Gol D. Roger

Grand Line · Oro Jackson

The sea glittered beneath the sunlight like shattered gold foil, the massive ship cleaving through the waves as its sails snapped in the wind.

A young Silvers Rayleigh strode steadily across the deck, his golden curls swaying gently in the sea breeze.

His purple coat hung open, revealing his toned chest. He flipped through the intelligence he had just bought as he walked toward the bow.

There, a burly man was slumped over the railing, wailing in a posture utterly unbefitting his reputation, cursing heaven and earth like a lovesick youth with a broken heart.

A red cape billowed in the wind. He had powerful abs, a heroic face, and not yet the signature curled nose hair beneath his nostrils. Yet at this moment, he clutched his head in both hands, sounding as though he were about to cry like a heartbroken young man.

The future Pirate King—Gol D. Roger—was currently trapped in a deep "romantic slump."

"Shakuyaku!! Where the hell did you go?! Why can't I find you?! Wuuuuuu—"

Rayleigh adjusted his glasses, already accustomed to this sight.

Three minutes ago, this man had declared that he would conquer the seas. Four minutes ago, he had said he would defeat Rocks.

Now, he looked like an ordinary man devastated by heartbreak.

Rayleigh walked over to Roger's side and cleared his throat. "Roger, I bought the latest intelligence."

As if someone had pressed his "hope button," Roger instantly sprang back to life and turned around, his eyes sparkling. "What?! Is it news about Shakuyaku?!!"

"Where did she go?! Is she looking for me?! Does she miss me?!!"

Roger nearly crumpled the intelligence in Rayleigh's hand, and a vein throbbed on Rayleigh's forehead.

"...Idiot. I'm talking about Hachinosu being attacked. About that Lightning Boy."

Roger's expression went blank with a snap, as though someone had flipped a switch, and he collapsed back into his dejected state.

"Ah... who cares about that..."

"Shakuyaku... Shakuyaku, where are you..."

"..."

Rayleigh rubbed his temple and could only continue. "Fine, since you only care about Shakuyaku..."

Roger instantly flipped to his feet, his face once more brimming with anticipation. "Shakuyaku? You really have news about her?"

Rayleigh nodded. "I heard she's on Hachinosu... and opened a bar."

Before he could finish, he added, "But don't get too excited. Also..."

When Rayleigh looked up, Roger had completely changed.

His eyes had been watery with tears just moments ago, but now he had returned to full captain mode, his imposing presence restored!

His red cape snapped wildly in the wind as he stood in the center of the deck like a monarch descending upon his kingdom, one hand on his hip and the other pointing toward the helm.

He roared in a voice that shook the heavens, "All hands, hear my command!!!"

"Turn the ship around immediately!!!"

"Destination—Hachinosu!!!"

The deck fell silent for half a second. Then the pirates aboard the ship instantly erupted:

"The captain's doing it again!!!"

"The power of love is way too ridiculous!!!"

"Hey, hey, hey! That's Hachinosu, Rocks' home turf!!!"

"Have you noticed... the captain's obsession with beautiful women is even scarier than his obsession with treasure?!!!"

Rayleigh folded the intelligence and tucked it between his fingers, revealing a helpless yet indulgent smile. "Honestly, what am I supposed to do with you..."

The Oro Jackson turned its prow like a ferocious beast, its enormous red sails snapping in the wind.

Roger stood at the bow, his red cape rolling in the sea breeze. In his mind, he was already playing out the romantic scene of "Reuniting with Shakuyaku: Getting Punched Three Times Edition," his grin stretching from ear to ear.

Just then—

"Bzz...!"

An invisible pressure suddenly descended from the sky.

A piercing red glint flashed in Roger's eyes, and he instantly shifted from lovestruck fool mode into battle mode.

He abruptly raised his head, as though his gaze could pierce the clouds and stare directly at the enemy.

"Something's coming!"

Sensing the change in Roger's aura, Rayleigh instantly switched from lazy mode to "supreme battle commander" mode!

He shouted, "All hands, prepare for battle!! Secure the deck!! Everyone brace for recoil!!!"

The Oro Jackson went from a "cheerful sailing party" to "top-level combat readiness"!

The pirates charged across the deck in a frenzy, securing ropes and gripping railings tightly. The atmosphere shifted from joyous to taut as iron in an instant.

But Roger smiled, the corners of his mouth curving upward. He was as excited as if he had encountered an opponent he had been waiting for.

"Thun... der...?"

He slowly rested his hand on the famed blade at his waist—Ace.

The next instant—

"Shing—!!!"

At the sound of the blade leaving its sheath, even the sea wind fell silent.

Red-black Conqueror's Haki erupted from Roger's body like tangible lightning!

