roger and his crew wouldn't realize who he was.

After what had happened with Kozuki Oden, Jon didn't dare to stand out.

He tried to blend in, hoping Roger's crew wouldn't pay him any attention.

Suddenly—

Loud, hearty laughter echoed across the deck.

A moment later, several figures leaped from the pirate ship, landing on the merchant vessel.

"Why the hell were you running?! You made us waste cannonballs!"

One of them—a scruffy-looking man with a captain's hat, black hair, and a strange curled mustache—grumbled in annoyance.

"Captain, of course they ran! They saw a pirate ship! What, were they supposed to wait to be robbed?"

"But we didn't even have our Jolly Roger up!"

"Oh, come on, Captain! Like people don't recognize your ship even without a flag? You seriously underestimate your own reputation!"

"WAHAHAHA! Is that so?! Even without a flag, people still know it's me?"

Roger burst into laughter, looking quite pleased with himself.

"Alright, enough messing around, Roger. Let's get down to business."

A blond-haired man with glasses—Rayleigh—cut in, stopping Roger's laughter.

"Oh, right!"

Roger clapped his hands and turned his gaze toward the merchant crew.

His eyes swept over the group.

Craig and his men stood frozen in terror—this was the infamous Roger Pirates.

There was no way small-time merchants like them could possibly go against them.

"Who's the captain?"

Craig gulped and stepped forward.

"Honorable sirs, I am the captain. We are just humble merchants with nothing valuable. Please, spare us—we are willing to pay a fee!"

He signaled his men to bring money, hoping to bribe their way out.

But Roger suddenly waved his hand dismissively.

"Hold it! I'm not here to rob you! Why would I need your money?"

"Huh?"

Craig was completely stunned.

If they weren't here to rob us, why did they fire at us?! Just for fun?!

Rayleigh sighed and stepped forward.

"It's simple. We ran into a storm and lost a lot of supplies. We caught up to you because we wanted to buy food and resources from you. That's all."

Craig and his men looked at each other in disbelief.

"Pirates… paying for supplies?"

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