"At last, I made it in time..."
Tap...
Tap...
Black boots stepped across the deck. Every crew member swallowed nervously, staring fixedly at that mysterious and powerful man.
Yet he did not seem to regard them as worth his attention. Dragging his injured body along, he gnawed on roasted meat while reading the newspaper.
Facing the sea breeze, he revealed a face that was somewhat weathered and mature.
"Without realizing it, I'm already well into my thirties..."
The sea breeze swept past, sending his originally messy black long hair flying. There was a faint stubble on his chin.
But Austin merely brushed it lightly with one hand, and the stubble vanished completely.
Looking at the imposing Shanks on the Wanted Poster, as well as Buggy, who was no longer youthful or immature either, Austin's eyes filled with reminiscence.
Time kept moving forward. We were no longer brats, but had instead grown into middle-aged men like Captain Roger...
Glug, glug...
Ha...
After taking a swig of liquor, Austin smiled. From the newspaper, he roughly figured out what time period this was. King Luffy was probably about to set sail. He wondered how different the current state of the seas was from his memories.
He continued flipping through the newspaper.
<Whitebeard's Second Division Captain Spotted in the East Blue—What Is His Purpose?>
Hmm???
Just as expected. Even after agreeing to it, you still couldn't suppress that ambitious excitement, could you?
After all, even if Teach did not steal it, Ace would have handed it over in the end.
Still...
Since Ace had chosen to become Whitebeard's son, he must have already prepared himself when he sailed out to pursue him.
If he was captured in the end, then Austin would save him if he could.
Austin gnawed on the roasted meat, his