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Aero had always been confident that his powerful Devil Fruit gave him every reason to be.
But lately, his mindset had shifted. He was no longer thinking only about his own climb to the top he wanted to take his crew with him.
That meant every decision he made could affect their lives. And so, he had become far more cautious.
Would Princess Vivi trust him?
Her kingdom was being ravaged by a great pirate. Though she had no solid proof, she suspected that the man was none other than one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea Crocodile.
She had infiltrated Baroque Works to find evidence of the connection between him and the organization.
To her, all pirates were irredeemably evil. Even if Aero drove Crocodile away, the moment the threat was gone, the people might turn against him too.
---
"Mr. Aero, do you know who Mr.0 is? Can you tell me?" Vivi asked, noticing a fleeting moment of distraction on his face. Her tone carried genuine pleading.
"I know who it is," Aero replied casually, spreading his hands, "but I have no obligation to tell you."
"Why not? You didn't tell him about us that means he's not your friend, right?" Vivi pressed, her innocence showing.
Aero didn't answer. Instead, he turned and walked away. She tried to stop him, but he slipped past her with ease.
Watching his retreating back, Vivi muttered, "Do you mean to say there are no good people in this world?"
Mr.8, who overheard her, shook his head. "Princess, you're too naive. I knew from the start he wouldn't tell us. For a pirate of his caliber, letting us walk away alive already makes him one of the better ones."
"I see…"
---
People were always playing different roles.
To outsiders, Aero was a cold and dangerous pirate.
To his crew, he was a capable captain.
And when alone, he sometimes thought back to his previous life the real him.
At seventeen, he had been just a high school student, caught up in the innocence of first love. That life had been simple, his thoughts pure.
But after living twenty-six years in his last life, he had gained caution and depth.
Now, in a world where strength ruled, even as a seventeen-year-old again, he carried the cunning of an old fox.
---
He pushed open the door to their lodgings, the heavy smell of alcohol hitting him instantly. He frowned, sniffed the air, then sat down.
Eddie, cheeks flushed, grinned. "Captain, where were you? I saw a pretty lady heading your way earlier."
Aero shook his head. "Don't drink yourself stupid. This place isn't entirely Crocodile's territory."
His words sobered the four officers instantly. Eddie set his cup down and didn't touch it again.
Gin never got drunk anyway, years of drinking had built his tolerance, but even he drank sparingly these days, thanks to his training.
The five of them chatted idly until nightfall. Dylan took the watch as usual, he was dependable like that, while the others slept soundly.
---
A few days passed in Whiskey Peak, enough for the Log Pose to fully record the next island's magnetic field.
During that time, Vivi tried several more times to speak with Aero. He began to wonder if she'd forgotten he was a pirate at all.
Still, he revealed nothing.
When it was time to leave, Vivi stubbornly sat herself on the Dove, refusing to get off. Aero sighed, summoned a gust of wind, and gently sent her back to shore.
The crew's eyes lit up with curiosity. Eddie, wearing a sly grin, said, "Captain, you're still young! You shouldn't be messing around like that—"
He fell silent after earning a solid lump on his head.
With the air cleared, Aero explained, "She's a princess. She's convinced I won't tell Crocodile about her and wants me to testify that he's the one destroying her country."
The crew listened carefully, then all nodded in unison with a drawn-out, "Oh~."
They didn't believe him for a second.
---
"A bunch of idiots," Aero muttered. "But it's not that simple. In her country, Crocodile is seen as a hero. I'm a pirate no one there would believe me. If anything, they'd resent their own royal family for working with a pirate to tarnish Crocodile's name."
"That kind of backlash could speed up his takeover. And if I really accused Crocodile, it would destroy our alliance. That's a lose-lose."
"So why's that naive princess so damn persistent?" he said, finally voicing the frustration he'd been holding in.
Sure, he wasn't immune to the charm of a pretty, kind-hearted girl sticking close to him. But at the end of the day, this was still a battle he couldn't afford to fight not against a Warlord stronger than him many times over.
Because he wasn't alone. He had his crew to think about.
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