"Right, right. All thanks to you, little brother. Join our crew. The Roger Pirates are strong and we will be the number one crew in the world. Our captain will become Pirate King."
"Sorry. Crews are not my thing. I am used to doing as I please."
Rakuya turned them down with a smile. Join a crew and wear a leash. Not a chance. He wanted to roam the skies and set foot on the summit of this world on his own strength.
"Thank you," Gol D. Roger said, stepping up beside him, gratitude plain but steady.
"No need. Business is business. I helped because we had a deal." Rakuya did not dress it up. He was not playing the hero. If Roger had not agreed to pay twelve Devil Fruits, he would have minded his own business.
That bluntness actually put Roger at ease. He let his guard drop and studied Rakuya from up close. "What is your power, exactly. Something like the Float-Float Fruit."
Silvers Rayleigh had the same question. A power this broken would terrify Marine HQ. With it, a crew could go wherever it wanted. If the sea blocked the way, the sky would not.
The Golden Lion, Shiki, had built an airborne armada with the Float-Float Fruit, a natural advantage over even Roger and Whitebeard.
"Repulsion," Rakuya said, not bothering to hide it.
"Repulsion," Roger echoed, surprised. "There is a fruit like that."
"Yeah. I ate the Repulsion Fruit. Anything I want to manipulate, I can cancel out the pull it feels from the ground. Cancel gravity with repulsion and you take off."
"That incredible." Roger could not help the sigh. Compared to Shiki's Float-Float, this was even scarier. With repulsion, even a casual flick could turn any weapon into a killing shot.
"It is not all upside," Rakuya added. "You know the price. I cannot swim. I hear Fish-Man Island is full of beautiful mermaids. Not being able to dive down alone feels like a hole in my heart."
"Pervert," Momousagi muttered, eyes flashing.
"I was not talking about you. Less yapping," Rakuya shot back.
"You." She bit her lip, furious and speechless.
"Captain, the New World is ahead," Rayleigh reminded softly.
Roger lifted his gaze. The sea boiled to the horizon. Islands big and small rose like teeth from the swells. A colossal Sea King breached, throwing walls of water.
This was the New World, where the strong hunted and were hunted in turn. This was the stage for rulers.
"Hahaha. The New World."
"Yow. We are back."
"Whitebeard, keep your chin up. We are coming."
"Roger Pirates."
The deck erupted. Hours ago they had looked finished. Now a single man had flipped their fate.
"Sir, I have a bold request," Rayleigh said, sword in hand as the cheering crested.
"What is it," Rakuya asked, curious.
"Would you cross blades with me."
"Sure."
Rayleigh did not posture. The blade came free with a ringing note, Busoshoku Haki sheathing the steel as he brought it down in a clean vertical cut.
The ship shuddered.
"Repulsion. Divine Spike."
Rakuya raised a hand and a cone of force shimmered into being, swelling in an instant to meet the falling blade.
Steel and force kissed in a flash and parted. Rayleigh slid back and let out a rueful chuckle.
"Who won," the crew whispered.
"Rayleigh is strong. I say the First Mate," someone ventured.
"Not so fast. He is up against a Repulsion Fruit user."
"They both look untouched. Call it a draw."
Roger laughed. "Rakuya won."
"Why."
"Captain, they are even," others protested.
"It was the first exchange," Roger said at last. "Rayleigh's hand was trembling. Rakuya did not even ruffle his breath. That means Rakuya won."
Heads nodded as the logic sank in. Awe rippled across the deck when they looked at Rakuya again.
"Where to," Rakuya asked.
"Drop us at that island. The rest of the road is mine to walk," Roger said, pointing without fuss. He would not lean on Rakuya more than this.
Rakuya obliged. The ship drifted to the leeward side of the island like a leaf in his palm.
"These are the twelve Devil Fruits. Count them," Roger said, and two crewmen lugged up a chest from deep storage.
"Good." Rakuya swept his eyes over the strange, whorled fruits, nodded, and drew the chest to him with a thought.
"See you around, Roger. If you run into trouble and you have enough Devil Fruits, you know where to find me."
He left it at that. With Momousagi in tow and a box of twelve Devil Fruits humming with power, Rakuya stepped off the gunwale and rose toward another island, carving his own line across the New World sky.
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