Hachinosu: Roger's Visit

A red sailboat appeared off the coast of Hachinosu.

The ship wasn't large, but it was fast. Its sails billowed in the wind, and its bow cleaved the sea, leaving a white trail. On the sails was a pirate flag—a skull and crossbones, with a mustache-like symbol that stood out prominently in the sunlight.

The sentries in the watchtower spotted the ship immediately. King, standing atop the mast, scanned it with his Observation Haki: "Red sailing ship, the pirate flag is Roger's mark."

"They're here." Lin Yuan walked out of the Castle. "Let's go to the dock."

The red sailboat docked. Roger was the first to leap off the pier, his long black hair billowing in the sea breeze. He wore his red captain's coat and clutched a bottle of liquor. As he landed, he glanced at Hachinosu and grinned, "Haha, not bad."

Lin Yuan stood on the dock. "It wasn't finished when you came last time."

"That means it's finished." Roger turned and shouted towards the ship, "Hey! Everyone get off! We're here!"

The second to jump off was Rayleigh, with short silver hair and glasses, carrying a bottle of liquor, casually boarding the dock. The third was Gaban, a wiry man with a smile on his face, a short axe at his waist—he wasn't carrying any liquor, but a piece of meat, as if he'd taken it from the ship. Following behind were Shanks and Buggy, the two boys one in front of the other. Shanks looked around curiously, while Buggy clutched a piece of paper, drawing something. Behind them were several ordinary crew members, wearing Straw Hats or bandanas, some carrying barrels of liquor, others carrying groceries, laughing and shoving each other as they jumped off the ship and made their way to the dock.

Roger turned around and counted the heads. "Alright, that's enough. Everyone else stay on the ship, don't all come down, the ship's empty."

The crew on the ship chuckled in response, and someone shouted towards the dock, "Captain! Remember to bring back some good food!" Roger waved his hand, "Got it." He turned back to Lin Yuan, "Come on, let's go inside and sit down. You have food on this island, right? I'm hungry."

"Have."

Kaido stepped out from behind Lin Yuan and glanced at the group Roger had brought. His gaze moved from Roger to Rayleigh, then landed on Gaban, pausing for a moment. Gaban, who was gnawing on a piece of meat, met Kaido's gaze and grinned.

"Kaido, long time no see." Gaban's voice was a little muffled, his mouth full of meat. "You've grown taller."

"You haven't changed," Kaido said. "Still can eat as much as ever."

"A person won't have the strength to fight if they don't eat."

Kaido didn't reply, but glanced at Gaban as if confirming something. Gaban had spent a few years on Rocks' ship, and the two had crossed paths, but weren't close.

Shanks and Buggy followed behind the group, walking a little faster than the adults. Shanks stood on tiptoe to look ahead, as if trying to get a clear view of the entire island; Buggy, on the other hand, had his head down, quickly scribbling something on a piece of paper. Moria walked out of the Castle gate and bumped into the two boys. Shanks looked up and met Moria's eyes.

"Are you the one who plays with shadows?" Shanks asked.

Moria paused for a moment, then asked, "... How did you know?"

"I've seen your bounty poster," Shanks said. "Your name is Moria?"

"Yes."

Can you make your shadow move?

Moria hesitated for a moment, then let the shadow beneath his feet extend a hand and wave at Shanks. Shanks' eyes lit up. "Amazing!"

Buggy tugged at his sleeve from behind. "Stop looking, let's go."

"What's the rush? The captain hasn't gone in yet."

"I want to go in and check out the terrain—no, I mean I want to go in and eat meat."

Shanks glanced at him but didn't expose him.

A feast was laid out in the open space in front of the Hachinosu Castle. Grilled fish, roast meat, fruit, and bread were piled high on the table, and three or four barrels of wine were opened. Roger sat in the main seat, with Rayleigh next to him, and Gaban next to him. Shanks and Buggy sat at the other end of the long table, each with a large piece of meat in front of them. The other crew members were scattered around, some drinking, some eating, and some chatting with the people of Hachinosu.

Roger took a big gulp of wine, put down his bowl, and said, "You have quite a few people on this island."

"They're coming one after another."

"That one who plays with fire—" Roger glanced at Ember sitting in the distance, "Lunarian?"

"Yes."

"Rare indeed. I thought this race was only a legend now."

Jin didn't reply, but took a sip of his wine.

Gaban sat down beside Lin Yuan, swallowed the meat in his mouth, and looked at him. "I heard you've collected all four Road Poneglyphs?"

"I've collected them all."

"How did you collect them all? The one with the Big Mom was probably the hardest to get, right?"

"The Big Mom traded that piece for Seastone."

Gaban nodded and continued eating. Rayleigh put down his wine bottle and glanced towards the Training Ground: "You have Training Ground on this island?"

"Have."

"Well done. Who designed it?"

"Zephyr."

Rayleigh's eyebrows twitched. "Zephyr? That Zephyr from the Navy?"

"He used to. Now he lives here."

Rayleigh was silent for a moment, then picked up the bottle and took a sip. "He's still alive."

"Alive."

Roger interjected, "Zephyr's with you? How's that old man?"

"Not bad. He swears during Training Ground."

Roger laughed loudly, "Haha... He's still swearing? That means he's not old yet."

"Not old at all," Lin Yuan said, "Your insults are louder than yours."

Roger laughed even louder.

