One Piece: I'm not Roger

"You already know this old man is the First Mate, Silvers Rayleigh."

Aether then pointed toward the Golden Lion beside him.

"And this guy is the combatant... actually, Shiki, what exactly is your position on the ship?"

The question caught Shiki off guard.

Back when he ruled the seas, he had always been the captain. He had never seriously considered taking another role.

Combatant?

Helmsman?

Navigator?

Lookout?

After thinking for a moment, Shiki snorted.

"Then I'll be a swordsman."

Aether nodded seriously.

"Alright then. This swordsman here is Golden Lion Shiki. You should all know who he is."

Black Maria and Page One immediately recognized the name, but Ulti frowned in confusion.

"Golden Lion? That sounds familiar, but I can't remember where I heard it."

"..."

The moment those words came out, Aether completely lost control.

Even Rayleigh burst into laughter beside him.

Meanwhile, Shiki's face darkened so much it looked like storm clouds had gathered over his head.

Page One hurriedly leaned closer to Ulti and whispered an explanation into her ear.

A few seconds later, Ulti finally realized who Shiki was.

"Oh."

Then she looked toward him honestly.

"Sorry, Senior Golden Lion. I don't really read newspapers from twenty years ago, so I didn't recognize you."

The apology only made things worse.

Aether laughed so hard he nearly bent over.

"Hahaha!"

What kind of apology was that?

She was basically calling Shiki an outdated relic from a past era.

Even Black Maria could not stop the corner of her lips from twitching slightly.

In the end, Rayleigh stepped in to stop the chaos before Aether laughed himself to death.

When it was finally Bonney's turn, Aether spoke with a playful smile.

"This is Jewelry Bonney, also known as Big Eater Bonney. She joined a few days ago and is currently an apprentice crew member."

He intentionally emphasized the word apprentice.

Bonney immediately gritted her teeth in anger.

If she could actually beat Aether in a fight, she would have punched him already.

At the same time, the appearance of Ulti and Black Maria made her feel pressured.

Both of them were around her age, yet they were already official members.

Bonney had already spent several days learning under Rayleigh and had begun understanding the basics of Haki. According to Rayleigh's assessment, she was not far from reaching the level required to become an official member herself.

Golden Lion sized up the four newcomers carefully before nodding in satisfaction.

None of them were weak.

Ancient Zoan Devil Fruits were among the strongest categories of abilities.

Even during his own era, these youngsters would have been considered talented rookies worth nurturing.

The only thing he found slightly unpleasant was the fact that there were too many women on the crew.

Rayleigh, however, looked much more surprised.

He recognized both Ulti and Black Maria immediately.

They were Tobiroppo members under Kaido and held fairly high positions within the Beasts Pirates.

Aether had actually taken away another one beyond expectations.

Was he not worried about Kaido losing his patience entirely?

Aether understood Rayleigh's thoughts immediately.

The tacit understanding between them was already deep enough that words were barely necessary.

"I didn't force her to join," Aether explained casually. "Iron Head Girl joined voluntarily. If you don't believe me, ask her yourself."

The moment everyone looked at her, Ulti crossed her arms and silently glared at Aether.

She clearly hated the nickname Iron Head Girl.

"..."

Aether wisely chose not to continue provoking her.

After discussing the current situation on the western front with Rayleigh, Aether finally relaxed a little.

Things would likely remain peaceful for the next month.

That meant he could wait before causing more trouble.

Suddenly, both he and Rayleigh spoke at the same time.

"I have something to discuss."

"I need to tell you something."

The two paused briefly.

Aether waved his hand.

"Go ahead first, Rayleigh."

Rayleigh looked at him with an amused expression.

"Luffy and Ace asked me to train them for a while. I agreed."

He paused intentionally before continuing.

"Three hours ago, Rouge also told me she originally hoped you would personally teach Ace."

Rayleigh's smile widened slightly.

"But Ace doesn't seem very willing to accept your training."

"..."

Aether's eye twitched instantly.

