We spent the rest of time in sharing our own adventures more throughly that both of us had a few chuckles on it was more about Ace's adventures through the first half of the Grand Line and how he met his crew members with the Masked Deuse as his first mate and how they found and unknowingly shared a devil fruit with Ace being the one to get its power the fruit a Logia devil fruit Mera Mera no mi which gave him authority over flames and gave him the ability to turn every part of himself or his whole body into flame at will negating any harm to ever be fell on him as he showed me a few tricks and i only truly understood Rayleigh's warnings about how difficult it was to deal with Logia devil fruit users being immune to physical damage and all that how powerful would an experienced marine admiral be .
The world is really filled with all kinds of wonders in versatile shapes and sizes we laughed together for sometime and he also began to share a few memories that he had with Luffy which filled me with a warm feeling of belonging he then asked me to join him to where his pirate ship Piece Of Spadille at wanting to formally introduce me to his crew members but i politely refused and said that i have a few matters to attend to and he nodded in understanding and told me to meet him tomorrow at the Sabondy Park and we said our farewell and he told me to stay safe a small gesture but ment a lot for me i only took a few steps when i heard him calling me Ryuu , see you later .
As i was heading back to Gr-13 a smile kept creeping on my face i still have some relatives in this world and a two older brothers at that how happy will my parents be if they are able to see the smile on my face now after my training with Rayleigh i would like to visit them to tell them such a good news .
I reached our usual training place in Gr-13 and found Rayleigh already waiting for me there You are late Ryuu and you have a big grin on your face did something good happened to you or did you meet a beautiful young girl to your liking .
I blushed at how easy was he able to see through my happy mode but a big grin like that can already show others how happy i'm but then i almost facepalmed myself at the end of his words mr.Rayleigh relaxed mode is really something else than his serious mode completely .
I'm sorry for being late mr.Rayleigh i told him and bowed and told Rayleigh the reason why i'm grinning from ear to ear and that i was joining Ace's crew and setting sail to the New World in 3 days .
Ooh , you really had a happy encounter Ryuu since you already decided to join a crew i won't say anything but i will ask you are you satisfied with your training results do you believe your current strength is enough to face the challenges ahead of you and more important do you believe yourself ready to really set foot in those dangerous waters .
I don't know if i'm strong enough to face an admiral head on yet but and it's all thanks to you capable to a certain degree of being able to survive if i ever encounter one mr.Rayleigh as for if i'm feeling ready my answer is no but i still have a 3 days and my will yarning for improvement and as always i will just do my best and leave it all to fate .
He looked at me with his now foggy glasses in silence for a few seconds then a smile appeared on his face as he began saying : doing your best and leaving the rest to fate i like that alright i was already going to tell you to start looking for a way to smuggle yourself to the New World as you were lucky for all those passed months staying under the marin's radar but with an admiral coming here soon you were really going to be in a tough situation and your training schedule would have been shortened or even stopped but now i guess their is no other choice but to risk it all we will work on your Armament Haki for the next 3 days until you at least be able to coat your whole fist with it and you will only be allowed to use your healing only in the cases of fetal and severe injuries if you don't want this kind of intense training or if you are still afraid of dying you still have this as a last chance to withdraw now again show me your resolve .
i can tell he wasn't using Conqueror's haki as i'm quite proficient now in using Observation Haki alright i take my words back even if mr.Rayleigh used his Conqueror's with his mastery i wouldn't be able to tell but what made me sure that he didn't use his Conqueror's was that there wasn't any reaction from my own as mr.Rayleigh told me in one of our training sessions that due to my own lack of control over my Haki it tends to flare on its own as if being provoked by another Haki or powerful enough presence trigger its self protect mechanism or something like that he even called it The Brawling Haki and the reason i felt that way because i felt cold all over my body after he finished his words and as if each word put an immeasurable amount weight on me i was beginning to count on my healing too much but now even my multiplying power could be limited and even negated with the use of Haki luckily i would still have my Zoan devil fruit power but that's even more than enough reason to increase my mastery over Haki as to not fall short against anyone out there i need to get stronger as i'm not alone anymore the crew i'm joining might be dragged in a battle they didn't have anything to do with how it started in the first place and a dangerous one too and if a battle really occurred i wish to have enough strength to take responsibility and to make sure all of them are surviving it .
