One Piece: I, the Strongest Intern of the Roger Pirates

Hahahaha... Sorry, sorry! Roger grinned as he apologized to Brumarlin, who was now lying on the floor with both eyes bruised like a panda. Next to him stood a very uneasy Fang Yi and Shanks.

It turned out that Rayleigh, worried that Roger, Fang Yi, and Shanks had been gone for so long, had sent Brumarlin to look for them. But just as Brumarlin opened the door to the captain's quarters, he was ambushed by the three. Unlike Roger, who managed to pull his punch at the last moment, the tense Fang Yi and Shanks had both landed direct hits on his eyes before realizing who it was.

"What were you guys doing in there? It's just an unmanned navy ship. Why were you acting like you'd seen a ghost?" Brumarlin asked, clearly not holding a grudge. After all, it was a misunderstanding—and they were just kids.

Brumarlin wore a striped shirt and a headscarf. Though not one of the strongest fighters, he was a seasoned and dependable crewmember of the Roger Pirates. He often looked after Fang Yi and Shanks, which made the two feel even more ashamed.

"S-Sorry, Brumarlin! We thought it was the enemy," Roger said with an awkward laugh.

That's when Fang Yi remembered—when they heard the footsteps outside, Wanzai hadn't shown any of his usual warning behavior. Not a bark, not a growl.

"You little runt... You knew it was Brumarlin all along, didn't you?! And you let us make fools of ourselves!" Fang Yi scowled and glared at Wanzai, who just wagged his tail innocently.

Roger and Shanks overheard and realized Fang Yi had a point. Even Roger's Observation Haki hadn't detected anything earlier, yet Wanzai had sensed it every time. The dog might be more impressive than they thought.

"Whiiine... woof..." Wanzai looked pitiful, causing everyone to burst out laughing again.

Roger then explained what had just happened on the ship.

"Ghosts? Seriously? That kind of stuff doesn't exist, right?" Brumarlin said skeptically. Like Fang Yi, he believed that whatever they'd experienced had a logical explanation—it wasn't supernatural.

So they searched the entire ship again, every corner. Fang Yi even ran around the whole deck with Wanzai, but still, they found nothing unusual. Wanzai didn't react either.

"Maybe whatever it was has already left..." Fang Yi suggested that when they all regrouped on deck, they were disappointed but puzzled.

"Forget it. Captain, let's head back. Rayleigh said we're setting sail soon," Brumarlin said.

Roger, still curious about the mysterious ship, agreed reluctantly, and they all returned to the Oro Jackson. Since they had already been docked at the island for several days while Roger recovered, the moment he returned, the crew began preparing to set sail.

Back in his cabin, Fang Yi casually did another ten-pull from his lottery system—and unsurprisingly, got absolutely nothing of value.

That Night…

Fang Yi was sleeping soundly when he was suddenly awakened by a call from the lookout.

He jumped out of bed with a start, quickly got dressed, and rushed to the deck. Only a few other crewmates had come out, rubbing their eyes in confusion.

"Golan! What's going on?" Rayleigh shouted up toward the crow's nest.

"Rayleigh! There's a shadow following us from behind. Not sure what it is, but it's been tailing us for a while!" Golan yelled down.

Rayleigh immediately rushed to the ship's stern and looked into the distance. There, in the darkness, he could faintly make out a shape—but it was hard to see clearly.

"Let me take a shot!" Fang Yi said. He took his bow, tied a flare to an arrow, and fired toward the shadow.

Boom! The flare lit up the sky.

"It's a navy warship!" someone yelled.

"Damn... They must've found us. Notify Rowen to turn the ship immediately! Wake everyone up—we might have to fight!" Rayleigh barked.

Rowen, the brawny helmsman, sprang into action. The Oro Jackson tried to evade, but no matter which direction they turned, the navy ship kept tailing them closely.

"Rayleigh, something's wrong... Why haven't they attacked?" Fang Yi asked. With his bow still ready, he couldn't understand their inaction.

Normally, if the navy spotted a pirate ship, their first move would be to open fire with their long-range cannons. But this warship hadn't fired a single shot, even though it was well within range.

"It's odd... What are they up to?" Rayleigh frowned.

Just then, Roger emerged from below deck, yawning. "What's going on, Rayleigh?"

"We've got a navy ship following us," Rayleigh replied.

"What? Already?!" Roger was instantly alert, but after hearing the full report, he rubbed his chin thoughtfully and said, "Fang Yi, fire another flare. Let's get a better look."

Fang Yi nodded and fired another arrow, this time higher so they could illuminate more of the vessel.

As the second flare lit up the ship completely, Roger squinted, then exclaimed, "Fang Yi... doesn't that look just like the ship we explored earlier today?"

"No way, Captain... That was a ghost ship with no crew. How could it have followed us out to sea?" Fang Yi replied, though he too was feeling uneasy.

"What's going on?" Rayleigh asked.

Fang Yi explained the entire incident with the strange empty warship.

The more he said, the more uneasy he became—he even shivered slightly.

Rayleigh smiled and said, "Let's just go check it out."

"Do we have to? Rayleigh-sensei, I say we just blow it to bits and send it to the bottom of the ocean," Fang Yi protested, shaking his head furiously.

"Hahaha... Are you scared, Fang Yi?" Roger teased, grinning mischievously.

The other crewmates tried not to laugh, but their expressions said it all—no one was taking Fang Yi seriously.

"Me? Scared? No way!" Fang Yi blurted, puffing his chest. "Fine! We'll stop the ship! I'll go over there first and show you I'm not afraid!"

But the moment the Oro Jackson stopped and made contact with the unmanned warship... Fang Yi wavered.

It was the same ship.

He'd searched it thoroughly during the day and found nothing. Roger had been there too—if someone had been hiding, Roger would have sensed them. And Wanzai had acted strangely back then, too.

That was what truly disturbed Fang Yi.

It's not ghosts people fear... It's the unknown.

Earlier, he'd believed this world had no such supernatural nonsense. But now... he wasn't so sure.

"Rayleigh-sensei, Captain... are you sure we don't want to just go with my idea?" Fang Yi asked one last time, standing at the railing, trying to reason with them.

"What idea? Going over by yourself?" Roger said innocently.

"Pfft—Captain! He meant blowing it up, not going solo!" Peter laughed loudly.

"Why would we do that? This is a rare adventure!" Roger said earnestly.

Fang Yi looked like he wanted to strangle him with his bowstring.

Before Roger could say anything else, Fang Yi huffed, "Hmph! Wanzai, let's go!"

With that, he hopped into a lifeboat, took Wanzai, and rowed toward the ghost ship.

"Whoa... Is he going alone?" asked the ship's cook, Yao Yi, looking worried. "He seemed genuinely scared. And if that ship's the same one from before... something's off."

Don't worry, Rayleigh said with a smile. Roger and the others will follow soon. And besides, Fang Yi brought Wanzai. That little dog's sharper than any of us. As a pirate... You can't let fear rule you.