章 7: Time skip
- Roger's POV -
I feel pain in my chest again. That's now the third time in the past month since this has happened. I should go see a doctor. When it happened the first time, Sid approached me.
(Flashback)
"Roger."
"Hm? Oh Sid, what is it?", I smiled to not show him that I suddenly had great pain in my chest. But I couldn't hide anything from him.
"What's wrong?"
"What do you mean?"
"Come, Roger. I felt your spirit hurt for a moment there. What's going on?", he asked me. Over these 10 years, Sid has become truly powerful. I'm not even sure how powerful exactly but he could sparr with me equally from what I have seen.
"Haaa, it's nothing. I just suddenly had pain in my chest for some reason. It's gone now, so don't worry about it."
"You're wrong. It's not gone. I can still feel your spirit and it's not the same as it was. I recommend seeing a good doctor, Roger. It would be for the best. If it's nothing, then we're at least certain."
"I guess you're right. I'll see what I can do.", I smiled at him. He knew that I wasn't going to go look for a doctor just because of this pain. Little did I know that it wasn't going to stay at that one time.
(Flashback end)
.
"I guess it might be better to look for a doctor." We're close to Reverse Mountain. Last I heard there's a skilled doctor there. I feel it as well. This is my last journey. Sid was right, I wasn't better. He always has been so sensitive about these things. Ever since he took that break for the first time.
He sometimes teaches both Shanks and Buggy. His methods are very effective. I never knew how to describe my experience with Haki but he seems to have no problem doing that. I guess Shanks will also become a powerful pirate in the future.
Sid has grown a lot since he first joined us. The lack of food, made him have quite a small stature then. Thankfully that is now no more. I am really glad he joined the crew. I feel like we're very similar in a way and also different at the same time. I am free and I love my freedom, but sometimes I believe that Sid is far freer than me. It seems like he knows more than we do, just like the voices that I hear, he seems to know things that no one else does.
I wonder what he has seen... he has a way about him that makes others want to follow him. He can motivate you like no other and it doesn't eve seem like he is trying most of the time. He has become a very dear friend to me. And I know that I can count on him in the future.
.
.
It's been 10 years since I joined the Roger Pirates. I have to say that it has been a very enjoyable decade. There was nothing that you had to do, you were free, just like Roger wanted. Apart from training and sparring, I usually spent my time enjoying some sweets and sleeping in my hammock. After my initial enlightenment, I meditated more. It was hard to find strong pirates after all. I have been able to get some cool and enjoyable fights over the years.
Garp, Sengoku and now there are supposed to be some newcomers that are promising. And of course, rivalling pirate groups. My Haki has made tremendous progress. I am now able to do all the techniques that Rayleigh and Roger know about. After my enlightenment, I was able to understand the flow of things. It allowed me to achieve the advanced version of Busoshoku no Haki.
Emission and internal destruction both were of similar principles. Internal destruction is a very powerful but dangerous technique. I trained using water barrels initially. I tried to just make the water burst out, without damaging the barrel. In the beginning, I would destroy the entire back side of the barrel. But my control got so good that only that which I wanted to destroy, got destroyed.
The advanced version of Kenbunshoku no Haki worked similarly, surprisingly. By understanding the flow of time for the slightest and combining it with all that you see and observe from your enemy, you are able to see what they do a few seconds into the future. But I know that there is a lot more potential to this than we know right now.
Haoshoku Haki is the true beauty of Haki in my opinion. Letting your spirit roam free is the most satisfying thing I have experienced in my life. I know for a fact that there is no limit to this and the applications of Haoshoku should theoretically be boundless. Due to my understanding of the flow of things, I was able to imbue my Haoshoku into my weapons and body, achieving infusion and propelling me to the top powerhouses of the world in terms of strength.
.
I have since then made more progress. I was learning new things during meditation and I found out that understanding the essence of this world will probably allow me to travel beyond it. I am very attuned to the essence of this world and I listen daily about the things it is trying to tell me. Quite a few atrocities are being committed and it would seem that the world is eagerly awaiting the return of someone called 'Joy Boy'.
I haven't reached the next stage of power just yet, but I'm sure that I will soon. I can tell that my journey along the Roger Pirates is coming to an end. And if I had to guess, it's probably got to do with Roger's disease. Nevertheless, I will stay until the end. There is something the world wants to show me there ... on the last island. But I probably already know what it is.
.
We're sailing towards the Reverse Mountain. I'm sure Roger will recruit the doctor who presumably lives there. He will need it if he wishes to sail for a last journey. The Grand Line is an unforgiving place where weakness is punished harshly. So he will need a good doctor to look after him.