I flared a tiny bit of my Conqueror's Haki just enough to get his approval and why only a small amount because if i used too much i will be in risk of directly losing control which will lead Rayleigh to knock me cold again i don't even know how many times he already did that to me but at least i'm able to increase my control a bit by bit he nodded still having that calming smile on his face and asked me to be prepared and fix my stance and he was beginning to attack me i used My Observation Haki and evaded his attack and i know he was going easy on because if he wasn't i wouldn't be able to tell where the attack is coming from even if it was aimed directly at my face but as he looked at me weirdly as if he felt that i evaded because my determination wavered i told him : now that i can use Basic Observation Haki proficiently aren't you forgetting about something mr.Rayleigh .
Ooh so you really want to know my identity and i nodded I wasn't interested at first but now i'm more than intrigued to know .
Don't raise your expectations i'm now merely an old coating mechanic but in my younger days i served as the first mate of the Roger pirates the king of the pirates Gol D Roger's crew , Silvers Rayleigh .
I stumbled backward and fell to the ground out of pure shock the man that was tutoring me all these months was the Right hand of the pirate king and the Dark King Silvers Rayleigh i learned those two nicknames when i was in Mary Geoise i never would've guessed that the old man in front of me is that renowned Silvers Rayleigh but now everything was becoming clear the strong aura on his every move and his great strength and wisdom .
Shocked right hahaha i can't blame you who would think such an old man was the first mate to the pirate king .
More surprised than shocked i was already able to tell that mr.Rayleigh was a great pirate but didn't expect you to be the Right hand of the pirate king again thank you for your guidance and patience with me and kneeled down holding nothing towards him but gratitude .
Haha you are really good with words Ryuu but get up no need for this kind of thing between us .
I got up and was going to ask about somethings that came to my mind but then he told me that time is already tight and that if i have any questions i should until we finish our training session and he was absolutely right about how tight our training schedule is .
My training consist of me trying to either punch Rayleigh or to be punched by him as he told me that because the limited time the only way to achieve some proficiency in using Armament Haki is to continue fighting as this Haki tends to increase with its user fighting experience and he kept telling me to try to attack while adding my utmost focus and will to my attack i don't quite understand what he meant by that but at the end of the first day i was even able to clad my fingers with Armament Haki so i can already feel some progress but the pain from our sparring is really unbearable but i guess other than a few bruises and some bandaged cuts it went well i guess i'm becoming a lot more stronger due to mr.Rayleigh beatin cough…cough training yeah training .
I can already sense that you will be able to clad your whole arm in Haki by the end of the month but you won't be able to stay for the end of the month will you so we will have to make the most of it , now that the training is over what did you want to know .
How was the king of the pirates Gol D Roger look like ?
And at my words we heard a few footsteps and a familiar face appeared at least familiar to me on the Gr-13 it was Ace and i remembered that i didn't visit my parents grave .
Why are you injured did this old man did this to you . Ace said in anger as he was already flaming .
Wait Ace this is mr.Rayleigh that i told you about and we were just training don't worry they are already healing .
Sorry old man i got all worked up seeing my younger brother injured .
So you are the super rookie everyone is talking about Portgas D Ace i see you are quite spirited but mind me asking what are you doing here ? .
I'm here to thank you for taking care of my brother all that time .
I really need to go visit my parents grave right now so you two talk it was good to see you again Ace .
I left and headed to the location where the grave of my parents was in and found their resting place now filled with all different colours of flowers i hope they are happy where ever they be and told them about me having a new two older brother and about me joining Ace pirate crew and told them not to worry about my well-being as i'm quite strong now and i stood there as memories of my parents faces kept flashing inside my mind how much do i wish for them to be alive and with me right now .
