What happened next was pretty much what Aus expected.
Ever since returning from Laugh Tale, Roger was officially crowned "Pirate King."
Newspapers everywhere competed to spread the news.
In one moment, the Roger Pirates—barely thirty people—stood at the eye of the world's storm.
Even crew members like Aus saw their status skyrocket. After all, they were crew of the Pirate King who possessed [wealth], [fame], and [power].
Countless pirates came swarming, trying to defeat Roger and claim the legendary treasure.
Even the Marines were no exception, dispatching elite fleets to hunt the Roger Pirates across the seas.
And right when their fame peaked, one ordinary evening, all Roger Pirates gathered on deck.
Captain Roger stood before everyone, smiling as he delivered his final speech.
"Looking back, it's crazy. Me—dying soon—still made it this far. I'm grateful as hell to all of you!"
At those words, even the ship's most serious member Gaban couldn't help feeling bashful.
Suddenly getting all formal made even Aus feel awkward.
Looking at his crew, Roger felt deeply satisfied, but what needed saying still had to be said.
He slowly dropped his smile.
"Alright, I'm gonna say it."
Everyone straightened up, watching this "Pirate King" who'd walked alongside them the whole way.
He smiled and announced to everyone:
"The Roger Pirates are disbanded!!!"
So it finally ended.
Aus felt melancholy and reluctant.
Taking the ship through Fish-Man Island toward the four seas, their first stop was South Blue, where Roger would disembark first.
That night, the Roger Pirates threw a party. After all, each one was one less—everyone celebrated like there was no tomorrow.
No matter how much they wanted the ship to crawl,
riding the sea breeze,
the Oro Jackson still reached its destination.
South Blue, Baterilla Island.
Roger disembarked with luggage and medicine.
Everyone bawled their eyes out. Even Aus couldn't hold back, silently dropping a few tears.
"Goodbye,
Captain Roger."
After the farewell, everyone continued sailing under Rayleigh's lead, heading toward the New World and Wano.
But what shocked everyone was that the second person to leave wasn't Oden,
but Aus.
On the way to the New World, while coating at Sabaody, nobody expected Aus to suddenly choose to get off here.
"Hey, Aus, why are you in such a rush to leave? Why not stay with me and Shanks..."
Hearing about Aus's departure, Buggy cried the hardest, nearly wiping snot on Aus.
Aus had his reasons for this.
"Sorry, Buggy. I want to spend two years growing stronger in Paradise before officially starting my journey. But don't worry—we'll meet again soon.
My Observation Haki doesn't lie."
"What Observation Haki! Yours only sees thirty seconds ahead!"
Though Buggy said this, deep down he respected Aus's choice. Cue another round of ugly crying.
Aus grabbed his small pack and some treasure, plus his sword and gun, and said goodbye to everyone.
Before leaving, he hesitated, then looked at Oden with a warning.
Not for Oden himself, but just for their year sailing together, Aus gave him a heads up:
"Hey, Oden, strength is always the only way to solve problems. Pirates are way more cunning than you think."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
Oden was confused, but Aus didn't explain further, just waved goodbye.
Truth was, he didn't really like Oden—only warned him out of crew loyalty.
Otherwise, he would've strangled that little shit Momonosuke and chucked him overboard the moment they met.
Oden's death was his own damn choice. Aus wouldn't interfere, but he'd definitely visit Wano later to stir up trouble.
After all, he did whatever the hell he wanted.
When the time came, he'd castrate Momonosuke. Probably make him a better shogun—without lust, he could focus on ruling.
Besides, the Kozuki family still had Hiyori for bloodline continuation.
He wouldn't be screwing over Oden.
Aus thought with twisted amusement,
watching the Oro Jackson he'd called home for five years slowly submerge toward Fish-Man Island.
"Farewell forever, Roger Pirates..."
...
"Ugh..."
Aus thought he'd mentally prepared himself, figuring Devil Fruits might taste awful, but he never expected them to taste this fucking horrible.
Worse than an old hag's foot wraps smeared with rotten eggs and fermented for three straight days.
Actually, Aus had planned to sandwich the Warp-Warp Fruit between bread and swallow it whole, but curiosity got the better of him.
After all, this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
After one bite,
he stood roadside dry-heaving into a trash can for ages,
then decisively swallowed the rest whole.
Though it was pretty big, even Buggy had managed years ago, so Aus just applied some force and got the remaining flesh down.
Even with no fruit left in his mouth, that soul-destroying awful taste still made his mouth feel like death.
Better find somewhere to eat something decent.
Aus shouldered his luggage, testing his ability while walking.
It took almost no time to completely master the teleportation power.
"Nice."
Strolling casually down the street, Aus moved like a ghost—one step forward and his figure appeared dozens of meters away,
giving off serious Yuan Tiangang vibes.
However, Aus wasn't really familiar with Sabaody. Every visit, he'd never properly explored.
Though his Observation Haki could sense terrain, he'd forgotten which areas did what—the original story explained it, but Aus had long forgotten.
Turning left and right,
finally, Aus stood before an extremely colorful district, silently narrowing his eyes.
Was this fate's arrangement?
Looking at men seeking pleasure inside and the flashily dressed beauties, Aus didn't need to guess what kind of place this was.
Especially with his Observation Haki sensing the beauty-and-beast battles in rooms lining both sides—Aus could only say "holy shit."
Always stuck on Roger's ship with nothing but rough dudes, when had he ever witnessed this?
"Oh my, oh my, never expected such an important person to show up here."
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
The story isn't over...
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