Starting as a Roger Pirates Apprentice

Chapter 517: God Valley Arc — Alice and Keek

Honestly, the guys from the God’s Knights aren’t that strong, but they’re really annoying. Take the gun-toting one under Orin’s foot, for example—his strength is nothing special, just enough to kill slaves and foot soldiers, yet no matter how many times Orin crushes his head, it slowly grows back.

The scene is disgusting, and it’s also left this Celestial Dragon with a near psychological shadow. Feeling his head shatter over and over, consciousness appearing and disappearing again and again—it’s no different from dying and coming back to life, then dying again, in an endless loop.

He stared at the tall, gaunt figure with long black hair and a black cloak, his pupils trembling nonstop. In the end, Orin got bored, laced his foot with Conqueror’s Haki Infusion, and kicked him aside.

After making sure he wouldn’t recover anytime soon, Orin left. His Observation Haki had already seen everyone converging toward Shakky’s direction.

Roger and Newgate were clashing there, and Rayleigh had gone to play the hero and save the beauty... Orin wasn’t particularly keen on rescuing Shakky. He and Shakky were on good terms, sure, but with Rayleigh, Roger, and the others throwing themselves into the rescue, there was no need for him to join the fun.

What he cared about now was this: where did the old man run off to again? And why was that black cube that sealed Conqueror’s Haki Infusion and spatial power moving toward the warships by the shore? It couldn’t be that the Navy had some secret operation and was deliberately going after the old man... Thinking of that possibility, Orin frowned—a rare sight—and his gaze sank slightly.

The tall black figure flickered and vanished from where he stood. At Orin’s current speed, if he were willing to burn stamina, circling the world once in a short time wouldn’t be a problem, so reaching the black cube’s location in a few breaths was nothing. But standing in the sky and seeing the figure carrying an unconscious child and breaking out toward the outside, Orin froze.

"Dragon and Shanks?"

He hadn’t expected it to be those two. Looking at Dragon’s youthful face, nervously scanning his surroundings, Orin figured that as a rookie who had just joined the Navy, Dragon’s strength probably still wasn’t enough to beat someone like Keek, an elite pirate who had mastered two types of Haki.

That meant there was only one reason the black cube was with him: the old man had given it willingly. If it weren’t voluntary, the Conqueror’s Haki Infusion and spatial power inside would have already burst out. But thinking about it, that fit the old man’s style. Just like when he had adopted Orin—complaining endlessly with his mouth, yet still raising him to adulthood. Seeing a young man protecting a baby and trying to get away from the battlefield, how could he possibly not lend a hand? With that thought, Orin appeared in front of Dragon.

"Eh?!?!"

Dragon jumped in shock and instinctively raised his gun, aiming at the tall shadow that had appeared out of nowhere.

"Relax~"

Orin used a finger to push aside that fire poker, not taking the gun in Dragon’s hands seriously at all. Dragon, seeing the figure in front of him, also froze.

"You... what do you want to do?"

He remembered Orin—the ruthless monster who slaughtered Celestial Dragons. Even though they’d gotten along peacefully before, he was carrying a child now...

"As for me... I just want to borrow that kid for a moment."

Orin looked at the red-haired baby who still hadn’t woken up.

"What?!"

Dragon tensed up.

"Don’t be nervous. I’m just taking a photo. As payment, that black cube is yours."

Orin had no intention of making things hard for Dragon; he simply took out a camera Den Den Mushi to record life.

"..."

Dragon stared blankly as the red-haired baby he had rescued now had a bump on his head and lay unconscious on the ground, placed there by Orin.

"Click—"

Looking at the photo, Orin nodded in satisfaction, then greeted Dragon and left. There were still a lot of things to do next, including finding out where the old man had gone.

...

On the other side, the battlefield was chaotic, with too many top-tier fighters. Even Newgate had opponents he needed to take seriously. After a cloud of dust, Keek was nowhere to be seen.

Keek wasn’t there to rescue Shakky; he was there to find Captain Orin. With that goal in mind, Keek once again split off from the main force. Maybe that was part of why he managed to survive to the end—he always ended up getting separated from the captains, avoiding the most dangerous, highest-level battles, and thus keeping his life in God Valley.

Before the rescue of Shakky, Keek had gone alone into the depths of God Valley. Moving carefully, he suddenly discovered a place where slaves were being held, and the people there were talking.

"The Rocks Pirates are attacking!!!"

"There’s no time to guard this place anymore. Anyway, this sin-ridden clan has mostly already turned into demons, right!!!"

"Go provide support!!!"

As the guards thinned out, Keek curiously poked his head out from the bushes. Inside the cage, a short-haired woman was huddled in a corner with a curly-haired, thick-lipped child. The child was clearly frightened and was hiding in his mother’s arms, peeking timidly outside.

"Damn it..."

Seeing this, Keek couldn’t help cursing the Celestial Dragons, and at the same time thought about how to save them. Taking advantage of the God’s Knights being distracted by the pirates in the distance, Keek used the dual-sword style he had stolen from Spencer, his blades gathering Armament Haki.

"Clang—"

Keek cut open the cage.

"Shh... hurry and go!!!"

Alice was startled. As a pirate, she wasn’t some ornamental vase, and her reactions were quick. After a brief moment of thought, she chose to follow this guy who looked like a pirate first. She and Teach couldn’t keep waiting here for Rocks to come save them. As a woman who had already become part of the David clan, she wouldn’t allow herself to be captured without a fight. So she decisively followed Keek and fled toward the distance.

"Thank you!!!"

No matter what, Alice was grateful for Keek’s help. Little Teach also stared blankly at Keek, vaguely understanding that this was the person who had saved them.

"Don’t mention it. But getting away from those monsters isn’t easy, you know~"

Keek looked at Teach in Alice’s arms and gave the kid a goofy grin.

"And you—you’re a little monster too~"

However, it didn’t take long before someone noticed that Alice and her child were gone. A female member of the God’s Knights chased after them, killing intent in her eyes. To have her home base stolen by a small-time pirate... it filled her with rage.

"Perfect... I’ll just kill the two of you right here!!!"

She stared at Alice and Keek and shouted.