The Beast Pirates had left, leaving only the ravaged ruins of Grove 16.
Rayleigh slowly sat down, leaning on his sword, his gaze still fixed on King's retreating figure.
To be precise, he was watching Bazel, who was being carried away on King's back.
"It seems you've found your destined rival, Rayleigh."
Roger plopped down beside him, completely disregarding the injury on Rayleigh's right shoulder, and gave it a hearty slap.
"Just like me and Garp, you two are destined to become lifelong rivals!"
"Get lost."
Rayleigh swatted Roger's hand away irritably, laughing as he scolded, "Can't you see my right shoulder is injured, you idiot captain?"
"If you can't even handle a mere apprentice from the Rocks Pirates, maybe it's time for me to take over as captain!"
Roger: (ÒωÓױ)!
"What nonsense are you spouting, you fool? I'm the captain!!"
Gaban joined in the fun, "What are you two idiots babbling about? If anyone's going to be captain, it should be me!"
"Alright then, first order from Captain Gaban!!"
"From now on, all fights must be handled by Captain Gaban first!"
"Get lost!!" Roger and Rayleigh shouted in unison.
"Oh, so you two have some rebellious ideas, huh? This captain will teach you a lesson today."
Roger rolled up his sleeves, grinning mischievously, "Rayleigh, don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're injured. If I don't make you cry this time, I'll quit being captain!"
Rayleigh was stunned for a moment, then looked at Roger in disbelief, "Could you at least pretend to have a decent excuse if you're going to take advantage of the situation? Do you really think anyone besides that fool Gaban would want to be captain?"
Gaban rolled up his sleeves, wearing an identical mischievous grin, "Oh~ You've got quite the mouth on you. Don't think I'll let you spout nonsense just because you're injured."
The three of them instantly descended into a brawl.
Rayleigh's agonized cries made the other members of the Roger Pirates click their tongues in sympathy.
"Captain Roger's thickness of skin is truly on par with his Conqueror's Haki."
"No kidding. He's just using this flimsy excuse to get back at Rayleigh for beating him up a few times before."
"Gaban too. He's just salty because Rayleigh stole a few fights from him. Tsk tsk tsk~"
Half an hour later, a refreshed Roger and Gaban walked away side by side.
"Ah, that felt good. Gaban, I think I can drink two more bottles of wine tonight."
"Same here, Roger. Let's go back and start a party!"
"You… two… bastards, just you wait…"
Rayleigh's eyes rolled back, and a faint, legless ghost seemed to float out of his mouth.
"Rayleigh!!!!"
…
Roger Pirates' Ship, Oro Jackson.
The sounds of celebration echoed throughout the ship.
But the captain, Roger, did not join in. Instead, he stood alone at the stern, occasionally flipping through the intelligence reports in his hand.
"Roger, is something wrong?"
Rayleigh, his body wrapped in bandages, slowly approached, holding a bottle of wine.
"Should you be drinking in your condition?" Roger asked without looking up.
"You didn't seem to care when you were beating me up earlier."
Rayleigh kicked Roger, tossed the wine bottle to him, and snatched the intelligence reports.
"Information about Rocks? Why are you still concerned about him? He's already dead."
Gulp~ Gulp~ Gulp~~
Roger downed half the bottle in one go and sent the empty bottle spinning into the sea.
"Rayleigh, don't you think the man you fought seemed somewhat familiar?"
"Although his hair color, facial features, and demeanor are different, that aura…"
He trailed off mid-sentence.
Though Roger didn't finish, Rayleigh keenly sensed the underlying question.
He lowered his head and quickly read through the intelligence.
"...Roger, you don't suspect that kid is Rocks's son, do you?!"
"..." Roger remained silent.
"But the timeline doesn't add up. Even if the information says someone spotted Rocks in the South Blue twenty years ago."
"That doesn't confirm Bazel is Rocks's son, does it?!"
Roger shook his head, leaning against the railing as he gazed at the starry sky, "I'm not saying it's definite. It's just a feeling."
Rayleigh fell silent for a moment before suddenly asking, "I remember you have the ability to hear the Voice of All Things, right? What did you hear from him?"
