Raising Legends in Roger’s Shadow

Two weeks later,

A pirate ship flying the skull-and-crossbones flag blocked their path.

"It's the Bonecrusher Pirates!" Ritter shouted from the crow's nest. "That's Hank the Bonecrusher, bounty: 980,000 Berries!"

Ever since arriving on the island, Ritter had taken intelligence gathering seriously. He spent 1,000 Berries to buy a dozen wanted posters and up-to-date pirate info from the Grand Line.

On the deck of the enemy ship, a towering man nearly three meters tall grinned wickedly, resting a spiked club on his shoulder.

"Roger? Never heard of him! Hand over your treasure, and maybe I'll give you a quicker death."

Roger picked his nose. "Rayleigh, you wanna take this one? I don't feel like moving today."

Rayleigh adjusted his glasses. "Let the kid handle it. He's been bouncing around so much lately, I'm getting tired of sparring with him. Let's see how strong Ritter really is."

Ritter took a deep breath and stepped to the prow of the ship.

"You're sending out a brat? What, your crew run out of real fighters?" Hank burst into laughter. "One swing and I'll—"

"You're really loud," Ritter interrupted coldly. "Mist Realm: Silent Prison."

In an instant, a dense fog engulfed everything within a hundred-meter radius.

Hank's voice vanished. Even the whoosh of his club slicing through the air disappeared into eerie silence.

Then came the pain sharp, biting pain crawling across his skin. The mist was seeping into his pores.

"Damn it!" he roared silently, swinging his weapon in wild arcs, hitting nothing but air.

Suddenly, he dropped to his knees, a soundless scream twisting his face in agony. His eyes and throat felt like they were on fire.

Ritter stood at the ship's bow, his four-year-old body dwarfed by the fallen giant.

He let out a sigh. "You know, in manga, guys like you…"

"…are just stepping stones for the protagonist."

"How does it feel to lose your sight, your hearing, and your sense of touch?" Ritter's young voice echoed and warped in the fog. "And just so you know, the pH of this mist is 0.5…"

Hank's bloodshot eyes darted wildly, searching through the white void. He could just barely make out a small, shadowy figure moving within the mist appearing at the portside one moment, then atop the mast the next, like a ghost in the fog.

Ritter relished the freedom of his domain. This was his world.

He would never let anyone control his fate. He would stand at the very summit of the world.

Hank howled, blindly swinging his spiked club.

"Come out, you sneaky little punk!"

"You probably don't even know what a pH of 0.5 means…" Ritter's voice oozed pity. "Ignorance is truly terrifying."

A sudden wave of searing pain hit Hank's eyes. His lungs burned like they were full of fire. He collapsed in silence, the acidic mist corroding his mucous membranes.

"Gahhhh—!"

"M-monster…" His voice dissolved into the fog, nothing left but wordless despair.

When the mist finally cleared, only corpses remained on the deck.

In the distance, a small boat was escaping rapidly. Ritter saw it but didn't bother giving chase. Everyone was already dead. Let them carry the legend of Ritter, Lord of the Mist.

Roger whistled. "Think that'll boost his bounty?"

Rayleigh nodded with approval. "Clever. Using his Devil Fruit to compensate for his lack of Haki. Smart strategy."

South Blue – Marine Branch 77 Headquarters

Lieutenant Colonel Gruss Horn stormed into the meeting room.

A dozen Marine officers stood to salute him, their faces grim.

"Sit down!" Gruss barked, slamming a file onto the table. His metal prosthetic hand clanged sharply against the wood.

"Can someone explain to me—" His single eye scanned the room. "How a four-year-old managed to wipe out the entire Bonecrusher Pirates in three minutes?!"

The Bonecrusher Pirates weren't even a large crew, just three members but they were ruthless. How had they fallen so fast? Why hadn't HQ received any warning?

Major Morris, the intelligence officer, wiped the sweat from his brow and opened a file with trembling hands.

"Acc-according to our scouts… the battle was enveloped in a dense mist. We've temporarily designated the suspect 'Phantom of the Fog.' He's believed to be a Logia-type user of the Fog-Fog Fruit. A member of Roger's crew, identified as Ritter."

He activated a projection Den Den Mushi. The grainy image revealed a figure small, cloaked in mist darting across a fog-covered battlefield. Near the camera, one pirate was curled in agony, barely visible through the haze.

Morris continued, voice shaking. "Upon revisiting the Bonecrusher Pirates' ship, we found all the treasure and food gone. As for the bodies eyes, mouths, and nasal cavities all severely corroded. The damage had reached the brain in some cases. The lungs were the most affected organs."

"We need to reassess his threat level!" Lieutenant Colonel Gruss slammed his palm on the table. "Report this to HQ immediately. That kid he moves through the mist like a ghost!"

A staff officer hesitantly handed over the newly drafted bounty poster:

["Crimson Mist" Ritter]

[Bounty: 3,000,000 Berries]

[Traits: Black hair, red eyes, always shrouded in fog, highly dangerous]

[Member of the Roger Pirates – Wanted Dead or Alive]

Three days later, Roger Pirates' bounty posters drifted across the sea.

"Hahahaha! Ritter, have you seen your bounty yet?" Roger slapped his thigh with laughter. "Crimson Mist! Three million Berries! Four years old and already a wanted man terrifying!"

Ritter pouted, staring at the blurry image on the poster and the bold words: WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE.

"Seriously? This is the best photo they could get? I look like a vengeful spirit! I'm way more handsome than this. What's the point of a high bounty if no one can recognize me on the street?"

Rayleigh pushed up his glasses with a smirk. "Still, 'Crimson Mist' sounds better than 'White Mist.'"

"Of course it does!" Ritter grumbled. "Crimson Mist sounds way cooler! And if I ever catch that photographer Marine, I swear, they'll feel more than just a little pain."

He peeked at Roger and Rayleigh's bounties 150 million and 100 million respectively and slowly shrank back.

Well… three million didn't sound too bad anymore.

Just as Ritter was about to move on, Roger leaned in and slung an arm around his shoulders.

"Hey, kid. Why did you shout out the acid pH level mid-fight?"

Ritter rolled his eyes. "Don't ask. It just sounds cooler when you say it out loud."

Come on this is a shounen world! You have to shout your move names if you want it to be hype. (Heat Bakugo moment, anyone?)

Neither Roger nor Rayleigh seemed the least bit disturbed by Ritter's brutal methods. This was the world of pirates, after all. A place where only the strong survived.

And when someone tried to kill you?

You had every right to use whatever means necessary to kill them first.

Their name, fame, and fortune became yours.

That… was the law of pirates.