One Piece: From Ninja To Pirates

"After conquering the Grand Line, Roger became the Pirate King, right?"

"Yes."

Rayleigh nodded and said, "After that, Roger was known to the world as... the Pirate King!!"

At this moment, a look of reminiscence appeared in Rayleigh’s eyes, as if he was seeing his former crewmates once again. This also caused the corners of his mouth to gradually curl upward.

"The title of Pirate King~" Pappag said. "That’s so glorious!!"

"This title may seem glorious to the world, but for a dying man, such a title held little meaning."

"Because of that incurable disease?"

"Yes," Rayleigh replied. "But Roger was still very happy."

"Even with an incurable illness, he wasn’t greatly affected by it. He continued to enjoy every day as a pirate!"

"What an open-minded person..." Meiser remarked with emotion.

"Indeed."

Most people, upon learning they had an incurable disease, would likely spend the rest of their lives in shadow. Yet he... Well, what else could you expect from the Pirate King?

"Yes, he was an extremely open-minded person," Rayleigh nodded.

It was precisely because of this that their captain could become the Pirate King.

After placing his glass on the table, Rayleigh continued, "Not long after that, the captain announced the disbandment of the pirate crew."

"Just like that, the crew members began leaving one after another to pursue their own paths."

"Even I don’t know where they are now or what they’re doing."

"It was to prevent the Marines from causing trouble, right?" Meiser said.

"Correct."

Rayleigh nodded. "After all... we were all members of the Roger Pirates."

If the Marines were to discover any of the Pirate King’s former crewmates, they would undoubtedly pounce like madmen. At least, that’s how it was back then.

To avoid such a situation, they agreed not to inquire about each other’s whereabouts or activities. This... was for everyone’s good.

"I see. That makes sense."

"But then?" Usopp asked. "Even if Roger had an incurable disease, that doesn’t explain why he would turn himself in."

The others also looked puzzled, unable to connect an incurable illness with surrendering to authorities.

"The final reason... he never told me," Rayleigh said. "He only left me with these words as he departed."

"He said: ’Brother, I will not die.’"

"And with that, he left and turned himself in to the Marines."

"To showcase their power, the Marines publicly executed Roger in Loguetown, hoping to crush the pirates’ morale."

"But instead... Roger’s final words ignited the Great Pirate Era!"

As Rayleigh spoke, Luffy and the others all recalled those famous words in their minds.

(You want my treasure? You can have it!)

(Go find it! I left everything in that place!)

It was precisely because of the Pirate King Roger’s words that countless young people set sail to pursue their dreams!

"Feels like we just heard something incredible..."

"Hearing it from the person involved makes it feel like a completely different matter."

"So you’re saying this so-called Great Pirate Era was entirely started by Roger..." Meiser remarked.

He was beginning to understand—Roger’s surrender must have been for that very moment.

But... why would he do such a thing?

Roger’s actions clearly aimed to encourage more people to set sail, almost as if... he wanted others to discover something.

Could it be that One Piece?

"I can’t answer that for you," Rayleigh said. "After all... Roger is already dead."

"As for this Great Pirate Era you mentioned..."

Rayleigh paused, then smiled. "Only those who live in this era can shape it."

"Still, Roger’s words were like a key," Meiser replied.

Listening to him, Rayleigh glanced at him with amusement. "Is that what you think?"

"Yes," Meiser nodded.

"Why?"

"Because he was the Pirate King. Because he had the greatest treasure."

Whatever Roger’s motives might have been, the fact remained—he possessed a legendary treasure.

And now that he was gone, that treasure belonged to no one. Whoever found it could claim it... Who wouldn’t be tempted?

One could say Roger perfectly exploited humanity’s weakness.

That must have been how he ignited the Great Pirate Era.

After a moment of thought, Meiser added, "I feel like he had a special purpose behind it."

Either he wanted people to uncover something... or it was all just a prank.

The more Meiser considered it, the more plausible the latter seemed.

After all... a dying man was capable of anything.

"Perhaps..."