The strange looks from Rayleigh and Shiki made him feel incredibly irritated.

Was this really Roger's son rejecting him?

Shiki immediately burst into loud laughter after hearing this.

"Hahaha! Looks like your son doesn't like you very much, Roger!"

The old pirate looked delighted after finally recovering from the embarrassment Ulti caused him earlier.

"I heard the brat even treats Whitebeard like his real old man. That's hilarious!"

Aether silently reminded himself not to argue with a lonely old bachelor like Shiki.

Instead, he calmly pointed toward Bonney and the others.

"If that's the case, Rayleigh, you might as well train these four too. Their talent is pretty good."

Then he glanced at Bonney.

"Well, three of them are very talented. Bonney's talent is only average."

The veins on Bonney's forehead immediately bulged.

"What did you just say, you bastard?!"

She instantly lunged toward Aether.

However, Aether easily dodged her attack.

Seeing her furious expression, he immediately changed his wording.

"Fine, fine. All four of you have good talent. Happy now?"

Bonney jumped onto his back anyway.

Her chest pressed firmly against him as she wrapped an arm around his neck threateningly.

Only after a few seconds did she finally let him go.

Compared to everyone else, Bonney treated Aether more like someone her own age.

Aether suddenly turned toward Shiki.

"By the way, Rayleigh alone can't handle teaching so many people."

He smiled lightly.

"Shiki, you should help too."

Shiki refused without hesitation.

"Impossible. I'm not wasting my time teaching a bunch of brats."

Training rookies was meaningless in his eyes.

Unfortunately for him, Aether already knew exactly what would interest him.

"Monkey D. Luffy is here too."

Shiki narrowed his eyes slightly.

Aether continued with a faint smile.

"Don't you want to meet the kid wearing Roger's straw hat? The one carrying on the same ridiculous dream."

Shiki immediately fell silent.

After thinking for a few moments, he finally snorted.

"I'll only stay for one month."

Night gradually fell over the island.

After dealing with the day's matters, Aether finally returned to his room after taking a shower.

He lay on the bed while casually reading the latest newspaper.

Not long afterward, someone knocked gently on the door.

Using Observation Haki, Aether sensed the identity of the visitor, causing his expression to shift slightly.

"It's unlocked. Come in, Rouge."

The door slowly opened.

Rouge walked into the room wearing a thin lace nightgown that exposed her smooth legs and graceful figure.

The atmosphere instantly became much quieter.

Rouge naturally moved beside Aether before leaning gently against him.

Then she tilted her head upward slightly.

Aether immediately understood what she wanted.

He lowered his head and kissed her softly.

The quiet room soon filled with nothing but faint breathing and soft whispers.

After a long while, Rouge leaned comfortably against his chest, her cheeks carrying a faint blush.

"Roger..."

Her voice was gentle.

"I hope you can repair your relationship with Ace. It wasn't easy for our family to finally reunite."

At the mention of Ace, Aether's expression became slightly complicated.

Part of his mindset was still influenced by Roger's memories.

Whenever he thought about Ace, he instinctively acted more like a strict father.

Combined with the years they had spent apart, their relationship naturally remained awkward.

Aether sighed softly before stroking Rouge's hair.

"Don't worry. I'll handle things with Ace properly."

Rouge smiled softly.

Her fingers slowly traced circles across his chest as she spoke again.

"I heard Rayleigh and Shiki are both going to teach the younger generation."

She looked up at him quietly.

"Why don't you teach them too?"

Aether originally wanted to refuse.

But after seeing Rouge's hopeful expression, he could not bring himself to reject her.

"...Fine."

He sighed helplessly.

"I'll teach them for a while too. Happy now?"

Rouge's smile immediately became brighter.

"Mhm. Very happy."

The atmosphere between them gradually became warmer.

Just as Aether picked Rouge up in his arms, preparing to continue their private moment, Rouge suddenly blinked curiously and asked in a soft voice,

"Roger... is Pirate Empress Boa Hancock really that beautiful?"

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