Halfway through the banquet, Shanks finished his meat and sneaked out of the crowd, heading towards the Training Grounds. Buggy hesitated for a moment, then followed. The Training Grounds were behind the Castle, paved with stone slabs, with a few wooden stakes standing along the edges. King and Huijin occasionally sparred there, but it was empty now.

Shanks stood at the edge of the Training Ground, stared at the ground for a while, then squatted down and touched the surface of the stone slab.

"What are you doing?" Buggy's voice came from behind.

"Look at how they train. These stone slabs have cracks; they were made by hammering."

So what?

"That means they practice frequently and very intensely."

Buggy squatted down beside him and glanced at the cracks in the ground as well. "Who cares how fierce they are?"

"I want to see how they train."

You want to learn?

Shanks thought for a moment, "I don't necessarily want to learn, but I'd like to see."

The two squatted there for a while when Moria passed by from behind, saw them squatting by the Training Ground, and stopped. "What are you doing here?"

Shanks stood up. "Look at the Training Ground."

"The Training Ground is currently unused."

"I know. I'll just take a look."

Moria glanced at him, then at Buggy crouching on the ground. "... Zephyr usually yells at people here."

Who are you insulting?

"Whoever trains gets yelled at."

Shanks thought for a moment, "Then I'd like to be scolded by him once too."

Moria didn't understand what this meant, but he didn't ask any further questions and turned to leave.

Buggy stood up, brushing the dust off his knees. "You're a strange guy."

What's strange about it?

Everyone else wants to avoid being criticized, but you want to be criticized.

Shanks laughed, "I just want to see what kind of swearing he can come up with."

The banquet continued into the afternoon. Roger finished the last piece of meat, put down his bowl, and said to Lin Yuan, "Let's get down to business."

Lin Yuan put down his water glass. "Okay."

"Is the route real?"

"Real."

"You've stated your conditions: I'll provide the fighting force, you provide the route. The entire pirate crew will follow you." Roger leaned back in his chair. "But I have one request along the way. Once we arrive, I want to go in and take a look first."

"First?"

"Let me go in first. Just a quick look will do," Roger said. "I've been searching for most of my life, and now that I'm at the door, let me in first."

Kaido put down the meat. "Why should you go in first?"

"Because I brought it up first."

Lin Yuan was silent for a moment. "We'll talk about it when we get there. The order of entry will be decided when we arrive."

"Then we'll decide later." Roger didn't argue, picked up his wine bowl, took a swig, and said, "It's settled."

There was no signature, no fingerprint. Roger put down his bowl, stood up, and said, "We've eaten and drunk. Let's have a little sparring."

"A friendly spar?"

"I didn't eat enough at dinner, let's have a fight to digest it."

Kaido: "You just ate most of a pig."

"That's eating. Fighting is fighting."

Training Ground. Roger stood in the center of the field, bare-handed, his red jacket discarded on the sidelines. Rayleigh and Gaban stood by the railing. Shanks crouched in a corner, his eyes fixed on the center of the field.

Lin Yuan stood opposite Roger. Roger didn't hold back and threw a punch—his fist was covered in Armament Haki, with dark red Conqueror's Haki Coating around it, creating a booming sound in the air. Lin Yuan sidestepped and opened a door, his fist smashing into the doorway and coming out three meters behind Roger, blasting a crater in the ground.

Roger glanced back at the crater. "The Door-Door Fruit? Interesting."

Lin Yuan didn't answer. Roger's second punch was already upon him, followed by three punches, each faster than the last. Lin Yuan blocked the first punch with the door, the second punch grazed his shoulder, tearing a hole in his clothes. He didn't block the third punch—he opened a door, Roger's fist smashed into it, bursting out from the space in front of his feet, blasting another crater at his feet.

Roger withdrew his fist and glanced down at the crater at his feet. "You can even teleport my own fist?"

"Able."

Roger laughed, "Haha... Interesting. Your ability is really troublesome."

"Your fists are troublesome too."

Rayleigh watched the whole thing from the sidelines, then turned to Kaido and said, "Your captain is pretty good."

"Nonsense."

Roger picked up his coat and put it on. "That's enough, let's go."

The Roger Pirates began moving towards the dock. Roger led the way, Rayleigh followed beside him, and Gaban brought up the rear, carrying another piece of meat. Shanks and Buggy brought up the rear, Shanks still looking back at the Training Grounds.

The red sailboat was still moored at the dock. Roger jumped aboard, turned around, and looked down at the people on the dock. "See you at the rendezvous point at the end of winter."

"I won't be late."

"It's okay if you're late, I'll wait," Roger said, "But don't keep me waiting too long."

"Won't."

Roger turned around. "Let's go. Let's set off." The red sailboat slowly sailed away from the harbor. Shanks stood at the stern, waving towards Hachinosu, his forearm waving as if he were paddling. Buggy squatted beside him, head down, still drawing on a piece of paper. The red sailboat went further and further away, finally becoming a small dot and disappearing on the horizon.

Kaido stood next to Lin Yuan: "They're gone?"

"They're gone."

What about Whitebeard's side?

It will come, but not now.

Lin Yuan turned and walked towards the Castle. Kaido followed behind him. "Where's Rocks?"

"I'll come too. But I'll be at the very end."

Lin Yuan didn't turn around. "They'll come before the end of winter. If they don't, we'll leave on our own."

(End of Chapter 97)