Be My Son, Austin

"I'm going to die~"

The young man sitting before the World's Strongest Man said so in a casual tone.

At the same time, he held a large bowl in his hands and began gulping down its contents.

"..."

No matter how calm his tone was, the meaning of those words struck everyone present like an explosion.

The Whitebeard Pirates' crew members gaped in shock upon hearing them.

Cold sweat trickled down their foreheads, and their pupils trembled slightly.

How could that be?

That monster...

Whitebeard, sitting opposite Austin, his body mighty and imposing, was briefly stunned as well. Then he looked at Austin's smiling face.

Well...

How should he put it...

He really was like that guy...

He remembered that, on some ordinary day long ago, someone had said the very same thing to him.

They had been drinking face-to-face, smiling just the same, announcing their own death just the same.

Right, the man who had once come to drink with Whitebeard was named Roger.

To ordinary people, death was something to be avoided at all costs. Even the Celestial Dragons would go mad for Pure Gold, which could extend one's lifespan.

Which meant that Celestial Dragons were only human too.

And people who could face death so calmly...

Had another title upon the seas.

That was "King."

"Ha... Since when did you start copying Roger's routine...?"

Bang—

Whitebeard set down his enormous wine bowl. As a king-level powerhouse who had fought his way through that era, he was naturally not intimidated by Austin's so-called "kingly aura."

Still, he narrowed his eyes slightly, as though processing the meaning behind those words.

Whitebeard's good sons, who were still conscious nearby, began whispering among themselves after hearing him speak.

"Hey, hey, hey, why would that monster say something like that?"

"Could he