Strongest Possessor of One Piece

Hearing that evasive answer, Crocodile's eyes narrowed sharply, his gaze turning cold and piercing.

"You should know… that's not what I was asking."

Facing the fierce and imposing man, Rojen simply smiled.

"In time… you'll find out."

As he casually tossed a few more branches into the campfire, he turned the question back.

"What about you? Why did you take to the seas… and become a pirate?"

Crocodile kept his eyes locked on Rojen. Sensing that Rojen had no intention of answering, he didn't press further. Instead, a look of reminiscence emerged in his eyes.

"I once witnessed the execution of the Pirate King, Roger, in Loguetown. Any man with burning blood in his veins, after hearing what he said before his death, would find it impossible not to set foot on this path."

"I was no different. I wanted to reach the New World, to fight that man, the strongest of them all."

"If you're going to do something… do it to be the strongest!"

His voice was resolute, filled with conviction, and everyone around the campfire heard him clearly.

"Oh? Is that so?" Rojen gave a faint smile.

Off to the side, Rouge visibly tensed up at the mention of "Roger," as if a string had been plucked inside her chest.

"What about you, Rojen? What's your goal?" Crocodile pressed. "Aren't you going to become a pirate? Don't you want to reach the New World, to face off against the strongest, to witness firsthand the stormy tide of this Era of Violence, to ride its crashing waves?"

"You and Jason, both of you have such overwhelming power. If the three of us joined forces and formed a pirate crew, we could make it to the top!"

Crocodile grew more and more impassioned.

Why had he entered these seas? Wasn't it to rise in this chaotic age, to stand among those he once looked up to, to share in the fear and praise of the world?

"Be a pirate?" Rojen chuckled again.

"We'll see."

That nonchalant tone made Crocodile's face freeze in mid-expression.

"You don't want to be a pirate? Don't you want to be the strongest?"

"Rojen, don't you have a dream of your own?"

"…A dream?"

Upon hearing that word, Rojen suddenly turned around. The calm look in his eyes vanished, replaced with a terrifying sharpness and majesty. Crocodile instinctively tensed up.

He felt as though a fierce beast had just locked eyes on him, his entire body instantly went on high alert.

Even the quiet fire in the pit began to flare violently, and an unseen gust rippled outward from Rojen's sudden shift in aura.

"With your half-baked abilities? That one-dimensional use of your Devil Fruit? You think you're strong, Crocodile? You're too weak! Talking about dreams… what a joke. It's nothing but a fool's delusion!"

Three sentences, each louder than the last. Rojen's pressure kept mounting, and Crocodile could hardly breathe under the weight of it.

"You don't know what I've been through… or what we're truly facing."

With that final sentence, Rojen's tone returned to calm, and the immense pressure abruptly faded.

Frozen by Rojen's outburst, Crocodile opened his mouth to retort, but his throat was dry. Even his tongue trembled. Before that overwhelming aura, a wave of dizziness hit him.

It took a full five seconds before Crocodile could finally gasp for breath.

He glared at Rojen, his voice deep and tinged with disappointment.

"…I was wrong about you, Rojen. I thought you were someone truly powerful. But…"

"You're just a coward, someone who doesn't even have the guts to pursue his own dream."

Slowly, Crocodile stood up. His black robe fluttered in the night wind, and his voice sounded like that of a weathered old man, hoarse and heavy with disillusionment.

"We have dreams. That's why we set sail, unafraid of storms, unafraid of death, unafraid of tyrants."

"To me, any man who sails the seas, whether pirate or Marine, has the heart of a powerhouse. They fear nothing."

"When you first stood on the deck of a wooden ship, gazing out over the crashing waves and the boundless sea, did you fear it? Fear that a single swell might drown you? But at the same time, didn't that vastness stir something inside you? Didn't it make you feel like your chest could hold the whole world, that you could become immeasurably strong?"

"I don't know what you're hesitating over. I don't know what you're afraid of."

"Your power may be great, but your heart... is far too weak!"

"So weak that you don't even dare chase your own dream!"

Each word struck like a fist to Rojen's heart, his face growing paler with every sentence.

What is a dream? To Rojen, someone from a past life crushed by society, suffocated by pressure, it was something unimaginable. Cars, houses, marriage, raising children, skyrocketing living costs, a salary that never rose, when had he ever dared to imagine chasing what he truly wanted? To pursue a dream he once longed for?

Dreams… were like fairy tales. People heard of them, but who ever really saw one?

And yet, Crocodile, a man who had been an enemy just moments ago, and had only just joined the group, saw through him more clearly than anyone else. With just a few sentences, he had pierced straight to the truth: Rojen had a dream… but didn't dare pursue it. He lacked the courage to try.

In Crocodile's eyes, this made him a coward.

Sometimes, human strength wasn't about muscles, it was about the mind.

"A dream…"

"Do I have one?"

Rojen began to breathe heavily. It felt like a giant hand was wrapped around his throat, choking him, cutting off his oxygen, making his vision go black.

His mind raced, thoughts flashing by in rapid succession as he searched for the dream buried deep in his heart.

"In my past life… my dream was to finish writing a novel I loved. One that others would love too. But due to endless setbacks, family opposition, and the fact that writing didn't earn much… I gave up. I ended up living like every other office worker, numb to the world."

"So… in this life… what is my dream?"

Images from his childhood and his growth flashed vividly through his mind, clear as day.

Suddenly, like a bolt of lightning, he remembered a moment.

"What is your dream?"

A low, steady voice echoed in his head, one spoken with conviction.

"To save the world!"

That simple sentence suddenly re-emerged in Rojen's consciousness, and a smile finally returned to his face.

In that moment, he finally understood… He understood the meaning of that one final glance Roger had cast from the execution platform.

"A dream, huh?"

"The body can be broken, the soul can be lost, but the dream… the dream is eternal, undying!"

He whispered softly, but his eyes burned bright, his will surging stronger than ever.

At the same time, an overwhelming aura burst forth from his body.

It was as if this force had been lying dormant within him from the very beginning, and now, at last, it awakened.

Like a slumbering lion opening its eyes, gazing down from above, disdainful of the lesser creatures below.

This was an aura of unmatched dominance, a terrifying, crushing will that could shatter the spirit of others.

(End Of This Chapter)

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