Marijoa, Pangea Castle, Room of Flowers.
"...That is the situation, Lord Imu,"
Saturn spoke cautiously, his forehead pressed to the floor. "I used every method possible, but no matter the interrogation, that accursed pirate remains tight-lipped and refuses to say more. What is hidden on that island remains unknown."
In front of him, the cloaked figure stood leisurely by a patch of flowers, teasing a butterfly on his fingertip. He slowly raised his head.
"Is that island truly something left by Joy Boy? Did he leave the history that I struggled so hard to erase on that island?"
"Perhaps... but it is also possible he does not know much at all and is merely being deliberately vague..."
Saturn's body trembled.
He had failed to extract any meaningful information. If Lord Imu were to take out his anger on him for this...
He was not the only one tense. The four colleagues kneeling beside him also shifted their eyes nervously.
"Trouble from eight hundred years ago might still persist to this day. My secret must never be exposed."
The true ruler of the world slowly turned around. The eyes hidden beneath the black cloak looked at the five people kneeling before him.
"What do you think should be done?"
"This..."
The Five Elders all changed their expressions slightly.
If their answer did not satisfy Lord Imu, there was no telling what they might face next.
But to not answer would be even worse.
No one could ignore the command of Lord Imu.
After a few moments of hesitation, Saturn spoke with caution, "Lord Imu, this subordinate believes that the Roger Pirates genuinely have no intention of publicizing the information they obtained... After all, a year has passed since they found that island."
If they were going to talk, they would have done so already.
"Precisely! At the end of the day, they are just a group of pirates," the long-bearded Mars quickly added. "Roger's terminal illness is real. He is likely here for the sake of his comrades and his kin."
"Furthermore, even if they truly know something, leaking it would be of no benefit to them." Peter, the one with golden hair, chimed in. "Can the Roger Pirates, having lost their captain, still stand against us? Knowing your existence, they understand even more that your greatness cannot be challenged by mere mortals!"
"Also, the worst-case scenario is that they obtained an Ancient Weapon left by Joy Boy. But we are temporarily powerless against them anyway, as we cannot track them down," the bald Nusjuro said. "It would be better to temporarily put them at ease, let them think they are safe. Perhaps they will reveal an opening that way!"
"So,"
Imu listened to their words and spoke faintly, "Your meaning is, you intend to agree to the pirate's bargain?"
The Five Elders exchanged glances.
Years of working together allowed them to instantly understand each other's meaning.
It was impossible to track down all the Roger Pirates in a short amount of time.
Therefore—
"Exactly so, Lord Imu!"
"Agree on the surface to make them relax their guard, but secretly pursue them and try to root them all out!"
"Since Roger offered his life as the condition for the trade, his subordinates are unlikely to violate the agreement. Therefore, this subordinate believes the trade can be accepted."
The Five Elders spoke one after another, displaying truly extraordinary synchronicity.
Anyway, they had no choice but to deal with the Roger Pirates, right?
They had been searching for over a year and hadn't found a single hair.
If they refused the trade now, it would only force those people to publicize what they knew.
While the Government controlled the vast majority of the world's media, it didn't control all of it!
For example, the media in the New World was completely independent.
And those gathered in that sea were precisely the people who should least know the truth.
Imu merely stared down at these subordinates, saying nothing.
But the five old men felt their scalps tingle under the gaze of the King of the World.
Would Lord Imu blame them for being threatened by a mere pirate?
"It would be best if you do not disappoint me again."
Imu finally spoke slowly.
The Five Elders immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness!
At this moment, Saturn cautiously added, "Lord Imu, Roger indicated he needs to inform his crew that the deal is made. Therefore, he requested that the news of his capture be spread throughout the world via newspaper. He will use a special cipher to convey the message to his crew."
This time, Imu didn't hesitate, simply nodding gently. "That is not a bad thing."
"Yes, Lord Imu," the bald, bearded V. Nusjuro quickly chimed in. "Roger is called the Pirate King and is widely regarded as a being above all pirates. News of his capture will surely deal a severe blow to the rampant piracy across the world, and the prestige of the Navy and the Government will receive a significant boost!"
"In fact, since Roger doesn't have long to live anyway, and he probably won't talk no matter how much he's tortured, instead of letting him die in silence, we could hold a public execution!"
Saturn immediately followed up, "Just like what Roa did, execute Roger in front of the entire world! Not only would this thoroughly deter pirates globally—"
He paused. "It might also lure certain individuals out."
"Oh?"
Imu suddenly stopped, then nodded gently. "Then let it be so."