Rayleigh nodded, choosing not to dwell on the matter.

"Whatever it is, I’m going to be the Pirate King," Luffy declared.

Rayleigh chuckled at his determination.

"That straw hat... suits you well," Rayleigh said. "It’s a hat only a true man deserves to wear!"

"Shanks has good taste."

"Huh?!"

"Old man, you know Shanks?!"

Luffy’s eyes lit up with excitement—he hadn’t expected to meet someone who knew Shanks here.

"Of course I do," Rayleigh laughed. "He was an apprentice on our ship."

"Shanks was on the Pirate King’s crew?!" Luffy gasped in disbelief.

The man who set him on the path of piracy... had sailed with the Pirate King?!

This was beyond shocking.

"Yes," Rayleigh confirmed.

"Shanks..."

"Ten years ago, we met here once," Rayleigh recalled. "That kid was overjoyed telling me all about you."

At that moment, Shanks’ words resurfaced in Rayleigh’s memory.

(Mr. Rayleigh, there’s a kid in the East Blue who said the exact same thing as the Captain... those words about becoming the Pirate King.)

Back then, Rayleigh had asked Shanks why he lost his arm. The answer?

"I bet it on the new era."

"The new era, huh..."

Looking at Luffy, who was overjoyed upon hearing news about Shanks, Rayleigh also smiled.

"Old man, where is Shanks?"

"Of course, in the New World," Rayleigh chuckled. "I think he’s also very much looking forward to meeting you."

"Ahaha, I’ll definitely go to the New World to find him!" Luffy laughed heartily.

As he spoke, Luffy took off his hat and smiled at it—this hat carried special meaning.

Once he found Shanks, he would return the hat to him. That was their promise!

"By the way, have any of you met Buggy in the East Blue?" Rayleigh asked. "He was also a trainee on our ship."

"Buggy?"

"Who’s that?"

Chopper and Merry exchanged puzzled glances—they had never heard of this person.

"Buggy the Clown, you don’t know him?" Rayleigh said in surprise. "I thought he was quite famous in the East Blue."

"Oh, that clown."

Luffy, who had just put his hat back on, nodded. "Yeah, we’ve met. We fought a few times."

"Is that so? What a coincidence, hahaha."

Rayleigh burst into laughter, never expecting Buggy would run into Luffy. He wondered if Buggy had recognized the significance of that straw hat.

"By the way, young ninja..."

"Just call me Meiser, old man Rayleigh," Meiser said.

"Alright, Meiser." Rayleigh studied him. "Are you from the Land of Wano?"

Hearing this, Meiser gave a helpless expression. "Why is it always this question..."

"Oh?"

"Has a lot of people asked you that?"

"Quite a few, actually."

Kokoro had asked, Marine Admiral Aokiji had asked, Luffy’s grandfather had asked, even Moria had asked... All of them were curious whether he was from the Land of Wano.

But he had no idea where the Land of Wano even was!

"Seems like a lot of people are curious about your identity, hahaha," Rayleigh laughed.

He figured their thoughts were probably similar to his.

"But unfortunately, I’m not from the Land of Wano," Meiser shrugged. "I’m just an ordinary ninja—no connection to Wano whatsoever."

"I see..." Rayleigh nodded.

Since he had gotten a clear answer, there was no need to dwell on it further.

"So, are you a Devil Fruit ability user?" Shakky asked curiously.

"Nope." Meiser shook his head.

"Really...?"

"You’re not a Devil Fruit user?" Rayleigh looked at Meiser in surprise. "Then how did you use the Water Release Technique?"

"Water Release Technique?"

"Yeah. On my way back, I ran into some bounty hunters who got beaten up pretty badly," Rayleigh explained. "From what they said, they were attacked by the Straw Hat crew’s ninja using Water Release Ninjutsu. I assume that was you."

He directed the last sentence at Meiser.

"Ah, if nothing unexpected happened, then yeah, that was me," Meiser nodded. "We did run into quite a few bounty hunters along the way."

