"Oh?"
Li Ke managed a thin smile, forcing his lungs to draw air despite the crushing pressure. He had a hunch why the man was reacting this way.
"And why is that?"
The murderous tension vanished as quickly as it had appeared, replaced by a weary, almost gentle expression on the Pirate King's face.
"My era is over, and my journey reached its finish line long ago. No matter how you look at it, the world belongs to the youth now," Roger said with profound sincerity. "I don't mind catching a glimpse of what's become of it, but for a ghost to cling to the waves of a new age? That would be poor form."
Li Ke smiled, tossing a canister of rum toward the pirate—something he'd prepared the moment he decided on the summon. At the same time, he topped off Roger's clock, adding a single full day to his conceptual lifespan.
"I knew I hadn't misjudged you," Li Ke said, letting out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. "Relax. I just want you to help me train and maybe clean up a few pieces of human trash I can't stand. Even if you hadn't agreed, I was just going to go find Garp anyway."
Roger caught the rum, but after sensing his lifespan had only increased by a single day, he couldn't help but curl his lip.
"Ha! Kid, you've got a big heart... but you're still a far cry from being a true 'Great Hero.'"
Li Ke then voiced the real logic behind the summon. "I figured anyone capable of becoming the Pirate King couldn't possibly be an impulsive moron."
In this world, Li Ke had no kin to hold him back. Even if Roger tried to imprison him, he could vanish at any moment and retreat back to Toph's world. He'd simply negotiate a head start for Robin before jumping; it wasn't a complicated problem.
Even if Robin were to die, Li Ke could resurrect her. And as for himself? Between his Conceptual Longevity and the protection of World Fragments, he was practically immortal as long as he didn't personally offend the Will of the World. Even a crippling injury wasn't an issue—he'd just burn a fragment to fix it.
Summoning Roger was a calculated risk. Summoning someone like Oden, however, would have been a genuine disaster.
Oden truly had no brains.
"Ah, well... I think my First Mate might have a different opinion on that," Roger muttered, scratching his head awkwardly. The label 'impulsive moron' had basically been pinned to his forehead for most of his life. He looked Li Ke up and down and shook his head.
"But if you're looking to learn something from me, prepare to be disappointed. I'm a terrible teacher. Kaido or Rayleigh are far better at explaining things than I am. And more importantly..."
Roger's gaze turned sharp as he stared directly into Li Ke's soul.
"You're far too weak!"
Li Ke was painfully aware of that fact. Despite his mountain of flashy abilities, if he went back to the Arad world right now, it was a toss-up whether he could even beat a Brawler or Miss Lucia in a fair fight. Their physical conditioning and combat instincts were on an entirely different level.
His experience fighting zombies in 7 Days to Die had made him desensitized to blood and gore, but compared to professional warriors, he was still just an amateur with power.
"I know that better than anyone," Li Ke replied, scratching his head in resignation. "That's exactly why I'm asking for your guidance."
He'd considered summoning Rayleigh, too. Though some fans online claimed Rayleigh was a 'trash teacher,' Li Ke knew better. Without the foundation Rayleigh laid for Luffy, the boy would never have been able to master the advanced concepts so quickly.
Besides... with a brain like Luffy's, could he even learn theory? Of course, the only way was to teach him the basics and let him grow wild.
"Hmm, but even if you say that... fine, let's start with the basics. Training the body! I suppose we'll begin with eating well and working hard!"
Roger scratched his head, looking genuinely perplexed. Li Ke's problems were so entry-level that Roger couldn't even relate to them. As for his own training experience?
He had none.
He was what Rayleigh called the "Beast Type." His entire philosophy consisted of fighting hard, stuffing his face with meat, and sleeping like a log—then waking up to do it all over again. Even his ultimate technique, Divine Departure, wasn't something he'd refined through "proper" meditation. He'd just swung his sword until it worked.
After all, if you didn't learn, you died. Simple as that.
"Hearing you say that doesn't exactly fill me with confidence," Li Ke muttered. He suddenly realized he had resurrected a high-level version of Luffy.
"Just do what I say and you'll be fine! If you really want to learn from me, start by towing this ship while you swim! Oh... wait. Where is this ship actually going?" Roger paused, looking at Li Ke curiously.
"The East Blue. I'm heading to Cocoyasi Village to... acquire two beautiful maidens."
Li Ke stated his goal without a shred of shame.
"Eh? What a low-energy goal," Roger noted, nodding dismissively.
Seeing the Pirate King act so unimpressed made a vein pop in Li Ke's forehead. He turned to the legendary pirate with a dead-serious expression. "For me, beautiful women are the treasure! I'm on a treasure hunt of my own, Roger!"
Roger saw the fire in Li Ke's eyes and immediately mirrored the seriousness, completely ignoring the fact that Li Ke had basically just called his life's work into question.
"Hmm! Now that sounds like something worth getting fired up about!" Roger declared. He leaned in, his gaze turning intense. "In that case, you need to work even harder. Get in the water! Tow this ship through the Calm Belt!"
Li Ke: "..."
