One Piece: I'm not Roger

[Significantly altered the fate of Ulti, reward: 5,000 points]

[Significantly altered the fate of Page One, reward: 500 points]

A medium-sized pirate ship slowly sailed away from Elizabeth Island.

Behind them, the remaining members of the Beasts Pirates had already started evacuating the island. None of them dared to stay any longer. They were terrified that Aether might suddenly change his mind and return to wipe them out.

As for harming the innocent civilians on the island, that was even less likely.

Queen would never risk provoking Aether at a time like this. Kaido was still in Aether's hands, and one wrong move could easily push the situation beyond recovery.

Standing on the deck, Aether quietly looked up at the sky.

On the surface, he appeared distracted, but in reality, he was checking the constant stream of notifications from the system.

Over the last several dozen minutes, the amount of emotional experience pouring in had become increasingly ridiculous. Clearly, the news from Rayleigh's side had already begun spreading across the seas.

After all, repelling the Big Mom Pirates was not a small event.

[SS-Class Figure Sengoku generated a Normal Emotion toward the Host: Moderate Surprise, reward: 20,000 experience]

[SS-Class Figure Sengoku generated a Normal Emotion toward the Host: Minor Hostility, reward: 10,000 experience]

Within only an hour, Aether had already accumulated over 500,000 experience points from various forces across the world.

The amount was enough to make anyone jealous.

"Lord Aether, I prepared a drink for you. I hope you like it."

The voice interrupted his thoughts.

Turning around, Aether saw Page One holding a drink respectfully in both hands.

Beside him stood Ulti, who was also holding a drink, though her face looked incredibly displeased.

Seeing her younger brother willingly serve their former enemy clearly irritated her.

Aether accepted the drink and swallowed it in one go without hesitation.

Page One's eyes flickered slightly in surprise.

Wasn't he worried about poison?

Aether naturally had no such concerns.

Not to mention whether poison could even affect him, Page One simply was not that kind of person.

Although fierce during battle, Page One was actually gentle and introverted by nature. Compared to Ulti's explosive personality, he was far easier to manage.

With proper guidance, he could eventually become someone capable of leading others independently.

Ulti, on the other hand, was a different story.

Leaving her in charge alone would probably result in chaos everywhere she went.

Aether suddenly placed a hand on Page One's shoulder.

"You don't need to call me Lord anymore. Just call me Aether, or Big Brother if you prefer."

Page One hesitated briefly before nodding.

"Alright, Big Brother Aether."

The atmosphere between them looked surprisingly harmonious.

Naturally, Aether was doing it on purpose.

As long as he secured Page One's loyalty, handling Ulti would become much easier. The siblings were deeply attached to each other, so pulling one over naturally affected the other.

Even Kaido himself would have trouble dragging them back afterward.

Unfortunately, this friendly interaction only made Ulti more irritated.

Page One had always relied on her alone.

Now some seventy-year-old monster suddenly appeared and stole the position of "Big Brother" right in front of her.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.

Meanwhile, Aether showed absolutely no awareness of how strange the situation looked.

"Big Brother Aether, I'll go control the ship's direction now."

"Mhm, I'm counting on you. Our destination is Black Spear Swordfish Island."

Page One immediately headed toward the helm.

Watching him leave, Aether felt increasingly satisfied.

Among his crew, very few people willingly shared responsibilities. Aside from Rayleigh, most of them were troublesome personalities.

Bonney acted entirely on impulse.

Ulti was even worse.

As for Golden Lion, expecting that old man to steer a ship personally was practically impossible.

Just as Aether was about to remind Page One of something, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him.

Ulti stared at him with narrowed eyes.

"You're not allowed to call him Pay-Pay."

Aether blinked.

"What?"

"Only I can call him Pay-Pay. Nobody else is allowed to use that nickname."

Aether looked at her speechlessly.

He had learned the nickname from her in the first place.

Besides, in the original timeline, even Yamato and Black Maria occasionally called him that.

This girl's logic really was impossible to understand.

Still, seeing her annoyed expression was unexpectedly entertaining.

Aether deliberately took a step closer and smiled lazily.

"Then I'll call him Pay-Pay even more."

"You...!"

"The more you dislike it, the more I want to say it."

Aether grinned shamelessly.

"Pay-Pay.Pay-Pay.Pay-Pay."

Each repetition caused Ulti's expression to darken further.

By the end, her face had turned red from anger.

"You bastard!"

Without warning, Ulti lunged at him.

"Ulti Headbutt!"

She grabbed Aether's shoulders and pulled her head backward, preparing to smash directly into him.

Her speed was extremely fast.

Unfortunately for her, Aether was even faster.

"Serious Hammer."

Bang!

Aether's forehead struck first.

The terrifying strength reinforced by Armament Haki instantly overwhelmed Ulti's attack.

A painful groan escaped her lips as she clutched her forehead.

Before she could recover, Aether grabbed both of her shoulders and slammed her onto the deck.

In the blink of an eye, their positions completely reversed.

Aether pinned her beneath him while restraining her arms and legs at the same time, leaving her unable to move.

The sudden closeness instantly caused Ulti to panic.

"You bastard, let go of me!"

She struggled violently beneath him.

Unfortunately, her resistance was meaningless against Aether's strength.

To prevent her from attempting another reckless attack, he even used his legs to pin hers down firmly.

Ulti immediately realized she could no longer move at all.

After struggling for a while, she finally stopped.

The two stared directly into each other's eyes.

Neither spoke.

Aether quietly observed the girl beneath him.

Her eyes were bright and clear, almost transparent. He could even see his own reflection inside them.

At the same time, Ulti also saw herself reflected in Aether's eyes.

The strange silence made her increasingly nervous.

This was the first time any man had ever treated her like this.

Even her breathing gradually became uneven beneath the mask.

"I... I want to get up already."

Her voice became noticeably weaker.

"Hurry and move. My whole body feels strange."

Hearing the sudden softness in her tone, Aether almost laughed.

Looking at her flushed face and avoiding gaze, a playful thought suddenly crossed his mind.

He slowly lowered his head.

Ulti's body immediately stiffened.

Under her increasingly nervous stare, Aether leaned close to her ear and lightly blew against it.

A visible tremble ran through Ulti's entire body.

Then, in a low voice, Aether spoke near her ear.

"If you keep causing trouble, I won't go easy on you next time. Understand?"

Ulti did not answer.

Her mind was completely blank from the strange sensation lingering around her ear.

For twenty years, nobody had ever done something like that to her before.

Seeing her dazed expression, Aether knew it was time to stop.

Continuing further would only create unnecessary trouble.

He immediately stood up as if nothing had happened and turned to leave.

Before walking away, he casually tossed out one final sentence.

"You said you wanted to join my pirate crew. I approve."

Only after Aether completely disappeared from sight did Ulti finally recover.

Her entire face turned bright red as she shouted furiously toward the distance.

"You bastard! I definitely won't let you off!"

Despite her furious yelling, she never denied joining the Aether Pirates.

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