Chapter 28: A Little Low?

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: A Little Low?

After Rayleigh's attack was blocked, he didn't make another move. Instead, he looked up at Claudius and his group on the hill, his expression a mixture of confusion and surprise. He couldn't quite understand why Claudius had stepped in to stop him.

Wasn't this the same guy who slapped another Celestial Dragon earlier? By all logic, there shouldn't be any good blood between the two, so why defend him now?

"You're the guy from the auction house, aren't you? Crowe, right? What's going on here?" Rayleigh asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Claudius. Donquixote Claudius," Claudius corrected him with a soft smile.

"So you are a Celestial Dragon," Rayleigh said, grinning. "Makes sense. Only someone like you would dare to hit another Celestial Dragon."

Claudius chuckled. "And weren't you about to hit him too? It looks like the title of Celestial Dragon doesn't mean much to you."

At this point, Roger, who had been quietly observing the exchange, burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha! We're pirates! Obeying laws isn't exactly our thing. Whether we hit your Celestial Dragons or not, the Marines will come after us anyway. If we lay a hand on them, it won't make much of a difference.

We've already got plenty of heat on us, and it's not like we have a fixed base of operations. Catching us won't be easy," Roger said, still laughing heartily.

"Fair enough," Claudius nodded. "That logic holds up. But you see, I happened to witness the whole thing. And as a Celestial Dragon, I can't just stand by and watch you bully Rothschild like that."

Rayleigh raised an eyebrow, his surprise evident. "Didn't you just bully him yourself not too long ago?"

Claudius glanced at Rayleigh, then calmly explained, "That's different. I'm a Celestial Dragon. How I handle him is an internal affair. But you guys? You're pirates. If you attack him and the world sees, it'll be a disgrace to all Celestial Dragons. And if our reputation is tarnished, that includes me. So, of course, I have to step in."

Rayleigh blinked in understanding and nodded slightly. Before he could respond, Rothschild, still furious, jumped into the conversation.

"Claudius, you b******! Don't meddle in my affairs! Do you think these filthy pirates can actually bully me? I have twice as many servants as they do!" Rothschild spat, pointing an accusing finger at Claudius.

"What an idiot..." Claudius muttered under his breath, utterly unimpressed.

Roger, meanwhile, was laughing so hard he could barely catch his breath.

"Hahahaha! Exactly, what an idiot! I always thought all Celestial Dragons were like him, but I didn't expect someone like you among them!" Roger said, wiping a tear from his eye.

It was at that moment that Copper Jabba spoke up. "Captain, someone probably called the Marines after the scene at the auction house. If we don't leave soon, things might get troublesome."

Roger blinked as if suddenly reminded of their situation. "Ah, right! I've got a feeling Garp's already on his way here!"

With that, the Roger Pirates made a quick decision to leave the island before the Marines arrived. But before they left, Roger called back to Claudius with a grin.

"Hey, what I said earlier still stands! If you ever get tired of being a Celestial Dragon, come find us!"

Before Roger could finish, Rayleigh clamped a hand over his mouth, muttering, "Enough with that already. If this guy actually takes you up on that, we'll be in way over our heads."

And just like that, the infamous Roger Pirates left Sabaody, though Claudius couldn't help but scratch his head in confusion. The whole encounter felt... off. This was the future Pirate King? Why did he seem so... casual?

Still, Claudius knew one thing for sure despite how strange the encounter had been, Roger and his crew were not to be underestimated. Today, things had gone oddly smoothly, but that didn't mean future encounters would be so harmless. These men were dangerous, no doubt about it.

Just as Claudius was lost in thought, his butler Nia received a phone call. After answering a few questions, she approached Claudius with a serious expression.

"Your Highness, there's been an incident at Mariejois."

Claudius frowned. "What kind of incident?"

"The Homing family has returned, but they were stopped at the port. There seems to be some kind of dispute..." Nia explained.

After a moment of thought, Claudius remembered. Ah, yes. It had been nearly three months. The Homing family, after realizing they couldn't make it in North Blue, had come crawling back, hoping to reclaim their status as Celestial Dragons.

But this was ridiculous. They had left voluntarily, throwing away their noble title. And now they wanted back in? As if the position of Celestial Dragon was a revolving door.

"What's more, they left everything behind when they ran off. How do they expect Lancelot, who's been managing things for the past three months, to just step aside now that they're back?" Claudius thought, shaking his head in exasperation.

This was no small matter. The Homing family was essentially trying to re-enter Mariejois as if nothing had happened, expecting to pick up where they left off. But among the Celestial Dragons, their departure had already branded them as traitors. Coming back now wasn't going to be as simple as they thought.

Claudius sighed. "Do they think the other Celestial Dragons will just welcome them back with open arms?"

After a brief pause, he made his decision. "Let's head back to Mariejois and see what's going on."