[Sea Circle Calendar, Year 1493]
"Why is this guy named Oden wearing a diaper?"
The weather was clear, the scenery just right. The Roger Pirates had just finished resupplying on an island.
Riven, who came back from procurement, brought a newspaper. Shanks and Buggy were squeezed together reading it, and one piece of news caught Roger's attention.
It was about the 2nd division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, a newly famous face on the seas, Samurai—Kozuki Oden.
"A samurai from Wano, huh? Looks pretty cool."
"Ugly as hell."
Riven curled his lips, a barrel of wine taller than him slung over his shoulder, which he plopped down in front of Roger, "Looks like some pervert, wearing an open-crotch cloth, so he can pee and poop anywhere conveniently?"
"If you ask me, black military uniforms are the coolest, right, Bullet?"
That's right, just a month ago, Ironhead Kid Bullet had already come aboard.
During that challenge fight against Captain Roger, Riven had watched the whole thing. You couldn't call it evenly matched, it was a one-sided beatdown.
As for those rumors about "sixteen-year-old Bullet matching peak Rayleigh"—
Riven said, 'You say that kind of thing, do I look like a dumbass to you?'
Don't even talk about Bullet. Be it sixteen-year-old Roger, sixteen-year-old Whitebeard, or sixteen-year-old Rocks, none of them could've taken on peak Rayleigh.
You think being fully versed in all three Haki + top-tier swordsman + Conqueror's Haki infusion is a joke?
You could just say Buggy runs his mouth without a filter, saying Bullet sparred with Rayleigh and calling it evenly matched.
Still, Riven didn't dislike this trait.
He himself had taken a Haki-infused kick from Vice Captain Rayleigh and survived. He hoped this guy (Buggy) would brag about him one day too, like, ["That Riven guy, he was once a crewmate of mine on the Roger Pirates. At just nine years old, he could fight evenly against Vice Captain Rayleigh…"]
Though Bullet at this point wasn't at true top-world-level strength, he was absolutely a master of hand-to-hand combat.
Not long after boarding the ship, he'd already sparred with Riven.
And during that spar, even a monster like Bullet couldn't help but sigh that the world had as many heroes as the Himalaya has peaks.
That high-level Observation Haki alone was enough to unsettle him, not to mention Riven's monstrous strength and skilled martial arts.
At just ten years old, he could go toe-to-toe with Bullet, who was sixteen, without falling behind. Even if Bullet was confident he wouldn't lose, one thing was certain, he definitely couldn't take Riven down easily.
Bullet didn't believe in comrades, but he respected the strong.
So when Riven spoke to him, he didn't ignore it. He just nodded slightly.
As a soldier, he indeed thought military uniforms were the coolest clothes.
"Diaper? Wahahahahahaha!", Hearing Riven's description, Roger burst out laughing, the liquor in his bottle clinking with his mirth.
Crocus, seeing this, looked a little grim and snatched the bottle from Roger's hand, "Your body can't handle alcohol anymore."
"You don't want to keel over before even finishing your voyage, do you, Roger?"
Hearing that, Roger froze for a moment, then grimaced, "Don't be like that, Crocus. Just a sip or two is fine."
But unfortunately, in front of the ship doctor, his status as captain didn't mean much. He could only watch Crocus walk off with his precious booze.
With no alcohol, Roger seemed a bit dejected. But the situation quickly took a turn.
Riven, who no one knew when he'd sneaked over, sidled up next to him and stealthily took a bottle of liquor from his coat, quickly slipping it into Roger's arms.
The two exchanged a look.
Roger: 'Good kid, Riven.'
Riven: 'No need for words, Captain.'
"Is it okay, Rayleigh? Roger's body…", Of course, the crew with sharp Observation Haki didn't miss that little trick, but they didn't say anything.
"It's fine. Roger's not a man who'll be taken down that easily."
With his precious booze recovered, Roger was clearly more spirited than before and shouted to everyone, "EVERYONE! BACK TO THE NEW WORLD!"
"OHHH!"
———
"Big news! Big news!"
"The overlords of the New World, the Roger Pirates, have appeared in the second half of the New World."
"After crushing several pirates with bounties over one billion, could this be the new era's Rocks?"
Ever since Roger was diagnosed with an incurable illness and decided to head for the final island, the Roger Pirates' voyage had seemingly gone into fast-forward.
In just two years, they fought battles east and west, searching for the true history, always on the move. Two years passed in a blink.
———
The second half of the New World—
[Edd War Sea Region]
"Riven! Your bounty is out!"
On the deck, a lively banquet was underway.
Buggy, as always wearing his headscarf, came running excitedly, almost tripping in his rush.
Hearing the news, the whole crew paused, then raised their glasses in unison. A long-haired youth in the crowd gave a sign, and the chatter started:
"You've made it big, Riven!!"
"Let's celebrate Riven getting a bounty, start another round of partying!"
"YEAH!"
The sea breeze blew, the long hair of the boy on deck swayed gently. Riven, holding a bottle of juice, walked over to Buggy's side, looking helplessly at this group of party maniacs.
"My head's got a bounty, and you guys are throwing a party over it?"
"Don't say such a buzzkill thing, Riven," Shanks, also infected by the party-loving vibe, was quite fond of this kind of atmosphere.
"I really can't with you guys," Riven chuckled, then took the bounty poster from Buggy's hands.
The largest image was from a sea battle Riven had once participated in. In the picture, he stood tall and proud, his eyes bursting with a faint red light full of domineering force.
He just looked terrifyingly strong.
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[Black Spear · Dotor Riven]
[Bounty: 139,600,000 Berries]
[Most heinous, wanted dead or alive]
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
"Riven, seriously? A hundred thirty-nine million…", Buggy, who had always kept a low profile (and slacked off), and whose strength wasn't all that great, still hadn't caught the Navy's attention. So he was really shocked by Riven's over-100-million bounty.
Even though the Roger Pirates' name definitely boosted the amount, and Riven had a habit of sniping people on the battlefield, which made him hated every time Garp gave chase, a curly-haired Navy would always come specifically to mess with Riven.
Still, this over-100-million bounty said a lot. It meant that this kid Riven, even though only twelve, was already recognized by the World Government as a threatening pirate.
Shanks agreed too. Though Riven could be annoying sometimes, he was definitely a worthy opponent.
The two of them still wanted to say more, but Riven raised a hand to stop them.
His expression suddenly turned serious as he looked up at the sky, confusing the two little guys, who could only look up as well.
But as they looked, Buggy noticed something strange.
A few black dots seemed to be slowly emerging from the clouds?
"Looks like we couldn't escape it after all," Riven removed the black spear from his back, dark energy slowly wrapping around the gun barrel, red light bursting from his eyes, "EDD WAR SEA BATTLE!"
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