"No wings on his back, so he's not a member of the Lunarian Tribe. He's not using any technology to help him fly, and since he's unaffected by seawater, it indicates he's not a Devil Fruit user. Moreover, I can sense a very evil power within him."
Gripping his sword tightly, Issho dared not be careless in front of the criminal who had ravaged Mary Geoise and killed Former Fleet Admiral Kong.
As an Admiral, he knew information the public was unaware of. He had read the real reports.
"Fujitora, are you sure you want to fight me? Indeed, you are a worthy opponent. However, the Marines on your ship might perish in our battle."
"Stand down, I will take no action if you let me go."
Noticing Fujitora's hesitation, Eiji took the initiative to offer a way out.
Among the current three Admirals, Fujitora was his favorite.
Compared to Borsalino, who was lazy and merely followed orders, or Ryokugyu, who was an Akainu fan and blindly followed his extreme philosophy, Fujitora had his own beliefs about justice and could not be influenced by anyone.
He even knelt without hesitation to apologize on behalf of the Marines in front of King Riku under the watchful eyes of the people of Dressrosa. Fujitora was a straightforward man who distinguished between right and wrong, unlike the other Admirals who claimed to be right even when they were wrong.
"You have a point. In that case, let's decide with a gamble."
Sensing no intent to fight from the other side, Issho sheathed his sword as well.
They were now in the open sea under bad weather, not the ideal battlefield. He didn't want his selfishness to cause the deaths of the Marines on the ship.
Issho had previously suspected that the flying person was Shiki the Golden Lion, which is why he took action. To his surprise, he had drawn a more dangerous individual than Shiki.
After realizing that his previous test attack was ineffective, he abandoned the idea of capturing his opponent.
"Whatever you say." Eiji replied indifferently.
"Bring me some dice and a cup."
"Yes, Admiral!"
Soon after, an officer handed Issho the cup and dice.
"If the dice show an even number, we will retreat. But if they show an odd number, I will have no choice but to capture you. Do you have any objections?"
"Just do it."
Eiji was curious to see what trick the other side was trying to pull.
Would Issho really fight him if the dice showed an odd number?
Although Eiji appreciated Issho's sense of justice, it didn't mean he was afraid to fight him. Of course, he wouldn't kill him. Killing an Admiral was not easy, even for him, without using Domain Expansion.
"Leave the rest to fate!"
Putting both dice into the cup, Issho shook the cup in his hand skillfully, as if he were a seasoned gambling dealer.
*BAAMMM*
The cup was slammed upside down onto the floor.
"Gulp."
The Marine officers unconsciously swallowed, looking nervous and uneasy about the outcome of this dice gamble. After all, if a fight really broke out, their chances of survival would be almost zero.
Setting aside the incredibly unfavorable battlefield, Chaosbringer was not someone they could fight against. Honestly, they didn't want a fight to happen. As a result, they prayed in their hearts for the dice in the cup to be even.
"What do you think, odd or even? By the way, my luck in gambling isn't very good."
"I don't care."
"You're no fun at all."
Under the anticipatory gazes of everyone except Eiji, Issho slowly lifted the cup.
The dice showed a two.
"Even number! Well, Lady Luck has smiled on me this time. You may go, let's pretend we never met."
Not only was Issho relieved, but the other Marine officers secretly cheered.
Who wants to die if they can live?
"..."
Seeing Issho pretending to be disappointed, Eiji said nothing and then flew away from the ship.
"Young people these days are very rude to their elders."
Turning around, Issho could feel the emotions of the people on the ship through his Kenbunshoku Haki.
"Return to your positions! Continue sailing to Dressrosa."
"Roger!"
Saluting, the Marine officers dispersed.
❀❀❀
After an unexpected encounter with Issho, Eiji felt that his decision to return manually instead of using teleportation was the right one.
Teleportation indeed saved time, but it also meant he might miss out on various possibilities that he could encounter along the way.
For example, this time, if Eiji had teleported directly to Dressrosa, he wouldn't have met Issho or saved an island from a pirate attack just for fun.
"Arrived."
Without any further interesting encounters, Eiji returned at night.
"You came at the right time, Eiji. Marguerite just delivered the food."
Seeing Eiji descend from the sky, Rayleigh raised his hand holding a bottle of alcohol and invited him to dinner.
"Mm."
Sitting across from him, Eiji took some meat, roasted it over the fire, sprinkled some spices on it, and ate it when he felt it was cooked enough.
"Maybe the secret behind the physical strength of ordinary people in this world being stronger than most ordinary people in many other worlds is because they consume food rich in vitality and nutrients."
Holding a piece of meat the size of a whole chicken, Eiji could feel the meat helping him eliminate a bit of fatigue and slowly restoring his stamina.
"You traveled back and forth from Amazon Lily to Dressrosa in just a few hours, flying is indeed more efficient than a ship."
After taking a swig of alcohol, Rayleigh started to get slightly drunk.
"Not a big deal." Eiji replied flatly while roasting another piece of meat.
He had to admit that the taste of meat in this world was better than meat in many other worlds.
"By the way, how was your trip to Dressrosa? Did you see the dwarves there?"
"Yeah, when I visited Flower Hill, I saw some dwarves."
"Oh, that's the Tontatta Tribe. The Roger Pirates once worked with them. I wonder if they're doing well..."
Perhaps due to his old age, Rayleigh often felt nostalgic. Under the influence of alcohol, he shared his experiences with the Roger Pirates with Eiji.
"..."
Eiji might not be a great talker, but he was a good listener. He listened to Rayleigh's heroic past while occasionally asking questions.
Thanks to that, he gained a lot of information about this world that wasn't in Lin Fan's memory.
"Hey, Eiji, are you interested in knowing what One Piece really is?" Rayleigh suddenly asked.
"Not really. I'm just a traveler, not a pirate. One Piece doesn't interest me much."
Not sensing any lies in those words, Rayleigh was quite sure Eiji was telling the truth.
"Ha Ha Ha... You're really interesting, Eiji. People are racing to the sea to find One Piece, but it seems you're not interested. Well, I guess there's no harm in telling you."
"What Roger, I, and the others found in Laugh Tale was... xxx... xxx... xxx... It made us laugh heartily. Roger regretted that we arrived too early."
"I see."
Knowing what One Piece was, Eiji merely nodded without changing his expression. To him, knowing what One Piece was wasn't that important.
He wasn't a native of this world; the value of One Piece might be able to change the landscape of this world, but what did it have to do with him?
He was just a traveler.