On the other side of town, Usopp was trudging through the shopping district, loaded down with bags and packages. Walking beside him was Luffy, who seemed to be in his own little world.
"Hey, what's been up with you these past few days? Weren't you the one who really wanted to come to Loguetown to see the Pirate King's execution platform?"
He was puzzled. Ever since they'd left Cocoyashi Village, Luffy had been acting strange.
He looked like he had something heavy on his mind, which was completely unlike him.
At first, everyone just figured he was still processing what had happened with Arlong's crew. After all, having those fishmen prisoners on their ship wasn't exactly a mood booster. But this behavior was dragging on way too long for someone as carefree as Luffy.
"Mm... I was just thinking about what I should do after I've eaten my fill."
"What?" Usopp stared at him like he'd grown a second head. "That's what you're worried about? There are people all over the world who'd kill just to have enough food, and you're complaining about being too full?"
Sometimes Luffy's problems were so ridiculous that he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Anyway, forget about that for now. Look, up ahead is where the Pirate King was executed."
That finally snapped Luffy out of his food-induced existential crisis.
"Oh! So this is where he was executed?!"
Seeing Luffy's energy return, Usopp let out a relieved sigh. At the same time, he found himself staring up at the execution platform that dominated the town square.
"It's really... not much to look at, is it?"
He couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed. He'd heard so many legends about the Pirate King over the years, and had always wanted to come see this place for himself. But actually standing here, it wasn't as awe-inspiring or moving as he'd imagined.
Just a wooden platform with some stairs and a couple of posts. Pretty basic stuff, really.
"Hey! Lu—wait, what are you doing?!"
Usopp had been about to suggest they head back to meet up with the others, but he turned just in time to see Luffy stretch out his arm and launch himself directly onto the execution platform.
"Shishishishi! You can see things more clearly from up here! So this is where the Pirate King once stood..." Luffy laughed as he stood atop the platform, gazing out at the scene below.
His sudden action drew attention from the already crowded square. People stopped what they were doing to stare and point.
The crowd below erupted in noisy chatter, some shocked, others outraged that someone would climb onto such a historically significant site.
But none of the commotion distracted him as he looked out toward the horizon.
"Hey, I can see the ocean from here! And look, there's Zoro!" Luffy spotted the green-haired swordsman at the end of one of the streets leading to the square.
"ZORO!"
He waved enthusiastically from atop the execution platform.
Zoro, who had been wandering around looking for the others, heard his captain's voice and looked up. The sight of Luffy standing on Gol D. Roger's execution platform made him freeze for a moment, then shake his head with a smile.
Trust Luffy to do something that dramatic without thinking about the consequences.
He started making his way toward the platform, pushing through the gathering crowd.
At the same time, in a nearby restaurant, Buggy's crew had also noticed the spectacle unfolding in the square.
Mohji, still gnawing on a piece of meat, stared out the window. "Captain Buggy, I think I just saw that Straw Hat kid."
Buggy, who had been eating while complaining about his recent string of bad luck, followed Mohji's pointing finger.
The moment he saw what was happening, he spat out his drink in shock.
"What the hell is he doing?! Standing in a place like that in front of everyone, has he completely lost his mind?!"
But even as he spoke, Buggy's expression grew complicated as he stared at the scene. That place brought back memories he'd tried to bury, memories of Captain Roger.
Back then, he and Shanks had both stood right beneath that platform, watching their captain's final moments.
It had been pouring rain that day.
Countless memories flooded back... the sound of the rain, the smell of the crowd, the way Roger had smiled even with the executioner's blade at his neck.
While Buggy sat lost in his recollections, a tall figure stood up from their table and walked over to the window.
The man's eyes locked onto the figure wearing the straw hat above.
"Before we head into the Grand Line, I want to settle an old score," the figure said quietly. "And since you've got your own grudge against that brat, why don't we just execute him right there on that platform? After all, he's been shouting about becoming the Pirate King, this way, we'd be granting his wish."
Buggy's lips curled into a malicious grin. "I like the way you think. I was planning to settle my own scores anyway."
The tall figure was Cabaji, Buggy's chief of staff, and his eyes gleamed with anticipation at the thought of public revenge.
---
Meanwhile, on the rooftop directly across from the execution platform, two figures stood watching the scene unfold.
One was completely covered by a hooded cloak, with faint breezes swirling around him.
"Hey, it's been years since you've seen him. Don't you want to go down there and say hello?"
"For a man about to set sail, whether I meet him now or not makes no difference," came the muffled reply from under the hood.
Then came a loud thump.
A massive fist slammed down on the cloaked figure's head with enough force to rattle windows.
"Quit spouting philosophical nonsense! One after another, none of you kids let me have a moment's peace."
The cloak fell away, revealing a man with distinctive tattoos covering his face, Dragon, leader of the Revolutionary Army. He rubbed the growing lump on his head and shot an annoyed look at his attacker.
"Are you planning to stop Luffy from going to sea? Force him into the Marines against his will?"
"What do you mean against his will? And you should call me Dad!" Garp chuckled as he settled down cross-legged on the roof. "It's still better than letting him become some damn pirate. It's all that red-haired bastard's fault. While I wasn't around to keep an eye on things, he went and filled my grandson's head with ideas about becoming a pirate. When I get my hands on him, he's gonna get a taste of my Fist of Love!"
Dragon remained silent, but the breeze around him picked up, and dark clouds began gathering in the sky above.
He could sense the conflict in Garp's heart.
"Let him handle his own paths," Dragon said quietly. "Even if you drag him into the Marines, what would that accomplish? In the end, he'll still set sail toward the vast, boundless sea. That's just who he is."
"Are you trying to lecture me now?"
Dragon silently handed Garp a folded piece of paper. "If it weren't for Luffy being involved, I might have already stepped in to deal with this."
"What's this about?"
Garp unfolded the paper and read the few casually written lines. But between those words was nothing but grim descriptions of atrocities committed over eight long years.
The paper detailed the Arlong Pirates' crimes and how Nezumi had covered for them. Village after village destroyed, families torn apart, innocent people terrorized... all while a Marine officer took bribes to look the other way.
Just those few lines left him silent. There was no need to question its truth, Dragon would never use lies about something like this.
"The Marines have been rotting from the inside for years," Dragon said. As a former Marine himself, he'd seen the corruption firsthand.
Garp stared at the paper. This was exactly the kind of thing that made his job as a Marine hero so damn complicated.
---
Down below at the execution platform, Usopp was waving frantically and trying to get Luffy's attention over the noise of the crowd.
"Get down from there! The town guards are gonna show up any minute!"
But his voice was completely drowned out by the roar of the crowd. The square was in complete chaos now.
After all, it had been decades since anyone had set foot on that platform.
And in that moment of chaos, on the rooftop behind the platform, a figure appeared carrying heavy iron shackles.
Beside him stood another figure, both of them preparing to make their move.
Standing on the platform, seeing all the people staring up at him, Luffy instinctively touched his straw hat.
Then, from the rooftop behind him, the figure leaped down with the shackles and snapped them around Luffy's neck, pinning him to the execution platform.
At the same time, another tall figure landed heavily on the platform as well.
"I hear you want to become the Pirate King?" the man said, his face hidden beneath a coat. "Then right here, right now, you can enjoy the same honor as Gol D. Roger himself!"
Even with his face concealed, the axe fused to his arm was unmistakable, it was Morgan, the former Marine captain who'd been defeated.
The heavy shackles locked around Luffy's neck left him momentarily dazed. He looked up to see Morgan standing over him, axe raised high.
"Any last words?!"