Will You Be the Next World's Strongest, Austin?

A month after the Battle of Ed War,

the Roger Pirates enjoyed one of their rare stretches of peaceful life, except for...

"Bang—"

"Bullet is still as reckless as ever."

Knowing he was outmatched yet still fighting to the death—this was the foolishness known as stubbornness.

Austin felt that phrase suited the current Bullet perfectly.

What made this guy think he, a brat not even twenty years old, could defeat Roger? Especially when he had not even mastered Conqueror's Haki Infusion before charging in, only to get one-shot by a single slash every time.

After watching it long enough, everyone on the ship had gotten used to it.

Everyone thought this farce would continue forever, until one time when the Roger Pirates landed on an island.

After Bullet was sent flying by another slash, his expression was different from usual, as though he had made some kind of resolution.

And Austin was the only one who noticed it.

"Are you leaving, Bullet?"

Chewing on a ham leg, Austin leaned against the doorframe and watched Bullet pack his things.

There was not much to pack, really. At most, a few changes of clothes, several pairs of headphones, and some treasure.

"Yeah..."

Bullet turned around and faced Austin, whose strength he acknowledged. "Roger does not have long to live. In this life, I no longer have any hope of surpassing him. It is time for me to leave."

"What are you planning to do next?"

Though Austin asked that, he already knew what Bullet's choice would be.

As the final boss of the movie Stampede, Bullet's strength was beyond question. He could even be called a well-rounded fighter.

A man known as the Demon Heir, he had faced Marine Buster Calls several times.

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

Of course, what impressed Austin the most was still that oceanic quantity of Armament Haki, enough to cover half an island.

It was just that Bullet had ultimately gone down the wrong path, insisting on studying some colossal fusion giant and embarking on the dead end of getting bigger without getting stronger, becoming nothing more than a target for a group of people to beat up.

If he had studied Conqueror's Haki Infusion instead of that massive amount of Armament Haki and giant forms, he would at least have had the strength of a Four Emperor.

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

"And after you get stronger?"

"Challenge the next World's Strongest."

Bullet spoke with conviction, glancing at Austin as he did so and leaving Austin stunned.

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

"Uh... don't tell me you want to..."

Austin raised an eyebrow, a faintly bad feeling rising in his heart. He immediately regretted coming to see Bullet off.

"I can see your spirit and talent. They are absolutely inferior to no one's. Once you step onto the world stage, perhaps we can fight again."

"Huh? I don't want to carry anything for Captain Roger... You should go find Shanks instead."

Bullet did not answer, but Austin could still tell from his gaze that this guy had not changed his mind at all.

But...

Captain Roger was gone, so he was going to come cause trouble for me? What kind of logic was that?

Austin felt that he might become one of the World's Strongest in the future, but that did not mean he liked looking for trouble.

They had known each other for some time, so it was not as though Austin would kill Bullet just because he challenged him.

But even if Austin won, Bullet would latch onto him, just like he had stayed aboard Roger's ship. A small challenge every three days, a big challenge every five—he would be annoyed to death.

Not long after their chat, Bullet took the initiative to leave once they docked. Surprisingly, no one tried to stop him.

Even Captain Roger merely watched him leave.

Austin was no exception. After all, Bullet had never truly been one of them.

He did not believe in companions and only believed in his absolute strength. That clashed with the ideals of everyone aboard the ship, so parting ways had been inevitable sooner or later.

Besides, even if Bullet did not leave, the crew would disband in two years anyway.

Rayleigh also stood by the side of the ship, watching Bullet's figure gradually vanish beneath the setting sun. Before much sorrow of parting could build up, Austin interrupted him.

"Vice-Captain, when are you going to teach me Conqueror's Haki Infusion?"

"You little brat..."

The moment Rayleigh heard that, every trace of mood vanished. He looked at Austin with a headache coming on, regretting his careless joke and promise back then.

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

"Huh? Then how strong does it need to be?"

"As your strength rises, your spirit will rise with it. It is still too early for you.

There have been geniuses who awakened Conqueror's Haki in childhood before, but have you ever seen anyone master Conqueror's Haki Infusion at such a young age?"

Well...

Austin had no answer. Thinking about it carefully, that really did seem to be the case.

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

Some of them had awakened it even earlier than Austin, yet without exception, they could not master the technique of Conqueror's Haki Infusion until middle age.

Or rather, the New World had as many powerful users of Conqueror's Haki as carp crossing a river, but only a few renowned figures could use Conqueror's Haki Infusion.

Perhaps this power really depended heavily on talent.

Austin remained silent for a long time before finally giving up on his fantasy of mastering Conqueror's Haki Infusion at twelve.

However, Rayleigh was not entirely brushing him off. He instead told Austin how, once his Conqueror's Haki aptitude was strong enough, he could wrap it around his body or weapons like Armament Haki.

The idea was simple: the technique had been taught to you. Whether you could use it in the end was your own problem.

Incidentally, it even included the technique behind Divine Departure. It was the mutual reinforcement of Conqueror's Haki Infusion and Great Swordsman swordsmanship, which was also highly meaningful for Austin to study.

This scene was also seen by Buggy and Shanks from nearby.

Watching Austin discuss things with the vice-captain that they could not yet touch upon, the two unexpectedly shared the same thought.

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

"What are you two looking at?"

Austin saw them, went over and hooked an arm around each of their necks, then asked with a smile.

"Nothing... Captain Roger said we should hurry up and restock. We are setting sail for our next destination."

"Where?"

"Wano Country."

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

It seemed the "end" really was not far away.

"I do not have much time left, Austin."

Behind the three little ones, Captain Roger walked over with a smile and rubbed the heads of the three apprentices. There was not the slightest hint of the gloom or dejection one might expect from a dying man in his words.

"Go explore the islands in the latter half of the New World. You might encounter a surprise."

Austin had no response.

Because, in the time Roger had left, he really did find a place and people capable of deciphering the True History.

Everything had been guided by fate.