"Roger."
Rayleigh lowered his voice, his tone carrying a rare solemnity. "You need to think this through. If you eat it just because of a gut feeling, there's no going back. That also means you'll never be able to swim again for the rest of your life."
Rayleigh wasn't opposed to it. He just wanted Roger to think it through. Eating a Devil Fruit was no joke. It was a path with no turning back, one that would affect a person's entire life.
Gaban nodded in agreement and added a warning of his own. "Rayleigh's right. You need to give something like this careful thought."
"Crunch, crunch."
An abrupt chewing sound broke the heavy atmosphere in the ship's lounge.
Rayleigh and Gaban both turned toward Roger. In the brief moment they hadn't been watching, Roger had somehow brought the Gum-Gum Fruit to his mouth and was happily biting into it, his cheeks bulging.
"Hey, Roger, that's way too rash!"
"Exactly! Roger, at least think about it!"
Roger chewed the fruit, his trademark smile on his face, and replied indistinctly, "Fate chose me, and I'll choose fate too."
He swallowed the last bite, his expression twisting for an instant as he spoke with genuine disgust. "Ah, that's the taste. It really is hard to swallow."
Rayleigh and Gaban exchanged a glance, both their faces filled with the helpless resignation of "Forget it. That's Roger for you."
And so, Roger of the old era ate the Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Nika, which the World Government had given the name of a "god."
Elbaf, the Underworld.
Silver Axe regretted it.
Regretted it terribly.
Why the hell did I have to ask for trouble?
*If Golden Lion wanted to stand up for Ron and get on his good side, I should've just