Early the next morning, Du Hang sat leisurely on the ship's rail, enjoying the view. Just then, a large bird suddenly landed beside him.
"Huh… a messenger bird? The kind that delivers news to ships at sea?" Seeing the bird, Du Hang grew interested. He set aside his pipe, reached into the pouch hanging from the bird's neck, and pulled out a newspaper. Then he fished a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the pouch.
Newspapers like this one usually only covered regional news unless it was a world-shaking event—like the future Summit War. For instance, the East Blue papers generally focused on East Blue happenings. After all, what good would it do for a pirate who's spent his life in East Blue to read about the West Blue?
No sooner had he unfolded the paper than Du Hang chuckled.
"Hey, Roger, I've got good news and bad news. Which one do you want first?"
Roger looked at him strangely. "Is there even a need to choose? Just say whichever."
"Alright then, I'll start with the good news." Du Hang grinned and flicked the paper open a bit more. "The good news is—you've officially made it onto the Marines' wanted list. You're now a bona fide professional pirate! And the bounty isn't half bad either. Let me see… Yep—22 million. Not bad, huh?"
For a rookie pirate, that was a pretty high bounty. Keep in mind, there were still more than fifty years before Luffy set out to sea—back when money held far more value.
Roger was quite pleased with the result. He grinned widely. "Not bad at all. That bounty's decent. But this is only temporary. Won't be long before I'm a pirate worth billions!"
"Sure, sure." Du Hang nodded earnestly, then cheerfully showed him the wanted poster.
"And now the bad news you name was written wrong."
The wanted poster featured a large, prominent photo of Roger: a young man with a straw hat and a goofy grin. If Du Hang hadn't known better, he'd never believe this goofy kid would one day become the burly, long-nosed Pirate King.
Roger's eye twitched as he stared at the name above the photo: Gol Do Roger.
"What the hell! It's Gol D. Roger! The D! How'd it become Gol Do?! These Marines are too damn careless!"
"Well, actually… it kinda sounds cool, don't you think? Gol Do as in 'Gold'? People could start calling you Gold Roger. Has a nice ring to it. A golden future, you know?"
Roger was both amused and exasperated. Was that even a valid interpretation?
"No worries. Once you're a big-time pirate, just storm Marine HQ and make them fix your name. Consider it extra motivation." Du Hang laughed and folded up the poster, flipping through the rest of the paper.
"Sounds good! When I become a great pirate, I'll make them fix it!" A task that would seem utterly impossible to any sane person was, to Roger, as simple as eating or drinking. After that bold claim, something seemed to occur to him.
"Right—Du Hang, what's your bounty?"
Du Hang flipped through the paper. "There's no wanted poster for me, so I've got no bounty."
"Huh? I've already got one—how come you don't?" Roger asked in confusion.
Du Hang held up two fingers. "Simple. First, back in Loguetown, I never fought a single time. You handled all the combat. So from the Marines' point of view, I'm probably just some lackey tagging along behind you."
Roger's expression turned complicated. Thinking back, it was true—Du Hang hadn't lifted a finger that whole time. The only time he did anything was firing a few cannons from the ship, and even the Marines didn't know that! The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he felt.
"Second, maybe the Marines wanted to give me a poster with a small bounty, maybe a few hundred thousand berries or so—but they barely know anything about me. I'm not in any World Government database, I haven't revealed my name recently, and they've got no photo of me. So… no bounty."
"…The more you talk, the more it sounds like I got sold out," Roger groaned. "You're the one who stirred up all the trouble, and I'm the one shouldering all the blame!"
Du Hang didn't respond. He casually flipped through the newspaper and then jumped down from the ship's rail.
"Enough about that. Come on, Roger—the wind's calm, the ship isn't going anywhere fast. Drop the rudder and let's spar a bit."
"Oh?" Roger raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You're actually asking to fight? That's a first. Since you're offering yourself up, I won't hold back!"
Roger let go of the rudder with a grin and charged at Du Hang with a fist ready to strike!
Du Hang ducked low, aiming a jab at Roger's ribs with his left hand. But Roger was faster—before Du Hang could land the hit, Roger kicked straight at his chest!
Boom!!
Du Hang crossed his arms to block the kick. Even though he instantly pushed his muscle potential to 80%, the impact nearly sent him flying!
"That's strange…" Roger muttered, puzzled. "When we first met, you were barely walking straight. But now you've got reflexes like that? Something's not right."
Du Hang smiled. "Told you I learn fast. You just didn't believe me." With that, he took the initiative, throwing a punch at Roger.
Roger didn't think much of it. Based on Du Hang's current level, he wasn't a threat. Roger prepared to sidestep and counter but then, for a split second, he froze.
Du Hang swept in with a kick!
Smack!
Roger blocked with his forearm, catching Du Hang's ankle—but he couldn't hide the surprise on his face.
"That move… it's exactly the same as the one I used just now!"
Du Hang pulled back his leg, wincing slightly as he rubbed his ankle. "How about it? My 'use your own moves against you' trick is pretty impressive, huh?"
In truth, it was just a basic application of his AI's analysis and mimicry function.
Roger tipped his straw hat forward, grinning. "Interesting… very interesting. Du Hang, you're a hidden monster, aren't you? Perfect. Since you're this skilled, let's skip the warmup and go straight to the real thing. Time for you to see what true power looks like!"
As he spoke, a mischievous glint lit up his eyes. He raised his right hand.
"After I'm done with you, you'll be out of commission for at least two days!"
A black aura burst forth, rapidly coiling around his right arm—
Armament Haki!
Ps: read advance in patreon.com/XenTronix