"Cheers!"
On the island Roa had just named "Laughter's Story," another feast began. The atmosphere was still festive, and everyone was singing and dancing.
They had every reason to be happy, for they had just accomplished an unprecedented feat, an unprecedented circumnavigation of the world, finding the legendary Great Treasure, and truly conquering the Grand Line! What wasn't there to be happy about?
Yet, despite having found the final island and realizing a dream they had chased for years, Roger's smile held a hint of melancholy. He wasn't the only one; Rayleigh and Jabba were also laughing, but there was a sense of wistful emotion in their expressions.
Roa, as usual, clapped quietly when people sang, and cheered with a smile when they danced. But he was more of an outsider, observing the scene like a theatrical performance from above. Most of the time, he was just silently watching Roger.
Because the dark aura emanating from Roger at this moment was truly a delectable sight.
"Captain, what's wrong? You seem a little sad." Shanks, who seemed a bit more mature than his red-nosed best friend, approached Roger and keenly noticed his captain's mood.
"It's nothing! Hahaha, go and play with Buggy!" Roger raised a hand to ruffle the boy's head, his smile looking no different from usual.
But.
"Captain," Shanks's face was serious as he said earnestly, "You can tell me if there's anything on your mind!"
"Wahahahaha! You've got guts, kid!" Roger laughed heartily.
However, looking at the serious young man in front of him, he suddenly felt a little regret. "Come to think of it, maybe I shouldn't have brought you and Buggy here?"
"Huh?" Shanks didn't understand what he meant.
"You'll go out to sea one day. This place, should it have been a discovery for you two in the future?" Roger said, rubbing his chin. "Didn't I just rob you of the joy of your future adventure?"
"That's not true!" Shanks said, a little anxiously. "Sailing with the Captain and everyone else is the happiest thing for us!"
"Wahahahaha! That's something only a kid would say!" Roger ruffled Shanks's head again and said sincerely, "Listen, Shanks. Growth is a series of partings and a series of encounters."
"We will grow old, and you will grow up. One day, you'll have to stand on your own two feet, especially... after knowing all of this."
"Captain..." Shanks, who was only nine years old, looked a little lost and sad. Would he have to leave the Captain and everyone one day?
"Alright, go play with Buggy." Roger gave Shanks a push on the shoulder. "Kids don't need to think too much. All you need to do now is have fun."
"Okay..." Shanks walked toward his red-nosed friend with a crestfallen expression.
At the same time, Roger tilted his head back, downed the wine in his cup, wiped the corner of his mouth carelessly, and walked over to Roa.
"Roa, talk to me," he said.
"I've been waiting for you." Roa smiled and nodded.
The two left the dimly lit room and walked directly to the edge of the island, where they sat cross-legged on a high mountain of gold. It was literally a mountain of gold, piled up with various golden artifacts, with only a few jewels and gems mixed in.
"You're right, Roa. Finding this place is not the end at all, not even the beginning of the end. It's just the end of the beginning." In the dim light, Roger spoke with a hint of melancholy. "We came too early."
"That's not right," Roa said with a smile. "You came too early. I didn't."
Roger, who was lost in his thoughts and immersed in a subtle emotion, was suddenly startled. He subconsciously turned to look at Roa. Even in the dim light, he could see Roa's handsome and unusually young face.
"That's right! You're only fifteen!"
After a life of half-traveling, turning the world upside down, and gaining a notorious reputation that echoed in every corner of the world, Roa was still just a half-grown kid when he returned! This kid was so remarkable that people subconsciously forgot his age!
"Damn it! He's still so young!" Roger was a little indignant. "What kind of monster are you, kid? Even with the extraordinary talents of Kaido or Charlotte Linlin, they couldn't have reached your level at this age!"
"I'm also troubled," Roa sighed along with him. "Troubled by the fact that as I grow older, there are fewer and fewer things in this world that can trouble me."
"You brat!" Roger gritted his teeth. You're rubbing it in, aren't you!
"So," Roa raised an eyebrow, "are you troubled because you've learned everything but don't have the power to change anything?"
"Ha? I'm not that bored. What's there to be troubled about? Everyone has their own things to do." The nonchalant Roger from a second ago was now gritting his teeth. "It's just a shame. I missed the war eight hundred years ago, and now it seems I'll miss this one, too!"
"What kind of person is Joy Boy waiting for, and how will he change this world?"
"I really want to see it!" At this moment, Roger raised his hands like a child and complained loudly, "Damn it! Why is the timing so off!"
Roa's lips curved. An interesting man.
