On The Logan, after all the companions had gathered, the ship became much livelier.
Especially with the addition of four new crew members, the ship was now filled with daily bickering, playful fights, and endless noise.
In such an atmosphere, Rojen often sat cross-legged at the bow with a faint smile, letting the sea breeze mess up his black hair while breathing in the scent of the ocean.
"I'm starting to like this feeling more and more."
Three days later, Reverse Mountain appeared before everyone.
None of them were here for the first time, so everyone looked at Reverse Mountain with smiles on their faces. Only Nalene's eyes were filled with amazement; she had never seen such a magical sight before.
A river stretched straight into the sky, its end invisible.
Near the base of Reverse Mountain, the current was extremely turbulent, crashing against the mountain and splashing up layers of spray.
The scene was simply magnificent.
Rojen gazed up at the mountain before him, equally amazed. The real Reverse Mountain was even more majestic and imposing than it had appeared in the anime, enough to stir one's heart and soul.
The power of nature truly inspired awe. The ship jolted as it followed the current and surged upward into the sky.
During this time, Dragon-Elephant Six and Chaporos shouted loudly, venting their emotions while happily jumping around. The sea wind blew fiercely, everyone's hair fluttering wildly, and every single person was affected by the scenery here, their hearts surging with excitement.
About an hour later, The Logan reached the summit of Reverse Mountain, and its speed gradually slowed.
"We're making a trip to East Blue."
After saying this to everyone, Rojen turned the ship's helm, steering toward the eastern route among the remaining four rivers.
A minute later, the ship trembled as it began descending against the reverse current.
Naturally, the pressure of sailing against the current was far stronger than moving with it, but thanks to The Logan's power, the ship still slowly advanced downward.
About three hours later, The Logan returned to calm seas and had arrived in East Blue.
"Captain, are we going to visit Rouge and little Ace?" Jason seemed to realize something and asked.
"Mm, they should still be here." Rojen nodded, not bothering to hide it.
"It's been four years since we last met. Ace should already be a little brat by now, right?" Trens sighed.
"Haha, of course." Rojen burst into laughter.
As Ace's uncle, aside from seeing him once at birth, he had never had another chance to spend time with him.
It had to be said, this was quite regrettable.
According to Rojen's own thinking, since Ace was his nephew, naturally it would be most appropriate for him to raise the boy himself.
This trip to East Blue was specifically to bring Ace and Rouge back to live in the Barut Kingdom.
Given his own status, little Ace could at least be considered a small prince.
…
Seven days later, The Logan docked at Loguetown.
Everyone disembarked to rest, leaving only Chaporos and Daz Bonez behind to guard the ship.
In these seas, those two were more than enough to watch over it.
Although Chaporos had yet to show his strength, according to what Trens had mentioned, he was by no means weak.
This surprised both Jason and Crocodile, they hadn't expected that the formerly obnoxious and punchable brat from four years ago had also grown stronger.
Rojen walked alone.
Without realizing it, he had once again arrived at his former residence.
The iron lock was already mottled with rust, and weeds had grown wildly outside the house.
It seemed no one had cleaned the place for a very long time.
Silently unlocking the door, Rojen stepped inside.
In the corners of his vision, several spiders, frightened by the presence of a stranger, quietly crawled into dark corners to hide from him.
After glancing around a few times, he sighed, picked up a broom and a bucket, fetched some water, and began cleaning the place.
After about half an hour of work, the house was spotless.
Upstairs, on the walls and atop the table, the photo of him and Roger still remained. A faint smile appeared on Rojen's face, though his emotions were complicated.
"Old man, before I knew it, I'm about to walk the same path you once walked." He sighed, his thoughts drifting once again toward the future. "The trouble you left behind is really giving me a headache."
Perhaps the huge mess Roger left behind wasn't necessarily something meant for him to resolve. But as Roger's younger brother, how could Rojen possibly stand by and do nothing?
Even if he wanted to ignore it, others would inevitably force all of it onto his shoulders.
This was something destined to happen, something he could neither avoid nor escape.
Sitting there silently, Rojen fell into deep thought and memories.
Perhaps he was reminiscing about the past, or perhaps he was planning for the future. No one knew what was going through his mind.
Ever since childhood, Rojen had been completely different from Roger.
Roger was naturally cheerful, sunny, and optimistic. He was like a child who never truly grew up, kind and righteous.
Rojen, on the other hand, aside from resembling him in appearance, had almost the opposite personality.
Introverted, taciturn, calculating, this was Rojen's nature.
He had no idea how long he had been sitting there before a voice suddenly snapped him out of his thoughts.
"So this is your elder brother?"
The voice was crisp and pleasant, accompanied by a faint fragrance, causing Rojen to lift his head.
"It's you. How did you end up here?"
"Curiosity. I wanted to see what the place you used to live in looked like." Lordling smiled, her gaze sweeping across the room.
"A very simple place, but very clean."
That simple evaluation made Rojen smile faintly.
"It's clean because I just finished cleaning it. It's simple because I was poor."
Puchi!
Rojen's words made Lordling laugh.
"You were still very young back then, and your elder brother was also quite young."
"Mm, I was only six years old then."
Looking at the photo, at his younger self wearing an expression of obvious disgust while the man beside him rubbed his head, Rojen smiled.
"You really didn't want to take a picture with him."
Lordling teased with a smile.
"That's right. Even though we came from the same mother, I'm much more handsome than him." Rojen nodded seriously.
"You really aren't modest at all." Lordling laughed again.
She slowly sat down beside him, very close. Rojen twitched his nose and could even smell the faint fragrance coming from the woman next to him.
"Smells nice. Then take your time enjoying it."
A soft voice sounded.
Rojen could feel the beauty beside him moving even closer.
"It's been a very, very long time since the two of us were alone together, Rojen."
Suddenly, Rojen's body tensed. He felt his waist being tightly embraced.
"Lordling."
After stiffening for a moment, Rojen also stretched out his hand and gently patted her shoulder.
"Thank you so much, Rojen. Four years ago, you…"
Her voice became choked with sobs as Lordling leaned her head against Rojen's chest.
"It's all my fault. I was the one who got you sent into Impel Down and made you suffer for four whole years!"
The woman in his arms was already crying so hard she could barely speak, leaving Rojen silent for a moment.
"I don't know… I really don't know how I'm supposed to thank you."
The arms around his waist tightened further. Rojen could feel how much strength she was using.
"Are you silly? I'm your captain. Everything I did was what I should have done!"
"Isn't that so?"
But just as he finished that sentence, the woman in his arms suddenly raised her head sharply, tears filling her eyes as she shouted loudly:
"You know that's not the answer I want, Rojen! I don't just want you to do all this because you're my captain!"
"What I want… is for you to do it for me!"
Rojen's entire body trembled as he froze in shock.
(End Of This Chapter)
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