"Haha, isn't it normal to have so much information about what happens on the sea?"
Xia Qi laughed softly, exhaling a puff of smoke as she leaned on the counter. "Besides, the Sabaody Archipelago is the only route into the New World. Naturally, intel flows through here more than anywhere else."
Kaoru Tsubasa nodded. Xia Qi wasn't wrong. The Sabaody Archipelago marked the division between the first half of the Grand Line and the New World—a crossroads for pirates, marines, and bounty hunters alike. It was only natural that this place teemed with secrets.
Without another word, Kaoru reached into his system space and drew out a cylindrical storage chamber.
"What's that?"
Rayleigh tilted his head, curiosity gleaming in his eyes. He'd seen his fair share of strange treasures over the years, but this… this was new.
Kaoru didn't respond immediately. Instead, he opened the hatch of the chamber, reached inside his system space once more—and carefully lifted out a familiar figure. The lifeless body of Gol D. Roger, the former Pirate King.
"Captain…"
Rayleigh's voice trembled, the single word carrying years of buried emotion. His eyes widened as the reality struck him—Kaoru had just pulled Roger's preserved body from thin air.
"Why are you putting Roger's body here?"
Xia Qi frowned, puzzled by Kaoru's strange action. Even Olvia, standing quietly at the side, didn't understand what he was planning.
"This chamber prevents the body from decaying," Kaoru explained calmly.
Xia Qi raised an eyebrow. "And what's the point of preserving a corpse?"
"Yeah," Rayleigh added, confused but hopeful. "What are you trying to do, Kaoru?"
Kaoru turned to them with a faint, mysterious smile. "Tell me, do you believe in resurrection?"
The room fell silent. Xia Qi's cigarette slipped slightly between her fingers. Rayleigh's heart skipped a beat. "You mean… you can bring Roger back to life?"
Rayleigh grabbed Kaoru's shoulders, eyes wide with disbelief and a spark of desperate hope. If there was even the slightest chance to bring Roger back, he would take it—no matter the cost.
"Maybe someday," Kaoru replied gently. "But not yet."
He didn't resist Rayleigh's grip. He understood what this meant to him. "To resurrect him, I'd need a very specific item—something I can only obtain from the system's lottery store. For now, I can only preserve his body. Many resurrection methods require the body to remain whole."
Rayleigh's excitement dimmed, replaced by solemn understanding. "I see…"
Even if resurrection sounded like fantasy, a sliver of hope still glimmered in his eyes.
"However," Kaoru continued, a slight smile tugging at his lips, "while I can't bring him back just yet, I can let you talk to him."
Rayleigh's eyes widened again. "What?"
"You can talk to Roger?" Xia Qi's voice trembled slightly—part disbelief, part awe. Even she, who'd heard every kind of rumor on the seas, had never encountered something like this.
Kaoru nodded. "There's a charm called the Yin-Yang Communication Talisman. It lets the living speak with the dead—for three hours."
Olvia, who had been silent, suddenly stepped forward. "Then… can I speak with Dr. Clover of O'Hara?"
Her voice carried the faintest tremor. "If I could, I'd record his knowledge before it's lost forever."
Kaoru shook his head apologetically. "I'm sorry, Olvia. The talisman only works if the deceased's body is intact. It can't reach someone whose remains have been lost to the sea."
Olvia's shoulders slumped. The ocean had long swallowed O'Hara's ruins—and with them, any trace of Dr. Clover.
"Well then," Kaoru said softly, turning back toward Roger's body. "Let's begin."
He pressed the talisman against the hatch of the storage chamber. The talisman didn't need to touch the body directly; it would automatically link with any preserved corpse nearby.
A faint green mist began to rise from the chamber, swirling upward before coalescing into a translucent human figure—the unmistakable outline of the Pirate King.
"Where… is this place?"
The spectral figure's deep, familiar voice echoed through the room.
"Rayleigh?" Roger blinked, recognizing the man before him. "You're here too? Wait—don't tell me… you died as well?"
Rayleigh froze, caught off guard by Roger's first words. After all these years, that was the first thing the man said? "Hah… long time no see, Roger," he finally managed, shaking his head.
Kaoru chuckled softly from the side. "You really haven't changed a bit."
Roger turned to him, eyes narrowing. "And who might you be?"
He sounded half-curious, half-suspicious. After all, this was the first time seeing Kaoru—who still wore his white mask.
Kaoru smiled faintly and removed the mask, revealing his face. "It's me."
Recognition flashed across Roger's face, followed by laughter. "Hahaha! So it's you, Kaoru Tsubasa! I thought you were one of those CP dogs for a second. Why the mask?"
If Rayleigh could have heard Roger's earlier thoughts, he might have smacked him right then and there.
"So," Roger said, glancing around, "am I… resurrected?"
Kaoru shook his head. "No. This only brings your consciousness into the real world temporarily."
"I see…" Roger muttered, his expression softening. "Your power really is something else."
Kaoru nodded, then stepped aside with Xia Qi and Olvia, leaving Roger and Rayleigh alone. "You two should talk."
For the next three hours, the two old friends spoke like no time had passed at all. Rayleigh told Roger everything—the rise of new pirates, the fall of old legends, and how Red-Haired Shanks had become one of the new Four Emperors.
Roger couldn't help but laugh. "That little brat Shanks… now one of the Emperors of the Sea? Hah, he's come a long way!"
He paused, then frowned thoughtfully. "And what about Buggy? That red-nosed fool must've done something ridiculous by now."
Rayleigh smirked. "He got his hands on quite a fortune—thanks to Kaoru. No one really knows where he is now."
Roger laughed heartily. "Hah! Still chasing treasure, that idiot. I told him back on Skypiea—wait until you have your own crew before taking all the gold!"
The two talked for hours, their laughter echoing through Xia Qi's Bar. When the three hours were nearly over, Rayleigh told Roger there might one day be a way to bring him back.
Roger fell silent, eyes closing for a moment. Then he smiled.
"There's no need to bring me back, old friend. My time has passed. But…"
He looked up, his spectral form flickering slightly.
"If you ever manage it—I'd like to meet my child."
With those words, his form dissolved into mist, leaving Rayleigh standing in silence. The air hung heavy with nostalgia and hope.
And Kaoru Tsubasa, standing nearby, knew this was only the beginning.