"So, Roa," Roger looked at Roa again, his eyes unusually serious. "What do you want to do? You can finally tell me now, can't you?"
What did this kid know? Had he been predicting something even before they reached the final island and uncovered the truth of the Void Century?
"I already told you, Roger," Roa just said with a smile. "I hope you can start a new era."
"A new era?" Roger's brows furrowed. He was a little suspicious. "Why would I do something so boring?"
What the world became had nothing to do with him. He was just a pirate.
"Anyway, you don't have long to live, do you?" Roa said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "You've caused so much trouble in your first half of life. Why not use the rest of it to do something for this world?"
"Who cares what you think!" Roger was instantly furious. "You're so sure I'm going to die, aren't you! Even if I'm doomed to die, I'd rather spend my last moments with my child and give her a good childhood!" This bastard was so infuriating!
"No, Roger, you will." Roa was unperturbed, just smiling as he said, "Because the inherited will, the changing of the times, and people's dreams are all unchangeable. As long as people continue to seek the answer to freedom, then all of this will never stop."
"..." Roger was stunned. This kid... why was he saying what Roger himself should be saying? Damn it, those words would have sounded great as a final message! No! It was too early to be thinking about a final message!
"Since you can't wait for that moment, then, just like Joy Boy, entrust everything to the future, Roger." Roa said. "The time is not right? Then create the time! When the tide sweeps over the world, heroes will naturally emerge."
The moment those words left his mouth, Roger's body visibly shuddered. Entrust everything to the future?
In that instant, Shanks's image flashed through Roger's mind, followed by his daughter Robin, who was still an infant. Just as Roa had said, one day, the kids would grow up and start their own adventures. At that time, would they also feel that the time was not right?
Although he might not be able to see the person Joy Boy was waiting for change the world with his own eyes, as Roa said, couldn't he just entrust this dream to those who came after?
And what he could do was, just like Joy Boy, provide some assistance to those who would follow! This was a more fitting way for him to die than in a sickbed, wasn't it? As Roa said, he wouldn't live much longer anyw—
Wait a minute.
Roger's eyes widened suddenly. Had this kid been waiting for this moment from the very beginning? If he remembered correctly, the first thing he did when he got on his ship was to confirm if he had a terminal illness, right?
"You brat... what's going on? Are you a prophet?" How else would he know what Roger would feel after reaching the final island? And how could he convince him with just a few words?
Roa just shrugged. "A secret makes a man more charming."
"You brat!" Roger's mustache twitched in anger.
"It's settled then, Roger," Roa stood up, gazing at the endless darkness ahead. "You will start a new era."
"Yes, we'll start by spreading the news that you found the Great Treasure to the whole world. I wonder if that guy Im will be so scared he can't sleep at night. That eight-hundred-year-old victor probably doesn't know that Joy Boy left a big surprise behind."
In the last eight hundred years, the rumor of the Great Treasure had been circulating, but it was just a rumor. Not many people believed in it, let alone actively sought it out like Roger did.
"King of the Pirates, what do you think of that title?" Roa said with a smile. "A king who has conquered the Grand Line in an unprecedented way and stands above all pirates. The King of Pirates."
"King of the Pirates?" Roger nodded thoughtfully. "It sounds pretty good. A king of pirates seems a little higher than the Seven Monarchs, but you're giving me all the glory and even giving me a title. Are you willing to be beneath me?"
"What are you talking about?" Roa looked baffled. "How many times do I have to repeat it? I stopped being a pirate the day the Rocks Pirates disbanded."
"What does the King of Pirates have to do with me, a merchant? The ones who should be angry are Big Brother Shiki and the others, but Big Brother Shiki was just taught a lesson by you, so he probably won't be looking for trouble for a while. You can rest easy on that."
This kid! Roger's mouth twitched.
"Once you become the King of the Pirates, the whole world will start to believe that the legendary Great Treasure is real," Roa stomped his foot, his shoe making a crisp sound on the pile of gold. "All the wealth, power, and status in the world are here!"
"All it takes is one opportunity to detonate all the madmen in the world!"
"What if that opportunity is your public execution?" Roa said with his arms crossed, his face serious. "The King of Pirates, who has obtained all the wealth, power, and status in the world, loudly declares to the world before his death that all his treasures are buried in Laugh Tale."
"And then, wouldn't a new era of men sailing out to sea come? Hmm, let's call it the Great Pirate Era."
"Wait, wait!" Roger interrupted him, a little annoyed. "How did it suddenly escalate to me being publicly executed!"