The waves were instantly pressed down several meters, as though the entire sea had been forcibly suppressed by a king's will.

Roger stepped forward, gripping his sword in one hand. His shoulders and back loosened, his movements as steady as a mountain and as deadly as a storm.

His voice was excited, burning with fighting spirit, and carrying a smile. "You came at just the right time—!"

The next instant, the air was completely torn apart.

Roger unleashed the slash that would shake an era:

"Divine Departure—!!!"

In an instant, the Conqueror's Haki radiating from Roger's entire body was forcibly "seized," compressed, and condensed!

The colors of heaven and earth seemed to be swallowed away as an enormous slash intertwined with blood-red and black surged forth like a roaring celestial dragon!

It tore through the air!

It tore through the sea wind!

It tore through the sky itself!

"Boom—!!!"

That strike carried enough power to split apart a giant island and shatter mountain ranges beneath the sea.

And its target—

Was the silver-white bolt of lightning charging straight at him from the sky.

High above, Rock was wreathed in lightning as he dove down from the peak of the clouds, still thinking:

Let's go see what Roger and the others are like—

Then, in the next second, he saw a blood-red slash capable of splitting the sky in two shooting straight at his face.

Rock: "???"

"Why do all the big shots of this era... like throwing out their ultimate moves the moment they meet?!!"

He only had time to complain once before lightning erupted across his entire body!

He raised his right hand, pressing his index finger and thumb together in the shape of a pistol as lightning frantically gathered at his fingertips.

Pure white energy compressed like countless stars, and the world darkened for an instant.

All light was drawn into that single point.

Rock's entire body turned into a blinding form of lightning, as though he were burning, or perhaps ascending.

"100 Million Volts: Divine Judgment—!!!"

The next second, he pulled the trigger.

"Boom—!!!"

It was not thunder.

It was not lightning.

It was a tangible white energy cannon, a beam of destruction that seemed capable of piercing through heaven and earth!

It did not spread. There was no warning. The moment it appeared, it was already at its strongest!

Rock and Roger's attacks collided amid the Cloud Sea.

A point—

A tiny black dot appeared, as though heaven and earth were being sucked into it.

Then—

"Bang—!!!"

The black dot instantly expanded into an enormous white sphere a hundred meters wide!

Light and lightning intertwined into raging electric dragons, while the blood-red slash shattered yet bit back with a furious roar!

The next moment, a roaring circular shockwave swept in every direction!!!

The sea was pressed down several meters, blasting open an enormous trench!

The Oro Jackson violently rocked at the edge of the trench, and pirates across the ship clung to pillars and screamed, "W-what kind of power is that?!!!"

"He actually clashed head-on with the captain's Divine Departure?!!"

"That's not something an ordinary person could do—!!!"

Rayleigh gripped the railing tightly, his pupils shrinking. "Roger's slash... was actually blocked head-on?!!"

The sea wind screamed.

The waves scattered.

The two forces tore open a vacuum between heaven and earth.

The aftermath of the explosion lasted for more than ten seconds.

The afterimage of the white sphere gradually broke apart, leaving behind the scorched stench of extreme heat and blue sparks of ionized electricity in the air.

The ocean looked as though it had been torn apart by some colossal beast. A bottomless trench had appeared, and only after the waves had been blasted into scattered fragments did they gather again.

Finally—

The world regained its sound.

The howling sea wind rushed back into their ears, carrying shock, fear, and... countless gazes turned toward the sky.

"Gasp... gasp... Are we still alive?!"

The pirates aboard the Oro Jackson were pale as sheets, their legs limp as mud as they clung desperately to masts, railings, or each other's thighs. Their souls had nearly been scared out of their bodies.

Rayleigh adjusted his glasses with one hand and gripped his weapon with the other as he stared at the figure in the sky. "A lightning ability... could it be?"

He looked up at the sky, his pupils contracting.

As the explosion dispersed, lightning gathered once more high above, and a silver-white humanoid figure stepped out of the turbulent air.

Rock was wreathed in lightning, half his body seeming to merge with the light.

He stood in the air, looking down at the Oro Jackson.

At the bow, Roger held Ace in his hand, Haki swirling around him as his red cape danced wildly like flames.

Their gazes collided in midair like thunder and volcanoes crashing together.

The air trembled faintly between them. Even the sea wind was compressed and distorted.

Rock narrowed his eyes and smiled, his voice echoing through the air. "You are—Gol D. Roger?"

Roger threw back his head and laughed. "Hahahaha!!! Lightning Boy... you're no ordinary person!!"

Two terrifying auras clashed between sky and sea. For a moment, the storms across the entire region spiraled back toward the center of the two men.

This was the first meeting of eyes—

Between the future king and the future Pirate King.