Words Shock, Speech Does Not Shock

Indeed, the arrivals were none other than Roger and Rayleigh.

"How are you two here?" Shirakawa asked in surprise. This made absolutely no sense.

"Why can't we be here?" Roger retorted.

"No, I mean, how did you get here? How did you arrive faster than us?"

"Because we're not wanted," Roger explained with a laugh. "So we didn't have to take the long way around."

"Captain, I've missed you so much!" After Shirakawa and Roger finished their exchange, Buggy lunged straight at Roger.

"Captain, you have no idea how terrified I was the whole way. We almost didn't make it."

"Oh? What happened? Did you nearly die?"

"We sure did! We ran into the guy they call the strongest on this island—Rogue. Even Shirakawa got taken down in a few moves. If Bullet hadn't shown up, you might never have seen us again."

"And what happened to this Rogue?" Roger's tone turned sharp with anger. Every crewmate was like family to him, and bullying his family was absolutely unforgivable.

"Bullet killed him."

"What?" King Caesar, standing nearby, exclaimed in shock. "That Rogue is really dead?"

"Of course. Ask Kaiser Lynn if you don't believe us."

"Is it true, Lynn?" The king turned his gaze to his daughter, desperate for confirmation.

"Yes, Father. Rogue is truly dead."

"Excellent, excellent. My son can finally rest in peace." King Caesar sighed, looking up at the sky, struggling to hold back his tears.

"By the way, why are you two here? Is there something you need?"

"I plan to make this island have only one kingdom."

"What?" The speaker's tone was calm and flat, but to the listeners, it hit like an atomic bomb.

"Captain, are you really going to be that crazy?"

"Of course. I've decided to help the Kingdom of Mol rule the entire island."

"Is that true, Father?" Upon hearing Roger's words, Kaiser Lynn turned to her father with joyful surprise.

"It's true." King Caesar nodded with a smile. Though his ambitions were modest, unifying the island would fulfill his ancestors' last wish.

"I knew it. I knew you couldn't sit still, Captain. So, what's your plan? Use force to make them submit?"

"Force? That's what brutes do. We'll reason with them—appeal to their logic and their emotions."

"Heh."

Hearing Roger's words, Shirakawa didn't believe a word. Sure, reasoning was part of it, but only after a show of force. Otherwise, who would listen?

"So, when do you plan to act?"

"It's already underway."

"When?"

"About ten days ago. Bullet went to the capital of the Kingdom of Kolun, and I sent Gaban and Sickle to the Kingdom of Biya."

"And you call that not using force?"

"I believe it won't be long before this island is unified."

The other two kingdoms might have brilliant strategists, but against absolute power, all schemes were useless.

Especially Bullet. Shirakawa couldn't help but silently mourn for the royal family of Kolun. If negotiations failed, the entire royal house might vanish.

"Alright, let's head into the palace. I've already ordered lunch prepared for you."

"Good." Shirakawa was curious to see what palace cuisine was like—whether it lived up to the legendary feasts, like a full Manchu Han Imperial Banquet.

Seeing the long table piled high with food, Buggy and Shanks' eyes nearly popped out. It wasn't that they'd never seen such dishes before, but after over a month of roughing it with Shirakawa, the sight of this spread made them ecstatic.

Without waiting for their host's invitation, they grabbed food with their hands. The utensils might as well have been decorations—they didn't even touch them.

"Slow down, no one's fighting you for it," Shanks said, watching Buggy stuff his mouth full.

"Don't talk, Shanks—you're no different." Indeed, both Shanks and Buggy had their cheeks bulging identically.

Thankfully, there was one normal person at the table: Shirakawa. Though he appeared to eat slowly, if you watched closely, you'd notice his pace wasn't slow at all—in fact, it was a bit faster than Shanks and Buggy's.

"Captain Roger, what's with them?" King Caesar didn't know what to say, watching the three wolf down their food.

"Sorry, please excuse them." Though Roger ate the same way, he always tried to maintain a refined image in the palace—though he often slipped.

"It's fine. I'll have the kitchen prepare more."

Soon, night fell. King Caesar had prepared a room for each of them to rest, but Shirakawa found himself wide awake.

"What's wrong? Drinking alone?" Rayleigh, staying in the next room, stepped out onto the balcony railing, raising his bottle in a toast to Shirakawa.

"Nothing. I just feel too weak right now."

"Is this about that Rogue guy?"

"Mm, in front of him I was completely powerless. Watching Shanks fall before me, I felt a deep sense of helplessness. But luckily I ran into Bullet, and they were fine—otherwise I'd have been guilty for the rest of my life."

"You know that well enough." Rayleigh didn't comfort him; instead, he scolded him like a reprimand.

"Your heart has changed from what it was when you first boarded the ship. Do you still remember what you thought back then?"

"I wanted to get stronger."

"Right. And what do you think now?"

"I want to get even stronger."

"You're lying. After gaining some strength, you've settled into complacency. When did it start? Probably around the time you could take five moves from me. That's when your heart shifted. Come with me."

Rayleigh jumped down from the railing. Shirakawa didn't know what he was up to, but he followed anyway.

In an open space, the two stopped.

Shirakawa was about to ask Rayleigh what his aim was when he suddenly felt a tremendous pressure bearing down on him. It clearly wasn't any kind of Haki, yet Shirakawa sensed a martial force behind it.

"Now do you think you can still hold out for five moves?"

When Rayleigh finished speaking, the pressure on Shirakawa vanished.

"So you've never gone all out." Shirakawa gave a bitter smile.

Rayleigh was right. Ever since that time he'd exchanged five moves with Rayleigh, he'd grown a bit complacent. After all, not many could take five moves from Silvers Rayleigh in his prime. But what he'd never expected was that Rayleigh hadn't even used his full strength—sparring with him was like playing around.

"So you still have a long way to go." With that, Rayleigh left, leaving Shirakawa standing there stunned, pondering the truths of life.

What Shirakawa didn't know was that this entire scene had caught Roger's eye. Rayleigh might have known, or maybe he didn't.

"As expected, Rayleigh really knows how to teach a lesson."