On the Grand Line, Gol D. Roger stood on deck staring intently at a newspaper in his hand, brows tightly furrowed.
Not far away, Shanks rested casually, watching Roger's serious expression. He spoke to Buggy who was lying on the deck with his hands behind his head,
"Buggy, Captain Roger has been staring at that paper for ages. Something big must have happened."
Buggy squinted up at him, not moving,
"You still don't know? That Marine, Garp, the one who used to chase us all the time, got into trouble. They say he was demoted and sent to prison. Looks like we won't see him again."
Shanks looked up in surprise,
"What? So sudden?"
Buggy glanced at him irritably,
"I've known for a while. You've been off training with Vice Captain Rayleigh and probably haven't been keeping up with the news."
Shanks nodded, understanding now why Roger looked so deep in thought. The newspaper in Roger's hand had probably been read more than once already.
He also knew why Roger looked troubled. Roger had often mentioned Garp with genuine respect, always speaking about him with admiration.
Roger had said more than once that if they weren't on opposite sides, he and Garp would have been close friends.
As Shanks pondered this, Buggy suddenly sat up and said with a mix of awe and excitement,
"Oh right, Garp was defeated by Black Dragon and taken back to Marine Headquarters. Do you remember Black Dragon? The one who saved you during the Edd War!"
"That was him?" Shanks blinked in disbelief, then said,
"He actually defeated Garp? That means his strength must be on par with Captain Roger's!"
Shanks naturally had a deep impression of Lloyd, the Black Dragon who had once saved his life. He remembered Lloyd's youthful face, not much older than Barrett.
Originally he had thought Barrett, who could fight Vice Captain Rayleigh to a draw at such a young age, was already frighteningly strong. But an even stronger man like Lloyd appearing now was astonishing.
Everyone knew Garp as an old rival of the Roger Pirates. Though Roger had never shown his full strength against Garp, Garp was one of the few opponents Roger truly respected.
So someone who could defeat Garp could reasonably be considered a titan among warriors.
Buggy patted Shanks's shoulder earnestly,
"So if we meet Black Dragon in the future, I have to stick close to you!"
Shanks blinked with confusion,
"What do you mean? Are you saying you don't think I can defeat Black Dragon?"
Buggy looked at him with a silly expression and said,
"What a fool! Didn't you notice? Black Dragon's attitude toward you was very special!"
"Special? You mean because he saved me once?"
"Hearing your tone, do you think one save is nothing?"
"Uh, of course not. That saved my life. I will always remember it. If I get the chance, I'll repay him!"
Buggy snorted,
"How will you repay him? With your own head? Your bounty isn't even enough to fix the gaps in his teeth!"
"Buggy, don't say that! Even if I'm still just an apprentice, I believe one day I'll be famous across the seas, like Captain Roger!"
"You? Cut it out! I'm not wasting time on you. Just think about Black Dragon's actions. Has he ever been soft on pirates?"
"…No."
"Exactly. It's abnormal for a Marine like him to save a lowly pirate like you."
Shanks frowned,
"You're right. So why do you think he did it?"
Buggy pinched his chin, his gaze drifting over Shanks's face again and again,
"Maybe it's because you two look a little alike!"
"Ah?"
Shanks was dumbfounded and pointed at his face,
"Just because of this?"
Buggy nodded with confidence. Shanks rolled his eyes and ignored him.
He felt Buggy was talking nonsense — that reason was completely unconvincing.
Buggy stuck out his bottom lip and hummed,
"Anyway, my gut tells me if I stick with you when we meet Black Dragon, it'll save my life!"
Shanks crossed his arms and scoffed,
"Buggy, we are the freest men on the sea. How can we act afraid of death?"
Buggy sneered,
"Stop trying to act cool! We are pirates! Our ultimate goal is treasure! If we lose our lives, how can we go search for treasure?!"
"Boring! The ultimate pursuit of pirates is clearly freedom!"
"Treasure!"
"Freedom!"
Shanks and Buggy pressed their faces together like two young bulls butting heads, pushing back and forth in a childish squabble.
Their noise reached Roger's ears. He folded the newspaper and saw Shanks and Buggy locking horns, then said wearily,
"Hey, Shanks, Buggy, aren't you two tired of arguing like this all day?"
Roger stood intending to walk over, but his expression suddenly changed. He clutched his chest and lowered back onto the deck.
That sight alarmed both Shanks and Buggy. Shanks rushed to support him, while Buggy scrambled to call the ship's doctor, Krokas.
Sweat dripped from Roger's brow, and his usually rosy complexion had turned pale.
Shanks asked anxiously,
"Captain Roger, what's wrong?"
Roger shook his head with a forced smile and said,
"It's nothing. I'm just sad seeing an old friend go through such hardship."
He reached up to gently ruffle Shanks's hair and added softly,
"Shanks, I heard what you said earlier. You and I are really alike. We both pursue freedom."
Shanks wasn't in the mood to answer that. He placed a hand over Roger's chest, hoping to ease his captain's discomfort.
At that moment, Krokas arrived with the rest of the Roger Pirates.
Seeing them, Roger brightened and grinned,
"Why did you all come over? Are we having another feast?"
Krokas ignored him and placed a stethoscope to Roger's chest. After a moment, he let out a relieved sigh,
"Luckily it was just a sudden thing, but Roger, you need to take it easy, otherwise…"
Roger raised a hand to cut him off. Under his crew's worried eyes, he grinned again,
"What are all of these faces for? Smile for me!"
Everyone exchanged glances. Then Rayleigh gave a warm look toward Roger and echoed,
"Alright, alright, it was a false alarm. Everyone, go bring the drinks, let's have a feast!"