On a sunny afternoon, the summer sun blazed like a giant fireball in the sky, as if it meant to burn everything in the world to ashes.
Under such weather, everyone's mood became sluggish and lethargic, lacking any motivation.
Yet in such an environment, on a small island in the middle of the ocean, a group of people lay on the ground with flushed faces, clearly drunk and reeking of alcohol. It was obvious they had drunk a lot.
Looking around at the bones of wild beasts scattered across the ground, it was evident they had just held a grand feast.
At that moment, a young boy with a big red nose groggily opened his eyes.
"Huh? What's that thing?"
He saw something appear in the sky. At first, he thought it was a drunken hallucination, but as the object became clearer and clearer, he quickly rubbed his eyes. Sure enough, the object was still there.
"C-C-Captain! Look! Look at the sky!"
This discovery instantly sobered him up. He shouted in alarm.
His shout gradually woke the others as well.
"Hey, Buggy, what are you yelling about?"
That's right, the little guy who had shouted just now was Buggy, an intern on the Roger Pirates, and the people who had just held a banquet on this island were none other than the members of the Roger Pirates.
"No, Captain, seriously, look at the sky!"
"Hmm?" Hearing Buggy's anxious cries, Roger lifted his head and squinted his eyes slightly.
"What is that… a sword?"
Looking at the object in the sky, Roger pondered silently. The others began to murmur as well. That thing was far too conspicuous, hanging there in the sky.
"Could it be Shiki?" Roger muttered. In his memory, only the Float-Float Fruit possessed by the Golden Lion Shiki could achieve such a feat.
"Yeah, probably him. I can't think of anyone else with that kind of ability. But where the hell did he get such a massive sword?"
The speaker was a blond man wearing glasses, Silvers Rayleigh, the "Dark King."
At this moment, both he and Roger had somewhat grim expressions. The Golden Lion wasn't someone to take lightly. They had to be serious when facing him.
Just then, a burst of white light suddenly emerged from the giant sword, and something separated from it, falling from the sky.
Seeing this, Rayleigh gripped the hilt of his sword. At the slightest sign of danger, he would unleash a slash instantly.
"Don't act rashly, Rayleigh. This probably isn't the Golden Lion."
Hearing Roger's words, Rayleigh slightly relaxed his grip, though it was clear he could still draw his blade at any moment.
"That… looks like a person."
As the white light drew closer to the ground, the people on the island slowly began to see what was inside.
"Yeah, that is a person."
This sentence came from Roger's mouth.
With that realization, the rest of the crew relaxed. It was just one person. No matter how strong that person was, the Roger Pirates had nothing to fear.
Even if Whitebeard's crew appeared before them now, they could remain calm and composed.
Their earlier nervousness had only been due to the appearance of something totally beyond their understanding. Naturally, it made them tense.
But now that they knew it was a person, there was nothing to worry about.
"He's not gonna fall and die, is he?" said Buggy again. Although he was naturally cowardly, as a member of the Roger Pirates, he felt fearless.
"Who knows? But even if he does die, what's it got to do with us?"
A red-haired youth standing next to Buggy spoke. He was the other intern aboard the Roger Pirates Shanks.
At this point, he had yet to get his iconic three scars and didn't have the same aura of dominance he would one day possess.
As the white light landed, there was no dramatic boom or crash like one might expect from a heavy object hitting the ground. Instead, it touched down gently and calmly.
When the light faded, a youth of about seventeen or eighteen appeared before them. At the same time, the massive sword in the sky vanished, disappearing as though it had never existed.
All eyes now fell on the boy lying on the ground.
"Looks like that sword was this kid's doing."
"Hey, Buggy, go see if you can wake him up and find out what the hell is going on."
"Yes, Captain."
Tasked by the captain, Buggy casually grabbed a half-full barrel of wine from nearby and poured it over the silver-haired youth's head.
But the boy showed no reaction at all, like a corpse.
"Captain, I think he's dead," Buggy reported.
"Get lost," Rayleigh snapped. His Observation Haki sensed the steady rhythm of the youth's heartbeat.
"He's just unconscious. Buggy, Shanks, I'm leaving him to you two. Let me know when he wakes up."
"Yes, Captain."
The rest of the Roger Pirates returned to their activities, some lay back down to rest, while others who had just sobered up started drinking again.
After all, they had just escaped from Hero Garp once again, and that deserved some rest and celebration.
"Hey, Buggy, you stay here and keep an eye on him. I'm going for another drink."
"Shanks, no way! If anyone's going for a drink, it's gonna be me, the great Buggy! You're the one who should be standing watch here!"
"Fine, you go. I'll stay and keep watch. After you're done drinking, we'll switch."
Hearing Shanks speak so agreeably, Buggy was stunned for a moment. Since when was Shanks this easygoing?
"Alright then, Shanks. The great Buggy is off to drink!"
As Buggy turned and left, Shanks punched himself in the face.
"Reporting to the first mate! Buggy abandoned his post without permission, and when I tried to stop him, he punched me!"
Just as Buggy was about to go drink happily, he heard this and turned to see that Shanks now had a red swelling on his face.
Seeing Shanks like that, Buggy immediately knew he'd been set up.
"First mate! Let me explain! I didn't. Shanks did that to himself!"
"So you're saying… he hit himself like that?" Rayleigh asked.
"That's right! Exactly!"
"Then are you saying Shanks is an idiot, punching himself?"
Shanks's smile froze on his face. Am I an idiot? Punching myself? Well… yeah, kind of. But for the sake of getting a drink, it was worth it.
"But he did hit himself!"
"Alright, Buggy. Enough. You stay here and watch the kid. Shanks, go do whatever you want."
"Yes, First Mate!" Shanks happily ran off to drink.
"Shanks, you shameless jerk! You scoundrel! You absolute menace!"
Buggy shouted after Shanks's cheerful back.
Then he turned his gaze back to the white-haired boy.
"It's all your fault! Because of you, I can't even drink now."
Then he gave the boy a small kick.