"You can really use Water Release?"

Shakky stared at Meiser in astonishment. "You can manipulate seawater?"

"Yes."

Shakky: "..."

After receiving confirmation, Shakky fell into deep thought.

This ability to manipulate the sea is truly terrifying—no wonder Meiser received such a high bounty on his first Wanted Poster.

"Aren’t you an information broker?" Meiser looked at Shakky in confusion. "Don’t you know about this?"

He hadn’t hidden his mastery of the Water Release Technique during their journey. Could it be that she hadn’t obtained any intel?

"How many days has it even been since you made a name for yourself?" Shakky sighed helplessly. "I am an information broker, sure, but I’m not omniscient."

His rise to fame had been too recent. Even if she wanted to buy information, it would take time before she could get her hands on it.

Of course, there was another possibility.

The World Government and the Marines might have deliberately suppressed some details about him, which could also explain why she couldn’t uncover the inside story.

"Yeah, that makes sense."

Meiser nodded in understanding. Thinking back, only a few days had passed since they received their Wanted Posters.

"Anyway, my ability isn’t activated through a Devil Fruit," Meiser said, turning to Rayleigh. "It relies on my own power."

"A bloodline inheritance, then..."

Rayleigh, with his vast experience, immediately grasped the key point.

"Something like that."

"Bloodline, huh..." Shakky pondered for a moment before speaking. "Little Meiser, I think you should be extra cautious with the World Government. Those guys will definitely take a keen interest in you."

As someone who had survived from the previous era, Shakky knew exactly how ruthless the World Government could be.

Once they learned of his unique ability to manipulate the sea without relying on a Devil Fruit, they would undoubtedly send agents to capture him. After all, such power was incredibly formidable—and the temptation for the World Government would be immense!

"Ah, about that... they’ve already come for me."

"They have?"

Shakky was taken aback. The World Government had acted faster than she’d expected.

"During our encounter with Gekko Moria, the World Government sent Kuma after me," Meiser explained.

At these words, Rayleigh and Shakky exchanged glances, their thoughts aligned.

So they really ran into that guy...

Did that mean the Straw Hat Pirates had already defeated one of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea?

Not surprising, coming from them...

But how had they escaped from Kuma, another Warlord?

"That damn Kuma, how dare he take my crewmate!" Luffy fumed. "Next time I see him, I’m gonna punch him into the sky!"

"Next time?"

"Yeah, Luffy didn’t get to fight Kuma," Meiser clarified.

"Don’t tell me he just asked you a few questions and then left?" Shakky said skeptically.

Kuma was the most obedient of the Warlords when it came to the World Government’s orders. How could he have just let them go without trying to capture them?

Was this the World Government’s directive?

Since when had they become so... accommodating?

"It wasn’t that simple." Meiser shook his head. "After Luffy defeated Moria, that guy suddenly appeared on the battlefield and asked if I wanted to become one of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea."

"When I refused, he attacked us. That battle... was truly perilous."

Recalling that fight, Meiser couldn’t help but sigh.

If Moria hadn’t intervened, it was hard to say whether they would have escaped at all.

After all... he didn’t have much Chakra left at that time.

"Rejected the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea, huh..." Shakky chuckled. "Seems you understand the World Government’s intentions."

"Of course, I’m not stupid," Meiser waved his hand dismissively. "Besides, I’m not interested in things like the Warlords."

How could he possibly become a dog for the World Government when he was going to adventure with Luffy? Especially when they were clearly after his abilities!

If he went with them, he’d undoubtedly end up as a lab rat.

"So how did you escape?"

"Ah, Moria suddenly regained consciousness and became more spirited," Meiser explained. "It was because of him that we managed to leave the Devil’s Triangle Ship Graveyard."

"A man you defeated actually helped you?"

"Yeah."

Shakky frowned upon hearing this. Why would that be?

Could it be that after Little Mengqi beat him up, it somehow knocked some sense into him? Leading him to help the Straw Hat Pirates...

