Shanks swore,
if he ever challenged Austin to a one-on-one again, he'd be a dog.
Lying face-down on the bed with his teeth bared, the huge bump on the back of his head throbbed with burning pain, keeping him from sleeping well at night. He'd complained more than once that Austin had no sense of restraint.
But Austin clearly hadn't taken it too seriously. Not long after Shanks woke up, he came over with Buggy to visit him.
"Don't be so petty, Shanks. Getting beaten up is a kind of improvement too.
"Besides, I didn't do it on purpose~"
With one leg crossed over the other, Austin propped his chin on one hand resting on the table while gnawing on a huge drumstick with the other, smiling as he spoke.
"Yeah, Austin helped you master Armament Haki too, didn't he?"
Buggy chimed in from the side.
Austin wore a smile at the corner of his lips,
but he'd done it on purpose.
If he didn't beat Shanks up now, it wouldn't be nearly this easy to fight him twenty years later.
After all, peak Conqueror's Haki, Observation Kill, Future Sight, and a crew no weaker than the Roger Pirates—Shanks had almost as many cheats as Austin did.
He had to leave behind more embarrassing material now, so they'd have something fun to talk about when they met again later.
Unfortunately, Shanks seemed not to understand his good intentions. Like a sulking child, he turned his head away and refused to look at Austin.
But the moment he turned, he accidentally bumped the lump on the back of his head, making Shanks bare his teeth again in pain.
"Stop sulking. Want some meat?"
Seeing that Shanks had been unconscious for an entire day and was still throwing a tantrum, Austin directly held out the giant bone-in meat in his hand.
"No."
"Really not eating?"
"No."
"Then I'll eat it. The kitchen's out of ingredients anyway. We'll have to wait until the ship docks tomorrow to restock."
Hearing that, Shanks gritted his teeth. "I'm not hungry anyway. Do whatever you want!"
Grrrr...
"Pfft..."
Austin and Buggy both looked like they were barely holding back their laughter. Shanks's face kept reddening, and he could only express his displeasure through gritted teeth.
"Shut up! You two, I said I'm not eating, so I'm not eating! Even if I starve to death, die on the deck, or get swallowed by a Sea King, I still won't eat it!"
"Fine, fine. I'll leave it here, then. Eat it yourself when you get hungry."
Seeing that Shanks had no intention of turning around, Austin gave Buggy a look, and Buggy immediately got it.
"Yeah, Shanks. Get some rest by yourself, then."
The two walked to the door and opened it, but instead of leaving, they immediately shut it again.
They stood by the door, using sound to create the illusion that they had left.
Shanks had suffered from not knowing Observation Haki. The moment he heard the door close, he spun around and reached for the meat on the table.
The smell had tempted him beyond endurance long ago. He'd only been forcing himself to hold out.
Now that the two had left, he could finally fill his stomach.
"Pfft..."
What he hadn't expected was that the instant he turned around, picked up the meat, and prepared to feast, he was interrupted by muffled laughter.
Shanks turned his head back in surprise and looked beside the door.
There, he found two figures grinning wickedly at him.
His face instantly turned as red as a monkey's ass!
"You two bastards!!"
"Hahahahahahaha!!!"
During the Roger Pirates' voyage, they truly experienced a very interesting journey.
Austin had to admit that.
At the end of Marineford Era 1496,
after Kozuki Oden came aboard, the Roger Pirates followed the Poneglyphs' interpretations and headed straight back to the Grand Line.
They passed through the Calm Belt, Sky Island, Water Seven, the Kingdom of Bridges...
They saw many things and had plenty of fun along the way. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the journey.
"Yohohoho, yohohoho..."
Even knowing that parting was about to come, Austin still felt happy.
He would never forget this experience from his youth for the rest of his life.
After coating the ship at the Sabaody Archipelago, they did not stay long before heading down to the underwater Fish-Man Island.
Austin had wanted to see the legendary auction houses and slave markets of the Sabaody Archipelago, as well as the protected animal known as the Celestial Dragons. He'd also wanted to ride a bubble bike while he was at it.
But Captain Roger's illness could not be delayed, so they could only leave with regret.
Especially when they passed through one street, where those pitiful girls wearing very little cloth had waved at him more than once.
He'd spent so many years surrounded by a bunch of rough men. Though there was now Mrs. Toki aboard the ship,
she was still someone else's wife.
And a wife who had just given birth, at that.
Austin declared,
A crewmate's wife must not be ridden.
Having entered puberty, Austin often felt the urge to use his treasure to kindly help those wayward young girls, but Buggy and Shanks dragged him back together.
Sigh...
I can wait. Once the pirate crew disbands next year, I can come back and take a proper look around.
Only after looking back several times with great reluctance did Austin finally make up his mind to return to the ship.
The coated Oro Jackson slowly sailed toward the ocean floor.
It was worth mentioning that when Roger and Oden listened to the Voice of All Things, Austin had also tried to sense it, yet he heard nothing at all.
That made him wonder whether the Voice of All Things was an innate ability rather than something within the realm of Observation Haki.
Otherwise, there was no way a top-tier Observation Haki user like him could fail to hear it.
With nothing else to do, Austin sat at the edge of the ship and kept fishing with Conqueror's Haki.
This discovery thrilled him.
From now on, he would never have to worry about starving to death at sea.
All he had to do was glare, and a whole school of fish would float up belly-first. He could eat as much as he wanted.
Even powerful Sea Kings in the water, when faced with high-level Conqueror's Haki, would be too terrified to move even if they didn't faint, leaving themselves at others' mercy.
About half a day later,
the beautiful visage of an underwater island appeared before them.
Austin had grown up in the New World, so this was his first time coming here.
After they came ashore, Roger and the others were soon warmly received by the new King, Neptune.
They had no choice but to be hospitable. As one of the New World's overlords, the Roger Pirates were far beyond what their little Fish-Man Island could afford to offend.
During their stay, they also met the young Shark Merfolk, Shyarly—Arlong's younger sister, the Fish-Man Island NPC from the Original Work who excelled at divination.
But Austin had no interest in that. Whether it was Future Sight over a short period or visions of decades ahead, he didn't think anyone could surpass him in either.
At most, she could predict Shirahoshi's birth.
By the time they returned to the New World, it was already Marineford Era 1497.
This was the year the Roger Pirates reached Laugh Tale, completing their great feat of sailing around the world.
It was also when Austin, the guy who won without lifting a finger, got carried along for the ride.
Before you continue