"Oh, that?" Roa explained. "According to the procedure, you just need to turn yourself in to the Marines—let's say your old acquaintance, Garp. The Marines will of course claim that the Marine hero arrested the King of the Pirates, which is fine. He gets all the credit for taking down the captain, and you're just another pirate."
"After you turn yourself in, given your reputation, the World Government will most likely hold a public execution to restore the government's and the Marines' prestige, since we've given them a hard time recently."
This kid has already planned out my death in such detail? Roger's mouth twitched. "Most likely? What if something goes wrong?"
"If something goes wrong..." Roa looked at Roger deeply, then sighed. "Then I'll just have to figure out something else."
"So I'll have died in vain, huh!" Roger was furious.
"I'll mourn for you."
"Who cares what you do!" Roger roared.
But.
It actually made a lot of sense. If there was a public execution, the World Government would definitely broadcast it all over the world, wouldn't they? If that were the case, no matter how much they could manipulate public opinion, that one moment would be enough to change everything!
Anyway, he truly didn't have much longer to live. But, Robin... He had planned to spend as much time as possible with her before his time ran out...
"From the moment you found this island, happy sailing is no longer possible, Roger," Roa said with a smile. "Once the news that you found the Great Treasure leaks, the World Government will spare no effort to hunt you down. From now on, it won't just be Garp. The God's Knights, the Five Elders, and even Im himself might come out."
"You don't expect me to keep it a secret, do you?"
"And you?" Roger countered. "Roa, won't you be targeted?"
"What?" Roa was greatly shocked. "I've helped you so much, Roger, and you're not even willing to keep my secret!"
This guy was such a hypocrite!
"I don't care," Roa said unreasonably. "If the news that I've been here gets out, I'll just reveal all the secrets to the public and let that guy Im start his purge of the world early."
"..." Roger's expression and his mouth both sank. This kid was a genuine scoundrel! He was casually threatening him with the future of the entire world!
And he was probably serious!
"Disband the Roger Pirates, Roger," Roa said. "Let everyone go their separate ways and hide. Then, spend your last moments with your wife and child. But don't stay with them for too long. You're a primary target, and who knows when Im might descend from the sky. So, you should turn yourself in as soon as possible."
"You've got everything planned out for me, haven't you?" Roger sneered. "So, Roa, what is it that you're hoping for in this so-called Great Pirate Era?"
"Nothing," Roa replied.
"Nothing?"
"Or rather," Roa said meaningfully, "I'm looking forward to the era itself."
"..." Roger pursed his lips. The era itself?
Just as he said, a Great Pirate Era where countless ambitious individuals rush out to sea would be nothing but chaos, wouldn't it? Roa was looking forward to the chaos itself!
This kid! Roger's hand subconsciously rested on the hilt of his beloved sword.
A madman! Hidden beneath that cheeky and clownish facade is an extremely malicious and twisted soul! All his scheming is just to make this world even more insane and chaotic!
"Are you going to attack?" Roa asked with a smile. "I don't think you should right now, right? Otherwise, I'm afraid no one will be able to leave here."
Roger paused, then let go of his hand. He was right. If they started a battle in this environment, this kid's ability was too invincible.
"One year," Roa held up a finger. "Let's put this battle off for a year. By then, I should have enough power to fight you fairly."
"I really want to fight you, Roger. If I can't defeat you, I'll always feel like something is missing. Since everyone else has forgotten the Captain, I'll be the one to avenge him." He had already missed Rocks, so he couldn't miss Roger.
"In this one year, you can also spend some quality time with your child," Roa said. "Any longer wouldn't be good. It would be more painful for the child to experience separation after she's old enough to understand, wouldn't it?"
Roger was startled. Leaving before Robin was old enough to understand and leaving after she was old enough to understand, the former would indeed cause less harm to the child.
"..." Roger fell silent.
Although he knew Roa had malicious intentions and that this guy was yearning for a more chaotic future, his words made Roger's heart flutter. Or perhaps, he had already instinctively thought the same thing.
Since he no longer had the opportunity, he might as well entrust everything to those who came after! Just like Joy Boy did back then. Shanks and Robin, one of them or someone else, would definitely need help. As Roa said, only in a tide that swept the world could a true hero emerge.
In that case.
"One year?" Roger took a deep breath and looked at Roa. "Don't you regret this." It was too dangerous to let this kid continue to wander the seas. If he could get rid of this kid before he died, it would be a huge gain.
"In one year, I'll be waiting for your arrival." Roa said with a smile.
Excellent. If he had to wait several years for Roger to turn himself in, wouldn't the time in between be too boring?