This is Oda openly equating “Roger” with the Devil in the first instructional aside of the series — Chapter 2, right after Koby has named “Gold Roger” and “One Piece” in the preceding pages.
The (possible) payoff
(Pending — links forward to Will of D and Davy-Jones-as-Devil theorising in D is Davy. The “D = Devil” etymological cluster is one of the most heavily-seeded long-running puzzles in the series.)
Technique stack
name-etymology — the literal Oda playbook entry; “Gold Roger” is encoded as a Devil-figure at the level of name.
chekhov-explicit — Oda is not subtly suggesting this; he is literally printing it in an instructional column.
slow-drip — paired with later D.-as-resistance-to-the-Sun-God seeds and the Davy Jones / “Old Davy” framing in later chapters.
Why this matters
The fact that it’s hidden inside an “instructional” column makes it easy to dismiss; that’s the technique. Generalise: the “How to Become a Pirate” educational columns are not bonus content; they are seed-delivery vehicles.