The perfect act of pretending to be awesome! Kyle felt it was perfect.
I wonder if there are any News Coo from the World Government flying around nearby. Will my first battle be recorded? Will I get a bounty poster of my own?
"Aaron Kyle, bounty… hmm, should be at least a Hundred Million Berries to start!" Kyle stroked his chin, deep in thought. "And the photo has to be a handsome one—preferably the one of me walking on the waves just now!"
He was still immersed in the beautiful dream of becoming famous across the seas when Roger's booming voice—completely ruining the atmosphere—rang out from the ship.
"Kuhahaha! Kyle! Well done! Let's get the party started already!"
Kyle clicked his tongue in amusement. The water rippled beneath his feet as he lightly leapt back onto the deck.
That night, the bonfire crackled on the deck, its warm glow reflecting off the three flushed faces. Juicy chunks of grilled meat sizzled over the flames, dripping fat and sending rich aromas into the air.
Roger and Rayleigh raised their glasses and clinked them together with a dull thud.
"To our future great pirate—Kyle's first victory! Cheers!" Roger laughed heartily before downing his rum.
Kyle excitedly raised his own cup and stepped forward, only to be subtly blocked by Rayleigh. Looking down, he saw that his wooden cup was filled with fragrant orange juice.
"Kids are prohibited from drinking." Rayleigh adjusted his glasses, his voice calm but undeniably firm.
Kyle's smile froze. "But…"
"Kuhahaha! Juice suits the kid just fine!" Roger laughed and poured himself another drink, grinning at Kyle.
Grumbling internally, Kyle took a big gulp of orange juice and muttered to himself: Hmph. Whatever. Orange juice is great—it even prevents certain diseases!
Three rounds of drinks later, the meat had been devoured, each piece more flavorful than the last. Kyle lay sprawled out on a wooden crate, rubbing his stuffed belly as he burped contentedly.
His eyes wandered toward the wreckage floating on the distant sea, and a sudden thought hit him.
"Captain of this damned world…" he mumbled weakly, "I think we may have… taken a loss."
"Hm?" Roger, who was drinking straight from a barrel, looked over at him in confusion.
"I blew up their ship," Kyle said with a pained expression. "Didn't all the Berries, treasure, and food go down with it? We worked so hard… and got nothing in return."
Roger froze mid-toothpick, then slapped his thigh in realization. "You're right!"
Rayleigh facepalmed silently from the side. These two really did have the strangest priorities.
"Hahaha! Little Kyle, you're thinking ahead!" Roger's face was flushed with drink as he stumbled toward him. "But money's nothing! And even though today's performance was impressive, there's still a lot of room for improvement!"
He held up a finger and wagged it in front of Kyle. "Your attack was flashy, but the power wasn't focused enough! If you can add that, the power will double!"
"That?" Kyle tilted his head, processing.
"I'm speaking about Haki! Armament Haki!" Roger grinned widely, as if saying, "You seriously don't know? Come on! I'll teach you right now! Let me show you what real power looks like!"
Kyle perked up instantly, jumping to his feet with shining eyes. Armament Haki! The signature of all true powerhouses in the New World!
Rayleigh glanced at Roger's drunken antics, the glint behind his glasses full of silent warning. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but in the end only sighed, took a step back, and wisely distanced himself from the impending 'lesson scene.'
"Watch closely, little Kyle!" Roger dropped into a horse stance, took a deep breath, and clenched his right fist. "Armament Haki—it should be like this!"
In an instant, his fist was coated in a dark, metallic sheen. With a loud shout, he drove it hard into the side of the ship.
Crack—Puff! With a sharp, tooth-jarring sound, time seemed to freeze.
Roger's fist… had gone straight through the hull. A gaping hole opened on the ship's side, and icy seawater came gushing into the cabin.
The atmosphere on deck plummeted to arctic levels.
Roger slowly retracted his fist, stared blankly at the water surging through the hole, then at his own hand. The alcohol-induced cheer vanished from his face, replaced by a dull, blank expression.
The excitement and awe on Kyle's face shattered in an instant. His pupils shrank, his jaw dropped, and his entire being took on the form of The Scream, pure disbelief and horror frozen into every line of his face.
And then—A gut-wrenching scream tore through the night.
"YOU BASTARD CAPTAIN!!!" Kyle stumbled over to the hole, flailing in a panic as he watched the seawater pour in. His heart sank like a rock.
"The ship's going to sink! It's going to fall apart!" He desperately tried to plug the hole with his hands, but the force of the water was too much—it overwhelmed him instantly.
"Ahahaha… this was purely an accident…" Roger rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, trying to save face.
"Accident, my ass!!" Kyle practically cried, "Who told you to use our own ship for a demo?!"
As the seawater surged in stronger and faster, Kyle's mind raced. He pressed both hands hard onto the planks around the breach.
The power of the Wave Fruit activated!
"Come on… Shock it!"
He channeled high-frequency vibrations into the hull. The wood around the hole trembled visibly, and the incoming water was momentarily repelled, creating a makeshift 'wave barrier.'
Then Kyle gritted his teeth, turned his palms inward, and manipulated the seawater already inside the cabin, forcing it into a pressurized stream that shot back out the hole like a reverse geyser.
When it was done, he was panting and drenched in sweat, but the breach still remained.
"Hey! Rayleigh! Stop spectating and help fix the damn ship!" Kyle spun and shouted at Rayleigh, who had wisely retreated under the mast.
Rayleigh sighed once more, set down his wine glass, and with an expression of "I knew it," resigned himself to fate. He began rummaging around the ship for wooden boards and tools.
Meanwhile, the culprit himself—Roger—finally cracked. Watching Kyle's frantic reaction, he couldn't hold it in anymore and burst into earth-shattering laughter.
"Kuhahahaha! Little Kyle! Just now, you were hilarious! Kuhahaha!"
"Laugh all you want! At least come help me!"
Eventually, after a chaotic scramble, the three of them managed to seal the hole with several planks.
Kyle collapsed on the soaked deck like a lifeless fish, staring blankly at the starry sky, despair dripping from every pore.
Is it too late to get off this ship now...?