Roger licked his lips, his expression peculiar, "That ability isn't mind-reading. I can only hear the essence of objects or living beings."
"That's exactly what I mean. You heard Bazel's voice, didn't you? What was it like?"
"Let me rephrase."
Rayleigh pointed to his own heart, "What you hear is the essence of things and some sounds we can't hear or understand."
"Even the Poneglyphs… you once said you 'heard' immense power from those stones!"
"So, what is the essence of Bazel's soul? What does the voice representing his consciousness sound like?"
"...It's justice." Roger sighed.
"It's a sense of justice and determination to accomplish something at all costs. It's ridiculous, isn't it? I actually heard 'pure justice' from a notorious pirate who's killed thousands."
'Justice?'
Rayleigh looked utterly bewildered.
'A pirate has justice?'
"Are you joking? You're saying Bazel's essence is justice!?"
"You're telling me the descendant of Rocks, the man who killed a former Marine Admiral, broke into Pangaea Castle, fought Harald in the Holy Land, and nearly ruled the seas… is a righteous pirate?!"
"What if he isn't a pirate?"
Roger's intense gaze fixed on Rayleigh.
"What if, from the very beginning, he wasn't a pirate but a Marine or a World Government's agent?!"
Rayleigh fell silent, suddenly feeling his throat go dry.
He shook the documents in his hand.
"So, Roger, are you trying to say a suspected descendant of Rocks... is a marine?"
"Does that sound even remotely reasonable to you?"
"Don't tell me you've forgotten what Rocks was trying to do on God Valley in the West Blue! The reason he stormed in with his crew wasn't just to reclaim treasures stolen by World Government's agents!"
"What he aimed to achieve was something neither of us, nor anyone else on these seas, had ever dared to consider!"
"Do you honestly believe the World Government and the Marines would ever allow Rocks' descendant to join their ranks?"
"Don't be absurd!!!"
Rayleigh said sternly, "Even speculation has to have its limits!"
Roger ruffled his hair in frustration.
"That's exactly why I haven't been in the mood for the party! Damn it, I never should've had Spencer compile this intel!"
"Things are just getting more and more complicated!!"
"Then…"
Clutching the documents, Rayleigh suddenly asked, "If you're this troubled, why don't we just head to the South Blue? Let's go there and get to the bottom of this. It's not like we can decipher the Poneglyphs right now anyway."
"Might as well go somewhere else to clear our heads. Who knows? We might stumble upon something unexpected."
Roger's eyes lit up, and he eagerly slung an arm around Rayleigh's shoulder, "Hahaha, you always know how to cheer me up, Rayleigh! Let's change course then, we're going to the South Blue!"
"I'm fine with that, but Roger…"
Rayleigh looked at his captain with a meaningful gaze, "If he is really is Rocks's descendant, he might aspire to become the next King of the World."
"If that's the case, what will you do? Kill him preemptively?"
Roger didn't answer immediately. His deep gaze seemed to pierce through to the horizon.
"No!"
"I won't kill him, Rayleigh. That young man might just be the one to change these seas."
"He's different from Rocks. What I heard from Rocks was only ambition and conquest."
"But the voice emanating from Bazel is singular: justice. The purest, most stubborn kind of justice!"
"It's different from the justice of Garp, Sengoku, or any of the others…"
"That kind of justice..."
"That kind of justice..."
Roger muttered to himself for a long time, unable to find the right words.
Just then, a News Coo landed, delivering a newspaper.
Seeing Roger still lost in thought, Rayleigh briskly took some Berry from Roger's wallet and paid for the paper, "News from the North Blue? A comic? Since when does the World Economic News Paper publish comics? 'Hero Sora vs. the Evil Organization'..."
"Wait, Rayleigh, let me see that!"
Roger snatched the newspaper like a man possessed, his eyes glued to the word 'hero'.
"Yes, this is it!!"
Rayleigh was baffled.
"Rayleigh, I understand now!!!"
"I finally found the right word to describe the voice I heard from Bazel!"
"A hero fighting against evil and darkness!"
"The voice emanating from that guy's soul… is the Hero's Justice!!!"
---
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