One Piece: I'm not Roger

After a brief moment of tension, Charlotte Linlin's sagging face suddenly broke into a wide smile.

"Ma-ma-ma! Since you want to sit between two great beauties of the sea, Roger, then of course you can. Isn't that right, Stussy?"

Since even the legendary Pirate King dared to call Big Mom a beauty, no one else dared to voice disagreement, no matter what they truly thought.

The blonde woman known as Stussy blinked and revealed a shy, almost bashful profile toward Aether, resembling a timid bride meeting a stranger for the first time.

"Of course. It is my honor that Roger-sama thinks so highly of me. Du Feld, I suggest you give up your seat. Do not bring humiliation upon yourself."

An albatross birdman seated nearby also chimed in.

"Du Feld, don't be a spoilsport. It is your honor that His Excellency Roger has taken a liking to your seat."

When a wall is about to fall, everyone gives it a push. The white-haired old man, who had remained silent until now, seized the opportunity to kick him while he was down.

"Give up the seat, or I'm afraid you will not be able to keep your position as the King of Loan Sharks."

Seeing others gradually joining in, the man known as Du Feld could only rise with a dark expression and leave his seat. A pack of sycophants, if given the chance, he would make them pay for this humiliation.

Especially that woman, Stussy. Though he suspected she had ties to the World Government, in his eyes women were still nothing more than playthings. How could she act as though she stood on equal footing with him?

Before the indignantly displaced Du Feld could even move away, Aether had already taken the two empty seats with a faint smile, as if he had simply cleared unwanted clutter from the table.

Du Feld clenched his fists and glared at Aether. A biting dog does not bark. He knew better than to start a conflict in a situation stacked against him.

Everyone settled back into their seats. Stussy thoughtfully poured a cup of black tea for the new guest. When Aether looked at her, she returned a gentle, almost innocent smile.

A flawless performance, so convincing it bordered on art.

Sitting comfortably, Aether began to assess the five figures before him. Four men and one woman. None of them were ordinary. Each was a king of the Underworld, controlling industries that spanned the globe. Even Donquixote Doflamingo, who dabbled in the Underworld, paled in comparison. All of them had deep and complicated ties to the World Government.

The woman smiling at him with refined grace was Stussy, the queen of the pleasure district. Beneath her public identity as the "mama-san" of the world's largest pleasure house network lay a far more complex truth. She was also a CP0 agent, with additional unclear ties, including links to Dr. Vegapunk.

The fat man Aether had deliberately provoked was Du Feld, the King of Loan Sharks. His primary businesses included usury and slave trading, along with a hidden organ trafficking network. Countless civilians were ruined by him every day.

Since arriving in this world, Aether had targeted his industry the hardest. He had no tolerance for usury, slavery, or especially organ trafficking. There was no reason to cooperate with such a man within his territory.

Not long ago, due to heavy losses, Du Feld had even approached Silvers Rayleigh to propose reconciliation and cooperation, offering an annual tribute of five billion Berries.

His posture had been humble, his sincerity evident. However, Rayleigh refused, stating, "My captain dislikes you," and continued to pressure Du Feld's operations in the days that followed.

With the Pirate Crew of the man regarded as the head of the Five Emperors actively targeting him, other opportunists quickly joined in to tear into his vast wealth. Among all those affected in the New World, Du Feld had suffered the most because of Aether's influence.

Aether also knew that Du Feld functioned as a "white glove" for the World Government. Even if he were eliminated, someone else under the government's protection would inherit his assets. That alone made him even less worthy of respect in Aether's eyes.

The third figure, the albatross birdman, was Morgans, the News King. Having interacted with Aether several times before, their relationship was relatively neutral. Under Aether's overwhelming presence, and so long as it did not interfere with his interests, Morgans would lean toward cooperation. After all, a wise man adapts to circumstances.

With the Pirate King's ability to stir chaos across the seas, opportunities for collaboration would always arise.

Another man whose expression had subtly shifted was Dragu Pierrot, the King of Assassins, known as the "Major Undertaker."

Originally, there had been no direct conflict between him and the rising Pirate Crew. However, during Aether's earlier purge of his territories, Pierrot's subordinates had accepted assassination contracts targeting members of the Aether Pirates.

As a result, several clashes broke out between his forces and Aether's subordinates.

Those conflicts escalated quickly. Aether's subordinate pirate crews launched a full-scale retaliation. The assassin organization, once feared across the world, was crushed into retreat. Their so-called elite assassins proved powerless against the Pirate Crew led by the head of the Five Emperors.

Six of his ten famed Ace Assassins were eliminated. The rest scattered and vanished, too afraid to continue operating openly.

Even Marco had once led a fleet into their territories in the New World, pushing them back into the domains of other Emperors and destroying their regional networks.

Forced into retreat, Pierrot relocated much of his forces to the Grand Line and the Four Seas, leaving only remnants in the New World to maintain appearances. His hatred for Aether was no weaker than Du Feld's.

The masked assassin had remained vigilant toward Aether from the start. Aether met his gaze directly, his own killing intent sharp enough to make the man stiffen.

Aether took a sip of black tea and said casually,

"Relax, Pierrot. You are Linlin's guest. I will not kill you."

"…"

Pierrot said nothing. He simply turned his head away, avoiding Aether's gaze.

The final guest was Giberson, known as the "Concealer," the Warehouse King. Unlike the others, he held no personal grievance with Aether. In fact, they had maintained several business dealings in the past. After all, controlling global logistics meant inevitably dealing with the man who dominated warehouses across the world.

Sensing the increasingly tense atmosphere, Aether turned his attention to Charlotte Linlin.

"Linlin, what are you all discussing? I would not mind joining in."

Feld sneered inwardly. These people had gathered here to divide up the Underworld of the New World. Even Doflamingo was not qualified to sit at this table. Yet this arrogant pirate still thought he could take part.