Meet Captain Roger Ahead of Time

Madam Sammy's villa,

In a lavishly decorated room,

Elegant, soothing music played live as barely clad dancers swayed gracefully,

They danced with all their might, their eyes soft and alluring as they tried their best to draw the attention of the man in the room.

But Austin clearly paid no attention to the dancers serving as mere background decoration. In front of him, a Den Den Mushi was chattering away nonstop.

With one leg crossed over the other, Austin sat on the sofa with a smile, lifting a huge barrel of juice and gulping it down. The massive amount of sugar was instantly absorbed, replenishing the energy he had expended during his recent training.

"It connected... Hey, Buggy, don't grab it!"

When the call first connected, the Den Den Mushi had red-haired features. But a moment later, it changed into one with a red nose.

"Austin!! We finally got in touch with you! How have you been lately?"

"Long time no see, Buggy, Shanks. Of course I've been doing just fine."

"That's good... Oh, right! When Shanks and I were seeing everyone off the ship, quite a lot happened. We practically traveled all over the New World..."

Austin lounged on the luxurious sofa with one leg crossed over the other, enjoying Little Six's massage while Little Seven wiped his mouth.

As he listened to Buggy's story, he merely waved a hand. The girls in the room left one after another, leaving only the two little maids behind to serve him quietly.

The two little maids were sensible as well. Knowing their master was talking with his friends, they did not dare make a sound, as though they had heard nothing.

"...And the old men asked us to see Captain Roger off on his final journey,"

Toward the end of the conversation, they inevitably brought up Captain Roger's execution. Buggy spoke with a somewhat heavy heart,

"We just escorted Uncle Bitam back to his hometown. In a few days, Shanks and I will pass through the Sabaody Archipelago before heading to Loguetown.

Will you be going too, Austin?"

Austin nodded.

"Of course. I will definitely go see Captain Roger one last time."

After saying that, a mischievous smile suddenly curled across his lips.

"But there will definitely be a lot of Marine officers guarding the place then. There might even be Admirals, so you and Shanks should be careful."

"Ha!!?"

On the Oro Jackson, where only Rayleigh and the other two remained,

Buggy's eyes widened in shock at those words, his mouth hanging wide open.

The Marines?

Back when the Roger Pirates had sailed the seas, his impression of the Marines had been far too profound, especially that iron-fisted bastard who loved to laugh.

Even when Captain Roger had still been around, that man had given him plenty of headaches, and he had only been a Vice Admiral.

If an even stronger Admiral, or even the Fleet Admiral, showed up at the scene, without the other Roger Pirates around, he would definitely be shackled and thrown into some underground prison!!!

"Vice-Captain Rayleigh! I think you should come with us after all. There'll be Marines there..." Buggy immediately began searching for a solution, speaking to Rayleigh with a tearful face.

"Don't worry, Buggy. The Marines won't make a move against you."

Rayleigh smiled. He knew Austin was deliberately teasing Buggy, but he had no intention of exposing him. "Roger used his own life as a bargaining chip to get every member of the Roger Pirates removed from the World Government's bounty list."

"How could this be... Captain Roger, he actually did so much for us..."

Hearing that,

Shanks and Buggy both found their eyes growing moist, moved by their captain's final sacrifice.

"No, no, no, Uncle Rayleigh..."

With amusement in his eyes, Austin drained the last of the juice from his cup. His right hand gently stroked Little Seven's white-haired little head as he slowly said,

"The bounty cancellations Captain Roger fought for didn't include those two who never made it to Laugh Tale.

And even if their bounties have been removed now, if they cause trouble again, they might end up wanted once more."

Hearing Austin's words, Buggy's heart, which had just been warmed by emotion, went cold again.

Fortunately, Austin's next words gave him a little comfort.

"But Buggy and Shanks, you two don't need to worry too much. After all, neither of you even has a bounty. Unless you run into someone who knows you, you definitely won't be recognized, hahahahaha."

Hearing Austin's merciless laughter, Shanks and Buggy did not know whether they should be happy or upset. They stood there awkwardly.

They had been worried about being targeted by the Marines, only to find that the Marines did not even take them seriously.

"Then... Austin, will you be all right? I saw your bounty a while ago. It had already soared to one billion, nearly a fifth of Captain Roger's. You'll be easily targeted, won't you?"

After resolving their own issue, Shanks immediately thought of Austin's.

"Back then, you offended so many Marines that even Garp remembered your face."

"If the Marine high-ranking forces target you, then even for you, Austin, it should be quite troublesome."

Austin was not particularly concerned by that. He simply told them about his situation.

"You don't need to worry about that. After leaving the ship, I already ate the Devil Fruit Captain Roger lost to me.

With the strongest Observation Haki and the Warp-Warp Fruit's power, I can come and go freely anywhere in the world."

Buggy and the others looked at one another, clearly surprised.

On one hand, they were surprised that Austin had actually eaten a Devil Fruit.

On the other hand, just as Austin had said, with Observation Haki that could see the future combined with the Warp Fruit's power, they truly could not imagine him being captured or defeated.

Not to mention Austin's already terrifyingly monstrous strength and talent.

They had not seen each other for a long time, so they talked for quite a while.

Only after agreeing on a time and place to meet did they finally hang up the Den Den Mushi.

After the call ended, Austin remained quietly seated on the sofa, his back resting against the soft cushions as he looked up in thought.

An idea had just occurred to him.

He wanted to go see Captain Roger ahead of time.

In Austin's eyes, the supposedly impregnable Impel Down that the World Government advertised was nothing special.

Before Future Sight and teleportation, even Marine Headquarters was no more secure than a sieve full of holes to Austin.

Even if something seemed amiss and he was discovered, Austin was confident that he could retreat before the top fighters had time to react.

Even if an Admiral personally blocked the way, it would be useless. Austin was confident he would not be easily defeated, and no one could stop him if he wanted to leave.

But if the person who came was not an Admiral-level fighter... then whoever it was would only need one Conqueror's Haki-infused Seastone Bullet.

Once he made up his mind, he acted. He had never been someone to hesitate, and he had absolute confidence in his own strength.

Austin slowly rose to his feet, lifted the chin of the little maid beside him, and said calmly,

"Lock Doflamingo and those officers up with Seastone. I'll deal with them when I return.

Also, tell Madam Sammy that I have some business to attend to and will be leaving for a while. If anything comes up, have her contact me through the Den Den Mushi."

"Yes, Lord Austin."