As it turns out, a pirate's ability to recover is directly proportional to his urge to break things, and their reasons to celebrate are inversely proportional to their sense of decency.
One moment it was a battlefield to the death, the next it was a shoulder-to-shoulder drinking party.
On the beach a bonfire crackled, flames licking a nameless beast Roger had sliced in two. Fat dripped into the fire with a sizzling hiss, and the smell of roast meat soaked the air.
Kael Grylls leaned against a boulder planed smooth by shockwaves, a wooden bowl in hand, feeling like flotsam carried along by the tide of an era.
Every bone in his body was holding a heated debate, every muscle protesting the inhumanity of the afternoon.
"Could we not wait until the ship is fixed, or at least until I stop feeling like a jigsaw puzzle," Kael muttered. "This habit of turning anywhere into a banquet cannot be healthy."
"Kuahahaha. Brats complain." Roger locked an arm around the newly recruited Gaban while brandishing a haunch with the other, both faces flushed with drink. "Pirates eat big and drink bigger. Right, Gaban."
"Right." Gaban had already slipped into the rhythm. He clinked cups with Roger. "To meeting by beating."
Across the fire, Rayleigh simply smiled and polished his sword, unfazed by the heartwarming reunion of long-lost, different-father different-mother brothers.
Kael rolled his eyes and tore off a small strip of meat. It was divine. Thank you, generous nature.
He looked at the three men across the flames. Gold, Silver, Copper. Roger, Rayleigh, Gaban. The core of a future legend, all in one place.
So where did that leave him.
A strange feeling rose in Kael. Anxiety, excitement, or just a fierce need to carve out a place among these monsters.
He refused to be a mascot. Fine, he would lean into being the crew's Iron and earn it.
The three beneath the king, huh. Not bad.
"Tell me, Roger," Gaban said after a deep pull of rum, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, "why did you put to sea. And about that whole overturn the world bit."
Firelight danced over Roger's features, and for once the grin dipped into something deeper.
"Dreams," he said around a bite of meat. "I want to see what lies at the end of this sea, to do something no one else can."
His voice was not loud, yet it dropped a stone into still water. Ripples spread through Kael and Gaban both.
There was no talk of Pirate King, no greed for wealth, fame, or power. Only pure curiosity and a towering spirit.
Gaban stared, caught by the light in Roger's eyes. He wanted to circle the world. This man wanted to stand at its edge.
"Kuahahaha." Roger must have felt things getting heavy. He bumped Kael with a greasy elbow. "Hey, Kael. What is your dream."
Three gazes locked on him.
Inquiry in Rayleigh's, curiosity in Gaban's, and in Roger's the bright mischief of a man expecting a show.
My dream.
Kael's mind spun.
World's greatest swordsman. Ugh, too much paperwork and challengers.
Rule the world. Also ugh, imperialism is not it.
Money, lust, titles. Ugh and… yay.
Kidding. Kidding.
In a world of monsters the usual slogans felt thin, especially in front of three future legends.
He remembered a favorite joke among fans from his past life. That man, Red-Haired Shanks of the Four Emperors, crisscrossed the seas on the power of one line. Please, give me face.
What strength. The seas were not only about hacking and slashing. There was human currency.
The Face-Face Fruit. Strongest power in a pirate world.
He had eaten the Wave-Wave Fruit, but dreams do not have to follow bylaws.
A bold, ridiculous idea clicked into place.
Kael set down his bowl, cleared his throat, squared his shoulders like Roger, and let a mysterious smile curl his lips.
"My dream," he drawled, milking the moment.
"To become the King of Connections."
"… Huh."
Roger, Gaban, even Rayleigh the unflappable froze.
"King of… connections," Gaban repeated, brows knitting at the unfamiliar phrase.
"Kuahahaha. What kind of dream is that," Roger barked, laughter rolling. "You want to be a king, or do you plan to know everybody alive."
Kael lifted a finger, wearing the ageless face of a man about to explain life to children.
"Ask yourselves, what is the strongest force on this sea."
"Obviously Haki," Gaban shot back.
"A mighty Devil Fruit," Roger added.
"An unbreakable will," said Rayleigh.
Kael shook his head, his you-are-still-young look deepening. "Young pirates, the strongest force out here is relationships. Connections. What I call face."
He stood and paced before the fire, voice rising with his blood.
"Picture it. We run into pirates. I ring a Den Den Mushi, and the Fleet Admiral says, Brother Kael, I will send battleships right now. We are short on funds, I ring another, and the world's richest man says, Brother Kael, do not worry about money, spend freely. We face a terrifying enemy, I pat his shoulder and say, give me face, and he steps aside."
Kael warmed as he talked, already seeing a shining future where he held the Fleet Admiral by the left hand and the Revolutionary Chief by the right, a Celestial Dragon underfoot.
"No need to lift a finger. A word, a glance, and the world moves for me. That is my dream. I will make my name, my face, the hardest currency on this sea. I will become the King of Connections."
He planted his hands on his hips in a pose he considered devastatingly handsome and waited for worship.
Silence fell instead.
Only the pop and hiss of the fire.
Roger stared open-mouthed, meat forgotten. Gaban looked like he had just seen a Sea King fly. Rayleigh pushed up his glasses, gaze complicated, as if weighing genius and world-class idiot on the same scale.
"Pff."
"Kuahahahahaha." Roger's laughter shattered the quiet. He doubled over with tears in his eyes. "Interesting. Too interesting. King of Connections. Kuahahaha. Kael, what the hell is inside your skull."
Gaban could not help it either. Ridiculous at first blush, but the more he rolled it around, the more frightening it sounded.
"It does sound absurd," Rayleigh admitted with a helpless smile, "but if you actually managed it, you would be invincible in a sense."
Their laughter held no mockery, only pure delight and a trace of respect. Warmth spread through Kael's chest.
"Good. I approve your dream," Roger said at last, lifting a barrel high. "It is decided. I will reach the end of the world. Kael will be King of Connections and make the world give him face. Gaban will travel the seas. Rayleigh…"
He glanced over.
Rayleigh raised his cup. "I want to see with my own eyes just how much of a mess you idiots can make of this world."
"Kuahahaha. Good."
"Cheers."
Four cups and barrels crashed together over the bonfire.