One Piece: The Silver Sovereign

"Hm? Why do I suddenly feel so heavy?"

Still half-asleep, Shirakawa felt like he was being crushed and could hardly breathe. Groggily opening his eyes, he discovered that Shanks and Buggy were sound asleep on top of him.

"These two used me as a pillow?"

Shirakawa was speechless. Without hesitation, he shoved their heads off him and onto the ground. Even then, the two showed no signs of waking up.

"Are they pigs or what?" he muttered to himself.

Originally, it had just been him and Shanks drinking together the night before, but at some point, Buggy had joined them. The three ended up completely wasted, and even the previous tension between Shirakawa and Buggy had dissolved during their drunken antics.

Thinking back to the night before, Shirakawa almost couldn't bear to recall it. Was that me drinking like that? He had probably consumed more alcohol last night than in his entire previous life combined.

"Maybe I've become better at holding my liquor? No... it was just impossible to refuse Shanks' enthusiasm."

Every time he tried to turn down a drink, Shanks would shove a full glass in his face or just pour it down his throat directly.

"Hard to believe kids around twelve or thirteen in this world can drink like that…"

But this experience also made Shirakawa realize that his powers weren't completely fixed. For instance, he had gotten drunk last night, to the point of blacking out.

"Looks like I still have a lot to learn about this 'unchanging' ability of mine."

After finding a quiet place to relieve himself, Shirakawa noticed that most of the Roger Pirates were still asleep.

If another pirate crew attacked right now, I wouldn't be surprised if we got wiped out…

"Yo, newbie! You're up early. How was last night fun?"

On his way back, a pirate Shirakawa didn't recognize greeted him.

"Very fun," Shirakawa replied politely. Though they hadn't met, he returned the greeting with equal courtesy.

"Glad to hear it! There'll be plenty more nights like that to come," the pirate laughed.

"Oh, right, want to join us for breakfast? If you're waiting for them to wake up, you'll be here till noon."

"Sure, why not?"

Shirakawa agreed without hesitation. He wasn't particularly hungry, but sharing breakfast was a good chance to bond with the crew and integrate more quickly.

By noon, the rest of the Roger Pirates began to wake up one after another.

Roger stood atop a large boulder.

"Our journey resumes today! Are you all ready?!"

"Ready!!" the crew cheered below. As much as they enjoyed feasting, they were pirates, and nothing excited them more than adventuring at sea. Besides, they could always throw parties on the ship.

"Then let's prepare to set sail!"

The group marched together toward the shore.

"So this is the Oro Jackson... No wonder it's the Pirate King's ship, it is impressive," Shirakawa thought to himself.

"How is it? Not bad, right?" Shanks said from behind, patting Shirakawa on the back. From his tone, he sounded immensely proud, as if the ship were his.

"Yeah, it's my first time seeing such a magnificent vessel."

"Of course! It's not as massive as Whitebeard's Moby Dick, but in terms of construction cost, it rivals any pirate ship out there."

Everyone boarded the ship.

It was Shirakawa's first time on a ship, and he was visibly thrilled. He had never even been on one in his previous life.

After familiarizing himself with the ship, Shirakawa naturally started hanging out with Shanks again. It seemed like Shanks was still the person he got along with best.

Or perhaps the others just looked down on his combat ability and didn't bother talking to him.

"Hey, Shanks, hurry up and help me find a mirror! I want to see what I look like."

"Oh, right! I forgot. So that's why you've been following me around," Shanks replied.

Hearing that, Shirakawa was speechless. Was my request really that unimportant?

"Come on, then, let's check the storage room. Maybe we'll find one there."

Since the crew was all male, no one cared about looking in mirrors. Useless things like that were usually tossed in the storage room.

They reached a door under the deck with the big characters "Storage Room" written on it.

Opening it, they were greeted by piles of gold, silver, and dozens of swords.

"You guys store all your valuables here, and you don't even lock them? Aren't you afraid of theft?"

"Theft? Why would anyone steal? We don't even need this stuff."

"Well, you're pirates after all. If you want something, you just take it by force."

"But I remember Buggy likes this kind of stuff. He always sneaks in here covered in layers, looking all shady. Then he leaves looking like he gained ten pounds, sneaks into his room, and comes out looking normal again."

"Does anyone else know about this?" Shirakawa asked cautiously.

"Of course. Everyone on the ship knows, except Buggy himself."

Shirakawa was stunned. No wonder he'd one day be called "Clown Buggy." He doesn't just look like a clown, he acts like one, too.

"We've all told him he can take whatever he wants. But for some reason, he enjoys sneaking around. Maybe he's addicted to the thrill," Shanks said, shrugging with a helpless expression.

After a long search, they finally found a mirror. The place was so disorganized that finding anything specific was a challenge.

"Is... is this me?"

Looking into the mirror, Shirakawa was dumbfounded.

He could still see traces of his past self in his features; this face had evolved from his previous life, but there were subtle changes.

He was more handsome now, and his face had a gentle expression. No one would believe he was a pirate just by looking at him.

"Seen enough? If you're done, let's go," Shanks said.

"Huh? Oh, right…" Shirakawa was still in a daze. He couldn't believe that handsome guy in the mirror was him. But what's done is done; he had no way to change it.

"If I didn't have acne in my last life, I guess I'd have been pretty good-looking too," he said with a confident smile. Now that he'd seen his face, a weight had been lifted from his heart.

Before leaving the storage room, Shirakawa also took a katana for self-defense.

"Oh yeah, when can we go train with the first mate?"

"Anytime you want."

"Really? Great! Then let's go train now!"

"Sure. I've been resting for two or three days myself. My body's starting to rust.