One Piece: The Silver Sovereign

He could put him in his place.

"By the way, who was it that threw me just now?"When Shirakawa lay on the deck, his head was still spinning.

"What the hell was that?"

Because the attack had come so fast, Shirakawa hadn't even seen what was thrown at him; he was struck down before he could react.

"Haha, Shirakawa! That'll teach you for showing off and disturbing people's sleep!"

A crewmate laughed at Shirakawa. Though his tone was mocking, there was a hint of envy in his voice.

After all, that was flying; some people might never reach such heights in their entire lives.

"Hmph." Shirakawa snorted coldly and didn't bother replying.

Still, this incident forced Shirakawa to recognize reality: just because he had a bit of power didn't mean he could show off everywhere. There were still plenty of people who

"It was probably the first mate. He's the only one who always carries a liquor bottle."

"Really? Then I'll remember this grudge. One day, I'll get back at him."

"You? Planning to take revenge on the first mate? Maybe in 800 years!"

To be honest, most of the Roger Pirates didn't think much of Shirakawa. Other than his Devil Fruit ability, he was useless. Although they didn't yet know what his ability was, they didn't expect it to be very strong.

After some rest, Shirakawa once again enjoyed the thrill of flying, but this time, he didn't show off as much. He was cautious, trying not to make any noise.

"Wow, that kid's lucky. I wish I could fly too," said someone, watching Shirakawa soar freely through the sky, unsure whether to feel envious.

"Well, you could try buying a Zoan-type Devil Fruit. If you're lucky, it might be a bird type. And if you're really lucky, it could be a mythical beast."

"Heh. I know my luck well enough," the other replied with a sidelong glance.

Eventually, Shirakawa got bored and landed quietly on the ship.

That experience taught Shirakawa a valuable lesson: whatever you do, do it with your heart, whether truly from the heart… or "cowardly" from the heart.

About an hour later, Rayleigh woke up and walked over to Shirakawa.

"Come with me," he said.

"Oh, okay."

Shirakawa followed Rayleigh to a spacious area that looked like their training ground, judging by the equipment scattered around.

"Since the captain entrusted you to me, I have to do something about that."

"Don't worry, First Mate. No matter what kind of training it is, I can handle it!"

"Good. That kind of determination is important. Let's start with your Devil Fruit ability."

"Alright!"

"From your duel with Buggy earlier, we noticed that your ability seems to heal your injuries, at the cost of your stamina."

"Really? I didn't even notice that myself."

"Well, I'll help you experience it firsthand. That way, you'll remember it clearly."

With that, Rayleigh pulled a coin from his pocket, flipped it in his hand, and flicked it toward Shirakawa's cheek.

"Hiss." Shirakawa gasped in pain and felt a chill on his cheek. When he reached up, he found blood.

But in less than a second, the blood stopped flowing and the wound disappeared completely.

"Well? How does it feel?"

"Nothing much. First Mate, are you sure you weren't mistaken?"

"That can't be… maybe the wound was too small. Stay still, I'll try again."

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

"First Mate, what are you doing?! Calm down! You have to stay calm! Don't do anything crazy!"

Watching Rayleigh approach with a blade, Shirakawa felt as if a demon was closing in on him.

"No, no, don't come any closer!" he shouted.

It's only natural to be afraid when someone comes at you with a sword, especially when you can't fight back. Shirakawa was no exception.

After all, he didn't know Rayleigh's true nature; he only had a vague impression from the anime, and that was far from reliable. If Rayleigh decided to attack, Shirakawa couldn't even run.

As Shirakawa screamed his last word, a powerful and overwhelming aura burst out from him, centered on his body.

With this eruption of force, over 90% of the crew collapsed instantly.

"Who the hell is letting out Conqueror's Haki like that?!"

—That was the last thought running through the crew's minds as they passed out.

On this ship, there were quite a few people who possessed Conqueror's Haki, at least five.

Main crew members like Roger, Barrett, and Jabba snapped awake instantly, their drunkenness vanishing in a flash.

They were also users of Conqueror's Haki, so they could tell immediately that this outburst didn't come from anyone already on board.

"What an unexpected discovery."

Roger and Rayleigh said the same words at the same time, despite being in different parts of the ship.

They both had advanced Observation Haki. With a quick scan, they understood the situation. Although they weren't sure why Rayleigh drew his sword, it had triggered something.

To be able to force out Conqueror's Haki like that, Rayleigh must have left a serious impression on Shirakawa.

"But this Conqueror's Haki is really strong…"

Even though it had just awakened, it was only slightly weaker than Rayleigh's and Barrett's. With a bit of training, he might surpass everyone on this ship in Conqueror's Haki, except Roger himself.

"The captain's luck is something. Just picked someone up randomly, and they've got the qualities of a king."

Jabba joked with Roger.

"Now we've got two intern crewmates with Conqueror's Haki, including Shanks. When those two grow up, who could stop us?"

Roger glanced at Shanks, who was still snoring soundly, and shook his head.

"Shanks isn't there yet."

Though they believed Shanks had kingly potential, without true awakening, no one could be certain.

"Besides, even without the two of them, we're already capable of going anywhere we want."

"True. Hahaha!"

The core members laughed together. As long as they were around, the Roger Pirates would never fall.

Roger might not be the strongest of the three great powers, but in terms of overall crew strength, they were undeniably number one.

Captains like those in the Whitebeard Pirates or Golden Lion's crew couldn't compare to Roger's core members.

"Never expected you to have Conqueror's Haki. Just goes to show, you can't judge a book by its cover," Rayleigh said in amazement as he looked at the dazed Shirakawa.

After all, Shirakawa had always seemed like a soft, delicate type.

"But the experiment still has to continue," Rayleigh added with a sinister smile.

"No! Help! Somebody save me!"

"Haha! Scream all you want, no one's going to save you!"