Or perhaps because of Moria’s failure, the World Government issued a kill order against him, causing him to fight Kuma and allowing the Straw Hat Pirates to escape in the chaos?

"That guy seemed to have resolved some inner conflict, which is why he chose to help us," Meiser said. "Speaking of which, do you know Kaido?"

"Of course I do. Who doesn’t know Kaido?" Shakky sighed. "He’s one of the Four Emperors of the New World."

"Four Emperors?"

"You didn’t know?" Shakky was surprised. This kid didn’t know about the Four Emperors?

"Nope."

Shakky:—

For a moment, she was at a loss for words.

"Moria mentioned he was once defeated by Kaido," Meiser mused, stroking his chin. "So he was beaten by one of these so-called Four Emperors?"

"Yes, I’ve heard about that," Shakky nodded. "That’s probably why he was able to become one of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea."

"And the ’resolved inner conflict’ you mentioned... it must be related to this."

For someone like her, Moria’s activities with Zombies in the Devil’s Triangle Ship Graveyard were no secret. In short: he was a man who had lost his fighting spirit. Someone like that probably couldn’t even use Haki anymore.

And now... this man had resolved his inner conflict... How unexpected.

"Maybe," Meiser said. "Anyway, after he woke up, he started fighting Kuma, and we seized the chance to leave."

"I wonder what happened to that guy."

"Who won between those two?"

Usopp and Chopper were curious about the outcome of the battle between the two Warlords.

"I haven’t received any intel about Moria," Shakky thought for a moment. "Perhaps... he died in that fight."

At the very least, she hadn’t heard any news about Moria so far.

Hearing Shakky’s words, Meiser’s expression turned complicated. That guy... died?

"Of course, this is just speculation," Shakky added. "We’ll need to wait a while to know for sure."

Meiser nodded silently.

"If he’s alive... you’ll have another competitor to deal with."

"If Luffy could defeat him once, he can defeat him again," Meiser said with a wave of his hand.

"Trying to compete with us for the One Piece? He’s not up to it yet."

"Exactly! Worst case, we’ll just beat him up again!" Luffy laughed loudly.

Though that guy wasn’t bad, if he dared to challenge Luffy for the title of Pirate King, Luffy wouldn’t hold back.

Shakky nodded in response but said nothing more.

"One Piece..."

Usopp suddenly spoke up, as if remembering something. "Hey, old man Rayleigh, you know about the One Piece, right?"

"Yeah, I do."

"That One Piece... What exactly is—"

"Usopp!"

Before Usopp could finish, an enraged Luffy cut him off.

"Luffy?"

"I don’t want to know where the One Piece is, and I don’t care what’s inside it!" Luffy snapped. "Even though no one knows, everyone’s risking their lives to sail the seas!"

"If I hear anything about it from this old man, I’ll quit being a pirate!"

"I don’t want a boring adventure!!"

Usopp was stunned by Luffy’s outburst. He hadn’t expected his question to provoke such a strong reaction.

But he quickly realized he’d asked something he shouldn’t have.

"Sorry, sorry! I spoke out of turn," Usopp hurriedly said. "Old man, don’t you dare tell me! I’ve got a disease—if I hear what the One Piece is, I’ll die!"

Rayleigh glanced at Luffy, a smile spreading across his face. This kid really was something.

"Can you do it?" Rayleigh asked. "The Grand Line is far beyond your imagination, and the enemies are unimaginably strong. Can you conquer these seas?"

Luffy grinned back at Rayleigh, who was watching him with amusement.

"I never thought about conquering anything..."

"The freest man on the sea—that’s the Pirate King!"

Rayleigh froze. For a moment, he saw the shadow of his own captain in Luffy.

"I see..."

"Heh, I get it now."

Maybe this brat really could accomplish what even they couldn’t.

Rayleigh looked around at the reactions of the Straw Hat Pirates and laughed heartily.

Shakky, too, watched the scene with a smile, clearly happy for Rayleigh.

"Here, drink up."

