Sitting in a Navy prison cell, gazing at the moonlight filtering through the small window above, Roger rested his chin in his hand, looking utterly depressed.
Du Hang Roger had memorized that name. If he ever ran into that guy again, he'd punch him every time he saw him!
Once might be forgivable. But twice?! And not just twice he tricked him again after Roger had already started to accept him, even considered him a friend! What kind of person does that? Is he even human??
"That bastard, Du Hang!" Roger muttered, pressing his hand to his forehead and swearing aloud.
"What do you want?" a voice suddenly came from above.
"?!" Roger froze, then looked up at the window, shocked.
Under the moonlight, he saw Du Hang's infuriating face leaning against the iron bars like a hanging ghost.
"Du Hang?!" Roger blurted out in disbelief. This was a Navy prison! Sure, it was just a branch, but not just anyone could sneak in here—let alone reach that window, which was over eight meters off the ground! How did Du Hang even get up there?!
"Had dinner yet?" Du Hang grinned.
"Dinner my ass!" Roger nearly passed out from rage. He'd been tossed in this cell since noon without so much as a single interrogation—let alone food!
"I was just saying hi… wasn't really asking if you ate or not. Man, being uncultured is scary," Du Hang sighed. Under Roger's astonished gaze, he pulled out a small knife and jabbed it at the iron bars.
Clang!
The steel bars—actual steel—snapped clean in two with a single poke!
Roger opened his mouth, dumbfounded. What he just saw made no sense. After a long silence, all he managed was, "Didn't you say you can't fight?"
"I can't. That's why I went out and fought a bunch of people this afternoon—picked up some good experience." Du Hang casually replied while slicing through the rest of the bars.
"You think brawling for an afternoon makes you qualified to infiltrate a Navy branch?! Who do you think you are—some kind of god?!"
"I learn fast!" Du Hang snapped, clearly annoyed.
And he wasn't entirely lying. To break into the Navy branch and bust Roger out, Du Hang had spent the entire afternoon getting into fights. He started off with a few thugs around Loguetown. By sundown, he'd even run into a weak little pirate crew near the coast—naturally, he gave them a good thrashing too.
Thanks to his intelligent system, every fight he engaged in was fully analyzed—enemy tactics, movement patterns, all of it. The more intense the battle, the deeper the analysis. The system then condensed that data into real, digestible combat experience.
So when Du Hang said he'd gone from a weakling who couldn't fight to a "high-level weakling" capable of infiltrating a Navy base… he wasn't just bragging.
Roger didn't quite know what to think.
"You here to rescue me?" he finally asked.
"What do you think? You think I broke into the Navy prison in the middle of the night just to take a stroll?" Du Hang gave Roger a look—full of the gentle patience one might show to a slow-witted child.
Roger twitched. "You gonna break me out just so you can throw me under the bus again next time something goes wrong?"
"Huh?" Du Hang blinked. "Wow, you've gotten sharper in just one afternoon."
"What's that look for?! You think I'm dumb or something? Damn it, I really want to punch you!"
"No way, I totally admire you," Du Hang said with a hearty laugh. After cutting the rest of the bars with his seastone knife, he waved Roger over. "Let's go. Don't just stand there. The patrol will be by any minute."
"I want to leave, but for some reason, I really don't want to take orders from you…" Roger muttered with a sigh. Still, he leapt up and climbed through the newly opened window, landing gracefully on the ground below.
Right behind him, Du Hang clung to the wall by hand- and footholds he'd carved out earlier. He too jumped down from over eight meters without breaking a sweat. Roger stared—he could've sworn Du Hang was just a regular guy this afternoon. How did he suddenly seem… capable?
"Keep up." Du Hang scanned the area and took off. Roger hesitated briefly, then followed. Might as well—he was out of the cell already, and it's not like things could get much worse.
Seeing Roger follow, Du Hang smirked and picked up the pace. No wonder this guy becomes the Pirate King someday—he's got the attitude for it.
With help from the intelligent system's real-time map, they soon left the Navy branch behind and reached the cool, quiet beach on the edge of Loguetown.
Roger rubbed his head, still dazed from everything that had happened today. Du Hang pulled out a short pipe, lit some tobacco with a match, and took a long, slow drag.
Seeing the red glow from the pipe, Roger clicked his tongue. "Look at you—chilling like it's no big deal. Meanwhile, thanks to you, I can't even go home anymore!"
"Can't go back? Then set sail. The sea is wide, after all. You really gonna spend your whole life stuck on this little island? A real man aims far and wide. Who's to say you won't become the king of these seas one day?" Du Hang exhaled a puff of smoke and smiled.
"Sail the seas?" Roger's eyes widened. He had thought about it before—going out into the world and chasing adventure. Now that Du Hang mentioned it, that fire inside him started to burn again.
But…
Seeing Du Hang's calm, composed face in the glow of the pipe, Roger felt annoyed. Sure, he wanted to sail—but not like this. He wasn't the kind of guy to sneak away like a fugitive. If he was going to set sail and become a pirate, it should be a grand send-off one where the whole town knew!
"You got a ship?" Roger asked, frowning.
"Nope," Du Hang shrugged. "But also, yes."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"Simple—no ship? Just borrow one from someone who does. I saw some nice ones at the Navy branch. Let's go pick one out." Du Hang grinned.
Roger's eye twitched. For a moment, he felt like he'd underestimated this guy. If Roger was just bold and carefree, then Du Hang this lunatic was on a whole different level.