I stood there for some time then began to head back to them but i didn't find them where i left them and with my clairvoyance i found them at the bar i thought Ace would have left already so i head to the bar to join them as i neared i began hearing Ace's voice again saying thanks to and saying farewell to Rayleigh and the latter just nodded with a smile but his eyes were watering what did they talk about that made Rayleigh so sentimental .
Don't forget our appointment tomorrow , Ryuu .
And i nodded and smiled sheepishly then entered the bar .
So what did you talk about i asked Rayleigh
You wanted to know how did Gol D Roger look like right i would give you a hint the brother of yours share a few resemblance with him being also hot-headed just like him
He was a a powerful yet kind man who won great admiration and respect from those who met him even if it was just for a short period ,He was a legendary character and a charismatic figure he had exceptional strength, leadership, and impacted those around him profoundly , Rayleigh told me that Roger was a man of great integrity, vision, and kindness, someone who was not only a powerful pirate but also a true leader who inspired loyalty and hope among his crew and affected the whole world with his kindness and temperament he was also reckless a lot of times and could be quite stubborn about something he wants to do ignoring any consequences that might even come his way for retribution later and he loved to live everyday to the fullest he was quite energetic fellow .
Like your brother Roger had fearless spirit in pursuing his dreams and his unwavering resolve and his ability to unify a diverse crew under a common goal all portrayed Roger as as a legend he loved to search for mysteries and try to unravel them he was a great man, and a great pirate But more than that, he was a man who loved his crew and his friends and That was what made him special and just like you he had a relentless pursuit of freedom and adventure which inspired other to set sail searching for a way to achieve their dream as well .
At the end of his words Rayleigh had a big smile on his face as if he was remembering the good old days on the pirate king's ship but a man this strong and had someone like mr.Rayleigh as the first mate getting captured by the marines was something difficult to accept was the marine at that time really that strong and why did he keep mentioning Ace with Gol D Roger as if they were related weird .
I said : Mr.Rayleigh how did the crew escape from the marine and how did they were able to capture Gol D Roger it doesn't make any sense to me .
We weren't captured Roger turned himself in , what? Why did he do something like that i found myself involuntarily asking .
You see Roger already achieved his dream and the more direct reason was because Roger caught an incurable disease that left our ship doctor unable to find a cure for only able to ease his pain and suffering that's why he was in a hurry to find it the last island Raftel he picked the name himself and after coming back Roger realized that he achieved his dream and people know about our journey crowned him as the pirate king then he disbanded the crew and turned himself in i still remember what he told me before leaving " don't worry partner i wouldn't die " then as if trying to send a massage to all the pirates out there the marine published that they will publicly execute pirate king Gol D Roger in Loguetown his home island but that backfired as people from all over the world came to see the execution and it was even brodcasted to all the islands under world government jurisdiction i didn't go trying to only save my best memories about him but then one of the audience asked Roger loudly about the whereabouts of his treasure and his answer was broadcasted across the seas he said " My treasure? It's yours if you want it , Find it! I left all the world has there in One piece and with his last words men set sights on the Grand Line, in pursuit of their dreams , The world has truly entered a new era the Great Pirate Era In the last moment of his life, he turned his fading "flame of life" into a huge fire that enveloped the world. I've never laughed more than on that day...!! And I've never cried more than on that day... And I've never drank more either..!! He was our captain... and he was a magnificent man...
My body was filled with goosebumps all over Gol D Roger he was really a legendary pirate king and had a legendary life too .
After that i came to the Sabondy and settled in and the rest of the crew all went on their own ways i still hear news from some of them but i had no idea about the life or death of the others . He finished his words and rested his head on the counter i was focused on my own world in my mind as i kept imagining how the One Piece will look like and why no one found it until now and a lot of other things but one thing for certain i was thrilled at the thought of having the same dreams of freedom and adventure as the late pirate king .
Tell me Ryuu don't you want to get your hands on that legendary treasure the One Piece .
If before meeting Ace and joining his crew i would have bid you farewell and head to the sea directly to search for it but now that i have a captain i would align myself to help him with achieving his dream in full force .
I can already tell that your brother is a good captain maybe even a candidate of becoming the next pirate king you will need a lot of strength to be able to protect his dream .
