Vice-captain of Whitebeard pirates

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"Hey, I'll deal with him!" Gangplank called out, choosing to take the lead.

Marco nodded. "Teach them a lesson."

"Understood."

Rayleigh observed Gangplank's confident stance with a smile. "Kids, are you ready?"

With shimmering diamonds covering his body, Gangplank charged forward, crashing directly into Rayleigh. Although he didn't speak, he answered Rayleigh's challenge with his actions.

Rayleigh squinted, recognizing that Gangplank was a Devil Fruit user. "It seems he has a defensive ability."

"Fall for me!" Gangplank roared, colliding with Rayleigh like a missile.

"Beautiful, Plank!" Marco cheered from behind.

Rayleigh smiled slightly, his calm demeanor unwavering. He stretched out two fingers.

As Gangplank hurtled towards him, Rayleigh simply pointed forward.

Thud!

Gangplank suddenly found himself unable to move another step. He looked up in shock to see that it was Rayleigh's two fingers that had stopped him!

Rayleigh smirked, "The power isn't enough, kid."

Flushed with embarrassment, Gangplank realized how formidable Rayleigh was. But instead of backing down, he summoned all his strength, refusing to flinch just as he had against Kaido. "Stop looking down on me!"

An unexpected surprise flickered in Rayleigh's eyes as he felt the increased force pushing against his fingers. This little guy is surprisingly strong!

But to Rayleigh, this level of strength was merely a moment of intrigue.

"Marco, Plank seems to be in trouble. Should we help him?" Rakuyo suggested, gripping his hammer tightly.

Marco glanced at Gangplank's struggle and replied, "This is Gangplank's battle; we can't interfere."

"Okay."

In fact, it was evident to anyone watching that Gangplank was struggling. Despite his efforts, he was facing a significant gap in power.

Marco gritted his teeth, realizing that these opponents were not ordinary pirates. The strength he was witnessing was rare in the entire East Blue.

Meanwhile, Thatch stood behind Marco and sensed something was amiss. He noticed that those surrounding him didn't look overly concerned; instead, many of them appeared rather amused.

This wasn't the usual reaction from East Blue pirates facing the Whitebeard Pirates!

Particularly the one who just spoke. For some reason, Thatch felt an inkling that this man was not someone to be taken lightly.

After a moment of thought, a reward poster suddenly came to mind.

He compared the man's face to the wanted poster in his memory, and his eyes widened in shock. They looked exactly the same!

"Marco, this is bad! We're in big trouble!"

"What?" Marco looked back at Thatch, confused.

Sachi exclaimed, "That man is Roger! Roger has a bounty of 2billion! This seems to be the Roger Pirates!"

"Roger Pirates!!!" Marco gasped, his breath catching. Of course, he knew about the powerful pirate group that ruled the New World. "How do you know?"

"Haven't you seen Roger's wanted poster? And the man fighting Gangplank— that's Rayleigh, who has a bounty of [??] billion!"

"This...." Marco and the others were dumbfounded. "Then what should we do now?"

Thatch nervously suggested, "We should go back and get reinforcements. This isn't far from our ship. At your speed, you can be back in one minute. If Dad and Larson come, it'll be no problem."

Marco thought for a moment and realized this was indeed the only option. Who would have thought that the "weak pirate group in the East Blue" they originally intended to teach a lesson would turn out to be one of the most powerful pirate groups, the Roger Pirates?

"Alright," Marco nodded. "Wait for me to come back!"

After saying that, he quietly prepared to fly back for help.

But just as he was about to take off, he felt a hand on his shoulder from behind, abruptly pushing him back.

He turned to see Larson's calm face.

"Larson!"

Marco was stunned for a second, his excitement bubbling up. If Larson was here, he didn't need to go back.

Larson gave Marco a gentle push forward and stepped back beside him.

"Larson!" Thatch and Rakuyo exclaimed, their eyes lighting up at his arrival.

Over at the site of the duel between Gangplank and Rayleigh, Rayleigh extended his third finger. "This is where it ends."

He applied just a slight force, and Gangplank was instantly bounced back.

As Gangplank tumbled backward, Larson appeared behind him and caught him.

"A friend is here!" Roger called out with a smile on his face.

Larson smiled apologetically. "Sorry, my friend here was being reckless and caused trouble for you."

"It's okay; I'm having fun too," Rayleigh responded with a chuckle.

Larson stepped aside and gestured invitingly, "The captain is already waiting for you."

Marco, Thatch, and the others turned around to see that their own ship had somehow arrived just a few dozen meters away. The imposing figure of Whitebeard stood on the bow, holding a naginata, commanding attention.

