That was right. The newcomers were Roger and Rayleigh.
"Why are you here?" Shirakawa asked in surprise. This made no sense at all.
"Why can't we be here?" Roger countered.
"No, I mean, how did you get here? How did you arrive even faster than we did?"
"Because we're not wanted criminals," Roger explained with a grin. "So we didn't have to take the long way around."
"Captain, I missed you so much!" As soon as Shirakawa and Roger had finished talking, Buggy threw himself at Roger.
"Captain, you have no idea how terrified I was the whole way here. You almost never would've seen us again."
"Oh? What happened? Did you almost die?"
"Pretty much. We ran into the strongest person on this island, a guy named Rogue. He took Shirakawa down in just a few moves. If we hadn't run into Bullet, you really might never have seen us again."
"Then what happened to Rogue?" Roger asked, sounding rather angry. Every crew member was like family to him. He couldn't allow anyone to bully his family.
"Bullet killed him."
"What?" King Caesar exclaimed in surprise from where he stood nearby. "Rogue really is dead?"
"Of course. If you don't believe me, ask Kaiser Lynn."
"Is it true, Lynn?" King Caesar looked at his daughter, desperate to hear her confirm it.
"Yes, Father. Rogue is indeed dead."
"Wonderful, wonderful. At last, my son can rest in peace." King Caesar sighed up at the sky, holding back his tears.
"By the way, what are you two doing here? Is something going on?"
"I plan to make this island a single country."
"What?" The speaker had said it in an utterly calm tone, but to those listening, it was like an atomic bomb had gone off.
"Captain, are you really going to do something this crazy?"
"Of course. I've made up my mind. I'm going to help the Kingdom of Mol rule the entire island."
"Really, Father?" Hearing Roger's words, Kaiser Lynn turned to her father with delight.
"It's true." King Caesar nodded with a smile. His ambitions weren't great, but if he could unite the island, he would at least fulfill his ancestors' wish.
"I knew it. You're the sort who can never sit still, Captain. So how do you plan to do it? Make them submit by force?"
"Force? That's what brutes resort to. We'll reason with them—appeal to their minds and move their hearts."
"Heh."
Shirakawa didn't believe Roger for a second. Sure, they'd reason with them—but only after crushing them by force. Otherwise, who would listen?
"So when are you going to make your move?"
"We've already made it."
"When?"
"About ten days ago. Bullet went to the capital of the Kingdom of Kolun. I sent Gaban and Sickle to the Kingdom of Biya."
"And you're saying that isn't crushing them by force?"
"I'm sure it won't be long before the island is united."
The other two kingdoms might have brilliant strategists, but no tricks could work against overwhelming strength.
Especially with Bullet involved. Shirakawa couldn't help feeling sorry for the royal family of the Kingdom of Kolun. If they couldn't reach an agreement, the entire royal family might disappear.
"All right, let's head to the palace. I've already had lunch prepared for you."
"Sure." Shirakawa wanted to try the food at the Royal Palace and see what it was like. Was it really as delicious as the legends claimed, like a full imperial banquet?
When Buggy and Shanks saw the long table piled high with food, their eyes nearly popped out of their heads. It wasn't because they'd never seen such dishes before. They'd spent over a month eating poorly with Shirakawa, so of course they were thrilled to see all this food.
They didn't even wait for their host to invite them. They eagerly dug in, grabbing food with their hands. The utensils might as well have been decorations; they didn't use them at all.
"Slow down. No one's going to steal it from you," Shanks said, looking at Buggy's stuffed cheeks.
"Don't just pick on me, Shanks. You're no different." Indeed, Shanks and Buggy both had cheeks puffed out just the same.
Fortunately, there was one normal person at the table: Shirakawa. He seemed to be eating slowly, but if you watched closely, you'd see that he was eating just as fast—if not faster—than Shanks and Buggy.
"Captain Roger, what's going on with them?" King Caesar didn't know what to say as he watched the three of them devour their food.
"Sorry for the spectacle." Roger ate the same way himself, but in the palace, he always maintained a refined image—though he often let it slip.
"It's all right. I'll have the kitchen prepare some more."
Before long, night had fallen. King Caesar had arranged a room for each of them, but Shirakawa wasn't sleepy at all.
"What's wrong? Having a drink by yourself?" Rayleigh, who was staying in another room, came out onto the balcony. He held up his drink toward Shirakawa.
"Nothing. I just feel like I'm too weak right now."
"Is this about that man named Rogue?"
"Yeah. I couldn't fight back against him at all. When I saw Shanks fall in front of me, I felt utterly helpless. Fortunately, we ran into Bullet, and they're all safe. Otherwise, I'd have felt guilty for the rest of my life."
"Good. At least you know that." Rayleigh didn't comfort him. Instead, he spoke as if scolding him.
"You've strayed from the resolve you had when you first joined the crew. Do you remember what you wanted back then?"
"To become stronger."
"Exactly. And what do you want now?"
"To become even stronger."
"You're lying. After gaining some strength, you've already grown complacent. When did that start? It seems like it began when you managed to withstand five of my moves. Your heart had already changed by then. Come with me."
Rayleigh jumped down from the railing. Shirakawa didn't know what he was planning, but he followed anyway.
They stopped in an open area.
Shirakawa was about to ask Rayleigh what he wanted when he suddenly felt an immense pressure bearing down on him. It wasn't Haki, yet Shirakawa felt as if he were being crushed by a physical force.
"Do you still think you could withstand five moves?"
As soon as Rayleigh finished speaking, the pressure on Shirakawa vanished.
"So you were never going all out." Shirakawa gave a bitter smile.
Rayleigh was right. Ever since he'd lasted five moves against him, he'd grown a little conceited. After all, not many people could withstand five moves from the Dark King Rayleigh in his prime. But he'd never imagined Rayleigh hadn't even been using his full strength—that their training sessions had been little more than play to him.
"So you still have a long road ahead." With that, Rayleigh left, leaving Shirakawa standing there alone, lost in thought.
What Shirakawa didn't know was that Roger had witnessed the whole thing. Rayleigh might have known—or perhaps he hadn't.
"Just as I thought. Rayleigh really knows how to teach people a lesson."
Before you continue