Farewell, Roger Pirates...

What happened next unfolded much as Austin had expected.

Ever since returning from Laugh Tale, Roger had officially been bestowed the title of "Pirate King."

Countless newspapers rushed to report it.

For a time, the Roger Pirates, with fewer than thirty members, stood at the very crest of the world's attention.

The status of Austin and the other crew members rose right along with it. After all, they were the crew of the Pirate King, who possessed [wealth], [fame], and [power].

Countless pirates flocked toward them, hoping to defeat Roger and obtain the legendary Great Treasure.

Even the Marines were no exception, dispatching more elite fleets to search the seas for the Roger Pirates.

And it was precisely when their fame and status had reached their peak that, on an ordinary evening, every member of the Roger Pirates gathered on the deck.

Captain Roger stood before them, smiling as he delivered his final speech.

"Thinking back on it, it really is amazing. A man with little time left to live was still able to come this far. I truly owe all of you my deepest gratitude!"

The moment he said that, even Gaban, the most serious man on the ship, could not help feeling a little embarrassed.

With Roger suddenly being so serious, even Austin felt a little awkward.

Looking at his many crew members, Roger felt deeply gratified, but there were still things that had to be said.

His smile slowly faded.

"Well then, I'm going to say it."

Hearing those words, everyone straightened up and looked at the Pirate King who had traveled alongside them all this way.

Smiling, he announced to everyone.

"The Roger Pirates are disbanded!!!"

So they were disbanding after all.

Austin felt both sentimental and reluctant.

They sailed through Fish-Man Island and headed toward the Four Blues. Their first destination was the South Blue, where Roger would be the first to leave the ship.

That night, the Roger Pirates held a banquet. After all, there would be one fewer chance to do so each time, and everyone celebrated to their hearts' content.

No matter how slowly they wanted the ship to sail.

Carried by the sea breeze.

The Oro Jackson still eventually reached its destination.

South Blue, Baterilla Island.

Roger disembarked with a bag on his back and medicine in hand.

Everyone cried their eyes out. Even Austin could not hold back, silently shedding a few tears.

"Goodbye,

Captain Roger."

After the farewell, the crew continued sailing under Rayleigh's leadership, heading toward Wano Country in the New World.

But to everyone's surprise, the second person to leave the ship was not Oden.

It was Austin.

While coating the ship at the Sabaody Archipelago on the way to the New World, no one had expected Austin to suddenly choose to disembark there.

"Hey, Austin, why are you in such a hurry to leave? Why not come with me and Shanks..."

When Buggy heard that Austin was leaving, he cried the hardest, nearly wiping his snot all over Austin.

Austin had his own reasons for this.

"Sorry, Buggy. Before I officially begin my journey, I want to spend two years growing in Paradise. But don't worry, we'll meet again before long.

My Observation Haki won't lie to me."

"What Observation Haki?! Doesn't your Observation Haki only let you see thirty seconds into the future?!"

Though Buggy said that, deep down, he was willing to respect Austin's wishes. Then he burst into tears all over again.

Austin bid farewell to everyone with a small bundle, some treasure, and his sword and gun.

Before leaving, he hesitated for a moment before looking toward Oden and offering him a reminder.

Not for Oden himself, but for the sake of the year they had spent on the same ship, Austin still warned him.

"Hey, Oden. Strength is always the only way to solve problems. Pirates are far more cunning than you can imagine."

"What are you suddenly talking about?"

Oden did not understand, but Austin offered no further explanation. He merely waved and bid everyone farewell.

After all, Austin did not particularly like Oden as a person. He had only kindly warned him out of camaraderie.

Otherwise, the moment he met Momonosuke, he would have strangled that damned brat and thrown him into the sea.

Oden's death would be entirely his own choice, and Austin would not interfere. But he would definitely go watch the excitement in Wano Country later.

After all, he did whatever he pleased.

If he castrated Momonosuke then, perhaps he would make a better shogun. Without the seven emotions and six desires, he could focus on governing.

Besides, didn't the Kozuki Clan still have Hiyori to continue the family line?

It was not as if he would be letting Oden down.

Austin entertained the wicked thought.

He watched the Oro Jackson, where he had spent five years, slowly dive toward Fish-Man Island.

"Farewell, Roger Pirates..."

"Blegh..."

Austin had thought he was mentally prepared. He knew Devil Fruits might be truly disgusting, but he had never imagined they could taste this awful.

It was worse than smearing rotten eggs over an old woman's foot wraps and fermenting them for three days and nights.

Originally, Austin had planned to sandwich the Warp Fruit between slices of bread and swallow it whole in one gulp, but he could not resist his curiosity.

After all, he would only eat one once in his lifetime.

After taking a bite.

Austin stood by the roadside and dry-heaved into a trash can for a long while.

Then he decisively swallowed the rest of the fruit whole.

It was a little large, but even Buggy had managed it years ago, so Austin only needed to exert a little effort to swallow the remaining flesh.

Though there was no fruit flesh left in his mouth, that soul-sickening taste still left his mouth feeling miserable.

I should find somewhere to eat.

With his luggage on his back, Austin hurried along while testing his ability.

It took only a short time for him to completely adapt to the power of teleportation.

"Interesting."

As he strolled down the street absentmindedly, Austin moved like a ghost. With a single step, his figure appeared dozens of meters away.

He had somewhat of the air of Bad Handsome Yuan Tiangang.

Still, Austin was not very familiar with the Sabaody Archipelago. He had never properly explored it during his previous visits.

Although his Observation Haki let him perceive the terrain, he had no idea what each district was for. The Original Work had explained it, but Austin had long forgotten.

After turning left and right.

Austin finally stood before a brightly colored district, silently narrowing his eyes.

Could this be fate's arrangement?

Seeing the men inside indulging in pleasure and the extravagantly dressed beauties, Austin did not need to guess what kind of place this was.

Especially since, through his Observation Haki, he sensed battles between beauties and beasts taking place in the rooms of the buildings lining both sides of the street, leaving Austin utterly impressed.

He had spent all his time aboard Roger's ship, surrounded entirely by old men. When had he ever seen anything like this?

"Oh my, oh my. I never expected such an important figure as yourself to appear in a place like this."