One Piece: I, the Strongest Intern of the Roger Pirates

Captain! Enemy ship spotted ahead—it's the Whitebeard Pirates! shouted Golan from the lookout post, peering through his spyglass down at the deck.

Oh? So it's Newgate, huh? Roger grinned broadly as he looked toward the front. Alright, boys... get ready for battle!

It had been five years since the Battle of God Valley.

At that time, the seas had undergone drastic changes. The once-dominant Rocks Pirates had dissolved, replaced by powerful pirate crews carving up the New World among themselves.

One of those rising forces was the Whitebeard Pirates, founded by none other than Edward Newgate, formerly one of the senior members of the Rocks Pirates.

Thanks to Whitebeard's overwhelming strength, his crew had quickly become one of the most formidable pirate groups on the seas.

Meanwhile, the Roger Pirates hadn't expanded much in size, primarily due to Roger's personality and disinterest in massive recruitment. However, what they lacked in numbers, they made up for in raw strength.

Fang Yi, in particular, had grown immensely. Compared to five years ago, the change was startling. The most noticeable difference was his height, possibly influenced by the "Heritage Beans" he'd collected, which helped him develop both physically and mentally. Despite being the same age as Shanks and Buggy, he already towered over them.

"Shanks! That little brat Marco we ran into last time is mine today!" Fang Yi, bow in hand, leaped onto the rope netting along the side of the ship, gazing into the distance with a wide grin.

"Yi-ge... he's older than us, you know," Shanks said with a helpless chuckle.

Ever since discovering that the Whitebeard Pirates had taken on an intern, Fang Yi had made Marco his rival. Every time their crews met, Fang Yi would chase Marco down for a fight, much to everyone's amusement.

"Hmph, age means nothing! We're both interns—that makes us future rivals. Might as well beat him into submission early!" Fang Yi said smugly.

Even Shanks felt a little awkward hearing that logic. It sounded like Fang Yi was trying to crush a rival during childhood.

Soon, the Whitebeard Pirates spotted them as well and changed course directly toward them.

"Newgate..."

"Roger..."

Roger and Whitebeard stood tall at the front of their ships, grinning fiercely as they burst into laughter.

"Wahahaha! Boys, seize their treasure!" Roger raised his sword and roared.

"Gurararara! My beloved sons, show them who rules these seas!" Whitebeard echoed, brandishing his massive naginata.

"Whitebeard! Incoming arrow!" Fang Yi didn't wait—he immediately notched an arrow and fired it straight at Whitebeard.

"There's no way I'll let you hurt Pops!" Marco intercepted the arrow in midair with a powerful kick. But the force behind the arrow caused him to stagger backward on impact.

Crack! Crack!

Marco's expression shifted. A low growl escaped his lips as blue flames suddenly erupted around his body.

"Whoa! Pineapple-Ko, are you self-immolating?!" Fang Yi teased, noting Marco's flame-covered form.

Marco's hair and love for pineapples had earned him the nickname "Pineapple-Ko" from Fang Yi, a name he used often to troll him.

"You little brat! I'm not the same Marco as before. This time, I'll show you what I'm made of!" Marco snapped. Though older than Fang Yi, Marco had always been outmatched in their past duels. It frustrated him deeply.

But things were different now. He'd recently eaten a Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit: the Bird-Bird Fruit, Model: Phoenix, granting him the ability to transform into a phoenix enveloped in regenerative flames.

Without hesitation, Marco took to the sky in his full phoenix form.

"Oh? You turned into a bird-man?" Fang Yi grinned, drawing another arrow and taking aim.

Of course, he knew all about the Phoenix Fruit. It was rarer than even Logia-types. Its healing flames and physical buffs made it incredibly powerful.

Still, Fang Yi remained calm. His strength had grown too far to fear a challenge like this.

"Frost Arrow – Fire!"

With a grin, Fang Yi released an arrow laced with icy energy that streaked through the air toward Marco.

Frost Arrow (Lv 2) – 156/300

Fires an ice-infused arrow at the enemy, dealing cold damage and potentially freezing the target.

It was a skill he'd recently unlocked, allowing him to imbue arrows with ice energy.

"Hmph! Useless. No matter what you fire, my regenerative flames will restore me. And besides, your arrows won't even hit me!" Marco scoffed, choosing to tank the hit.

"You idiot… ever heard of Haki?" Fang Yi smiled.

Marco froze—literally. The arrow pierced his wing, and before the wound could heal, frost spread rapidly across it, freezing his entire wing solid.

"Ahhhh!"

Thud!

"Marco! Are you okay?!"

Marco crashed down onto Whitebeard's ship, wincing in pain. Luckily, he hadn't been flying too high, so he wasn't seriously injured.

"I'm fine… Armament Haki," Marco muttered through gritted teeth. He transformed back to human form and rubbed the frostbitten arm, healing it instantly with his flame.

But the pain still lingered.

Fang Yi had hit him with Armament Haki. And to maintain Haki at that range—via an arrow—meant Fang Yi hadn't just awakened it recently. For someone so young, that level of mastery was intimidating.

Fang Yi, smiling faintly, thought to himself:

"Armament Haki… my biggest achievement in these five years."

Ironically, it was Whitebeard himself who had helped him awaken it. During a past encounter on an island where both crews searched for Poneglyphs, Fang Yi had used a reward coupon earned by tagging Whitebeard in combat to unlock his final Armament Haki fragment.

Even Roger and Rayleigh were shocked—he was so young and already awakening Haki.

Not to mention, with his exceptional senses and the Hawkeye skill, Roger even suspected Fang Yi might be on the verge of unlocking Observation Haki too.

"Gurararara! You're a good shot, little archer!" Whitebeard laughed heartily. "Say... want to join my crew?"

"Hehehe… sure!" Fang Yi replied cheerfully.

His answer stunned everyone—Marco, Shanks, even Whitebeard himself. No one expected such an easy agreement.

"Gurarara… Alright, brat. What's your condition?" Whitebeard asked.

"Simple!" Fang Yi declared smugly. "Your whole crew joins us! Then I'll apply to Captain Roger for permission to lead you in navigation!"

Whitebeard burst into laughter. "You cheeky little devil! Fine! Beat me, and I'll consider it!"

"Don't joke about Pops like that!" Marco roared. "You're just a damn intern! How dare you talk about leading us?!"

Fang Yi casually picked his nose and replied, "Didn't I just shoot you down? And aren't you an intern too?"

"I'm a full member now! Unlike you, stuck with your intern tag, you undercooked brat!" Marco sneered.

Fang Yi's face darkened.

Despite his strength and contributions to the crew, Roger still hadn't promoted him, nor had he promoted Shanks or Buggy.

"Intern, huh? Still beat your ass, didn't I?" Fang Yi stuck out his tongue and hopped behind Roger, ignoring Marco entirely.

He didn't understand Roger's reasoning but figured there had to be a purpose. So he never pressed the issue.

As the two ships closed the gap, both crews made their final preparations for battle.