King's Disposition

Shirakawa lay on the deck, his head still spinning.

"What the hell was that?" The attack had come so fast that Shirakawa hadn't even seen what had been thrown at him before it knocked him down.

"Hahaha, Shirakawa, that's what you get for showing off and waking everyone up."

A crewman laughed at Shirakawa. Though his words were mocking, his tone was clearly envious.

After all, flying was something some people might never get to do in their entire lives.

"Hmph." Shirakawa snorted and refused to entertain him.

But that had finally brought Shirakawa back to reality. He shouldn't go around showing off just because he had a little strength. There were still plenty of people who could take him down.

"By the way, who threw that at me just now?"

"Probably the First Mate. He's the only one who carries a bottle of liquor around."

"Is that so? I'll remember this grudge. One day, I'll get him back."

"You? You're planning to get back at the First Mate? You'll have to wait eight hundred years."

To be honest, hardly anyone in the Roger Pirates thought much of Shirakawa. Aside from his Devil Fruit ability, he was useless. They still didn't know exactly what his power was, but they figured it couldn't be all that strong.

After he'd rested, Shirakawa took to the air again, enjoying the thrill of flying. This time, though, he wasn't nearly as showy as before. He moved carefully, trying not to make a sound.

"Look at that. That kid's got some luck. I wish I could fly, too." Someone watched Shirakawa soar freely through the sky, sounding somewhere between envious and jealous.

"Then you could buy a Zoan Type Devil Fruit. If you're lucky, it might be a bird. And if you're really lucky, it could even be a Mythical Zoan."

"Heh, I know better than to count on my luck." He rolled his eyes at his companion.

After a while, Shirakawa grew bored and landed safely back on the ship.

The experience had taught Shirakawa a lesson: no matter what you did, you had to know when to back down—whether you were genuinely backing down or just "backing down."

About an hour later, Rayleigh woke up and walked over to Shirakawa. "Come with me."

"Oh, sure."

Shirakawa followed Rayleigh to a fairly open area. Judging by all the equipment scattered around, it was where they usually trained.

"Since the Captain has entrusted you to me, I'd better do something about it."

"Don't worry, First Mate. I can handle any kind of training."

"Good. It's good that you're determined. Let's start with your Devil Fruit ability."

"Okay."

"From your fight with Buggy, I figured your Devil Fruit ability lets you heal your injuries. The price you pay must be your stamina."

"Really? I hadn't noticed."

"Then let's make you feel it for yourself. That way, you'll remember it."

With that, Rayleigh took a coin from his pocket, bounced it in his hand, then flicked it toward Shirakawa's cheek.

"Pss." Shirakawa sucked in a breath. His cheek felt cool, and when he reached up to touch it, he found that it was bleeding.

But in less than a second, the blood flowed back into the wound, and the cut disappeared.

"Well? Do you feel anything?"

"Not really, First Mate. Could you be mistaken?"

"That can't be. Maybe that wound was too small. Stand there and don't move. I'll try again."

Rayleigh then drew the sword at his waist and walked toward Shirakawa.

"First Mate, what are you doing? Stay calm. You've got to stay calm. Don't do anything you'll regret."

As Rayleigh came closer, step by step, Shirakawa felt as if a demon were bearing down on him.

"Don't—don't come any closer!" Shirakawa shouted.

Anyone would be afraid to see someone approaching with a sword, especially someone they couldn't beat. Shirakawa was no exception.

He didn't know what Rayleigh was really like. What he'd learned from the anime was only a fragment of the truth. If Rayleigh really tried to hurt him, there'd be no way to escape.

As Shirakawa uttered his final word, an immensely powerful and domineering presence erupted from him.

With that burst of power, more than ninety percent of the crew collapsed.

"Who's recklessly letting loose Conqueror's Haki?" That was what every crewman thought in the instant before passing out.

There were quite a few people on this ship who possessed Conqueror's Haki—at least five.

Roger, Bullet, Gaban, and the other prominent crewmen snapped awake at once, their drunkenness gone.

They all possessed Conqueror's Haki, so they knew that this burst of Haki hadn't come from any of them.

"That really is an unexpected discovery."

Roger and Rayleigh spoke at the same time. They were in different places, but the words came out in unison.

They all possessed Observation Haki, so a quick sensing told them what had happened, though they couldn't understand why Rayleigh had drawn his sword.

But the fact that it had drawn out Conqueror's Haki showed just what kind of impression Rayleigh had made on Shirakawa.

"And that Conqueror's Haki is incredibly strong."

Even at the moment of Awakening, Shirakawa's Haki was only slightly weaker than Rayleigh's and Bullet's. With a little training, he might become the strongest on the ship in terms of Conqueror's Haki, second only to Roger.

"Captain, you really are lucky. You just pick someone up, and he turns out to have the King's Disposition," Gaban teased Roger.

"And with Shanks, that makes two apprentice crewmen with Conqueror's Haki. Once they've both grown up, what could possibly stop us?"

Roger glanced at Shanks, who was fast asleep, and shook his head. "Shanks isn't there yet."

Though they all felt that Shanks had the King's Disposition, he hadn't truly awakened it, so no one could make any promises.

"Besides, we can already go wherever we want without either of them."

"True. Hahaha!"

The men laughed together. As long as they were still around, the Roger Pirates would never be defeated.

Roger might not have been the strongest of the Three Great Powers in terms of individual strength, but their overall strength was unquestionably the greatest.

The captains in the Golden Lion's and Whitebeard Pirates couldn't compare at all to the core members of the Roger Pirates.

"I didn't expect you to have Conqueror's Haki, too. You really can't judge a book by its cover."

Rayleigh looked at Shirakawa after the outburst, surprised.

Shirakawa looked so frail and delicate.

"But we still need to run the experiment," Rayleigh said with a sinister grin.

"Don't! Somebody help me!"

"Haha! Go ahead and scream. You could scream your throat raw, and nobody would save you."