It was a clear afternoon. The summer sun hung in the sky like a giant fireball, as if it wanted to burn everything in the world to ash.
In weather like this, everyone felt lazy and sluggish, with no motivation at all.
And yet, in this very environment, on a small island out at sea, there was a group of people sprawled on the ground with flushed faces, looking completely drunk. They had clearly downed a lot of alcohol.
Looking around, the ground was littered with animal skeletons, proof that they had probably just held a grand feast.
Just then, a boy with a big red nose slowly opened his eyes in a daze.
"Hm? What the heck is that?"
He saw something in the sky, something that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. At first, he thought he was seeing things because he'd drunk too much, but the object in the sky grew clearer and clearer. He hurriedly rubbed his eyes, and sure enough, it was still there.
"C Captain! Look at the sky!"
That discovery instantly sobered him up. He shouted as loud as he could.
With that shout, the others gradually began to wake up as well.
"Hey, Buggy, what are you yelling about?"
That's right. The kid who had been shouting was Buggy, an apprentice on the Roger Pirates. And the people who had just finished a banquet on this island were none other than the members of the Roger Pirates.
"No, Captain, look at the sky!"
"Hm?" Hearing Buggy's panicked shouting again, Roger lifted his head and squinted.
"What is that, a sword?"
Roger thought to himself as he stared at the object in the sky. The others started murmuring too, because whatever it was, it was far too eye-catching, just hanging up there like that.
"Is it Shiki?" Roger muttered, because in his memory, only the Golden Lion's Float Float Fruit could pull off something like this.
"Yeah, it's probably him. I can't think of anyone else who could do it," said a blond man wearing glasses. It was the Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh. "But where did he even get a sword that big?"
Both of them looked a little grim. The Golden Lion was no simple figure. Even they would have to take him seriously.
Just then, a burst of white light flared on the giant sword. Something separated from it and began falling from the sky.
Seeing that, Rayleigh's hand went to his sword hilt. If anything felt off, he would immediately send out a flying slash.
"Don't act rashly yet, Rayleigh. This probably isn't the Golden Lion," Roger said.
Rayleigh loosened his grip a little, but his posture made it clear he could draw in an instant.
"That looks like… a person."
As the white light drew closer and closer to the island, the people there could finally make out what was inside.
"That's right. There really is a person in there," Roger said.
After that, the others relaxed. No matter how strong a single person was, the Roger Pirates had nothing to fear.
Even if the Whitebeard Pirates appeared right in front of them at this moment, they could still keep their composure.
As for their earlier tension, it was only because something outside their understanding had appeared, so it was natural to be on edge.
But now that they knew it was just one person, there was nothing scary about it.
"He won't fall and die from the impact, will he?" Buggy spoke again. His personality was on the timid side, but as long as he was with the Roger Pirates, he wasn't afraid of anything.
"Who knows," said a red-haired boy beside him. "Even if he dies, it's not our problem."
The boy was Shanks, the other apprentice on Roger's crew.
At this time, Shanks still didn't have the three scars on his face, and he didn't carry that intimidating aura yet.
When the white light landed, it didn't make the earthshaking crash everyone expected. Instead, it descended extremely smoothly, settling onto the ground.
After the white light dispersed, a white-haired youth who looked seventeen or eighteen appeared before them. And the enormous sword in the sky vanished, as if it had never existed at all.
Now the boy lying on the ground became everyone's focus.
"Looks like that sword was something this brat made," someone said.
"Hey, Buggy. See if you can wake him up and ask what's going on," Roger ordered.
"Yes, Captain!"
Having received the task, Buggy casually grabbed a bucket of half-finished booze from beside him and poured it over the white-haired boy's head.
But the boy didn't react at all, like a corpse.
"Reporting, Captain. He's probably dead."
"Get lost," Rayleigh cursed at Buggy the moment he heard that.
Rayleigh's Observation Haki could sense it clearly. That white-haired boy's heartbeat was steady and stable.
"He's probably just passed out," Rayleigh said. "Buggy, Shanks, you two keep an eye on him. When he wakes up, come tell me."
"Yes, Captain."
After that, the Roger Pirates went back to doing whatever they were doing. Some lay back down to rest. Some, after sobering up a bit, went right back to drinking again.
After all, they had escaped from the Hero Garp once again. Of course they should rest and celebrate properly.
"Hey, Buggy, you stay here and watch him. I'm going to grab another drink," Shanks said.
"Shanks, don't even think about it. If anyone's going to drink, it's me, Lord Buggy. You're the one who should stay here and watch him!"
"Fine," Shanks said. "You go. I'll watch. When you're done drinking, I'll go drink."
Hearing Shanks say that, Buggy froze. Since when was Shanks so easy to talk to?
"Alright, Shanks. Then Lord Buggy is going to drink!"
The moment Buggy turned around to leave, Shanks punched himself in the face.
"Report to the vice captain. Buggy abandoned his post. I tried to stop him and he punched me."
Just as Buggy was about to happily go drink, he heard that line. He spun around and saw a red swollen mark on Shanks's face.
The moment Buggy saw him, he knew he'd been played.
"Vice Captain, listen, I didn't do it. Shanks did that to himself," Buggy hurriedly explained.
"So you're saying he beat himself up?" Rayleigh asked after hearing Buggy's explanation.
"Yes! Exactly!"
"Then do you think Shanks is stupid enough to punch himself?" Rayleigh asked.
Hearing that, the smile on Shanks's face instantly stiffened. Am I stupid enough to punch myself? Yeah, kind of. But being stupid once for alcohol isn't a big deal.
"But he really did punch himself!"
"Alright, Buggy, you don't need to say any more," Rayleigh said. "You're the one who was assigned to guard him, so you do it. As for Shanks, go do whatever you want."
"Yes, Vice Captain!" Shanks immediately ran off happily to drink.
"Shanks, you shameless bastard! You scoundrel! You have no face!" Buggy shouted furiously at Shanks's cheerful back.
Then he turned his gaze to the white-haired boy on the ground. "This is all your fault. Now I can't even drink."
As he spoke, he lightly kicked the boy.