The flames burned on the pyre. Ghostly blue funeral flames consumed "Roger's" body. Ashes scattered in the storm, like a grand final curtain.
'Yes, that's right...' The old Rhett, playing dead, breathed a quiet sigh of relief. 'Just hold on a little longer. Once the flames burn through, I can get out of here...'
In the flames, "Roger's" body slowly turned to ash. But in an unnoticed moment, a faint wisp of blood mist quietly merged into the firelight and seeped into the ground through the rain.
Young Rhett stood at the port, watching his older self's body burn. How oddly strange.
'Captain...'
He clenched his fists. His nails dug deep into his palms. Blood mixed with the rain and dripped to the ground.
Young Rhett was deep in sorrow. Little did he know that the old Rhett lying in the fire was already so embarrassed he could have dug himself a three-room apartment. He could have carved himself a statue.
"Roger's" body disappeared completely.
In a corner of the port, where the ashes had settled, blood mist seeped out of the ground and slowly condensed into human form. Rhett shook his wet hair and walked grumbling toward a dark alley.
"Finally over. But gah gah gah..."
Evil Rhett thought about how he would have to go back and cry in Rouge's arms. It made him want to laugh. Crying over his own death. How amusing! When a person is evil enough, they even make fun of themselves.
Deep in the alley, a man was squatting on a wooden crate, eating an apple. When he saw Rhett approaching, he put on a funny face.
"Kuhahaha! Little Rhett, you cried even harder than Buggy!"
'Oh crap, I forgot about this old bastard.' The embarrassment came out of nowhere.
Rhett stopped in his tracks. "Who was crying?! That was rain! Rain, you hear me?! You bastard captain!!! Why are you focusing on that?!"
Roger jumped off the crate and nearly pressed his nose against Rhett's face. "I clearly saw—"
"Shut up!" Rhett slapped his face away. "That was acting! Do you understand acting?! Besides, the rain got in my eyes. It was uncomfortable."
"Alright, alright. Let's not say things that aren't good for morale. We need to leave."
Roger suddenly reached out and ruffled Rhett's hair. "You worked hard!"
Rhett was about to explode. "I'll show you what happens when—"
Before he could finish, he heard a low whisper from above, tinged with laughter.
"Thank you, kid."
The sea breeze carried unburned ashes past the alley entrance. Rhett was silent for a moment.
"Come on. I'm taking you out of here."
"Kuhahaha! Wait for me—" Roger bounced as he ran after him. "What are we doing next?!"
"We're going back to my time! You're dead now. It won't affect anything anymore."
Two figures disappeared into the rain, one after the other. Behind them, Loguetown was slowly becoming noisy again.
"Hey, kid," Roger suddenly leaned close. "You're not going to turn me in to the Marines for the reward, are you? Kuhahaha!"
Rhett rolled his eyes. "Shut up. Your head is worth five billion berries right now. I'm almost tempted to do it myself. Besides, I'm worth five billion too. You're not necessarily worth more than me."
"What? You're worth five billion too?" Roger's jaw dropped.
"That's right. There are only two Emperors of the Sea. Me and Whitebeard. I won't say what level that is. You can figure it out yourself, Captain."
Let's go. Don't keep Lady Toki waiting.
As they turned the last corner, behind the rocks on the coast, Lady Toki was waiting quietly.
When she saw them appear, her eyes widened slightly.
"Mr. Rhett... you really did it. Do you feel any discomfort in your body?"
Rhett shook his head. He didn't even have the body cracking. It proved that he had exploited the loophole very well. But come to think of it, the purpose of Roger's death was mainly to start the Great Pirate Era.
After the Great Pirate Era began, whether Roger was alive or dead didn't really matter anymore. And the story hadn't been disrupted by Rhett. It was a very successful exploitation of the loophole.
Rhett suddenly remembered something. He threw a piece of pure gold to Roger. Cracks began to appear on Rhett's body.
Rhett: ??? I guessed wrong? That shouldn't be!
Rhett decided to try again when he got back. Maybe it was because during this time period, Roger had to have an incurable disease. Because he had to start the Great Pirate Era. And the Great Pirate Era hadn't started yet during this time period. Maybe that was the reason.
Rhett wiped the rain from his face. The blood mist in his palm condensed into a ball of light.
"Lady Toki, prepare to return."
Roger poked the ball of light curiously. "Oh~ so this is the thing that can travel through time—"
"Don't touch it!" Rhett slapped his hand away. "This thing could burn ten years off your life, you know?"
Lady Toki covered her mouth and laughed softly. She pressed her palms together. Pale blue ripples of time spread from her feet, intertwining with Rhett's blood mist to form a brilliant gate of light.
The sea breeze suddenly stopped. Raindrops froze in mid-air.
"Hold on tight, you old bastard." Rhett grabbed Roger by the collar. "If you fall into the gap between times, I'm not coming back for you."
Roger laughed and put his arm around Rhett's shoulders. "Kuhahaha! That's why I have you!"
Just as the gate of light closed, Lady Toki heard Rhett's roar.
"Let go! You're getting snot on my cloak!!!"
......
The blood mist exploded. The three of them stumbled out of the gate of light.
"Lord Rhett!" Perona's ghost dove down from the sky and flew into the man's arms. But when she looked up—
"You're finally ba—" She froze. Her plushie bear fell to the ground with a thud. "Ro-Ro-Ro..."
Moria's scissors hand was stuck mid-snap. "...ger?"
Rhett brushed off his robes and stood up, looking disgusted. "The real deal."
Roger did a kip-up and jumped to his feet, spreading his arms wide. "Kuhahaha! Surprise! I've seen you two before. Did you miss me? Little Laboon! Oh~ it's Oden! Long time no see, Oden—"
"THUD!"
Perona's Negative Hollow passed right through his body. Roger immediately dropped to his knees. "I'm sorry for being born a human..."
Rhett crossed his arms and smirked. "Serves you right."
Lady Toki leaned weakly against the ship's railing. Rhett immediately went to support her.
"Please rest first. I'll replenish your life force later—"
"Not necessary." She shook her head gently. Her gaze swept over the chaos on the deck. A soft smile formed on her lips. "It seems... time has been very kind to you, Mr. Rhett."
"Brother Roger, ahhh—!!" Oden charged at him like a tiger. Tears and snot covered Roger's clothes. "Long time no see!!"
Roger laughed. "Kuhahaha! You've gotten so old!"
Laboon charged and knocked them both over. "Woo!!" (Frantic face rubbing.)
Rhett grinned at the three of them. "Three idiots."
Tesoro's gold dust quietly formed a computer, calculating madly.
"If we kidnap the Pirate King right now and turn him over to the Navy, plus the captain's bounty, that's a total of ten billion berries. After deducting fees..."
Stella gently twisted his ear. "Darling, what dangerous thoughts are you having?"