The handshake between Draco and Oden continued, tension building between the two as their competitive spirits flared. Oden grinned, but the sweat on his brow revealed the strain. Draco decided to show just a bit more of his power, squeezing back with a little extra force.
Suddenly, a sharp crack echoed from Oden's hand.
Oden's eyes shot wide open as he felt the bones in his hand shift unnaturally. He immediately tried to yank his hand away, but Draco's grip held him firm.
"AHHH! Let go!" Oden shouted, kicking and slapping Draco's arm in a frantic attempt to free himself.
From the side, Roger burst out laughing, clutching his stomach as he doubled over in amusement. Whitebeard, at first unimpressed, couldn't help but chuckle as well.
"Alright, alright!" Roger called out, still grinning. "That's enough, Draco. You've made your point. Let him go before it actually breaks"
Draco released Oden's hand with a satisfied smile. "Nice to meet you formally, Kozuki Oden!"
Oden stumbled backward, shaking his hand to make sure it wasn't shattered. He gingerly soothed his fingers with his mouth, glaring at Draco, but after a moment, the frustration faded into respect. With a grin, Oden raised his hand for a proper greeting—though it hung limply, clearly worse for wear.
Draco scratched the back of his neck, sweating slightly from the awkward situation. Then he let out a laugh. Seeing Draco's laugh, Roger, Whitebeard, and Oden couldn't help but join in, the tension between them melting into camaraderie.
The group sat chatting for a while longer when suddenly, a frantic shout echoed through the forest.
"DRACO!"
They all turned toward the sound. Buggy came rushing toward them, sweating profusely but grinning like a madman, his hands clutching a stack of bounty posters.
Draco raised a brow in confusion. "What's going on, Buggy?"
Buggy skidded to a halt, gasping for air as he scrambled through the posters, finally finding the one he was looking for. With both hands, Buggy shoved it in front of Draco's face.
"Look! Look!" Buggy exclaimed, his grin wide.
Draco took the poster and looked at it carefully. His eyes widened at what he saw. Printed in bold letters at the bottom of the poster was his new bounty:
"Draco, The Human God, 1,477,777,000 Berries."
Draco blinked in disbelief, then a small smile crept across his face. Roger leaned over, glancing at the poster with interest.
"A god?" Roger chuckled. "That's Strange. No one from the World Government would name someone that."
Draco thought for a moment, amusement dancing in his eyes. "Yeah… definitely strange. Someone must've pulled some strings." He laughed quietly to himself, imagining Oda himself writing the bounty just for fun.
Buggy, still panting, dug into the stack again. "There's more! Look at these!"
He handed Draco two more posters. The first was for Kozuki Oden, his bounty now set at 1,300,000,000 berries—a significant sum, considering Oden had barely been known outside of Wano.
Draco smirked. "Quite the jump from 696,696,969 Berries."
Then Draco looked at the second poster. His smile widened further as he read aloud, "Gol D. Roger, 4,600,000,000 berries."
Roger let out a hearty laugh, obviously proud. "Guess the Government's getting scared, huh?"
Draco nodded. "Makes sense. After Yukiryu Island and all the noise we made, Garp must've warned them just how dangerous you are."
Roger puffed out his chest with pride. "And look at you, Draco! First bounty ever, and it's already the highest starting bounty in history!"
Draco glanced at the picture on his poster. It was a close-up of him holding a person like a toy, likely Sakazuki—the future Admiral Akainu—though the Government had cropped out the other figure to avoid public humiliation.
"Figures they'd leave out that part," Draco muttered, still smiling. "Must be because they still haven't figured out what I can do." He paused. "And I bet they missed Homer entirely."
Buggy, standing in front of Draco with shining eyes, was practically vibrating with excitement. "You're gonna be the strongest pirate ever, Draco! I just know it!"
Roger, from the side, raises an eyebrow, shocked but also happy that Buggy was able to find someone to aspire to become.
[An Hour Later]
The time soon came for the Roger Pirates to depart. Oden stood at the shore, facing Whitebeard. His eyes were filled with gratitude as he bowed slightly to his old captain.
"Thank you, Whitebeard-kichi-san. I'll see this journey to the end," Oden said sincerely.
Whitebeard grunted but gave him a small nod. "Make sure it's worth it, Oden."
With that, Oden turned and leaped onto the Oro Jackson, the Roger Pirates' ship. However, the crew—still recovering from their battle with the Whitebeard Pirates—watched him with suspicion, reluctant to accept him just yet.
Oden didn't let it faze him. He marched up to Draco and extended a hand once more, grinning from ear to ear.
"Let's make this journey a good one!" Oden said boldly.
Draco returned the grin and shook his hand again, this time careful not to crush it. The crew watched the exchange closely, noticing how naturally Draco treated Oden—as if the two were already old friends. Slowly, the tension among the crew began to ease.
Scopper Gaban, standing with Roger and Rayleigh at the ship's stern, still seemed reluctant. "Are we really gonna trust this guy?" he asked.
Roger clapped him on the back with a laugh. "Relax! We need him. Make him feel welcome!"
Rayleigh gave a small smile. "He'll fit in soon enough. Just watch."
As the crew hoisted the sails, the Oro Jackson set off into the open sea once more. Draco stood at the railing, watching the waves roll by. Training Buggy on the side, Holding a handstand, his task was to hold it for one hour. After a moment, however, something felt off—he noticed that they weren't heading toward any new islands.
Curious, Draco left buggy and walked over to Rayleigh, who stood near the helm. "Where are we headed?" Draco asked.
Rayleigh glanced at him, a knowing smile on his face. "We're heading back to East Blue."
Draco raised an eyebrow. "East Blue? Why?"
Rayleigh chuckled. "We're going to visit a little place you might've heard of—the town where Roger was born."
Draco's eyes lit up with recognition. "You mean… Loguetown?"
Rayleigh's grin widened. "Exactly."
Draco leaned on the railing, excitement bubbling inside him. This was no ordinary journey, it was the beginning of Roger's final voyage. And Draco thought to himself, 'Will we see Portgas D. Rouge?', most likely the reason they were heading back.