When Shirakawa woke up again, it was already afternoon. There wasn't even an island in sight, and the ship had no idea what waters it had sailed into.
Aside from the navigator and a few people on duty, almost nobody was even standing.
"A captain of a pirate crew like this can still become Pirate King. So in the end, it really is all about absolute strength." Shirakawa gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
"You brat. Your strength isn't much, but your alcohol tolerance is pretty good," a navigator laughed and scolded when he saw Shirakawa awake.
"I don't know either. Maybe it's because of my ability. It lets my condition recover quickly," Shirakawa said.
"Oh right, we still don't know what your Devil Fruit ability is. Every time you use it, a giant sword appears in the sky. It's really cool." There was a hint of envy in the man's voice, like he was thinking that if he had such a flashy power, he wouldn't still be single.
"I don't know. I even forgot when I ate a Devil Fruit," Shirakawa said.
"Fair enough. You don't have your old memories anyway."
After that, the navigator left to keep watching the weather. This was the New World, after all. You couldn't afford to be careless.
With nothing to do and Mr. Rayleigh still asleep, Shirakawa could only try to get familiar with his ability for now.
He drew a dagger and wanted to cut his own hand, just to see whether the wound would heal.
But after hovering the blade over his skin for a long time, he still didn't have the courage to do it.
"Forget it. I'll check when I actually get hurt for real," he muttered, putting the dagger away. He definitely was not going to admit he was scared.
"Right. The Silver King also seems to have the ability to fly."
Shirakawa searched his mind for what he remembered about the Silver King's powers.
"Seriously. You give me the ability but not the memories that come with it, so I have to figure it all out myself," he complained.
Even so, he started thinking honestly about how to fly.
He tried jumping with all his strength. He only jumped higher than normal, and the time he stayed in the air was maybe one second.
He tried again and again, but none of it produced the effect he wanted. Or rather, he still didn't fly.
"Hey, Shirakawa, what are you doing? Boom boom boom over and over. I'm trying to sleep," Shanks complained.
"Sorry, Shanks. I'll go somewhere else," Shirakawa said, embarrassed that he'd woken him up. He forced a smile and moved to an empty spot.
"Today I'm going to fly, no matter what."
He had gotten stubborn about it. Nobody could talk him out of it.
As the seconds ticked by, Shirakawa was panting hard from all the jumping. He was drenched in sweat, and his legs felt like they were going numb.
"How is this possible? Don't tell me I didn't inherit the ability to fly?" he wailed inside.
"You can't do it like this," a voice suddenly said beside his ear.
Shirakawa turned and saw a man in sunglasses with a ponytail sitting next to him. He had no idea how long the man had been there.
Scopper Gaban. Shirakawa had some impression of him too, because when Shanks introduced him, he had specifically emphasized him.
The third most important figure of the Roger Pirates, a man as famous as the Dark King Rayleigh, and also an old acquaintance of Captain Roger. Rumor said the two of them knew each other even before the Roger Pirates were formed.
"I don't know what you're training, but if you train blindly like this, you won't get results," Gaban said.
"Then what should I do?" Shirakawa asked.
Gaban was extremely strong. If he gave even a little guidance, Shirakawa would benefit a lot.
"Who knows?" Gaban laughed loudly, then stood up and left, like he had come over just to mess with him.
Hearing those words and watching Gaban's back, Shirakawa felt like kicking him hard in the butt. Unfortunately, he couldn't win.
But Gaban added without turning around, "Whatever you're doing, you have to ask your own heart whether it's right."
"Ask my own heart…?"
Gaban left, and Shirakawa stood there alone, sinking into thought.
He didn't know when it started, but the sounds around him gradually disappeared. The waves, the seagulls, the footsteps and chatter of the crew, all of it vanished.
The only thing he could hear was his own heartbeat, growing louder in his ears.
Thump, thump, thump. It seemed irregular, yet it also felt like it was sending him some kind of message.
In the next instant, a silver flash sparked through Shirakawa's mind. Everything connected, like a chain snapping into place.
"So that's how it is. I understand now."
Shirakawa entered the Silver King's state. Silver light draped over him, and high in the sky, the Sword of Damocles appeared.
Not far away, Gaban noticed and smiled faintly, looking satisfied with Shirakawa's performance.
"Is that Shirakawa's work again?" The Roger Pirates who were awake all saw the giant sword. Even though they had already seen it twice, it was still the kind of thing you couldn't help but be surprised by.
Just as they lifted their heads to admire it, a figure suddenly flew over them.
"Th that was Shirakawa, wasn't it?" someone stammered as they asked the person beside them.
"I I think so?" came the answer.
It wasn't like they had never seen people who could fly. Aside from the Float Float Fruit, most of them were bird-type Zoans, and there was also a Marine with the Glint Glint Fruit.
But on their ship, they really didn't have anyone who could fly. Even the captain and the others only had long hang time. They couldn't move freely through the air like Shirakawa.
"So it really was flying. No wonder he kept jumping like his life depended on it," Gaban muttered, still a little surprised. He genuinely couldn't understand why Shirakawa had been jumping earlier. Did someone tell him jumping would make him fly? It wasn't like he was training Moonwalk.
"But this is good. It fills a weakness in the crew," Gaban continued quietly. The Roger Pirates' lack of sustained high-altitude combat ability was a well-known shortcoming.
"Looks like I should remind Rayleigh to train him properly."
The weakness might be filled, but what they filled it with was like blank paper. One poke and it would tear. Whether it was Whitebeard's pineapple-head, or that sleazy monkey-faced Marine, Shirakawa would only get instantly crushed.
"Woo woo!"
Shirakawa shouted happily as he flew for the first time. For some reason, he immediately fell in love with the feeling. Free, unrestrained, like his whole body and mind had relaxed.
Unfortunately, his shouting woke other people up too.
"Shut up, brat."
A wine bottle flew in from who-knew-where, shooting straight toward Shirakawa. He raised his barrier, and it shattered instantly.
Under Shirakawa's shocked gaze, the bottle struck him square in the forehead.
"Ah!"
Shirakawa screamed and fell, smashing heavily onto the deck. The Sword of Damocles in the sky vanished as well.
"Is he dead?"
"Probably not?"
"Go check."
"He's breathing. Not dead. Just passed out."
/-\
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