"Where… am I?"
Baichuan groggily opened his eyes and saw that night had fallen. Nearby, he could hear the crackling of a campfire.
Turning his head toward the sound, he saw Barrett, and only then did he feel at ease.
"You're awake, kid."
Baichuan winced slightly at the way Barrett addressed him. "Kid? Aren't you about the same age as me? Maybe even younger?"
Twenty-some years later, during the events of Stampede, Barrett was only in his early 40s. That meant right now, he was likely around 18 or 19, while Baichuan was about 20.
"But I'm stronger than you. A lot stronger."
"Yeah… To have your level of strength at your age, you're the only one," Baichuan said as he sat up, a tinge of envy in his voice.
Barrett was an incredibly gifted individual. He had trained relentlessly with Roger as his goal. Among the current Roger Pirates, aside from the captain himself, no one could confidently say they could overpower Barrett.
"By the way, how did you end up here?"
"Let's just say… fate was on your side. I happened to be nearby when you were fighting. And your sword is way too flashy to miss."
"Fair point."
Thinking of his Damocles Sword, Baichuan nodded in agreement. "But what made you think we couldn't win?"
"Because I felt a clash of Conqueror's Haki."
As Barrett said this, he curled his lip, almost mocking.
"Right now, you wouldn't stand a chance against anyone who has mastered Conqueror's Haki."
"Heh. You're not exactly gentle with your words," Baichuan said with a wry smile, but Barrett was right.
Even those born with the potential of a king usually first mastered Armament and Observation Haki before awakening Conqueror's Haki.
Baichuan, who had awakened Conqueror's first, was a rarity.
"Thanks for saving my life."
Baichuan scooted closer to the fire, warming himself up.
"No need for thanks. As long as I'm still part of the Roger Pirates, I won't just stand by and watch you die."
"Oh? So you're planning to leave the crew soon?"
Baichuan caught the implication in Barrett's words.
Barrett didn't respond, but his silence said enough. Baichuan knew he had guessed right.
"I heard about how you joined. You came aboard as a challenger, always aiming to defeat Roger and become the world's strongest."
Barrett said nothing, but kept listening, so Baichuan continued.
"But once you learned that Roger was terminally ill, it hit you hard, didn't it?"
At those words, Barrett clenched his fists.
"It shattered the image you had of Roger being invincible, right?"
"…Yeah. You're right," Barrett admitted after a moment of silence.
"I was trained as a soldier from a young age. By the time I was fourteen, I had already become a national hero. I'd never lost, not even once, until I turned fifteen. I always believed I was unbeatable… until I met Roger."
"He broke your myth of invincibility."
"Exactly. That fight with Roger was the first time I lost. After that, I challenged him many times, but always came up short. I always aimed to surpass him. To me, he was unbeatable… until he got sick."
"So… the moment Roger got sick, the image of him being invincible fell apart for you?"
"The invincible don't get sick. The moment he fell ill… he was no longer invincible."
Barrett's voice grew suddenly intense, startling Baichuan.
"Barrett, that's a very extreme and very wrong way to think. No one is immune to illness."
(Though, except for me, Baichuan thought, but kept that part to himself.)
"But he's Roger!"
"So what if he is? He's still human. And humans get old, get sick, and die."
As he said that, Baichuan felt a little weird. He sounded… less human than Roger.
"Can you guarantee you'll never get sick or die in your life?"
"I won't die."
Baichuan didn't know how to respond to that one. Did he think he was me?
"There's a legend of a Devil Fruit that grants immortality. Once I get that fruit, I won't die."
"What fruit?"
"The Ope Ope no Mi, the Operation Fruit."
"But haven't you already eaten a Devil Fruit?"
"I have. But I can still find it, let someone else eat it, and have them perform the Immortality Surgery on me. You should be glad I did eat a Devil Fruit."
"…Why?" Baichuan asked, suspicious.
"Because I'm interested in your ability."
Barrett's grin suddenly turned cruel.
Baichuan shivered.
In other words, if Barrett hadn't already eaten a Devil Fruit, he might have killed Baichuan, waited for his fruit to reincarnate, and then claimed its power.
"Wow… I should be grateful you spared me, huh."
"By the way, why are you here? You didn't come for no reason, did you?"
Baichuan knew Barrett wasn't the kind of guy who wandered around aimlessly.
"I heard this island had a long-standing battlefield. I wanted to check it out. But after seeing that the island's 'strongest' were those guys, I lost all interest."
"What about that 'Grand General'? He dead?"
"Of course. When I fight, I don't leave survivors."
"Damn… You're brutal."
"Brutal? No, that's standard pirate conduct. If you're merciful to enemies, you're cruel to yourself. You've heard of Black Arm Zephyr, right? I don't need to explain what happened to him."
"His kindness earned him the harshest punishment. Anyway, I'm done talking. I'm leaving."
"Leaving? Where to?"
"Who knows? Maybe I'll go challenge all the top fighters on this island."
"Well, good luck with that."
Baichuan didn't try to stop Barrett. He knew that someone like Barrett couldn't be tied down unless he became stronger than him.
After a while, Baichuan's stomach let out a loud grumble.
"Looks like I burned too much energy today. But… It's dangerous to leave the others lying here like this."
He glanced at the still-sleeping trio nearby.
"Barrett really couldn't leave me anything to eat, huh?"
Baichuan walked over to Buggy and Shanks, smacking each of them across the face.
The slaps weren't light, and both of them instantly woke up, fully rested.
"What the hell?! Who hit me?!" Buggy shouted.
"Baichuan? Why'd you slap me?"
Shanks rubbed his cheek, still groggy, having forgotten what happened before he passed out.
But after about half a minute, both of them suddenly remembered.
"The 'Grand General', where is he?! Baichuan, are you alright?"
"Relax. Someone saved us."
"Saved us? Who?"
"Barrett."
"Barrett? That guy is to be thanked properly."
Shanks looked around and sighed. "Anyway, now that the danger's over and it's already dark, why'd you wake us up?"
"Why? To get me some food. Check if there's anything edible left in this bandit camp. You think buying time like I did was easy?"
"Alright, alright."
The two of them happened to be hungry too, so they didn't argue.? If it was him, then it's no surprise he beat Roger. So where is he?"
"He's already gone."
"I see… I want