Sea Circle Calendar (S.C.) 1493,
"Why is this guy Oden wearing a diaper?"
Clear weather, perfect scenery.
The Roger Pirates had just resupplied on an island.
Aos brought back a newspaper from the shopping run; Shanks and Buggy were jostling to read it, and one headline caught Roger's eye.
It was about the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, a new face who'd been making waves lately—
the samurai Kozuki Oden.
"A samurai from Wano Country? Looks pretty cool!"
"Hideous."
Aos curled his lip, hoisting a barrel taller than he was onto his shoulder and setting it down before Roger. "Looks like a total pervert, strutting around in an open-crotch loincloth—so he can pee anywhere?
If you ask me, black military uniforms are the sharpest. Right, Bullet?"
That's right—Douglas Bullet had boarded a month ago.
Aos had watched that challenge match with Captain Roger from start to finish. Calling it evenly matched would be generous;
it was one-sided domination, plain and simple.
As for the rumor that fifteen-year-old Bullet could rival peak Rayleigh—
Aos had this to say:
If you're saying that, do I look like an idiot to you?
Forget Bullet. Even if fifteen-year-old Roger, fifteen-year-old Whitebeard, or fifteen-year-old Rocks showed up, none of them could take on peak Silvers Rayleigh.
You think mastery of all three Haki + great swordsman + Conqueror's Haki coating is some kind of joke?
All I can say is that Buggy sometimes has no filter—he even called Bullet and Rayleigh "evenly matched" after they'd crossed hands.
Not that Aos hated that trait.
If I can tank a kick of the vice-captain Rayleigh's Armament Haki and live, maybe this guy can hype me up more down the line.
Like—
"This Aos guy sailed with me on the Roger Pirates; at nine he was evenly matched with Vice-Captain Rayleigh…"
For now, though, Bullet might not be on the level of the world's top monsters, but he was absolutely a master of hand-to-hand combat.
Soon after he came aboard, he'd sparred with Aos.
And after that bout, even the monstrous Bullet had to admit that heroes are as numerous as the Yangtze's carp:
that high-level Kenbunshoku Haki, that terrifying raw strength, and that polished martial skill—
at only ten years old, Aos could trade blows with his fifteen-year-old self without falling behind. Even if Bullet was sure he wouldn't lose, he definitely couldn't take the kid down easily.
Bullet doesn't believe in comrades—but he respects the strong.
So when Aos spoke to him, he didn't ignore it; he only gave a nod.
As a soldier, he did think a uniform was the sharpest look.
"A diaper? Hahahahahaha!!"
Roger burst out laughing at Aos's description, the liquor in his bottle clinking.
Seeing this, Crocus's face darkened; he snatched the bottle from Roger's hand. "Your body can't handle alcohol anymore!
You don't want to keel over before you finish your voyage, do you, Roger?"
Roger froze, then groaned in pain. "Don't be like that, Crocus. Just a little is fine."
Unfortunately for the captain, rank means nothing to the ship's doctor; he could only watch as Crocus walked off with his beloved drink.
With no booze, Roger sagged—until a turn for the better arrived.
At some point, Aos sidled up beside him and slipped a bottle from his coat into Roger's arms.
They met each other's eyes.
Roger: Good kid, Aos!
Aos: Say no more, Captain.
"Are you sure, Rayleigh—about Roger's health…?"
Their little stunt would never escape Kenbunshoku Haki, but even noticing it, the crew said nothing.
"It's fine. Roger's not a man who goes down so easily!"
With liquor in him, Roger perked right up and shouted to everyone:
"All hands! Set course back for the New World!!!"
"Yeah!!!"
…
…
"Breaking news, breaking news!!!"
"One of the New World's rulers—the Roger Pirates—sighted in the latter half of the New World!!!"
"They've crushed multiple pirates with bounties over a billion Belly in succession—Rocks of the new era?!"
Ever since Roger learned he had an incurable illness and resolved to reach the final island, the Roger Pirates' voyage hit fast-forward.
In just two years, they fought east and west, rushing about for the Poneglyphs—and in a blink, two years had passed.
The latter half of the New World,
the [Edd War] waters.
"Aos, your bounty's out!"
On deck, a raucous banquet was in full swing.
Buggy—habitually bandanna-clad—came sprinting over, shouting so excitedly he nearly tripped.
At the news, the whole crew froze, then raised their cups to the long-haired youth in their midst, voices all talking at once:
"You've made it big, Aos!!"
"Let's celebrate Aos getting a bounty—another round of feasting!!!"
"Yeah!!!"
The sea breeze lifted the boy's long hair as he stood on deck. Aos walked over to Buggy with a bottle of juice, giving these party freaks a look.
"A price on my head counts as a reason to party?"
"Don't be such a buzzkill, Aos."
Shanks—infected by the love of banquets—was all for the mood.
"You leave me no choice," Aos chuckled, and took the wanted poster from Buggy's hands.
The largest image was a shot from a naval battle he'd once joined: his stance upright and imposing, faint red gleams in eyes that looked down on the world—intimidating as hell.
In short, he looked terrifyingly strong.
[Black Gun Dotor Aos]
[Bounty: 139,600,000 Belly]
[Grievous offender; wanted dead or alive]
"Aos, seriously?! One hundred and thirty million…"
Because Buggy kept a low profile (read: slacking) and wasn't all that strong, he still hadn't drawn the Navy's eye—so Aos's nine-figure bounty stunned him.
Sure, part of it came from the Roger Pirates' name value,
and Aos did love taking potshots in battle, which made people hate him; every time Garp chased them, some curly-haired Marine would single Aos out.
Even so, a bounty over a hundred million said plenty.
It meant that although Aos was only twelve, the World Government now officially recognized him as a threatening pirate.
Shanks agreed. For all that Aos could be infuriating, he was a rival worthy of respect.
The two were about to say more when Aos raised a hand to stop them.
His face suddenly turned grave as he looked up at the sky. The two little ones, baffled, followed his gaze.
After a moment, Buggy noticed something off—
weren't those black specks slowly emerging from the clouds?
"So we couldn't dodge it after all." Aos slipped the black gun from his back. Threads of darkness slowly sheathed the weapon; a terrifying red glow burst in his eyes.
"The Battle of Edd War!!!"