章 118: Oden's Decision

The battle ended a little earlier today.

Realistically, the two crews were all about done fighting by midnight of today, but Whitebeard and Roger were still going at it. So they kept fighting, though it wasn't as intense as it was in the beginning.

Rayleigh and I stopped a little after the second day. We had our fun, and it was kind of obvious that the beauty of the fight had lost its luster. We promptly made our way back into my ship and had a good drink while we watched the rest of the crew keep fighting. Toki, Stussy, and Toki's kids were all on our ship relaxing.

Stussy made it her mission to take care of the both of us while we waited for the fight to end. In the mean time, we enjoyed a quiet conversation as we drank.

"So, I heard you guys went and wrecked Enies Lobby, must have been fun;" Rayleigh said as he took a sip of his wine.

"Not necessarily, that was only Oden, Marco, and Jozu who went to the island. We were somewhere else," I replied back nonchalantly. I was kind of drowsy, and the liquor wasn't helping. It seemed that my sleeping habits were going to be a permanent disturbance.

"Ho? Where exactly were you guys then?" Rayleigh asked curiously. It was then the two kids, Momonosuke and Hiyori, started crawling towards us. Stussy and Toki had been sitting nearby enjoying some tea while they engaged a conversation of their own.

I picked up Hiyori and let her sit on my lap before I took another swig from my bottle of wine. Hiyori seemed to want a sip of it, but I didn't let her, instead I let her play with a toy that I had found nearby.

"We went to Mariejois, it was the only way to appease Whitebeard's rage," I replied casually.

It was only then Rayleigh froze before looking at me stunned. He then laughed before lounging himself back on the seat that had been placed next to the couch I was lounging on.

Momonosuke seemed to want in on Hiyori's fun, so I picked the boy up and let him play with his sister on my lap.

"Ho? It seems that you guys had quite the adventures since our last encounter!" Rayleigh laughed.

"Not as much as you guys had, Garp still chasing you guys around?" I inquired.

Momonosuke and Hiyori seemed to have taken an interest in my bottle of wine, so they made it their mission to try and grab it. It was too bad that it was too far for them to reach.

Meanwhile, Rayleigh laughed out loud before nodding his head in agreement.

Suddenly, we both looked towards a certain point of the island where we sensed Roger and Whitebeard together. It seemed that their fight was finally over, so we briefly stopped our conversation and started to make our way towards them. I promptly dropped Momonosuke and Hiyori down on the floor, and grabbed my bottle of wine and left with Rayleigh. The two kids started crying soon after, only to be tended to immediately by their mother.

Stussy looked at me with a look of minor concern before she helped Toki with the kids, and we soon reached where Whitebeard and Oden currently were.

We found Whitebeard, Roger, and Oden sitting around while drinking out of sake cups. They seemed to be laughing at something, and I could see Gaban lounging nearby while watching the entire seen unfolding.

The quartet looked at Rayleigh and I as if they had been expecting us. Rayleigh and I sat down before drinking out of the new sake cups that had been offered to us by Roger and Whitebeard. I didn't even bother asking where they had gotten it from, and I just started drinking with the rest of them.

"So Roger! What are you planning to do now?" Whitebeard asked before downing some sake.

"I plan to make this voyage my last, but I want to make this one count," Roger briefly responded.

"Oh? How so?"

"Have you ever seen the last island of the New World?"

"Not really, but why do you ask?"

"I want to go there, I want to travel to the end of the World!" Roger declared while slamming his sake cup down. There was fire in his eyes, a flame of ambition that nobody would dare put out.

"How are you going to do that?" Whitebeard asked in kind.

"During my first voyage, we stumbled on this large blocks that had ancient writing in them. I tried to decpher them. However, I couldn't for the life of me;" Roger started, and then he turned to Oden, "It was then I had heard a rumor that the Samurai of the land of Wano once had mastered the ancient languages of these stones. I was going to go there to see for myself, but I heard rumors that the Whitebeard Pirates recently took in a samurai."

"Where are you going with this?" Whitebeard asked curiously.

It was then, that Roger knelt down formally and let his forehead touch the ground before asking sincerely.

"Please, let Oden sail with us to decipher these texts. I only want his help until we find the end of the World, after that I'll make sure he returns to you!" Roger pleaded.

Silence prevailed within our little meeting, I had always knew of Oden's brief departure; so I didn't feel anything about the sudden request.

I couldn't say the same for Whitebeard, he looked shocked and conflicted over whether or not he should let him go. After all, he had always considered Oden like a little brother to him, compared to me, who he considered his oldest son.

"To be honest, the decision won't lie with me in as much as it lies with him, so ask him instead;" Whitebeard replied honestly. It was then I had recalled some of the words that he once said during his first encounter with Oden.

'He isn't someone who would willingly take orders'

Those words rang in my head as I turned to Oden, who seemed to be contemplating the offer. Now that the man had kids, he also had to put into consideration whether he should accept the offer, reject it and stay, or reject it and go back to Wano. However, I already knew what answer Oden would give.

"Allow me to go with Roger, Whitebeard-Dono," Oden said respectfully, "I have always wanted to explore the World, and this feels like a perfect oppurtunity to do that!"

Whitebeard sighed quietly before taking another swig of his Sake cup. I also sort of felt that he also knew that this would have been the outcome either way. He was never one to just stay still in one place, not that it really mattered.

"Fine, just make sure you keep your family safe, you hear!" Whitebeard responded back before continuing his drinking. His golden locks continued to sway with the wind as he drank his sake.

Oden immediately beamed before rushing towards my ship to get Toki and his kids. He must have sensed them there after using his Observation haki. I immediately looked at Ken, who was currently perched on a tree observing the situation and nodded at him.

The man immediately rushed over towards the direction of my ship. I didn't trust Oden not to start destroying my ship with his wreckless behaviour. If anything, that would have been one of the few things that I wouldn't have missed about the man.

Roger gratefully thanked Whitebeard, and they all resumed their drinking like nothing happened. Rayleigh and I clinked our Sake cups together before resuming our drinking.

Soon, Roger, Oden and the rest of the Roger Pirates left the shores of the island. Leaving the Whitebeard Pirates to our own.