"???"
Gan Fall was stunned—he had no idea where those two children had come from.
From their appearance, they clearly weren't from Skypiea, nor were they Shandians. They didn't have wings on their backs and looked far more like the Blue Sea people around them. But how did they get here?
Judging by the direction they came from, they had clearly walked out from within Upper Yard. But for hundreds of years, the Divine Soldiers had patrolled this area daily. How could Blue Sea children possibly be hiding here?
Despite his confusion, Gan Fall, as the host of Skypiea, felt obligated to help his guests deal with the situation. He was about to instruct his guards to escort the children away—
But just then, the Blue Sea man named Rayleigh spoke up.
"These two kids... they're not ordinary."
"Hehehe, so you felt it too, Rayleigh..."
Roger grinned broadly as he spoke.
Rayleigh shot him a look. He might not have Roger's ability to hear the voice of all things, but his Observation Haki was top-tier—he could easily sense others' strength, thoughts, and emotions.
Then Roger suddenly said something that caught Rayleigh completely off guard.
"I can't hear that kid's voice."
"What... which one?"
Once Rayleigh confirmed he hadn't misheard, he looked at Roger in shock, then turned toward the children.
"The red-haired one."
Rayleigh quickly focused his gaze in that direction.
He could sense it clearly—of the two boys, the redhead was much stronger. Physically, he was at least ten times more robust than the blond one. Even among the pirate crew's trainees of the same age, none could match this kid's physique.
But that wasn't what surprised him. In the New World, strong children like this weren't uncommon.
What truly stunned him was that this boy could resist Roger's ability to hear the voice of all things.
Rayleigh was just about to speak again when Roger, unable to hold back any longer, suddenly leapt into action.
"Interesting. Let me go meet them—they seem like they've been waiting for me."
With that, Roger sprang into the air and landed on the far-off edge of the Island of the Gods.
His sudden move drew the attention of everyone else aboard the ship. Curious, Shanks—Roger's favorite trainee—turned to Rayleigh.
"Uncle Rayleigh, where's the captain going?"
"Roger..." Rayleigh looked at Shanks, then turned his eyes to the distance.
"The captain found something interesting. He's going to check it out."
As soon as he said that, everyone's attention shifted to the two children standing in the distance…
…
The sun blazed in the clear sky above.
"They're here..."
As Enel muttered nervously, a sharp sound pierced the sky. A tiny black dot descended from above, growing larger and larger with each passing second.
Boom—
Gol Roger's massive frame landed solidly on the ground, less than ten meters in front of them. He wore a wide grin as he looked at the two boys.
Even though Roger's carefree smile resembled Luffy's, the faint pressure radiating from him was enough to make Enel feel as if a mountain was pressing down on his shoulders. The air thickened, every breath grew heavier, and it became hard to even stand.
Before this meeting, Enel had already heard from Yemu who they would be facing on this adventure. At the time, he had felt no pressure at all. Though only eleven, he was practically invincible in Skypiea, and with the power of the Goro Goro no Mi, his arrogance had grown unchecked.
On Skypiea, Enel had never looked up to anyone—except his older brother, Yemu.
But now, he finally understood why Yemu had been both excited and tense when breaking the news.
Standing before this man, Enel realized how laughable his former pride had been. His strength had been completely overwhelmed by the oppressive aura. He couldn't even lift a finger, let alone resist.
It felt like a gust of wind could knock him flat.
Fortunately, a hand suddenly rested on his shoulder, snapping him out of his spiraling fear.
Turning back, he saw Yemu, clearly struggling as well. His brow was tightly furrowed and cold sweat beaded on his forehead, but he was holding his ground—and supporting Enel.
Grateful and shaken, Enel looked at the man before him and murmured in awe, "So strong... Is that really the Pirate King...?"
"Are all Blue Sea people this powerful...?"
Roger's grin faded slightly when he heard the words "Pirate King" slip from Enel's mouth. He glanced at the red-haired boy before him and spoke.
"You're quite the kid... seems like you know who I am."
"Captain of the Roger Pirates. Future Pirate King: Gol D. Roger..."
Yemu forced the words out, and Roger's smile vanished completely.
Because in just that one sentence, Yemu had revealed too much.
"Future... D..."
"Future" alone was enough to catch Roger off guard. But "D"? That was something he'd never shared—not even with Rayleigh, his most trusted first mate.
A wild thought flashed through Roger's mind.
"Kid, you know I'm a pirate. Yet you still stand in front of me. Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"
The words were intimidating, but Yemu actually felt relieved.
In that instant, the suffocating aura vanished. Roger now gave off the warmth of a cheerful uncle next door.
"Of course I'm scared. But when I thought this might be the only chance I'd ever have to meet the Pirate King face-to-face... I couldn't bear to let it slip by."
Yemu spoke plainly, but Roger couldn't help reading deeper into it—his thoughts drifting to his own terminal illness.
"And if I'm lucky, maybe I could learn how to train Haki from the Pirate King himself."
Roger blinked in surprise, then burst into laughter.
"Wahahahaha! So that's it... What a fascinating kid. I didn't expect something this fun with so little time left... But I won't be staying in Skypiea long. How much you can learn—it'll be up to you."
Yemu didn't even hesitate.
"No problem."
Even the briefest chance to learn Haki from the Pirate King was worth it.
"In that case, come with me. I'll introduce you to my crewmates. Who knows—maybe you'll be friends one day."
With that, Roger leapt into the air and vanished.
Yemu turned to Enel without missing a beat.
"Let's go. This is the best chance we'll ever get."
Without another word, one became fire, the other lightning, and they raced after him.
Even though Roger was a firm believer in physical combat—and most of his crew scorned Devil Fruit powers—seeing two rare Logia users appear before him at once was enough to catch even him off guard.
Mera Mera no Mi... Goro Goro no Mi...
"What is this... some kind of twist of fate?"
A strange thought stirred in Roger's mind...
...
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