Kapitel 6: Chapter 6 - Taking Flight
When Shirakawa awoke again, it was afternoon. The ship was sailing through open waters, with no islands in sight. Most of the crew were resting, except for the navigators and a few others on duty.
'A pirate crew like this, with a captain like Roger, can only become the Pirate King through absolute strength,' Shirakawa thought, shaking his head in amazement.
"You might not be strong, kid, but you can sure hold your liquor," a navigator said with a chuckle, noticing Shirakawa was awake.
"I don't know. Maybe my power helps me recover quickly," Shirakawa replied.
"By the way, we still don't know what your Devil Fruit power is. Every time you use it, that giant sword appears in the sky. It's so cool!" The navigator sounded envious, perhaps imagining how popular he'd be with the ladies if he had such a flashy ability.
"I don't know either. I can't even remember when I ate the Devil Fruit," Shirakawa said.
"That's right. You've lost all your memories," the navigator said, then went back to his duties. The New World was unpredictable, and they couldn't afford to be careless.
Feeling bored and with Rayleigh still asleep, Shirakawa decided to experiment with his powers.
He pulled out the katana he'd taken from the storage room, intending to cut his hand and see if it would heal. But after hesitating for a while, he couldn't bring himself to do it.
'I'll wait until I get a real injury,' he thought, putting the katana away. He wouldn't admit he was too scared.
'The Silver King could fly,' he remembered.
'Great, I inherit the power but not the memories. Now I have to figure it out myself,' he grumbled inwardly.
He tried jumping as high as he could, but while he jumped higher than usual, he only stayed in the air for a second. He tried several more times, but couldn't achieve flight.
"Hey, Shirakawa, what are you doing, jumping around like that? I'm trying to sleep!" Shanks complained.
"Sorry, Shanks. I'll move," Shirakawa apologized, embarrassed. He found a secluded spot to continue his attempts.
'I'm going to fly today, no matter what!' he determined.
Time passed, and Shirakawa was exhausted, drenched in sweat, his legs feeling numb.
'Why can't I fly? Didn't I inherit that ability?' he lamented.
"Are you having trouble?" a voice asked.
Shirakawa turned to see a man with sunglasses and a ponytail sitting nearby. He had been there for who knows how long.
It was Scopper Gaban, the third strongest member of the Roger Pirates, after Roger and Rayleigh. Shanks had mentioned that Gaban was an old friend of Roger's, having known him even before the Roger Pirates were formed.
"I don't know what you're trying to do," Gaban said, "but you won't get anywhere with blind practice."
"Then what should I do?" Shirakawa asked eagerly, hoping for guidance from the experienced pirate.
"Who knows?" Gaban chuckled, then stood up and walked away, as if he'd just been there for amusement.
Shirakawa glared at Gaban's retreating back. If he were stronger, he'd give Gaban a good kick.
"But whatever you do, you need to ask your heart if it's the right thing for you," Gaban's words echoed in his mind.
'Ask my heart?' Shirakawa pondered.
Suddenly, the sounds around him seemed to fade away. The waves, the seagulls, the crew's voices - all disappeared, leaving only the sound of his own heartbeat, growing louder in his ears.
Thump-thump, thump-thump
The irregular rhythm seemed to be conveying a message.
A silver light flashed in Shirakawa's mind, and everything clicked into place.
"I understand," he said.
He activated his Silver King power. Silver light enveloped him, and the Sword of Damocles appeared in the sky.
Gaban, observing from a distance, smiled faintly, seemingly pleased with Shirakawa's breakthrough.
"Is that Shirakawa causing a ruckus again?" some of the awakened crew members wondered, seeing the giant sword. They were still surprised, even though they'd seen it twice before.
As they gazed upwards, a figure soared above their heads.
"Is that...Shirakawa?" someone stammered.
They'd seen people fly before, but those were mostly Devil Fruit users with bird-like abilities. No one on their crew could fly. Even the Captain and Rayleigh could only levitate briefly, not move freely like Shirakawa.
"So that's flying," Gaban mused. "No wonder he was jumping so desperately. But what does jumping have to do with flying?" He was puzzled by Shirakawa's earlier attempts but also pleased. "This fills a gap in our crew's capabilities."
The Roger Pirates' inability to fight effectively in the air had always been a weakness.
'I need to tell Rayleigh to train him well,' Gaban thought. While Shirakawa had the potential to address this weakness, he was still inexperienced. Against powerful opponents like Marco the Phoenix or Monkey D. Garp, he'd be easily defeated.
"Woohoo!" Shirakawa shouted, reveling in the sensation of flight. He felt free and exhilarated.
But his shouts woke up the rest of the crew.
"Shut up, brat!"
A wine bottle came flying out of nowhere, aimed at Shirakawa. The shield he instinctively raised shattered on impact.
The bottle struck his forehead.
"Ow!" Shirakawa cried out, falling to the deck with a thud. The Sword of Damocles vanished.
"Is he dead?" someone asked.
"Probably not," another replied.
"Go check," someone else said.
"He's just passed out," came the report.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein