"Shanks, have you not mastered Observation Haki yet? You didn't even sense a sneak attack coming from behind!"
Facing Buggy's taunt, Shanks immediately retorted, "That Marine? I noticed him long ago. I just didn't bother to act."
Buggy was about to reply when suddenly, the sounds of battle in the distance came to an abrupt halt. Roger's hearty voice echoed across the battlefield.
"Everyone, time to scram! We're retreating!"
Shanks quickly turned to Ethan Sugawa and made one last sincere invitation.
"Brother, come with us! Just the two of you can't possibly escape the Navy's pursuit. You'll definitely get captured."
At that moment, Gloriosa approached Ethan and whispered, "The ship's sail was destroyed in the battle just now. On top of that, several parts of the ship have been damaged. There's no way we can repair it ourselves."
Neither of them were shipwrights, which left them with no choice but to abandon the ship.
There was a small lifeboat left on board, but if they used it, the Navy would surely catch up.
Ethan and Gloriosa were no match for Garp. If they were caught, they would most certainly be captured.
After thinking for a moment, Ethan agreed to Shanks' invitation.
"Our ship is wrecked. We need a ride on your pirate ship for a while. Do you think your captain would agree?"
"Our captain's easygoing! He'll definitely say yes."
Shanks responded enthusiastically.
Gloriosa, however, was still uneasy. She grabbed Ethan's arm and voiced her concern.
"If I board their ship, they'll definitely recognize me. What if they decide to come after us?"
The fall of the Rocks Pirates was largely due to Roger. Except for Whitebeard, most of the former Rocks crew didn't have any good blood with Roger.
There was no guarantee Roger wouldn't try to settle the old score.
Ethan, however, was unbothered. He looked at Gloriosa and calmly reassured her.
"Rocks was taken down by Roger and Garp. That's a clash between captains. What does it have to do with small fries like us?"
"Don't worry, they'll give us a ride."
Hearing this, Gloriosa finally relaxed a bit. She followed Ethan and Shanks onto the Roger Pirates' ship.
As soon as all the crew had returned to the ship, Captain Roger immediately shouted, "Hoist the sails! Shake off the Navy!"
Within seconds, the ship sailed away, quickly leaving the Navy's sight.
…
After breaking through the Navy's blockade, the crew finally breathed a collective sigh of relief. Some sat down to rest, while others resupplied and tallied their gains from the battle.
One of the logistics crew soon noticed Gloriosa and Ethan, who were quietly keeping to themselves in a corner.
"Hey, why haven't I ever seen you two before?"
Other pirates, hearing this, also came over to investigate, all with puzzled expressions.
"Yeah, I don't recognize them. Could they be spies sent by the Navy?"
"Wait a minute. That woman… she looks really familiar. I've definitely seen her somewhere before."
"Yeah, I think we've fought her before!"
Just then, Silvers Rayleigh, wearing his signature white glasses and beard, stepped out of the crowd.
He looked at Gloriosa and smiled faintly.
"Long time no see, Gloriosa. Former member of the Rocks Pirates."
"Hmph." Gloriosa snorted coldly. "Rayleigh, you're as sharp as ever."
Hearing her openly acknowledge her identity, the surrounding crew instantly erupted.
"A remnant of the Rocks Pirates? What is she doing here?!"
"Are they here to take revenge because our captain was the one who killed Rocks?"
"Doesn't matter! Let's capture them first and sort it out later!"
Seeing that the crew was about to attack Ethan and Gloriosa, Shanks quickly stepped in front of them, blocking the others.
"I was the one who invited them aboard. You can't touch them."
Roger, having heard the commotion, walked over and quickly understood the situation.
With a wave of his hand, he said, "Anyone who boards this ship is our guest. Besides, the Rocks Pirates are long gone. There's no real grudge between us anymore. Let them stay."
With their captain's order, the crew reluctantly lowered their guard and dispersed.
Only Ethan, Gloriosa, Rayleigh, Roger, and Shanks remained.
"By the way, Captain…" Shanks immediately admitted his mistake, "I didn't know they were from the Rocks Pirates. If I had."
Roger interrupted him with a smile. "I saw what happened on the battlefield. It's clear they got caught up in the crossfire and lost their ship because of us."
"Even if you hadn't invited them, I would've."
Relieved by Roger's understanding, Shanks finally relaxed.
At that moment, Rayleigh suddenly stepped forward and stared intently at Ethan.
"I feel like I've seen you somewhere before…"
Ethan shook his head. "This should be our first meeting. I'm sure you're mistaken."
During the God Valley Incident, Ethan had stayed by Big Mom and Kaido's side the entire time. He'd never crossed paths with the Roger Pirates.
He was certain Rayleigh had never seen him before.
But Rayleigh kept scrutinizing him, searching his memory.
Finally, it clicked.
Rayleigh turned to Roger and said with a knowing smile, "Roger, you've always been frustrated about not being able to read the Poneglyphs, right? Well, I've found someone who can help."
"Who?" Roger's eyes lit up with excitement.
Rayleigh pointed directly at Ethan's forehead.
"Him. More precisely, his third eye. It can read the Poneglyphs."
"Third eye?"
Roger's gaze snapped to Ethan, his face alight with joy.
"Don't tell me, he's from the Three-Eyed Tribe?"
It was a widely known secret among the major pirates that the Three-Eyed Tribe had the power to read the Poneglyphs. Roger, being somewhat of a historian himself, was certainly aware.
Rayleigh slowly revealed Ethan's identity.
"Ethan once lived incognito as a village doctor for five years, but eventually Big Mom discovered his Three-Eyed bloodline and took him away."
"After that, he was forced to join the Rocks Pirates."
"And there's more… I heard a rumor that Ethan snatched a Devil Fruit from the Five Elders during the God Valley Incident."
"A few years ago, he was pursued by Sengoku, and in the end, fell into the sea and was presumed dead."
Rayleigh paused, his gaze sharp as a blade, his tone cold and deliberate.
"Looks like you didn't die after all. You fooled both the World Government and the Navy."
"With your track record, if I told the World Government you're still alive… I bet they'd reward me handsomely."
"Don't you think so, Ethan?"