"Maybe we need a doctor too?"
"How about a scholar? Our education level isn't exactly high."
"A helmsman? That's important, Rune!"
"An interrogator! We're going to capture enemies, so someone's gotta be cruel enough to interrogate them, right?"
"A shipwright! If the ship breaks down later, someone has to know how to fix it!"
"A tactical advisor! We need someone to come up with plans; we can't just keep charging in recklessly forever!"
"A cannoneer! Essential for naval battles!"
"A Fishman!!"
"And plenty of other interesting guys!"
Rayleigh listened to the two of them chiming in with each other, as if they had already planned out everything for the future.
These two, who had fought so brilliantly yesterday, were bickering as childishly as little kids today.
Unknowingly, he was drawn in by a certain invisible charisma they possessed, even though they seemed foolish and reckless.
Rune suddenly lay back on the deck, stopping the argument, and stared at the fine weather with a smile on his face.
"It'll happen, right?" Rune reached out as if to grasp the sun, saying with unwavering conviction:
"We will definitely make sure everyone in the world knows us! We'll be written into the long history of pirates!"
This sudden seriousness made Roger stop fooling around. He laughed as well and replied:
"Of course! Rune! The future number one pirate crew in the world will definitely be ours!"
Rayleigh leaned against the cabin door and smiled slightly:
"I'm also looking forward to the day our promise is fulfilled, Roger."
"Huh?" Roger turned back in surprise, looking at Rayleigh. "What promise?"
"You forgot the promise you made yesterday when you invited me on board, saying we'd go subvert the world! You bastard!!"
Roger laughed at him. "So, does that mean you officially agree?"
"Of course!!"
"Great! I won't forget my promise to you, Rayleigh!"
Hearing this, Rayleigh finally breathed a sigh of relief; otherwise, he would have had to go back to a life of wandering.
He brought over an empty wooden barrel, placed it between them, and sat down in front of them.
The three of them sat in a circle on the deck. Rayleigh, at over 1.9 meters tall, looked quite small in front of the other two.
Roger was 2.74 meters tall, while Rune was 2.75 meters tall. Just by comparison, they were a whole size larger than him.
"Have you guys done any homework on the Grand Line?" Rayleigh placed a sea chart on the barrel:
"The Grand Line has bizarre weather patterns. It might snow heavily one moment, hail the next, or even rain harmful substances like sulfuric acid. It's completely different from the mild climates of the four seas."
"That's why we need a navigator, right?" Rune pondered, rubbing his chin. Although he could evolve in extreme environments, it was only temporary. Against the true power of nature, he felt very, very small.
"Exactly! We can make our own food for now! We'll start recruiting musicians only after we have the means in the future!" Rayleigh glanced at the two:
"With this beat-up little boat of mine, what musician would be willing to follow us? A cook is impossible too!"
Roger thought that made sense and stopped messing around. Adjusting his straw hat with one hand, he laughed:
"Then we'll do as you say. Let's find a navigator first, haha!"
A navigator? The first person that came to Rune's mind was,
Scopper Gaban.
Rayleigh was the right arm, and Gaban was the left arm. Their joining was inevitable; Rune didn't doubt that for a second.
Seawater from the four seas poured continuously from the Twin Capes into the Grand Line.
While the three were consulting the chart to decide which island to visit, a brand-new Marine warship dove down at full speed from the river above the Twin Capes.
"Roger—!!"
Garp's familiar, booming voice rang in Rune's and Roger's ears.
Startled, the two quickly looked up at the river. They saw Garp standing at the front of the warship, raising his fist and shouting loudly, charging down with high spirits.
"Garp!"
"How did he get here again so fast? Shouldn't it take a long time to repair a warship?"
Rayleigh's eyes narrowed as he stared at the Marine pursuing them from Reverse Mountain.
Just as he was about to say something, he saw Rune and Roger already sitting on the left and right sides of the gunwale with wooden planks, rowing frantically!
"Set sail quickly, Rayleigh! We're injured, so it's best not to engage him for now!"
Rune said to Rayleigh. Not only was he starving, but his muscles were also throbbing with pain.
Let alone fighting, he didn't want to see that bastard Garp at all.
"Hey! Lighthouse boy! Thanks for the help!!"
Even while rowing frantically, Roger didn't forget to thank Crocus.
"Without a Log Pose, we'd be lost on this sea!"
Rayleigh raised the sail and quickly ran to the helm. He had already witnessed Garp's power yesterday.
All three of them were currently injured; there was no benefit to clashing with him.
"Anything is better than running into that guy! We have to go fast... faster! Get further away from him!"
This was the first time Crocus had seen such a surreal scene of a Marine chasing pirates.
The small boat couldn't outrun the warship on its own, but with the added strength of Roger and Rune, they managed to pull away slightly.
Initially, Rune hadn't expected that forming the "Roger Pirates" with Roger would be so difficult; it was hardly a life for a human.
Over this long period, Garp was like a companion following behind them. No matter which sea they went to or what companions they recruited, a battle would inevitably break out with him on the sea every once in a while.