As Shakky handed him a bottle of fine liquor, Rayleigh nodded gratefully and took a deep swig.

Today... he’d received some truly wonderful news.

Setting the empty bottle down, Rayleigh stood up.

"Alright, I’m off to do the coating."

"The sooner I finish your ship, the sooner you can head to Fish-Man Island."

"How much will it cost?"

"You’re Hachi’s friends—I won’t charge you a thing," Rayleigh said with a dismissive wave.

"How long will it take?"

"Coating takes at least three days."

"Three days?!" Luffy exclaimed. "Why so long? That’s way too much time..."

"That’s the fastest it can be done," Rayleigh explained. "It’s for your safety—can’t cut corners."

"Alright."

"Where’s your boat?"

"Tree number 41."

"Alright, I understand," Rayleigh nodded. "But since I’m still a wanted man, to avoid unnecessary trouble, I’ll need to move the ship to another location."

"For now, you all can enjoy yourselves on the island. Come find me in three days."

After speaking, Rayleigh glanced at Shakky and said, "Shakky, do you still have that thing? Give them some."

"Yes, I do," Shakky replied.

"What thing?" Usopp asked curiously.

"Vivrecard."

Shakky took out Rayleigh’s Vivrecard and tore off half, handing it to Meiser. "With this Vivrecard, you’ll be able to locate Rayleigh."

As she spoke, Shakky demonstrated how the Vivrecard worked, explaining its purpose to the group.

"Vivrecard, huh..."

Meiser picked it up curiously and remarked, "What an interesting thing."

While saying this, Meiser tore off a small piece for each of them—Luffy and the others—and told them to keep it safe.

"Alright, I’ve got work to do," Rayleigh said as he walked toward the back. "See you all in three days."

"Got it!"

"Let’s go to the amusement park!"

"Sounds fun!"

"C-Can I come too?" Camie asked eagerly.

"Of course you can!"

Camie immediately broke into a happy smile upon hearing the confirmation. Pappag sighed, realizing there was no way he could stop her now.

Watching the excited group rush out, Meiser couldn’t help but scold, "Idiots, are you just going to leave Nami and the others behind?!"

"Huh?!"

Their bodies froze—they had almost forgotten about that.

"Fine, go ahead. I’ll go back with Rayleigh to find them," Meiser said, waving them off.

"Meiser, aren’t you coming to the amusement park?" Merry asked.

"I’m not interested in that."

Amusement parks were only fun for guys like Luffy—Meiser had no interest in them.

"Great, we’ll leave it to you!" Luffy shouted.

"Got it," Meiser replied. "But you guys better stay safe, alright? Remember what this place is like."

"If anything happens, call for me."

"Don’t worry!"

Watching his carefree crewmates leave without a second thought, Meiser sighed in exasperation. These guys really just wanted to have fun.

"You’re quite reliable, little Meiser~" Shakky chuckled.

"Someone’s gotta do it."

After pocketing the Vivrecard, Meiser suddenly remembered something. "Oh, right. When I ran into Kuma before, he used a really strange kind of energy."

"Do you know what that was?"

As he spoke, Meiser gestured with his hands. "It was something you could use for defense—it could coat the body. Both Kuma and Moria used it."

"So Moria has it too..." Shakky murmured.

If that was the case, then his spirit must have truly recovered.

"You mean this?" Rayleigh raised his hand, glancing at Meiser.

As he spoke, he wrapped his palm in Haki.

Meiser, activating his Sharingan, immediately detected the unique energy in Rayleigh’s hand.

"Yeah, that’s it!" Meiser said. "What is it?"

"This is called Haki."

"Haki?"

"Exactly, Haki!" Rayleigh said. "This is a type of energy that all strong fighters in the New World must master—specifically used to deal with Devil Fruit users."

The seas are vast, and you’ll encounter all kinds of Devil Fruit users. Without powerful Haki, there’s simply no way to handle them.

"It can actually counter Devil Fruit users?!" Meiser immediately showed an interested expression and asked, "Can I learn it?"

"You can!"

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