Right ! Ace is super cool don't worry mr.Rayleigh i will only be getting stronger from now on , Hush hush i heard a sound coming from outside the bar as if someone was stepping on the ground and leaving so i opened my clairvoyance and found nothing .
It might have been the wind don't agitate yourself for nothing Rayleigh told me with an assuring smile .
I guess he maybe right .
But all this talk about the past really energized me let's do a few more training sets Ryuu , Ryuu!! .
Like i would do that i have no problem training by myself my injuries just healed a few more beatin...cough training sets and i would be dying soon so i will pass matter of fact i will directly run away .
I spent the night between training my body and forcing it to adapt to Haki by keep using it over and over hoping this give me some benefits in a battle scenario .
The next day i went to the Sabondy Park to find Ace but he wasn't there yet so i spent some time walking around enjoying the views and involuntarily making the Sabondy now a safe zone since i learned about Haki my deterrence to the criminal acts happening in any place i'm in increased too or they were already traumatized .
Why is Ace late did something happen i should stop being paranoid over everything a good ride on the Ferris Wheel should calm me down or so i thought i booked my ticket and as always booked the entire bubble to myself when i saw Ace coming from a far and waved at him to join me .
Sorry sorry Did you wait for long let me introduce you to Deuce my first crew member Deuce he is Ryuu that i told you about he will be joining our pirate crew .
Nice to meet you Ryuu i'm Masked Deuse but do you really want to join our pirate crew at such a young age you could have a bright future ahead of you .
Deu , Ryuu has a bounty of 500 millions berries .
Still Ace he really shouldn't be joining a pirate crew at...… what did you say just now , said Deuce widening his eyes in shock .
I know it's hard to believe but the Ryuu in front of you was the one on that wanted poster which you kept on saying it was fake haha i guess you were wrong .
He sat there stunned for a few moments then asked Ace : How old is this brother of yours ?
He is 13 years old what is wrong with you i told you his age yesterday .
Just checking if i heard what you said correctly this tall man in front of me who is even taller than you is your younger brother and he have a bounty of 500 millions berries on his head .
Yes , he is quite extraordinary isn't he hahaha .
As Ace finished talking Masked Deuse collapsed in his seat and kept looking as if i was a monster and kept muttering a 13 years old with a bounty of half a billion a few times as if he had gone crazy .
Nice to meet you mr.Deuce as the wanted poster mentioned before my name is Ryuu D Solar i hope to be of help to the crew and the captain , i said as i was trying to break the awkward atmosphere .
How ?
Pardon !?
Why is your bounty so high in contrast to your age , what did you do , did you beat a world noble or something .
I involuntarily looked at Ace and found him shrugging his shoulders so he didn't tell them anything so we shared a look then looked back and stared silently at the smart Masked Deuce .
I know that look you did beat a mmpplhh he was saying it loudly as if yelling so Ace had to cover his mouth and told him to lower his voice and he did sorry i lost my cool but you really harmed a world noble .
More or less i punched a celestial dragon and knocked his father out but i swear it was all for a good reason and i could be imagining it but i felt as if something broke inside of him as he turned to Ace and said dejectedly as if he was likely going to die soon : i already left my life in your hands so i don't really care what happens next but Skull and Mihar may not be okay with this .
I already told them and they agreed .
They did what oh alright then i don't have a problem with dying soon anyway but captain he beat a celestial dragon , he finished saying this then went on a fully depressed mode .
Don't worry mr.Deuce i'm very strong i don't know if i'm able to beat a navy Admiral but i'm sure to be able to hold him off and buy us enough time to escape .
His mood lighten up a bit and said : congratulations on joining the crew , Ryuu .
See i told you they won't have any objections on you joining the crew now let's the rest of the ride this Ferris Wheel is really cool .
I nodded and wondered what would happen if i mentioned that there is an admiral already on my tail i have no doubt that he may have a heart attack .
We finally finished our ride and was heading off when a familiar girl appeared in front of our bubble she was ensign Isuka .