They pushed each other to grow. In this long process, Garp also slowly rose to the rank of Vice Admiral at Marineford, becoming a role model for countless grassroots Marine soldiers.
—sea circle calendar, 40 years ago, on the seas of the New World in the Grand Line (two years before the God Valley Incident).
On the deck of the oro jackson, Rune, with a face full of stubble and hairy legs, opened his eyes to find the rest of the Roger Pirates gathered together.
"We've caught up to the Kuja Pirates' ship! Quick, get me my megaphone!"
Roger was incredibly excited to see the ship in the distance, pulled by two Sea Kings.
"The Kuja Pirates..." Hearing the name, Rune, who was taking a nap, yawned and stretched on his lounge chair.
"Marcus, I'm hungry!"
Marcus, the cook of the Roger Pirates and Rune's favorite older guy, always kept nutritious meals ready in the kitchen every day, just in case.
And the current Kuja Pirates were the idols of the entire sea. Their Captain, Gloriosa, and first mate, Shakky, were peerless beauties who could make anyone's head spin with just a glance.
The West Blue, East Blue, South Blue, North Blue, Paradise, and the New World—the whole world was smitten with them, making them global "idols" and "superstars."
No man didn't love them; no man could withstand the test of their looks and figures.
"A real man doesn't fall into a woman's trap!" Rune cast a disdainful look at everyone before walking into the kitchen:
"You bunch of idiots, morons!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the crew of the Roger Pirates swarmed him, pinning him down in front of the kitchen door and beating him until his face was swollen like a pig's head, with no dignity left for a first mate.
Roger was still at the front of the oro jackson, giving orders through his megaphone.
"Save me, Marcus!!" Rune cried out to the man in the kitchen, barely escaping by crawling inside in a pathetic state.
"Sigh, Vice-Captain Lu En, you know how crazy Roger and the others are about these idols. Why did you have to go and provoke them? Weren't you just asking for trouble?"
Inside the kitchen, seeing Rune arrive, Marcus served him a large table of delicious food as usual.
"Hmph!" Rune snorted disdainfully and sat down at the table to enjoy his feast:
"Me? I've been surrounded by women since I was a teenager. I'm completely different from them. I've already... lost interest in women."
Marcus was a calm and very mature man. He used to run a sea restaurant on the Grand Line until he was saved by them and grew to like this group.
He sat at the table next to Rune and patted him on the shoulder:
"I know, of course. But Rune, one day you'll find a woman you love to be your companion, right?"
"A woman I love?" Rune asked, puzzled, as he stuffed food into his mouth with a metal spoon and fork.
Marcus continued:
"Not the kind of women who just like your looks and body, nor the kind looking for a night of pleasure.
But a woman you truly fall in love with, a woman you can't get rid of even if you wanted to.
You just haven't found your own happy love yet, Rune. Every man goes through this stage eventually."
Because he was too handsome and had a great physique as a teenager, Rune had never lacked for women.
As for the "love" Marcus spoke of, it made Rune fall into deep thought; he really hadn't experienced that feeling.
"Hahaha!" Rune put his arm around Marcus's shoulder and laughed loudly:
"Your words are just like your cooking, Marcus—they leave a wonderful aftertaste!"
After enjoying his private lunch, Rune quickly finished and walked out of the cabin with Marcus.
By then, the oro jackson had pulled alongside the Kuja Pirates' ship.
"He... Hello!" Roger shouted through his megaphone at the women on the Kuja Pirates' ship. "Kuja Pirates, we're going to win today! We're taking your first mate, Shakky, with us!"
On the enemy ship, a peerless beauty with pink hair blossomed with joy upon seeing the oro jackson approach.
"It's the Roger Pirates!" The current Pirate Empress, Gloriosa, saw Roger standing behind the mermaid figurehead at the front of the oro jackson. With a look of displeasure, she said:
"Roger, you really never change! Isn't it enough to be loved by a woman like me, Roger!"
However, she didn't get a response. Instead, she saw the oro jackson quickly close in on their ship.
As soon as they were close enough, Roger, for the sake of the infinitely charming Shakky, was the first to charge onto the ship with his sword—though he had absolutely no fighting spirit.
The whole crew followed him and began the battle with the Kuja Pirates.
"Who did you say you were taking away?!"
As everyone was fighting, the cabin door of the Kuja Pirates' ship was kicked open by a pair of high heels. That silhouette and those long legs instantly caught the eyes of everyone in the Roger Pirates.
The first mate of the Kuja Pirates walked out of the cabin, smoking a cigarette.
Her black hair fell like a waterfall, and her skin was as white as snow.
The corners of her beautiful eyes were slightly upturned, and her gaze held a mix of arrogance and charm.
Her figure was tall and graceful, her curves breathtaking, and most of all, those legs were straight and elegant.
Just by standing in everyone's line of sight, she was a breathtaking sight, a beauty that was heart-wrenchingly lovely.