Will You Be the Next Strongest in the World? Aus!

A month after the Battle of Edd War, The Roger Pirates enjoyed a rare period of peace, except for...

"Bang—"

"That guy Bullet is still so reckless."

Knowing he couldn't win, he still fought to the death. This was the foolishness called stubbornness.

Austin felt that this sentence perfectly applied to Bullet right now.

What made this guy think that Roger, a mere kid not even twenty years old, could be defeated by him? What's more, he rushed forward without even mastering Conqueror's Haki Infusion and was instantly defeated with a single sword strike every time.

After watching for a long time, everyone on the ship got used to it.

Everyone thought this farce would continue until one day, when the Roger Pirates landed on an island, After being cleaved away by a single sword strike again, Bullet's expression was different from usual, as if he had made some kind of decision.

Only Austin noticed this.

"Leaving, Bullet?"

Austin chewed on a piece of ham, leaning against the doorframe, watching Bullet pack his things.

There wasn't much to pack, at most a few clothes, along with some headphones and a bit of treasure.

"Mm..."

Bullet turned his head and looked directly at Austin, whose strength he recognized. "Roger doesn't have much time left. I have no hope of surpassing him in this lifetime. It's time for me to leave."

"Then what are your plans now?"

Although Austin asked, he already knew Bullet's choice.

As the final boss of the movie Stampede, Bullet's power was doubtless. He could even be called a six-sided warrior.

He had faced the Marines' Buster Call multiple times and was known as the "Demon Heir."

Luffy's Gear Fourth seemed weak before him, and he treated the Supernovas like toys.

Of course, what impressed Austin the most was his Armament Haki, which was vast enough to cover half the island.

It was just that in the end, he went down the wrong path, insisting on researching giant combined giants, leading to a dead end of getting bigger but not stronger. He was treated as a target by a group of people.

If he had researched Conqueror's Haki Infusion instead of massive Armament Haki and giants, he would have at least been on par with a Four Emperor.

"Plans? I don't know yet. I should probably get stronger first."

"And after you get stronger?"

"Challenge the next strongest in the world."

Bullet said confidently, his eyes glancing at Austin as he spoke, which made Austin stunned.

"Will you become someone who surpasses Roger? Dotol Austin."

"Uh... you're not thinking of..."

Austin raised an eyebrow, a bad feeling dawning in his heart. He instantly regretted coming to see Bullet off.

"I can see your spirit and talent are absolutely no less than anyone else's. When you reach the world stage, perhaps we can fight again."

"Hey? I don't want to bear anything on behalf of Captain Roger... You should find Shanks."

Bullet didn't answer this, but Austin could still tell from his eyes that the guy hadn't changed his mind.

However, Captain Roger is gone, and now he's coming to trouble me. What kind of logic is that?

Although Austin felt that he might become one of the strongest in the world in the future, it didn't mean he liked to court trouble.

He had known Bullet for a while. It wasn't like he would kill Bullet for challenging him, but even if he won, he would still be pestered. It would be like Bullet lingering on Roger's ship, challenging him every three days and every five days, which would be incredibly annoying.

After a short chat, Bullet left voluntarily after docking. Unexpectedly, no one tried to stop him.

Not even Captain Roger, who merely watched him leave.

Austin was no exception. After all, Bullet was never really one of them.

He didn't acknowledge comrades and only believed in his absolute military power, which contradicted the beliefs of everyone on the ship. Parting ways was inevitable.

Besides, even if Bullet hadn't left, they would have disbanded in two years.

Rayleigh also stood at the ship's side, watching Bullet's figure gradually disappear into the sunset. The feeling of parting wasn't strong before Austin interrupted him.

"Vice-Captain, when will you teach me Conqueror's Haki Infusion?"

"You little brat..."

Hearing this, Rayleigh lost all his mood. He looked at Austin in front of him with a headache, regretting his casual promise back then.

"There's no technique to this kind of power, Austin. Your Conqueror's Haki needs to reach a sufficient level."

"Huh? Then how can it reach a sufficient level?"

"As your strength increases, so will your presence, but it's still too early.

There have been geniuses who awakened Conqueror's Haki in their youth before, but have you seen any who could use Conqueror's Haki Infusion at such a young age?"

Ah, this...

Austin was speechless. Come to think of it, it really was like that.

Whether it was Doflamingo, Ace, or Yamato, Katakuri.

Some of them awakened even earlier than Austin, but without exception, none of them could master the technique of Conqueror's Haki Infusion by middle age.

Or rather, there are as many powerful users of Conqueror's Haki in the New World as there are carp crossing a river, but only a few renowned individuals can use Conqueror's Haki Infusion.

Perhaps this kind of power truly depends on talent.

Austin fell silent for a long time, finally giving up the fantasy of mastering Conqueror's Haki Infusion at 12 years old.

However, Rayleigh didn't completely fool him. Instead, he informed Austin how to infuse it into his body or weapons like Armament Haki once his Conqueror's Haki potential was sufficient.

The main point was: the technique was told to him, but whether he could actually use it was up to him.

Incidentally, it even included the technique for using Divine Departure, which was the synergy between Conqueror's Haki Infusion and Great Swordsman swordsmanship, and was very meaningful for Austin to learn.

This scene was also witnessed by Buggy and Shanks, who were not far away.

Seeing Austin and the Vice-Captain discussing things that were beyond their current reach, the two had the same thought:

Could they really catch up to this guy Austin in the future...

"What are you two looking at?"

Austin saw them approach and put his arms around their necks, asking with a smile.

"Nothing... Captain Roger said to resupply quickly, we're going to set sail for the next destination."

"Where?"

"Wano Country."

Wano Country... Had they sailed this far without realizing it?

It seemed the "finish line" was not far away.

"My time is running out, Austin."

Behind the three youngsters, Captain Roger walked over with a smile, patting the heads of the three interns. There was no trace of the weariness or dejection of a dying man in his words.

"Go explore the islands in the latter half of the New World. You might encounter some surprises?"

Austin was speechless.

Because the result was that Roger actually found the place and people who could interpret the True History within his remaining time.

It was all destiny's guidance, wasn't it?