"When you are strong enough, we will meet again in the future."
"When that day comes, we will have another fight."
Shanks stared at him for a long time, then nodded hard.
"Okay!"
"It is a promise!"
"When that time comes, I am definitely going to beat you!"
"I will be waiting."
The tension on deck finally began to ease.
The crew slowly gathered around. Of course they were reluctant to see him go.
Bullet might be a monster, but he was their companion all the same.
And they understood something else. A true dragon was never going to stay on one ship forever.
Old John was the first to speak.
"Kid, if you run into trouble someday and Captain Roger's name is not enough, then use your own name, Black Dragon Bullet."
"In the New World right now, that name should carry some weight."
The head chef handed him a tightly wrapped bundle.
"Special jerky inside. It will keep for a month."
"And a few bottles of good liquor. Drink them on the way."
"Thank you."
Bullet took it from him.
Buggy hesitated for a long time, then finally pulled a little pouch from inside his shirt.
"T-this is for you…"
Bullet opened it. Inside were a few gold coins, some small jewels, and a crumpled treasure map.
"This is half my entire fortune," Buggy muttered.
"I know you probably look down on it, but… it is my way of saying thanks."
"That treasure map, I bought it off an old pirate in the South Blue. He said there is an ancient treasure buried there."
Bullet looked at Buggy.
This greedy, cowardly, yet sharp little red-nosed brat, actually willing to hand over half his wealth to him.
"I will take the map," Bullet said.
He shoved the coins and jewels back into Buggy's hands.
"Keep the rest."
"When you start your own pirate crew someday, you will need starting capital."
Buggy froze, eyes suddenly turning a little red.
The day passed quickly.
By dusk, Bullet had finished packing.
There was not much to take.
A few sets of clothes, some money, that rubbing, Rayleigh's sketch of Anna, the chart and pointer from Roger, and the silver coin resting against his chest.
The crew prepared a final dinner for him.
It was the most lavish meal they had ever had.
The long table was piled with every delicacy Jaya could offer, barrels of booze stacked like a hill.
Roger gave the order that tonight everyone was allowed to get drunk.
The banquet began, but the mood was… complicated.
There was laughter, singing, the clink of cups, yet also pockets of silence.
The crew came to toast Bullet one by one and say their farewells.
Some of them ended up crying as they spoke.
It was not weakness. They truly did not want him to go.
Bullet did not refuse anyone.
He did not use his devouring ability to break down the alcohol, either. He let the heat of it run through his body.
The faint haze in his head reminded him of that first party night, of the first time he had felt the warmth of "companions."
Shanks drank the most and went the craziest.
He clung to Bullet and talked endlessly.
About their promise for the future, about getting stronger, about founding his own pirate crew someday.
"I will find the best crew in the world!" Shanks declared loudly.
"Then we will go to Laugh Tale together!"
"If Bullet sir has not found it by then, you are joining my ship!"
Bullet smiled.
A very faint smile, but a real one.
"If you can beat me, I will join."
"It is a deal!"
Rayleigh sat quietly in a corner, watching it all.
Roger walked over and sat down beside him.
"Hard to let him go?" Roger asked.
"A little," Rayleigh admitted.
"He is the finest student I have ever taught."
"And also the most dangerous one."
Roger took a drink.
"His path is more dangerous than any of ours."
"Devouring evolution… it sounds wonderful, but to me it looks like a road leading straight into an abyss."
Rayleigh said nothing.
"But," Roger grinned, "that is his choice."
"All we can do is trust him."
"Trust that he will not be devoured by his own power. Trust that he will find his own answer."
The banquet ran on into the deep of night.
Most people ended up completely drunk.
Shanks hugged a bottle and muttered in his sleep. Buggy was curled up under the table, snoring. Old John and a few senior crew were still locked in a drinking battle, but their tongues were already numb.
Bullet walked to the bow.
Roger and Rayleigh were already waiting there.
"Ready?" Roger asked.
"I am ready."
Roger pulled a flag from inside his coat.
It was pure black, with no emblem on it at all.
"Your pirate crew will need a symbol someday," Roger said.
"Take this."
"As for what you paint on it… do that when you have decided for yourself."
Bullet took the black flag.
The cloth was thick and rough to the touch, but it carried weight.
"Thank you."
The three of them stood at the bow, staring out over the sea.
Moonlight spilled down, laying a silver road across the waves.
"Where will you go next?" Rayleigh asked.
"I will stay on Jaya for a few days first," Bullet replied.
"I need a ship, some information, and… I have a little personal business to take care of."
He thought of that slave stall.
For a long moment, Roger simply watched Bullet.
"Kid, one last piece of advice," he said.
"Please."
"Being a captain is not the same as being a crewman," Roger said.
"A crewman only needs to be responsible for himself. A captain has to be responsible for everyone on his ship."
"Your life will not belong only to you anymore. It will belong to everyone who believes in you and chooses to follow you."
He paused.
"So do not die easily."
"And if you have to die, then die in a way so spectacular that the whole world remembers your name."
Bullet clenched his fist.
"I will."
Before dawn, the sea was a dark mirror.
Bullet slung his pack over his shoulder and walked down the gangplank.
He turned once and looked back at the Oro Jackson.
The ship that had carried him for more than a month, that had taught him so much.
Bullet turned away and headed toward Jaya's harbor.
He had to leave.
A black dragon's lair was never meant to be on someone else's ship.
He needed to find his own vessel, his own crew, his own voyage.
Bullet pulled out the silver coin and looked at it.
The emblem of the Roger Pirates gleamed faintly.
He closed his fingers around it and felt its lingering warmth.