Upon reaching the lighthouse at Reverse Mountain at the entrance of the Grand Line, we encounter the doctor Crocus. Crocus is the overseer of the Twin Cape Lighthouse that guides ships coming down from Reverse Mountain into the Grand Line. He has black hair, with yellow parts sticking out resembling a flower. He wore a pink hat with black spots on it. He did not have a beard, but instead just had stubble.
Roger recruited Crocus as his doctor to keep him alive until the completion of his final journey. I could tell that Crocus was a good doctor. He is a wise and caring man. He has a strange habit of taking his time when it comes to answering questions, which immediately made me like him. It's fun to see him annoy others like that.
So with a brilliant doctor now on board to take care of Roger, we prepared for the last journey as the Roger Pirates.
.
- 1 year later -
"Captain! Your life comes first, right?! Just this once, we should just listen to what the Gold Lion says!", Buggy was crying and panicking at the moment.
We were currently at Edd War and the Oro Jackson had been surrounded by the armada of the Golden Lion Shiki, also called the Flying Pirate due to his devil fruit, one of the Lieutenants of the late Rocks D. Xebec.
Shiki had eaten the Fuwa Fuwa no mi, making him a floating human. Shiki is a very tall man dressed in traditional Japanese clothes consisting of an orange-trimmed, red and black kimono robe tied together with a golden chain around his waist. He also wears a yellow-striped Haori coat draped over his shoulders.
He has golden mane-like hair, reaching down to his chest. That's also where he got the name, Golden Lion from. He uses two swords to fight. Shiki is an ambitious man with a strong desire to rule the world, that is also the reason why he has us surrounded at this time. He is not a good man but he has charisma and I assume has a knack for planning. Such a big armada doesn't come from nothing.
.
"Hey, your body won't let you die no matter how many times they cut you, so why do you care?", Shanks asks Buggy who is freaking out.
"I still have weaknesses, you dumbass! Oh yeah, Crocus-san! What is the captain's condition? He'd be better off not fighting, right? Please, medically relieve him!", Buggy tries to use Crocus, in order to have Roger not fight. Although it seems like Buggy is a coward, and he is in a sense, I can tell that he is genuinely concerned about Roger's health.
"Unfortunately for you, he's in perfect shape!", Crocus says and straps his harpoons to his back.
Buggy is stumped and tries to run to Rayleigh to complain to him, but he is stopped by Gaban.
"Rayleigh-san..."
"Just give it up. We've been together a long time, and we've never been able to stop Roger.", Gaban says as he holds Buggy by the head.
"No way!!"
"Have faith in Tom's ship, the Oro Jackson! Roger doesn't have much time left.", Rayleigh says.
.
Meanwhile, Shiki addresses Roger from another ship. As usual, he is smoking a cigar.
"How many times have we had this discussion, Roger? A lot of things have happened between us, but let's put the past behind us! We'll use that apocalyptic weapon you've found and my military might! And then, with the perfect plan I've spent so many years developing, we can conquer the entire world at once!
Become my right-hand man, Roger!", Shiki says to Roger.
"I have no interest in conquering anything, Shiki! If you can't do as you please, there's no point in being a pirate, is there?! No matter how you try to pressure me, Golden Lion! I refuse your offer!", Roger answers Shiki.
Hearing this Buggy gets even more scared and tears and snot run down his face.
"Don't Captain. Don't you realize how many ships we're up against?!", Buggy said and approached me, "Sid, don't you agree that we shouldn't fight here?"
"Buggy ... don't you remember what I told you? Are you afraid?"
"Yes!"
"And will you let that fear control you and dictate your actions?"
"... I"
"Remember Buggy. A man who lets his fears take control of his heart and let it dictate his decision-making is a slave to his fears. If you wish to truly be free, learn to control your fear. Accept your fear, acknowledge it and then... surpass them! Crush them thoroughly so that they won't ever bother you again.
Breathe Buggy, breathe. Calm down. Focus on your fear, focus it on one point in your chest. Do you have it? Now blow it out of your body. Exhale all of that fear out and the powerful emotions on this ship in. Look around you Buggy, these are your friends. Your comrades. Every one of them would bleed for you so it is only right that you ask yourself .... would you bleed for them as well?"
For some reason, my words seemed to have some effect on Buggy. But not only Buggy. Shanks as well, Gaban, Rayleigh and even Roger were smiling when they heard me talk to Buggy that way. I had the gift of being able to reach directly inside the hearts of others. I could soothe them and just my presence seems to lift their spirits and restore their hope.
Buggy looked around him and saw all the people with whom he had been together for years now. He takes a deep breath and then exhales. He wipes the snot and the tears away and then looks at me and smiles.
.
"In other words, your answer is ... 'Please kill me right here and now!', isn't it?!", Shiki asks.
"No, it's 'I'm gonna crush every last one of you!", Roger answers and then starts the battle.
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