That was right. The newcomers were Roger and Rayleigh.
"How are you here?" Shirakawa asked in disbelief. This was completely unscientific.
"Why can't we be here?" Roger shot back.
"No, I mean, how did you get here? How did you arrive even faster than us?"
"Because we're not wanted," Roger explained with a grin. "So we didn't have to take detours."
"Captain, I missed you to death!" After Shirakawa and Roger finished their exchange, Buggy threw himself onto Roger.
"Captain, you have no idea. I was scared out of my mind the whole way. We almost didn't make it back to you!"
"Oh?" Roger raised a brow. "What happened? Don't tell me you nearly died."
"We did. We ran into the strongest guy on this island, some dude named Rog. Even Shirakawa got dropped in a few moves by him. If we hadn't run into Barrett, you really might've never seen us again."
"What about that Rog now?" Roger's tone turned sharp, anger rising. Every crewmate was family to him. Anyone who dared bully his family was asking for death.
"Barrett beat him to death."
"What?" King Kather, standing nearby, blurted out in shock. "That Rog is really dead?"
"Of course. If you don't believe me, ask Kather Lin."
"Is it true, Lin?" King Kather immediately turned his gaze to his daughter, desperate to hear confirmation from her own mouth.
"Yes, Father. Rog really is dead."
"Good. Good!" King Kather let out a long sigh toward the heavens, holding back tears. "My son can finally rest in peace."
"By the way, what are you two doing here? Do you have some business?" Shirakawa asked.
"I plan to make it so there's only one country on this island," Roger said.
"What?"
The speaker's tone was flat, casual. The listeners felt like an atomic bomb had gone off in their hearts.
"Captain, are you really going to be that crazy?" Buggy asked.
"Of course. I've decided. We'll help the Kingdom of Mohr rule the entire island."
"Really, Father?" Hearing Roger's words, Kather Lin looked at her father with bright delight.
"It's true." King Kather smiled and nodded. His ambition was not large, but if he could unify the island, it would also fulfill the will of their ancestors.
"Figures. I knew you were the type who can't sit still, Captain." Shirakawa sighed. "So how are you planning to do it? Just force them into submission with brute strength?"
"Brute strength? That's what reckless idiots do." Roger waved it off. "We're going to reason with them. Enlighten them with logic, move them with emotion."
"Heh."
Shirakawa did not believe a word of it. Sure, they would talk. But only after the other side had been crushed into submission. Otherwise, who would listen?
"Then when are you going to make your move?" Shirakawa asked.
"We already did."
"When?"
"More than ten days ago," Roger said. "Barrett went to the royal capital of the Kingdom of Goren. For the Kingdom of Biya, I sent Jabba and Seeker."
"And you still say that's not brute force?"
"I believe it won't be long before this island is unified," Roger said calmly.
Maybe the other two kingdoms had peerless strategists, but in the face of absolute strength, all schemes were meaningless.
Especially Barrett.
Shirakawa could not help but offer a silent moment of mourning for the Goren royal family. If negotiations failed, the entire royal line might be wiped out.
"Alright, let's head into the palace," King Kather said. "I've already ordered lunch prepared for all of you."
"Alright." Shirakawa also wanted to taste what palace food was really like, whether it was as delicious as the legends claimed, like a feast fit for emperors.
When they saw the long table piled high with food, Buggy and Shanks almost popped their eyes out.
Not because they had never seen such dishes before.
But because after suffering with Shirakawa for more than a month, seeing this spread made them so excited they could hardly breathe.
No one even needed to invite them. They grabbed with their hands. Utensils were basically decorations in front of them, completely useless.
"Slow down. No one's stealing from you," Shanks said, looking at Buggy's cheeks stuffed full.
"Don't talk about me, Shanks. Aren't you the same?" Buggy fired back.
It was true. At this moment, Shanks and Buggy's mouths looked exactly the same, bulging as they chewed.
Thankfully, there was still one normal person at the table, Shirakawa. He looked like he was chewing slowly and carefully, but if you watched closely, you would realize his eating speed was not slow at all, it was even a bit faster than Shanks and Buggy.
"Captain Roger, they…" Seeing the three of them wolfing food down, King Kather did not even know what to say.
"My apologies. I've made you laugh," Roger said. Even though he ate the same way, inside the palace he maintained a refined image, even if it slipped now and then.
"It's fine. I'll have the kitchen prepare more."
Before they knew it, night had arrived.
King Kather arranged a room for each of them, but Shirakawa felt no sleepiness at all.
"What's wrong? Drinking alone out here?" Rayleigh, staying in another room, stepped onto the balcony as well. He lifted his drink toward Shirakawa in greeting.
"Nothing," Shirakawa said. "I just feel like I'm too weak right now."
"Is this about that guy named Rog?"
"Mhm." Shirakawa nodded. "In front of him, I couldn't fight back at all. When I saw Shanks fall in front of me, I felt completely powerless. Luckily we ran into Barrett and they were fine. Otherwise, I'd blame myself for the rest of my life."
"Good. At least you know it." Rayleigh did not comfort him. If anything, he sounded like he was scolding him.
"Your heart has changed from the original intention you had when you first came aboard," Rayleigh said. "Do you still remember what you were thinking back then?"
"I wanted to become stronger."
"Exactly. Then what are you thinking now?"
"I want to become even stronger."
"You're lying." Rayleigh's eyes turned cold. "Once you gained a bit of strength, you became satisfied with the status quo. When did it start? Probably from the moment you managed to take five moves from me. That's when your heart changed. Come with me."
Rayleigh hopped down from the balcony railing. Shirakawa did not know what he intended to do, but he still followed.
In an open, empty space, the two stopped.
Shirakawa was about to ask what Rayleigh wanted, when he suddenly felt an immense pressure descend on him.
This was clearly not Haki, yet Shirakawa felt a sense of pure force, like raw martial might.
"Now tell me. Do you think you can still last five moves?" Rayleigh asked.
As soon as Rayleigh finished that sentence, the pressure on Shirakawa vanished.
"So you were never going all out," Shirakawa said with a bitter smile.
Rayleigh was right. Ever since the time Shirakawa managed to trade five moves with him, Shirakawa had grown a little arrogant. After all, not many people could take five moves from Dark King Rayleigh in his prime.
But Shirakawa had never imagined that Rayleigh had not used his full strength at all. When he sparred with Shirakawa, it had been like playing around.
"So you still have a long road ahead," Rayleigh said.
With that, he left, leaving Shirakawa standing there alone, stunned, thinking about the truths of life.
What Shirakawa did not know was that all of this had been watched by Roger.
Rayleigh might have known. Or he might not have.
"As expected," Roger murmured with a grin, "Rayleigh really does have the right look when he's educating someone."
/-\
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