Austin: Yes, I'm a Dog Who Wins by Lying Down

Shanks swore that if he ever challenged Austin to a duel again, he'd be a dog.

Grimacing, he lay on the bed, the large lump on the back of his head throbbing with a searing pain that kept him from sleeping well at night. He'd complained quite a bit about Austin's heavy-handedness.

However, Austin clearly hadn't taken the matter too seriously. Not long after Shanks woke up, he brought Buggy over to visit.

"Don't be so petty, Shanks. Getting beaten up is also a form of improvement.

Besides, I didn't do it on purpose~"

Austin said with a smile, crossing his legs, propping his chin on one hand on the table, and gnawing on a large piece of meat with the other.

"Yeah, Austin even helped you master Armament Haki, didn't he?"

Buggy chimed in from the side.

Austin's lips curved into a smile, but in reality, he had done it on purpose.

Because if he didn't beat Shanks now, it wouldn't be so easy to fight him twenty years later.

After all, with peak Conqueror's Haki + Observation Kill + Future Sight, and a crew no less formidable than the Roger Pirates, Shanks had as many cheats as Austin.

It was better to leave some embarrassing memories now so they'd have something fun to talk about when they met again.

Shanks, however, seemed to misunderstand his good intentions. He sulked like a child, turning his head to the side, refusing to look at Austin.

But as he turned his head, he accidentally bumped the large lump on the back of his head, causing Shanks to grimace in pain again.

"Stop throwing a tantrum. Meat, want some?"

Austin looked at Shanks, who had been unconscious all day and was still sulking, and offered him the large bone he was holding.

"No."

"Really not?"

"Not eating."

"Then I'll eat it. The kitchen is out of ingredients anyway, and we won't be able to resupply until we dock tomorrow."

Hearing this, Shanks gritted his teeth. "I'm not hungry, do whatever you want!"

Gurgle, gurgle...

"Pfft..."

Austin and Buggy wore expressions of stifled laughter, making Shanks blush furiously. He could only express his displeasure by gritting his teeth.

"Enough of your nonsense! You two, I said I'm not eating, and I'm not eating! I'd rather starve to death, die on the deck, and be swallowed by a Sea King than eat it!"

"Alright, alright. Then I'll just leave it here. You can eat it yourself if you get hungry."

Seeing that Shanks had no intention of turning around, Austin gave Buggy a look. The latter understood immediately.

"Yeah, Shanks, you rest here for a bit then."

The two walked to the door, opened it, but didn't leave. Instead, they closed it again.

Standing at the doorway, they created the illusion that they had left with their voices.

Shanks, who was suffering from not having Observation Haki, immediately turned and reached for the meat on the table after hearing the door close.

He had been craving the aroma of the meat for a long time and was just holding out.

Now that they were gone, he could finally fill his stomach.

"Pfft..."

However, he hadn't expected that just as he turned to grab the meat and prepare for a feast, he would be interrupted by a burst of stifled laughter.

Shanks turned his head back in surprise, looking towards the side of the door.

He saw two figures grinning wickedly at him.

His face instantly turned as red as a monkey's backside!

"You two bastards!!"

"Hahahaha!!!"

The days spent sailing with the Roger Pirates were indeed an interesting journey.

Austin had to admit that.

At the end of Marineford Era 1496, after Kozuki Oden joined the crew, the Roger Pirates, following the interpretation of the Poneglyphs, headed straight back to the Grand Line.

They passed through the Calm Belt, Sky Island, Water Seven, the Kingdom of the Bridge...

They saw and experienced a lot along the way, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the journey.

"Yohororororo, yohororororo..."

Even though he knew parting was imminent, Austin still felt happy.

He would never forget this experience from his youth in his entire life.

After getting coated at Sabaody Archipelago, they didn't stay long before heading towards Fish-Man Island at the bottom of the sea.

Austin wanted to see the legendary auction house and slave market of Sabaody Archipelago, as well as the protected animals, the Celestial Dragons, and maybe even ride a bubble car.

Unfortunately, Captain Roger's illness couldn't wait, so they had to leave with regret.

Especially when passing by one of the streets, those pitiful girls wearing very little fabric had waved at him more than once.

After so many years with a bunch of rough men, even though Madam Toki had joined the crew, she was still a married woman, after all.

And a married woman who had just had a baby.

Austin declared, "Crewmate's wife, not to be ridden."

Austin, who had already entered puberty, felt an urge to use his own treasure to kindly help these fallen women, but was dragged back by Buggy and Shanks.

Sigh...

He'd wait if he had to. At worst, the pirate crew would disband next year, and he could come back for a proper visit then.

Looking back several times with reluctance, Austin finally made up his mind to return to the ship.

The Oro Jackson, now coated, slowly sailed towards the seabed.

It's worth mentioning that when Roger and Oden were using the Voice of All Things, Austin also tried to sense it but heard nothing.

This made him suspect that the Voice of All Things might be an innate ability, not a part of Observation Haki.

Otherwise, he, a fighter in Observation Haki, wouldn't be unable to hear it.

Sitting idly by the ship's edge, Austin was bored, so he used Conqueror's Haki to fish.

This discovery filled him with surprise!

From now on, he wouldn't have to worry about starving at sea.

He just had to glare, and a large school of fish would float belly-up, as many as he wanted to eat.

Even powerful Sea Kings in the water, when encountering high-level Conqueror's Haki, would be so shocked they wouldn't dare to move, even if they didn't faint, allowing themselves to be slaughtered.

About half a day passed.

A beautiful and exquisite underwater island appeared before everyone.

Austin had lived in the New World since he was young, and this was his first time here.

After landing, Roger and the others were warmly welcomed by the new King Neptune.

They had no choice but to be hospitable, as they were one of the overlords of the New World, and their small Fish-Man Island couldn't afford to offend them.

During their stay, they also met a small Shark Merfolk, Shyarly, Arlong's sister, the NPC from the original work who was skilled in divination on Fish-Man Island.

But Austin wasn't interested. After all, whether it was predicting the future in the short term or decades ahead, Austin didn't believe anyone could be more proficient than him.

It was nothing more than divination, the birth of Shirahoshi.

Upon arriving in the New World again, the date was already Marineford Era 1497.

This was the year the Roger Pirates reached Laugh Tale, completing their grand feat of circumnavigating the world.

It was also the time when Austin, the freeloading dog, was carried along for the ride.