"Ugh, why am I so heavy?" Shirakawa woke up feeling suffocated. He opened his eyes to find Shanks and Buggy sprawled across him, fast asleep.
"They're using me as a pillow!" Shirakawa groaned, unceremoniously dumping them on the floor. Neither boy stirred.
"Are they pigs?" Shirakawa muttered.
He and Shanks had been drinking together last night, but Buggy had joined them at some point. They'd all gotten drunk and even resolved the earlier tension between Shirakawa and Buggy.
Recalling the night, Shirakawa cringed. Had he really consumed that much alcohol? It felt like he'd drunk more than he ever had in his entire previous life.
"Maybe I have a high tolerance now," he thought. "Or maybe I couldn't refuse Shanks' enthusiasm."
Shanks had kept refilling his glass, sometimes even forcing him to drink.
"I didn't expect thirteen-year-olds in this world to be such heavy drinkers."
At least this proved that his 'unchanging' ability wasn't absolute. He'd definitely been drunk last night.
'I need to get a better handle on this power,' he decided.
After relieving himself, Shirakawa noticed that most of the Roger Pirates were still asleep. If another pirate crew attacked now, they'd be wiped out.
"Hey, newcomer. You're up early. Did you have fun last night?" a pirate greeted him.
"I had a great time," Shirakawa replied politely, even though he didn't know the pirate.
"Good. There'll be more nights like that in the future," the pirate chuckled. "Want to have breakfast with us? If you wait for the others, you'll be waiting till noon."
"Sure," Shirakawa agreed. He wasn't hungry, but it was a chance to bond with the crew.
By noon, the Roger Pirates were finally awake.
Roger stood on a large rock. "Our journey continues. Are you ready?"
"Ready!" the crew cheered. While they enjoyed the occasional feast, they were pirates at heart and craved adventure on the high seas. Besides, they could always have a feast on the ship.
"Then let's set sail!"
The crew marched towards the shore.
'Is that the Oro Jackson? It's magnificent, worthy of the Pirate King's ship,' Shirakawa thought.
"Our ship's not bad, huh?" Shanks said, sounding proud.
"It's the first time I've seen such a grand ship," Shirakawa admitted.
"Of course. It might not be as big as Whitebeard's Moby Dick, but it's worth more than any other pirate ship," Shanks boasted.
Everyone boarded the ship.
Shirakawa was excited. It was his first time on a ship, even in his previous life.
After exploring the ship, Shirakawa stuck close to Shanks. It seemed like Shanks was the only one willing to interact with him. The others likely looked down on his perceived weakness.
"Hey, Shanks, can you find me a mirror? I want to see what I look like," Shirakawa asked.
"Oh, right, I forgot. Why are you following me around anyway?" Shanks teased.
Shirakawa sighed. Was his request really that insignificant?
"Come on, let's go to the storage room and look for one," Shanks said.
None of the men on board used mirrors, so they were probably stored with other unused items.
They reached a room below deck labelled "Storage."
Inside, they found piles of gold, silver, and weapons.
"You keep all your valuables here, unlocked? Aren't you afraid of someone stealing them?" Shirakawa asked.
"Steal? Why would we steal? We don't need this stuff," Shanks replied.
"True. You're pirates. You can just take whatever you want."
"But I think Buggy likes this stuff. I often see him sneaking in here, then coming out looking fatter. Then he sneaks back into his room and returns to normal."
"Does anyone else know about this besides you?" Shirakawa asked carefully.
"Everyone on the ship knows, except for Buggy himself," Shanks said with a grin.
"We even told Buggy he could take whatever he wants. I don't know why, but he enjoys the sneaking around part. Maybe it's an addiction."
After a long search, they finally found a mirror. The storage room was a mess, making it hard to find anything.
'Is this really me?' Shirakawa stared at his reflection, stunned.
He recognized some features from his previous life, but his face was more refined and handsome. He looked kind and gentle, not at all like a pirate.
"Seen enough? Let's go," Shanks said.
"Oh, okay," Shirakawa said, still in disbelief. 'I guess if I didn't have acne in my previous life, I would have been quite handsome.'
He smiled confidently. Knowing what he looked like was a relief.
Before leaving, Shirakawa grabbed a katana from the storage room for self-defence.
"When will we start training with the First Mate?" he asked Shanks.
"Whenever you're ready," Shanks replied.
"Great! Let's go now. I've been resting for a few days, and I'm getting rusty."