Groggily opening his eyes, Ling suddenly sat up quickly and looked around. He was in a new room, one that he didn't recognize. Glancing around, he saw many pictures of people, one of which shocked his mind.
It was a picture of two people facing each other, the man on the left, who had a very familiar coat with a mustache that would scare marines worldwide. With his grin, the man on the right set off an age of pirates just by getting executed.
Whitebeard and Rogers, Ling had some sweat on his back as he realized he might be in a powerhouse's house. Not that he was scared, but needlessly fighting them is not what he intends right now.
The door creaked open, and a middle-aged man walked in. Seeing that Ling was awake, he called, "Captain, the boy has awoken!"
Ling kind of recognized this person as someone he had seen before, but his brain started to hurt as soon as he tried to recall. In a hoarse throat, Ling asked, "Where am I?"
The middle-aged man chuckled and responded, "Well, you are on the ship of Rogers, and my name is Crocus, the man who saved you."
"Saved me?"
Crocus began examining Ling from head to toe, "You are very lucky, it seemed as if you were underwater for ten days, and your body had internal injuries. Yet, you are still breathing."
Ling pinched his eyebrow and asked Crocus, "Did you find a bag with me?"
Crocus backed up and shook his head, "If we did, it might be in the depths of the sea right now."
Closing his eyes, Ling checked his own body and found that it had grown stronger. The squeezing of the internal organs and damage helped him produce new, stronger cells, making him two times more durable.
Attempting to stand up, Ling walked out of the room with Crocus following him. Outside the door was a massive clearing with people running around. "It seems our prisoner has woken up," said a man with a jolly laugh behind Ling.
Turning around, Ling saw a face, the face that made people pursue their dreams, the man who created an entire age of pirates. Gol. D. Rogers.
Behind him were his left and right-hand men, Gaban and Rayleigh. They both looked middle-aged, meaning they were in their primes right now. Ling gulped and said, "Thanks for saving me."
Roger smirked, "You are interesting, to be able to survive underwater for ten days, and you are a devil fruit person, am I correct?"
Coughing a little, Ling looked at Roger and shrugged a little, "What if I am?"
"Join me," said Rogers, holding out his hand as he released his Conqueror's Haki, all concentrated on Ling.
Ling felt a mountain pressing on him, but as soon as he locked eyes with Rogers, he felt an unbridled sense of strength just oozing off his stare.
Feeling an emotion he hadn't felt since Captain John, he released his wild killing intent, never to be suppressed by anyone in the world ever again. That feeling is something he would never want to feel again.
The killing intent made everyone on edge, "What did this boy go through to have this much killing intent?" asked Gaban, smiling on edge.
Rayleigh put a hand on his sabre, as well as the other crew members. They all aimed at Ling, but the focal point of the killing intent was aimed at Rogers. At this moment, Rogers felt as if he was facing a tiger who is willing to fight a dragon.
Without a second hesitation, he swung out his supreme grade sword, Ace, using his move called Divine Departure. Ling, noticing the danger in the attack, used his strongest move. "Meteor Cannon!"
A punch landed on the sword, making the ship tremble as the attacks collided, trying to push each other back. Ling was losing, since he had no haki, nor any more strength than his physical strength.
Taking a step back as his fist was being pushed back, Roger, Gaban, and Rayleigh watched in astonishment as Ling held his own without any haki. Gritting his teeth, Ling began to push his adrenaline to the max as well as his strength.
Remembering the moment when he touched the cold sword of Captain John that was coated in haki, he felt the coldness and sharpness as well as the intention of the sword. Clenching his other fist, he poured his emotions and will into it as it turned black.
Switching hands, he grabbed the sword with his hand coated in haki, but he forgot that there are levels to haki. Ling noticed his newly acquired power was not enough, so he stimulated his cells.
To replicate the haki over and over, at the cost of his stamina, everyone began watching as Ling's hands, catching the sword, began to grow darker and sturdier. Taking a step back, Roger's eyes almost popped out of his sockets.
Feeling his stamina drain to the bottom, Ling finally pushed past the attack and swung a fist that slowly hit Roger's face, which had no effect since Ling was unconscious already, but his body didn't fall till the punch landed.
Taking a big gulp, Roger caught the unconscious Ling as his body fell forward, "What a willpower, to kill..."
Rayleigh and Gaban had already pulled out their weapons, but seeing that Ling was unconscious, they were more shocked at what he had just done than at landing the hit on Roger.
Groggily opening his eyes once more, he realized he was still on the Rogers' ship, and in front of him were the three powerhouses of the Rogers. "So, did you consider it?" asked Roger, pacing around.
Rayleigh and Gaban gripped their forehead in annoyance. He was like this for an hour, wondering if Ling would wake up. "Do I have a choice?" asked Ling as he sat back. "I am only joining because I am clueless about the world, and once I become stronger than you, I will embark on my journey, is that clear?"
Roger laughed as Gaban and Rayleigh had a vein throbbing on their foreheads, "You dare threaten us?"
"Haha, you are a funny kid, but sure, if one day, you grow stronger than all three of us combined, you can leave," said Roger as he held out his hand.
Rayleigh and Gaban quickly glanced at each other, not knowing if this was the right move, but since Roger is optimistic about him, they won't challenge the captain's judgement. Taking his hand, Ling smiled. "Can I get something to eat? I am starving."
Hearing his stomach growl like a banshee, the three sheepishly left the room as Crocus brought in a feast. From fruits, meats, and seafood. Ling chuckled, "Like-minded people are kind of okay."
As he began to eat, he closed his eyes and remembered the feeling he had when fighting Rogers. He began to use it on and off randomly, then he picked up the chopsticks and coated them in haki.
Every piece of food, he coats in haki, then uncoats it when he bites down on it. Crocus was watching in shock as Ling was using his haki like a flavor enhancer...