Raising Legends in Roger’s Shadow

"Unidentified fleet spotted ahead! Their flag... it's a golden lion's head?"

Roger poked his head out of the cabin, his straw hat tilted sideways.

"Hmm? A new pirate crew?"

Rayleigh put down his newspaper and frowned slightly.

"Never heard of them."

Jabba, carrying his axe, walked to the bow and squinted toward the horizon.

"Looks like they're here to cause trouble."

Out on the sea, five warships had spread into formation. Standing at the prow of the lead ship was a golden-haired man, his twin swords crossed over his shoulders. His wild, unrestrained smile brimmed with naked ambition.

"Jiehahahaha!" His laughter carried over the waves. "That ragged ship up ahead... that's the so-called 'Roger Pirates,' huh?"

Ritter stood up.

His beloved had been captured. Alone, he stormed into enemy territory guarded by legions. He fought the criminal underworld's most powerful figures, was sealed away after a desperate struggle, only to sever his own legs to break free and return to the sea, all for one wish.

Is that you, Shiki the Lion?

Roger didn't seem annoyed at all. On the contrary, he waved with enthusiasm.

"Yo! Newcomers, huh? Wanna have a party?"

The Golden Lion Shiki had not yet joined the Rocks Pirates at this time. He was a fresh-faced supernova from the South Blue, already infamous not long after setting sail. He stood on the rail of his ship, looking down at Roger from above.

"Drop the act! I'm here today to trample you underfoot and let the whole world know Golden Lion Shiki is the new king of the seas!"

Roger blinked.

"Huh? The new king? Go for it. I'm not stopping you."

"Kuhahaha!" Jabba burst into laughter.

"Captain, this guy's got guts!"

Rayleigh adjusted his glasses.

"Bounty: 280 million. Floats with the powers of the Float-Float Fruit. Recently destroyed three Marine bases... not bad."

Ritter watched the incoming threat, unfazed.

Fine. Let's fight. Not like he's gonna cook us dinner. Whitebeard was different Ritter hadn't gone all-out against him.

Crimson fog began to creep outwards, quickly swallowing the entire enemy ship. The pirates on deck were horrified to realize 

Their voices were gone.

Not just muted they literally couldn't make a sound. The mist slithered into their noses, coiled around their skin, like countless venomous snakes, slowly corroding their flesh and eroding their will.

"Ugh...!" A pirate officer with a 70 million bounty stared in horror as his hand began to rot away in the mist, flesh peeling off to reveal bare white bone.

He tried to scream, but only coughed up blood.

Ritter's figure emerged from the mist, the greatsword Black Tide dragging behind him, its tip screeching across the deck with a nerve-jangling scrape.

His movements were slow so slow that every enemy could see him clearly: see his steady steps, see his long black hair drifting like ink in the fog, see the gentle, jade-like smile at the corner of his lips.

Yet somehow, no one could touch him.

A sniper pulled the trigger.

"Damned show-off! Eat lead!"

The bullet struck Ritter but passed cleanly through the fog-shaped afterimage he had left behind.

That was his little sadistic quirk. He left mirages along his path. He was never there to begin with.

A Zoan-type Bird-Bird Fruit user morphed into a giant bird and tried to blow away the mist with hurricane-force wings. The fog didn't budge.

"Mist Sword Style: Lifeless."

The bird collapsed instantly, his Armament Haki fading. He slumped into the mist, falling asleep. And once he slept... he would never wake again.

"A m-monster..." Someone finally broke, throwing down their weapon and fleeing in terror.

Ritter raised a hand lightly.

"Mist Erosion: Heartpiercer."

The fog suddenly condensed into hair-thin threads of blood, stabbing through the runner's back and bursting from his chest. He stumbled forward, stared down at the new hole in his chest, and slowly crumpled.

When the last enemy dropped, Ritter stood amidst a pile of corpses on the deck. Not a drop of blood stained Black Tide. The fog receded like the tide, flowing back into his body, revealing the clear sky above.

In just a few seconds, the Golden Lion Pirates were all but annihilated only Shiki remained.

Shiki had snapped.

My three pirate ships. My massive three ships. I spent weeks gathering all these men, and you kill them all... in ten seconds?

His pupils shrank. His golden hair whipped wildly in the wind. His twin swords, Sakura Ten and Deadwood, flew into his hands, both blades crackling with overflowing Haki. The deck beneath him shattered under his fury.

"YOU BASTARD!!!"

His roar shattered the waves around them.

He leapt high. Using the Float-Float Fruit, his flagship rose into the sky. Its structure twisted and warped, transforming into a storm of razor-sharp metal shards that rained down on the Oro Jackson like a deadly monsoon.

"Lion's Thousand-Cut Valley!!!"

Golden sword slashes roared like lions, ripping through the air each one powerful enough to cleave a battleship engulfing Roger's ship in a storm of destruction.

But then 

"Hey now, don't get so worked up."

Roger's figure appeared in mid-air. His straw hat flapped in the wind as he grinned, raising his famed blade, Ace, now wreathed in pitch-black Haki, and slashed fiercely.

"Divine Departure!"

BOOM-!!!

Two torrents of Conqueror's Haki collided. The sky split open in a jagged black crack. The ocean surface was crushed into a massive crater by the impact. Waves surged wildly, reaching the heavens.

Shiki's attacks were torn apart mid-air. His body was flung back dozens of meters, his feet shattering the air with sonic booms as he struggled to steady himself. Disbelief flashed in his eyes Roger had shattered his full-power strike with ease?!

"Jiehahaha... Now this is interesting!" Shiki grinned with madness creeping in. "Roger! You're not just talk after all!"

Ritter climbed back aboard in time to see the scene unfold.

"Yikes... the gears of fate are turning. Say what you will, but our captain's got the kind of charm that makes young punks obsessed for life."

Roger landed back on deck, still smiling, but now with serious eyes.

"Shiki, your ambition's impressive. But don't be in such a rush to die."

"Die?!" Shiki roared again. He raised his hand, and the last two ships levitated and hurtled toward the Oro Jackson.

"Today, I'll show you who the real king of pirates is!!!"

Just as he prepared to strike again, Roger's figure vanished and reappeared behind him like a phantom.

"Kid, don't get too cocky."

Shiki spun around but it was already too late.

Slash—!!!

Blood sprayed. A deep wound tore across Shiki's chest, cutting down to the bone. He groaned as his body was launched like a cannonball into the sea, raising a massive splash.

The sea slowly returned to calm. Only wreckage and the unconscious Golden Lion floated on the waves.

Roger scratched his head and sighed.

"Oops... was that a little too harsh?"

Ritter stood at the stern, gazing at the drifting Shiki, and smirked.

"Aiya, lost already? So much for being the king. This isn't going to help his household reputation."

Roger laughed heartily and waved.

"Alright! Let's continue our adventure!"

The Oro Jackson slowly sailed away, leaving Shiki floating on the sea. His golden hair spread out around him, rising and falling with the waves. His fingers trembled, and his eyes still burned with a furious, unyielding flame.

"Roger... and that brat with the fog... you just wait..."

"Roger... I will surpass you!!!"

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