Does he think I haven't read the manga? Is the Calm Belt something a little boat like this can just 'tow' through? Even if I tried, how long would it take to drag this thing across a windless ocean?
Li Ke studied Roger for a moment. He realized the man was totally coasting. Being alive or dead didn't seem to matter to him, and expecting this version of Roger to put real effort into teaching was a pipe dream. The guy hadn't even bothered to ask for his name.
So, Li Ke changed tactics.
"In your household... were you the one in charge, or was it your wife?"
Roger's chest swelled with pride. "Me, of course!"
"Excellent!"
Gold light erupted from Li Ke's palm.
Roger's face went pale instantly. He gasped, realization hitting him like a cannonball as he let out a panicked roar. "Wait! Kid! Don't you dare!"
He moved instinctively to intercept Li Ke, his fist ready to shatter the process. But in the heartbeat before his strike landed, a silhouette appeared—one he could never forget.
Portgas D. Rouge.
His wife.
"Ugh... you damn brat!" Roger hissed, stumbling back a step. He glared at Li Ke with a look of genuine, cold-blooded killing intent. For a split second, he truly wanted to end the boy who had dragged him back to life.
But for Portgas D. Rouge, the world had ceased to exist the moment she saw Roger. She didn't care about the 'System' or the fact that she only had twenty-four hours to live. She threw herself into Roger's arms, her embrace instantly dissolving his murderous rage.
All that was left in the Pirate King's eyes was a deep, soul-crushing sense of helplessness and guilt.
"Roger! Is it really you? I missed you so much! And Ace—what about Ace?! How is he?!"
The moment Portgas D. Rouge's voice rang out, Roger knew his secret was out. The one weakness he had tried so hard to keep hidden had been laid bare by Li Ke.
When he was alone, Roger truly didn't care about life or death. But with his wife here, the rules changed. As a man who knew he had been a "failing" husband, he couldn't bear to let her suffer through another tragedy if he had the power to stop it.
He didn't care if he saw his son, but to deny a mother—his wife—the chance to see her child? Even the Pirate King couldn't do something that cruel. A mother's right to see her child was a freedom no one could strip away, not even the man who conquered the Grand Line.
Li Ke watched as Roger shot him a look that said he'd love nothing more than to chop him into pieces.
"Anyway, I'll leave the deck to you two for now, Mr. Roger. Just make sure we stay on course," Li Ke said with a cheeky grin, waving as he retreated toward the cabin.
Roger pulled his wife closer and let out a long, heavy sigh.
His original plan had been simple: freeload on Li Ke's ship, spend his money, throw his own massive banquets, and maybe scare a few Marines along the way. He figured eventually Li Ke would get frustrated, realize he couldn't squeeze any secrets out of him, and let the "summon" expire. Roger would have left this world again while laughing in the kid's face.
He truly would have done it. His adventure was over, after all.
But by summoning Rouge, Li Ke had forced him back onto a journey he thought he'd finished—the journey of being a husband and a father. And that was the one "quest" Roger found most daunting.
"I really should have just cut that little brat down when I had the chance, Rouge," Roger muttered.
In his arms, Portgas D. Rouge understood exactly what her husband was feeling. She sympathized with his desire for a peaceful rest, but her longing for her child—to know what had become of the life she died to protect—overwhelmed even her love for Roger.
She had to see him. Even if it was just a glimpse, she had to know.
"I'm sorry, Roger," she whispered, leaning her head against his chest.
"It's fine. It's just a debt of gratitude I'll have to pay back," Roger replied, scratching his head in resignation. He had no desire to throw the world's power balance into chaos again, but now...
He sighed. "Marriage truly is the graveyard of a great man's freedom."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than he felt the air chill. He looked down to see Rouge narrowing her eyes at him.
"Oh? So being married to me makes you unhappy?!"
"Not at all! Never!"
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"So, get in."
Roger—whose rum had been promptly confiscated by his wife—glared at Li Ke and pointed toward the glassy, windless waters of the Calm Belt.
Standing nearby, Robin was still struggling to process the sheer volume of impossible information. She had literally just taken a nap. How on earth had they reached the Calm Belt already? And more importantly, why was the Pirate King's ghost currently hijacking her ship?
"Uh, I don't actually know how to swim," Li Ke stammered.
He looked at Madam Rouge, who was watching with a gentle, supportive smile, and then at Roger, whose eyes were practically screaming, 'Payback time, kid.' Finally, he peered over the railing at the sea below. Beneath the surface, the shadows of colossal Sea Kings—monsters with eyes larger than their entire vessel—lurked in the depths.
He swallowed hard. "So, I really think we should take this step-by-step..."
But Roger wasn't interested in a syllabus. Without a second's hesitation, he delivered a swift kick to Li Ke's backside, sending him screaming over the edge and plummeting into the terrifyingly still waters.
"Get down there!"
Roger might not have known exactly what kind of specialized training Li Ke needed, but he saw one thing with absolute clarity.
Li Ke.
That brat lived his life acting like he'd always have more time and another chance later. He needed a reminder that the sea doesn't wait for "later."