The veins on Rayleigh's forehead bulged as his finger trembled, pointing an accusing finger at Kyle. He looked ready to unleash a lecture of epic proportions, but a hearty laugh suddenly broke the tense standoff.
"Kuhahahahaha!"
Gol D. Roger, far from being nervous, squeezed past his stunned crewmates. He carefully and excitedly reached into the box and lifted the infant out. He then held the baby high in the air, grinning as if showing off a priceless treasure he had just discovered.
"Look at this!" he beamed, his smile somehow even wider and brighter than when he had defeated Rocks. "This has to be a fated encounter! From this day forward, he's a member of our Roger Pirates!"
A collective gasp of disbelief erupted from the entire crew. Everyone on deck, except for a weary-looking Kyle, cried out in unison.
Jabba was the first to find his voice, his sunglasses nearly sliding off his face. "Roger! Are you serious? That's a baby! A little kid who can't even walk yet!" He pointed from the infant in Roger's arms to the turbulent seas around them. "We're pirates, not a floating kindergarten!"
"So what?" Roger replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. He lowered the baby and began to gently tease him. The infant, seeming to sense the cheerful energy, opened his big, dark eyes and looked around at the crew with simple curiosity. He didn't cry. Instead, he let out a happy little giggle.
"See? He likes me a lot!" Roger announced proudly to everyone.
"This isn't about whether he likes you or not!" Rayleigh snapped, pressing his fingers to his throbbing temples. He was certain this unreliable captain of his would be the death of him. "Roger, this is a pirate ship! We fight and kill for a living, and we're constantly on the run from the Marines. How in the world can we raise a child in an environment like this?"
"What's so difficult about it?" Roger waved his hand dismissively, pointing a thumb over at Kyle, who was trying his best to look invisible in the corner. "Kyle was just a small kid back then when he came aboard, wasn't he? And look at him now, he's growing up just fine!"
'Hey, hey, hey, why am I getting dragged into this?'
Kyle rolled his eyes, finally unable to stay silent. "Captain, allow me to make a couple of corrections. First, I was already six years old when I joined the crew. I could feed myself, use the toilet by myself, and even help clean the deck from time to time. Second, leaving age aside for a moment, who do you honestly think is less troublesome: me or you?"
The moment the question was asked, every single crew member, including Rayleigh who had just been fuming, subconsciously turned their gaze toward Roger. Their collective stare screamed the obvious answer.
Rayleigh didn't hesitate to side with Kyle, nodding in firm agreement. "Kyle's right. On his very first day on this ship, he knew enough to make his own bed. Meanwhile, Roger, I still have to remind you not to leave your smelly socks lying all over the floor."
"Hey! Rayleigh!" Roger protested indignantly.
"Captain, you also used my brand-new nautical chart as a coaster last week," another crewmate chimed in.
"And you used my whetstone to sharpen the soles of your boots!" added another.
Amidst the growing storm of accusations and laughter, the tense atmosphere on the deck finally dissolved. The problem, however, remained.
Roger was absolutely determined to keep the child. He began to pace the deck with the infant in his arms, muttering to himself. "Now, I need to give him a name… Oh, wait, there seems to be a tag in the box…"
He reached back into the chest and pulled out a small cloth tag with a name elegantly embroidered in gold thread. He read it aloud: "Shanks… Hmm, that's a good name! From now on, he shall be called Shanks!"
No one could ever truly argue with their captain once his mind was made up, so they could only sigh and reluctantly accept this new reality. But acceptance was one thing; putting it into practice was another thing entirely.
The Oro Jackson, the mightiest ship to ever sail the Grand Line, immediately descended into unprecedented chaos, all thanks to the arrival of one tiny baby.
"Does anyone know how to change a diaper?!"
"What in the world is a diaper? Can I just use this rag for swabbing the deck?"
"You idiot! That'll chafe his skin! Here, use my bandana, it's much softer!"
"He's crying! Quick! Someone make him laugh!"
A burly, heavily scarred pirate leaned over Shanks and made a ghastly face, which only made the baby cry even harder.
"Everyone, move aside!" Jabba ordered, chewing on his cigar with the air of an expert. "He's just a kid. All you need to do is give him something good to eat." With that, he pulled a rock-hard piece of dried jerky from his pocket and was about to stuff it into Shanks's mouth.
"Stop!" Kyle moved in a flash, sending out a gentle shockwave from his finger that knocked the jerky out of Jabba's hand. "Are you trying to choke him? He doesn't even have teeth yet!"
The deck was in absolute pandemonium until Rayleigh finally let out a roar that shook the masts. "EVERYONE, QUIET DOWN! You, go boil some water! And you, find some clean cloths, now!"
Roger watched the chaos from the sidelines, grinning and winking at everyone. "See? I told you raising a kid would be simple."
The entire crew, Kyle included, shot him a look of pure disdain.
Leaning against the mast with an expression of utter despair, Kyle watched as these legendary pirates, men with bounties that averaged over 100 million Berries, were completely defeated by a single, defenseless infant. He sighed and extended his finger.
A faint light wave emanated from his fingertip. It converged and refracted in mid-air, transforming into a kaleidoscope of colorful, glowing butterflies that fluttered gently above Shanks's makeshift bed. Shanks, who had been wailing just a moment ago, was instantly captivated by the beautiful sight. His little hands flailed in the air for a moment before his eyes drifted shut, and he fell back into a deep, peaceful sleep.
"Whoa!"
"Kyle, you're a natural at this!"
The crew members looked at him with newfound admiration. Kyle just twitched his lips and waved them away. He looked at the red-haired infant, who was smacking his little mouth in his sleep, and felt a wave of complicated emotions. He glanced from the luxurious box to the sleeping infant, and then to Roger, who was now crouched by the cradle, a foolish, happy smile on his face as he secretly watched the baby sleep.
By that logic, did this mean he had just become one of Shanks's… adoptive fathers? 'Wow,' he thought. 'That's a super promotion in seniority.'
Kyle pulled a cup from his pocket, filled it with orange juice, and chugged it down. The cool sweetness slid down his throat, but it couldn't quite calm the wonderfully absurd feeling bubbling up in his heart.
The ship sailed through the waves, heading toward the horizon. On its deck, a group of the world's most feared pirates were gathered around a tiny cradle, quietly debating whether they should feed their newest crew member goat's milk or fish soup tomorrow.
"How about we just give him some of my prized rum?" Roger suggested.
"ARE YOU AN IDIOT?!" the entire crew roared back.
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