Black Gun · Dotol · Austin

Marineford Era 1493, "Why is this guy Oden wearing a diaper?"

The weather was clear, the scenery beautiful, The Roger Pirates had just finished resupplying on an island.

Austin, who had returned from procurement, brought a newspaper. Shanks and Buggy were crowded together reading it, and one piece of news caught Roger's attention.

It was about the Second Division Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates, a new face who had recently become famous on the seas, The Samurai, Kozuki Oden.

"A samurai from Wano Country? He looks pretty cool!"

"He's hideous."

Austin pouted, a barrel taller than himself slung over his shoulder, and placed it before Roger. "He's like a pervert, wearing split pants, is that for convenient defecation anywhere?

If you ask me, the black military uniform is the coolest, right, Barrett?"

That's right, a month ago, the stubborn kid Barrett had already joined the ship.

And Austin had witnessed the entire battle where Barrett challenged Captain Roger. It couldn't be called an even match, It was just a one-sided crushing.

As for the rumors about a fifteen-year-old Barrett being equal to a peak Rayleigh, Austin stated, Do I look like an idiot to you when you say things like that?

Let alone Barrett, even a fifteen-year-old Roger, a fifteen-year-old Whitebeard, or a fifteen-year-old Rocks wouldn't be a match for a peak Rayleigh.

Do you think someone who's mastered the three types of Haki, is a Great Swordsman, and can use Conqueror's Haki Infusion is messing around with you?

I can only say that Buggy, sometimes his mouth really has no filter. He could fight Barrett and Rayleigh and call them evenly matched.

However, Austin didn't dislike that.

He himself survived a kick from Vice-Captain Rayleigh infused with Armament Haki, he hoped this guy would brag about him more in the future, For example, "This guy Austin, he was once a crewmate with me on the Roger Pirates, he was once evenly matched with Vice-Captain Rayleigh at the age of nine..."

Although Barrett at this time wasn't as strong as the world's top powerhouses, he was still a formidable Body Technique master.

Shortly after he joined the ship, he had sparred with Austin.

And in this spar, even the monstrous Barrett couldn't help but sigh at the abundance of heroes in the world.

His extremely high-level Observation Haki, his monstrous strength that shocked even him, coupled with his skillful Body Technique, At just ten years old, he could fight a fifteen-year-old Barrett without being at a disadvantage. Even if he was confident he wouldn't lose, he certainly couldn't easily defeat the other party.

Barrett didn't believe in comrades, but he respected strength.

So, when Austin spoke to him, he didn't ignore him, but merely nodded.

As a soldier, he truly felt that military uniforms were the coolest attire.

"Diaper? Hahahaha!!"

Hearing Austin's description, Roger burst into laughter, the wine in his bottle clinking merrily.

Crocus, seeing this, had a displeased expression and snatched the wine bottle from Roger's hand. "Your body can't handle alcohol anymore!

You don't want to collapse halfway before your voyage is successful, do you, Roger?"

Roger's face stiffened at his words, then he said painfully, "Don't be like that, Crocus, just a little won't hurt."

But unfortunately, in front of the ship's doctor, his status as captain clearly held no weight. He could only watch as Crocus took his precious wine away.

Without wine, Roger felt a bit down, but things quickly took a turn.

Austin, who had quietly crept up to him at some point, stealthily took out a wine bottle from his pocket and quickly stuffed it into Roger's embrace.

The two exchanged a look.

Roger: What a good kid, Austin!

Austin: No need for words, Captain.

"Is it okay, Rayleigh? Roger's condition..."

Their little actions certainly couldn't escape the grasp of Observation Haki, but the crew members who noticed didn't say much.

"It's fine, Roger isn't a man who gets easily defeated!"

With the precious wine, Roger became even more spirited than before and shouted to everyone:

"Everyone! We're sailing back to the New World!!!"

"Ooooh!!!"

"Big news, big news!!!"

"One of the New World's overlords, the Roger Pirates, has appeared in the latter half of the New World!"

"They've consecutively defeated several Great Pirates with bounties over a billion. The new era's Rocks?!"

Ever since Roger found out about his terminal illness and decided to head for the Final Island, the Roger Pirates' journey seemed to enter fast-forward mode.

In just two years, they'd fought east and west, rushing around for the Poneglyphs. A blink of an eye, and two years had passed.

The latter half of the New World, The [Edd War] sea area.

"Austin, your bounty is out!"

On the deck, a lively banquet was underway.

Buggy, habitually wrapped in a headscarf, ran over excitedly and shouted, almost tripping from running too fast.

Upon hearing the news, all the crew members were stunned, then raised their cups and gestured to the long-haired youth in the crowd, chattering incessantly.

"You've made it, Austin!!"

"Let's celebrate Austin's bounty and have another round of feasting!!!"

"Alright!!!"

The sea breeze blew, gently lifting the long hair of the youth on deck. Austin walked over to Buggy with a bottle of juice, looking at the banquet enthusiasts with a frown.

"My head being wanted is a reason for you all to feast?"

"Don't say such a mood-killer, Austin."

Shanks, also infected and turned into a banquet enthusiast, rather enjoyed the atmosphere.

"I really can't do anything about you guys," Austin chuckled, then took the bounty poster from Buggy's hand.

The largest photo depicted a naval battle Austin had participated in. In the picture, he stood tall and straight, his eyes, which seemed to look down on the world, bursting with faint red light, appearing incredibly intimidating.

In short, he looked terrifyingly strong.

[Black Gun · Dotol · Austin]

[Bounty: 139,600,000 Belly]

[Guilty of heinous crimes, alive or dead, no exceptions]

"Austin, is it true? Over 130 million..."

Buggy, due to his usual low profile (slacking off) and mediocre strength, hadn't yet entered the Marines' sights. Thus, he was quite shocked by Austin's bounty exceeding 100 million.

Although the name of the Roger Pirates added to it, And Austin always liked to sneak attacks on the battlefield, earning hatred. Furthermore, every time Garp pursued them, there was a curly-haired Marine who specifically troubled Austin.

Still, a bounty over 100 million said a lot.

It meant that Austin, despite being only 12 years old, was already recognized by the World Government as a threatening pirate.

Shanks also agreed. Although Austin could be annoying sometimes, he was indeed a worthy opponent.

Just as the two were about to say something more, Austin raised his hand and interrupted them.

His expression suddenly turned serious as he looked up at the sky, leaving the two youngsters bewildered. They could only look up as well.

As they watched, Buggy noticed something was off.

Were those black dots slowly appearing from the clouds?

"As expected, I can't escape," Austin took the Black Gun off his back, and faint blackness slowly enveloped the gun's body. His eyes erupted with terrifying red light.

"Battle of Edd War!!!"