Portgas D Ace i searched all over the Sabondy for you i really have a massage and an invitation of a great importance to you .
Ensign Isuka i already told you i really have zero interest in taking about anything with the navy so forgot about it already he said as he began to walk out of the bubble but she stood there unmoving .
I was looking at Deuce for he seems quite used those two quarreling as he sensed what i wanted to ask he just shrugged and sighed and mentioned for me to just leave them be and don't know if it was intentional but the ride restarted and ensign Isuka was caught by surprise and was now inside our bubble as we began moving then the bubble itself stopped something must be wrong with the Ferris Wheel i thought she would attack immediately or scream but she sat besides me in an awkward silence .
I looked at her in particular her clenched hands and a burn scar on the back of her hand and it caught my attention i signaled it to Ace with my eyes as if asking him if it was his doing and he understood and just shook his head all this didn't go unnoticed by her as she said : i don't know why are you interested in but yes it wasn't caused by Portgas D Ace it was caused by other vile pirates who burned down my village when i was a child, my parents were mercilessly killed as a result and i had been saved from the fire by Lieutenant Commander Draw , he is the superior that wishes to meet you
He is now a Vice Admiral i now only wants no children to go through the same experience as me .
Good job on making the mood less awkward to completely devastating but jokes aside i find myself resonate with her wish and suggested for Ace to at least hear her out and his only response was him saying that he trust her but don't trust the superior behind her and jumped directly out of the gondola leaving me and deuce sitting there weirdly he asked if she would take us as hostages until Ace came back and she was the one replying to his ridiculous inquire she said that she believes in the justice that doesn't hold hostages and that she was on vacation anyway the gondola started to work again and before she left she looked at me and said you are really acquainted with Portgas D Ace what is your relation with him really .
We took a breath of cold air in relief and i turned and told her : i'm their new crew mate and his youngest brother my name is Ryuu we will be seeing each other a lot ensign Isuka and i also hopped of and vanished from their sight in a seconds .
Hey Ryuu come back what about your previous words about you defending us from an admiral come back here .
I didn't know what happened to Masked Deuce i remembered that i need to get ready for my training i only have 2 days .
The next 2 days nothing much happened so i spent them training with Rayleigh as i finally was able to clad my whole fist with Armament Haki but my proficient in it wasn't the best as sometimes it would work and sometimes it didn't he told me that i wasn't focusing and he was right as always tomorrow is the day we are going to set sail to the New World .
I went to buy some necessities for my own comfort and a few sets of clothes but as i was coming back i heard a big explosion occurring in the slums Ace and deuce was staying there i hurried over towards the slums and found the whole place was on fire with poor people throwing dirt to try to save what is left of their living places and with clairvoyance i was able to find Ace and Deuce with Deuce holding off what i assumed the man responsible for all this destruction while Ace was going around trying to save as many people as possible from fire and even Ensign Isuka was there sitting on the ground looking stunned at what was happening in front of her i can't tell really i increased my speed to 50 times and nerve system to 30 times and transformed to my hybrid form and went to Ace in a blink of an eye but another con to me increasing my nerve system is that i'm feeling more pain from even the smallest injuries as the pain reach directly to my brain if i used the rest in my healing i would be able to handle the pain but i already agreed with Rayleigh that i won't be using my healing until he tells me that i'm ready to finish my training so i guess increasing my strength to 20 will have to do for now .
What happened Ace ?
Ryuu how did you get here is that your devil fruit transformation nevermind all that I will tell you after we wrap the things here if you can help me in leading the inhabitants to a safe place we need to hurry up as Deuce won't be able to hold that vice admiral for long .
Leave it to me i used Geppo and Soru and with my current speed and strength i blitz in no more than 2 minutes all the civilians was transported to a safe place and i returned back to the bewildered Ace and told him that the mission is accomplished with a sheepish grin .
You are really strong my little brother now could you lead me where Deuce and that vice admiral are fighting inodded and took him there directly .