"Long time no see, Roger!" Whitebeard boomed, his deep voice carrying across the water.

Though they were several meters apart, everyone could still hear him clearly.

Roger confidently strode to the bow of his ship and laughed, "You've made it hard for me to find you guys!"

On the Whitebeard Pirates' side, the powerful white-bearded man grinned. "You, come up and have a drink!"

Roger called back, "move the ship closer!"

....

The Al Jackson slowly maneuvered toward the Whitebeard Pirates, but Roger couldn't wait. Before the ship could even come alongside, he jumped straight onto the deck of the Whitebeard Pirates' ship.

Larson remained on the Al Jackson, watching as Marco and the others stood before him, fidgeting. "You all will do an extra hour of training when we get back."

The group lowered their heads, too aware of the situation to argue. "Yes."

Just then, Rayleigh approached.

"Hello, Larson."

When Larson heard the voice and turned around, he was met with a smile from Rayleigh. "Ah, silvers Rayleigh, I have long admired your name."

"Likewise!" Rayleigh smiled. "Your reputation has already spread throughout the New World."

"No, no, I'm just a little pirate who has been at sea for less than two months."

"Hahaha, if you are a little pirate, then who am I?"

"..."

Marco, Gangplank, Rakuyo, and Thatch stood behind Larson, watching as the conversation unfolded. They felt like bystanders in a scene so significant they dared not disturb it.

"Hey!" Marco suddenly heard someone calling from the side. Looking over, he saw a red-haired boy and a red-nosed boy waving to him from a distance.

Marco's spirits lifted; there were actually peers his age in the Roger Pirates!

With a mischievous grin, he quietly said to the others, "I'm going to check them out. If Larson asks later, just tell him I went back first."

Gangplank replied, "Understood."

Feeling relieved, Marco tiptoed toward Shanks and Buggy.

Larson was absorbed in conversation with Rayleigh and didn't notice Marco slipping away.

At this moment, another figure approached, a man with sunglasses and black braids.

Rayleigh introduced with a smile: "Larson, this is Scopper Gaban."

Larson extended a hand. "I've been looking forward to it."

Gaban responded, "I am the one!"

Both Gaban and Rayleigh echoed each other's sentiment with the same words.

Larson chuckled, shaking off the moment. At this point, the Al Jackson had arrived beside the Whitebeard Pirates. Taking the lead as the vice-captain, Larson made the invitation: "Our two captains have already begun drinking. Let's all go up and enjoy together."

"Okay!"

On the Whitebeard Pirates, Roger and Whitebeard were already sharing drinks together.

"Ah!" Roger took a long sip of wine and then exclaimed, "You haven't changed much after all this time!"

"Huh?" Whitebeard glanced at him.

Roger's expression turned nostalgic. "I mean, you've made quite the splashes! I was in shock when I saw your news in the New World."

Whitebeard grinned proudly. "You don't even know who I am."

"Hahahaha!" Roger laughed heartily at his boast.

"By the way," Whitebeard suddenly recalled, "do you have anything in mind for your return to the East Blue?"

"Something? No, no, nothing at all," Roger replied, burping slightly. "I came specifically to see you. When I saw your news, I knew I had to come back and visit."

"You guys really have nothing going on."

As Whitebeard spoke, a faint smile crept onto his face.

Roger noticed that Larson and Rayleigh had boarded the ship. He waved enthusiastically, "Rayleigh! Come here quickly."

Rayleigh, Larson, and Gaban approached.

Roger's gaze landed on Larson. "This brother, what's your name?"

Rayleigh helpfully reminded, "It's Larson."

"Yes, yes, Larson!" Roger chimed in.

He slapped his thigh in excitement.

Rayleigh looked at Larson apologetically. "Sorry, our captain sometimes has a bad memory. I hope you don't mind."

"Don't worry; I wouldn't care," Larson smiled back.

"Hey-hey."

Roger continued, "That's great! Larson, you are about to shine even brighter than when I went to sea. You've reached a bounty of 1 billion in less than two months! Such an achievement is unprecedented in pirate history."

Whitebeard listened intently, his curiosity piqued by Roger's words.

Rayleigh seemed intrigued as well, observing Larson with evident interest.

"Really? Your fame has spread so quickly," Rayleigh remarked.

Larson shook his head. "It's all thanks to my captain. If the Navy wasn't afraid he would go crazy one day, they would not have agreed so easily."

The unspoken tension hovered in the air momentarily as the two legendary pirates engaged in their animated discussion, remnants of their glorious past evident with every word exchanged.

As laughter and camaraderie filled the space, the new members of the Whitebeard Pirates couldn't help but marvel at the unique bond between these powerful figures, realizing they were part of something much larger than themselves.

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