Chapter 263: Roger Begins to Doubt Life
The Lunarian boy watching from the side was dumbfounded.
Was this really the Pirate King who once shook the world? He seemed more like an idiot.
After a while, the two sat on the deck, drinking cheap barley ale.
"I can't believe my first drink after being revived tastes this awful."
The metallic rust from the bottle cap made Roger purse his lips in disgust.
Rayleigh didn't indulge him. He said bluntly, "There's no good liquor on a slave ship. If you can hold off, wait until we dock."
Meaning: if you're that desperate, it's your own fault.
"There are still slaves?"
Roger's face turned slightly grim.
Rayleigh nodded. "Yes. Fish-Man Island still hasn't seen sunlight. The Celestial Dragons now call themselves the Divine Clan and remain one of the most powerful forces on this sea."
Roger looked downcast. "So the plan failed?"
He was referring to the Great Age of Pirates.
Back then, he had sailed with great dreams, gathering crewmates and defeating enemies, eventually reaching Laugh Tale to become the Pirate King.
But even after becoming Pirate King, he found he couldn't change the world's oppression.
That's why, before his death, he spoke those words—to ignite a Great Age of Pirates.
He wasn't sure if it would succeed.
Sick and dying, it was the best he could think of to spark hope for freedom and dreams in the hearts of all.
Rayleigh first nodded, then shook his head. "It succeeded—but it also failed."
"The Age of Pirates succeeded.
In the years after your death, countless people rushed to the sea because of your words, hoping to find the treasure you left behind."
"But the outcome was a failure."
"Most treasure seekers weren't chasing freedom or dreams. They were just despicable pirates bent on destruction.
More than ten years later, the World Government and Celestial Dragons still sit atop the peak of power."
The process had succeeded—but the result was failure.
Because the start had already been flawed. The outcome was destined from the beginning.
"I see. So I've become the criminal of an era."
Roger looked sorrowful.
It wasn't his intention, but he had no choice.
Had he been young and healthy, maybe he could've done more, had more options.
But sick and dying, the Age of Pirates had been the best move he could make at the time—
and it too had failed.
Rayleigh looked at the dejected Roger and sighed deeply. "But the one you placed your hopes on—Shanks—he's given this sea new life."
"Shanks!"
Mentioning the apprentice he had such high hopes for, Roger's eyes lit up. "How is he now?"
"He was once one of the Four Emperors in the New World," Rayleigh said with a half-smile.
"Now he's the leader of the Adventurer Guild.
He didn't inherit your will—instead, he issued a new declaration of adventure.
Even I was stunned when I heard it."
"Adventurer declaration?"
At the mention of adventurers, the Lunarian boy beside them lit up, chattering excitedly.
Roger listened carefully, piecing together the details of this "adventurer" movement.
Finally, he exclaimed, "What a grand declaration. Even grander than my Age of Pirates.
Shanks… that kid really didn't let me down."
"Let you down?"
Rayleigh didn't hold back. "Right now, it looks more like you, the captain, are the one who's lost face."
"What?!"
Roger glared. "Rayleigh, you old bastard, you looking for a fight?"
The Lunarian boy and the freed slaves watching from the ship's cabin all looked on with strange expressions.
Ever since learning that Rayleigh was Roger's right hand, they'd been stunned.
Who disguises himself as an old slave and sneaks onto a slave ship?
Then came the second shock—Roger's resurrection.
The Pirate King, dead for years, was now standing alive before them.
And now the third shock—
This legendary Pirate King, compared to legends like Big Mom, Kaido, and the imposing Whitebeard, seemed… kind of brainless?
Though his hair was already greying, Rayleigh proudly said, "Right now, you're no match for me, Roger, you little brat."
"Are you serious? Rayleigh, I'm not sick anymore, you know."
Roger grinned, his eyes brimming with fighting spirit.
Two minutes later—
Roger was tied up tightly, flailing around the deck like a fish out of water.
"Rayleigh! What the hell?! Are you a monster?! How can you block my Divine Departure?!"
Roger felt like he was having an existential crisis.
He was in peak condition—yet Rayleigh had beaten him without breaking a sweat.
Everyone knew: outside of Devil Fruit users, most physical fighters' strength would decline with age.
So had Rayleigh been hiding his true power all along?
If so, why didn't you just say something?!
You could've been the Pirate King! I'd have been your right hand!
Rayleigh took out a Contract Fruit and held it to Roger's mouth.
"Eat this fruit, and you'll understand everything."
"A Devil Fruit?"
Roger shook his head furiously. "I'm not against Devil Fruit powers, but I don't want to eat one and turn into a landlubber. That wouldn't be free at all! Wait… hold on…"
Mid-sentence, his eyes widened.
He stared at the fruit.
Roger had the ability to hear the "Voice of All Things." But this fruit—
He heard nothing.
That ability—unique to the One Piece world—
wasn't spiritual energy, but more like an unshackled soul reaching out, resonating with all life to understand their emotions and essence.
Even inanimate objects carried echoes of sound over time.
But from this fruit?
Nothing.
As if something beyond this world had created a fruit that had never touched anything else—leaving no echoes, no voice.
Roger didn't understand it—but he was shaken deeply.
"Rayleigh… where did you get this fruit?"
"From the Game Merchant."
In short, Rayleigh explained what had happened since the Game Merchant's arrival.
"An outsider from another world, who created a game that allows people to hunt pollution across countless realms.
A game that lets anyone break free of fate—where any wish can come true?"
Roger's face turned red with excitement. He clenched his fists, broke the ropes holding him, and stared at the Contract Fruit.
Without hesitation, he swallowed it whole.
"You idiot! Just like a Devil Fruit, one bite is enough! You trying to choke to death?!"
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