Isuka was still sitting in despair on the ground and her vice admiral was running after Deuce as he took what appeared to be a fuel tank the man who was wearing cylindrical attachments that hold his flamethrowers Ace then told me to save Deuce and leave that merciless maniac to him and i did what i was told i reached Deuce and the crazy marine tried to shoot me with his flamethrower but all what he got was a blitz punch at 10 times my strength he is lucky that Ace wanted to fight him and not me as he was sent flying at the moment my fist contacted to his chest as the red shockwave bubble did the rest but what did i just see was that him using Armament Haki to defend himself i moved with Deuce and looked to where Ace was trying to warn him about his opponent using Haki but i wasn't able to found him until i opened my clairvoyance i saw him already focusing on fighting that vice admiral i raised my voice and said : be wary Ace and don't let him touch you your Logia intangibility won't work against him .
I saw him nodding in my direction he can already sense me using clairvoyance he is as mister Rayleigh said a strong man .
I still using my clairvoyance to watch their fight Ace was having a tough time dealing with Drew yeah that was the name of Isuka superior and savior waooh is he the one fighting Ace why was that and is Ace awakening his Armament Haki after clashing a few times with Drew i guess he is really a talented fighter how envious yet happy i'm .
Water do you have some water luckily i had i throw a bottle of water to him and he gulped it down and completely emptied it i guess this heat absorbed a lot of his body liquids , so mr.Deuce what happened here and why ensign Isuka looking like that ?
They came to Ace with an opportunity to join the Seven Warlords of the Sea ,Drew and ensign Isuka got an invitation for Ace from the Five Elders, and they came to the Sabaody Archipelago to give it to him we were giving a few orphans in the slums some food to eat when they arrived and gave Ace their proposition but he refused, saying he did not like the Seven Warlords, and that vice admiral Draw weirdly approved with his and he told us he shared the same sentiment However , he said since Ace refused his invitation he will deal with him as he normally deal with pirates by setting them a blaze and that's when Isuka began to protest against his decision and tried to reason that the place isn't suitable for any kind of fights but he brushed her off by saying that no one will miss those who die here anyway and you should know better how do you think i was able those pirates that kept attacking your village i burnet them all and she finally know who was the real culprit behind setting her village a blaze so she was stuck here stunned and as you saw i was holding him off so Ace can help evacuate the civilians but luckily you arrived and Drew is without his fuel tank he wouldn't be a threat to Ace .
Masked Deuce explained what happened and i find myself pitting Isuka as the man she adored was the one responsible for her suffering all along i walked to her and sat beside here in silence as she began saying : Do you think my justice is weak too ? She asked and i can tell that her voice is quivering .
On the contrary i believe It's strong not talking hostages not taking actions if there were a chance of a civilian getting hurt i didn't see that many different kind of justice but i can already tell that i like your justice .
Then why do you think i feel so powerless now ? .
I'm not sure if i know the right answer to that question but my guess would be because your justice is incompatible with that Drew's justice which instead of strengthen your sense of justice it weakened it and tried to led you astray turning you completely like him but due to your noble dream of wanting to save and protect more than oppress and detain kept you in check and immune to most of his beliefs so ms.Isuka you're not weak the one you choose as a mentor was the weak one .
You said your name was Ryuu right , how old are you ? I felt it a change in her mood occurred .
I'll be 14 years old this year .
She opened her mouth in amazement and said : you talk a lot for someone your age and she clenched her fist and aimed at my head the hit won't have done nothing as i'm still in my hybrid form but i really lost my guard this time but the punch didn't come only a hot feeling appearing on my forehead as she gave me a kiss there and said but i like it . Don't know if she meant my words or something else but even in my hybrid form i felt my cheeks burning .
Cough cough the clash sounds quietened down hurry and tell me how is Ace . luckily Deuce came in a clutch i looked towards the battle scene and saw they were both punching each other and surprisingly Ace was coating his fist with Armament Haki added to his Logia ability fire fist a fire fist Ace he was able to improve by so much in that short encounter i guess i'm just not talented enough but i will still work hard to compensate my lack of talent at the end of my inner thoughts monologue Drew finally fell down Ace won .
Our captain have won mr.Deuce .