Shirakawa lay on the deck, his head still spinning from the impact.
'What was that?' he wondered, not even seeing what had hit him because of its speed.
"Haha, Shirakawa, told you not to show off and disturb everyone's sleep," a crew member laughed, but there was a hint of envy in his voice.
After all, flying was something most people could only dream of.
Shirakawa grumbled, refusing to engage. He had learned his lesson: even with his new powers, there were still plenty of people on this ship who could put him in his place.
'Who threw that at me?' he wondered.
"Probably the First Mate. He's the only one who always carries a wine bottle," the crew member replied.
'Rayleigh, huh? I'll remember this,' Shirakawa thought, vowing to get revenge someday.
The Roger Pirates didn't seem to think much of Shirakawa. They saw him as weak, only useful because of his Devil Fruit ability, which they assumed wasn't particularly powerful.
After resting, Shirakawa took to the skies again, this time being more careful not to make too much noise.
"That kid has it easy. I wish I could fly," some crew members muttered enviously as they watched him soar through the air.
"Just eat a Zoan-type Devil Fruit. You might get lucky and turn into a bird, or even a mythical creature," another replied.
"Yeah, right. Like I have that kind of luck," the first one said with a roll of his eyes.
After a while, Shirakawa grew tired and landed back on the ship. This experience taught him a valuable lesson: no matter what he did, he had to follow his heart, whether it was his true desire or something he felt compelled to do.
About an hour later, Rayleigh woke up and approached Shirakawa. "Come with me," he said.
Shirakawa followed him to a spacious area filled with training equipment.
"The Captain put you in my care, so I need to do my job," Rayleigh said.
"Don't worry, First Mate. I can handle any training you throw at me," Shirakawa declared.
"Good. It's important to have that determination. Let's start with your Devil Fruit ability."
"Okay."
"After your duel with Buggy, I observed that your Devil Fruit allows you to heal from injuries, but it consumes your stamina," Rayleigh explained.
"Really? I hadn't noticed," Shirakawa said.
"Then let's make it more noticeable," Rayleigh said, taking a coin from his pocket. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the coin flying towards Shirakawa's cheek.
Shirakawa hissed as the coin cut his cheek, drawing blood. But within a second, the blood flowed back, and the wound vanished.
"How do you feel?" Rayleigh asked.
"I don't feel anything, First Mate. Did you misjudge my ability?" Shirakawa asked.
"Impossible. Maybe the wound was too small. Stand still. I'll try again."
Rayleigh drew his sword and approached Shirakawa.
"First Mate, what are you doing? Calm down! Don't do anything rash!" Shirakawa shouted, backing away.
Seeing Rayleigh approach with a drawn sword was terrifying, especially for someone he couldn't defeat. Shirakawa didn't know Rayleigh well enough to predict his actions. If Rayleigh attacked, Shirakawa had no chance of escape.
As Shirakawa's fear peaked, a powerful wave of Conqueror's Haki erupted from him, knocking out most of the crew.
'Who's using Conqueror's Haki?' was the thought on everyone's mind before they fainted.
Several crew members, including Roger, Bullet, and Gaban, woke up instantly, their drunkenness dispelled. They all possessed Conqueror's Haki and recognized that this burst didn't belong to anyone on their ship.
"What a surprise," Roger and Rayleigh said simultaneously, even though they were in different locations.
They quickly realized what had happened. Rayleigh's actions, whatever his intentions were, had triggered Shirakawa's latent Conqueror's Haki. The intensity of Shirakawa's Haki indicated the fear Rayleigh had instilled in him.
'His Haki is remarkably strong,' they thought. Even as a beginner, Shirakawa's Haki rivaled that of Rayleigh and Bullet. With training, he could surpass everyone on the ship except for Roger.
"The Captain's luck is incredible. He picks up a random kid, and he has the potential of a king," Gaban joked to Roger.
"With Shanks, we now have two apprentices with Conqueror's Haki. Once they grow up, nothing can stop us," Roger said, glancing at the sleeping Shanks.
"Shanks hasn't awakened his yet," Rayleigh reminded him. While they all believed Shanks had the potential, they couldn't be certain.
"Besides, even without them, we're unstoppable," Roger said confidently.
"Indeed," the others agreed, laughing.
As long as they were together, the Roger Pirates were invincible. Roger might not be the strongest of the Yonko individually, but their crew as a whole was unmatched. Neither the Golden Lion Pirates nor the Whitebeard Pirates had core members who could compare to the Roger Pirates'.
"I didn't expect you to have Conqueror's Haki. You're full of surprises," Rayleigh said to Shirakawa, impressed. Shirakawa's timid appearance had been deceiving.
"But the experiment must continue," Rayleigh said with a sinister grin.
"No! Help!" Shirakawa cried out.
"Go ahead and scream. No one's going to save you," Rayleigh taunted.