Roger's gaze swept over the agitated faces of his crew, finally settling on Kyle. He wasn't smiling, nor was he angry. His eyes, which usually burned with a wild fire, now held a bottomless calm that was somehow more unsettling than any rage.
"Kyle."
He only said the name, and the noisy deck instantly fell silent. The only sound was the flapping of the sails in the wind.
"You know where we're going," Roger's voice was quiet, but it landed with the weight of an anchor in every man's heart. "That's the place we've all been searching for, together. And you're telling me now that you want to stop, right before the finish line?"
His words weren't a question; they were a statement of fact. But that statement carried more weight than any shout. It carried every storm they had weathered, every battle they had fought, and the shared dream that had fueled their entire journey.
"I understand," Kyle said, meeting Roger's gaze without flinching. "But the destination, for me, might be a little different from yours."
"What's different?!" Jabba couldn't help but roar. "Aren't we family?!"
"It's precisely because we are family," Kyle's gaze shifted to the ship's cabin, where his two most unruly apprentices lay sick. "I can't just leave two kids with high fevers behind. And Shanks, when he's sick, is even more of a handful than Buggy."
"Then someone else will stay! I'll stay!" a crewmate yelled.
"I'll do it! I'm a decent fighter!" another offered.
The crew grew agitated once more.
"Everyone, shut up!" Rayleigh's sharp command cut through the noise. He adjusted his glasses, his gaze cutting through the commotion. "Kyle, give us a real reason. Any one of us can take care of the kids. But choosing to miss the Final Island… not everyone can bear that weight."
Kyle was silent for a moment, gathering his thoughts as the crew waited with bated breath.
"My body is a bit different from yours," Kyle began, his tone as calm as if he were discussing the weather. "You know my Devil Fruit is the Wave-Wave Fruit."
Everyone nodded.
"For years, I've been researching how to use its power on myself," he continued. "My fruit lets me control the energy inside my own body. I learned how to use it to keep my body in a peak state—to heal faster and stay stronger than normal."
"So you can stay energetic all the time? Like after a big meal?" Kozuki Oden asked, his eyes wide with curiosity. The crude analogy was surprisingly close to the truth.
"Something like that," Kyle nodded, deciding to keep it simple. "This constant state has had two main effects. First, my strength and recovery ability are far beyond a normal person's. And second…" He paused, looking around at everyone. "My aging process has slowed down. A lot."
The deck was dead silent. Everyone stared at Kyle as if he were a monster. They looked at his face, which appeared to be no older than twenty-five, and then at the lines the wind and years had carved into each other's faces.
Jabba was the first to react, leaning in close to get a better look. "Wait, wait! How old are you, really?"
"Over thirty," Kyle said calmly.
"Th-thirty?!"
The number hit the crew like a thunderclap. Most of them were around the same age, but they looked like weathered uncles compared to Kyle's youthful face.
"So, you see," Kyle spread his hands. "I'm still a 'young man.' Your era is about to have its most glorious finale, but my adventure is really just beginning." His smile held a hint of mischief, and a subtle sigh for the long years ahead.
"If I go with you now, learn all the secrets of the world, and see the end of the journey… what would I do for the rest of my life? Become a living legend, telling stories in a tavern every day about the good old days? I'd die of boredom."
He shook his head. "That would be too uninteresting. And an uninteresting life is not what I want. I want to discover the truth of this world with my own eyes, little by little. I want to, one day, reach that final place on my own and be able to smile and say, 'Look, I made it. I wasn't too far behind you.'"
When he finished, a new silence fell over the deck. The crew members who had been so vehemently opposed were now quiet. They didn't understand the details of his powers, but they understood the meaning behind his words. It wasn't about giving up. It was a grander, freer choice—a choice to preserve the mystery of the world so that his own adventure wouldn't fade.
This reason, so willfully romantic, was something every pirate in their soul could understand.
"Well… that's a damn infuriatingly good reason," Jabba grumbled, plopping down on the deck and scratching his head with a wry smile.
Rayleigh, who was leaning against the mast, let out a soft chuckle and shook his head. "You've really got us beat."
Roger's serious expression had melted away. He looked at Kyle, and the fire of understanding and deep appreciation rekindled in his eyes. He walked toward Kyle, the oppressive air around him gone, replaced only by a captain's complete trust in his crewmate.
"Kuhahaha!"
Roger's signature laugh erupted without warning, echoing across the entire port.
"You scoundrel! You're a real piece of work!" Roger laughed, throwing a heavy arm around Kyle's neck. "Listening to you talk, you'd think we're all a bunch of old men ready to retire!"
He stopped laughing, and his eyes became incredibly sincere. "I get it." He held out his fist, stopping it just before Kyle's chest. "Then it's settled. You take good care of those two kids."
Kyle smiled and bumped his fist firmly against Roger's. "Of course."
"Lads!" Roger suddenly turned, raising his arm high to the entire crew, his voice once again booming with joy. "Did you all hear that? Now stop looking so down!"
"Our friend has just chosen a slightly longer route!"
"OHHH!!!"
The tense atmosphere was completely shattered. The crew finally cheered, their faces filled with relief and understanding. Their looks toward Kyle no longer held reluctance, only blessings.
"Kyle! You'd better buy us all drinks when we meet again!"
"When you finally get to the Final Island, all the treasure will be ours! Hahaha!"
The Oro Jackson was once again buzzing with life and excitement. Kyle stood just outside the crowd, watching his friends resume their work, watching Roger take his place at the bow, his gaze fixed on the horizon.
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