"Understood, Lord Imu!"
And so, everything was set in motion.
New World: A Shocking Revelation
Sometime later, New World.
Egghead Island.
Shiki the Golden Lion looked up at the figure descending from the sky. "You took your sweet time getting here, kid."
"How was I supposed to know you, old man Shiki, would suddenly drop by?" Roa, who had descended from the sky, complained in annoyance. "I came all the way from a very distant place. At least say thank you?"
"Thank you? Ha,"
The Golden Lion, floating in the air above the island, snorted coldly. "Those beasts under Kaido's command—you're the one who sold them to him, right?"
"Oh? Your information is quite sharp, too,"
Roa raised an eyebrow in surprise. It had only been two days since Kaido had first deployed his artificial Devil Fruit users. "So, old man Shiki, are you interested in Artificial Devil Fruits as well?"
"Artificial Devil Fruits?"
The Golden Lion, like Kaido before him, was quite stunned. Could Devil Fruits actually be created artificially?
However, as a seasoned veteran of the sea, the Golden Lion quickly regained his composure. "You know my situation. I need more power. Name your price."
A year ago, in the battle against the Roger Pirates, the majority of the Flying Pirates' elites had been wiped out.
Although Shiki had recruited many pirates over the past year and replenished his numbers, finding truly elite subordinates was still a distant prospect.
Therefore, the Golden Lion did not want to miss out on anything that could boost the power of his grand fleet.
He was still counting on the strengthened Flying Pirates to seek a final decisive battle with the Roger Pirates.
"I'm all out,"
However, Roa spread his hands helplessly. "Actually, Auntie Linlin called me about this just two days ago. Her information is even better than yours. Kaido-nii's beast army had just moved out to test their strength when her call came in."
"But my answer to her was the same. There were only a few hundred in the first batch of Artificial Devil Fruits. I consumed most of them myself, and the remaining small portion was bought by Kaido-nii."
Shiki frowned. Did I come all this way for nothing?
Wait!
Shiki's eyes lit up. "You said first batch, which means there will be a second and a third! Sell them to me first!"
Roa shrugged. "Auntie Linlin said the same thing, but I already promised Kaido-nii priority supply."
"Or—"
Roa's eyes darted. "Old man Shiki, what kind of flexible terms can you offer me? Kaido-nii gave me two Ancient Zoan Devil Fruits just for me to agree to sell him the Artificial Devil Fruits."
The corner of Shiki's mouth twitched instantly.
That bastard Kaido really spent heavily!
But then he reconsidered. Two Ancient Zoan Devil Fruits for the power to constantly supply Artificial Devil Fruits—it wasn't a loss at all.
"Auntie Linlin is also preparing to trade two Devil Fruits for the right to purchase, by the way."
Roa added.
This was true. Charlotte Linlin had also realized what a constant supply of Artificial Devil Fruits meant.
"You damned brat!"
Shiki gritted his teeth secretly.
Kaido and Linlin both bought them. If he didn't, wouldn't he immediately fall behind in this arms race?
Coincidentally, at that very moment, a white News Bird flew overhead. It shed a newspaper as it soared past.
Shiki instinctively reached out and caught the newspaper, a gift from the heavens.
Then, he subconsciously unfolded it.
This was a deeply ingrained habit for pirates who spent their lives at sea; newspapers were their main way of keeping up with world changes.
Just a glance at the paper made the Golden Lion's face instantly freeze, his pupils contracting.
He read the headline aloud, his voice almost trembling: "The Pirate King Captured! Righteous Execution Imminent!"
Roger was captured by the Navy?
The Roger who had defeated him, the one he was constantly driven to seek revenge against, was captured by the Navy?
"What kind of joke is this!"
A furious surge of Ambition instantly exploded, sweeping across the sky and land.
Roa quickly released his own Conqueror's Haki to counter it, lest it interfere with the production activities in the factory below. That wouldn't do.
"By those Navy weaklings!!"
Shiki's fingers nearly crumpled the newspaper. "How could that old mad dog Garp catch Roger?"
"And they want to publicly execute Roger! I don't accept this! I absolutely do not accept this!!"
Rage had pushed the Golden Lion close to losing his mind. He suddenly turned and stared intently at Roa. "You don't believe this either, do you, Roa! Let's go destroy Navy Headquarters again!"
"Haha, I'm not going."
Roa cleanly refused, then spoke with some surprise, "After all, this was Roger's own wish."
"What?"
Shiki's eyes were filled with confusion. "Roa, you knew this already?"
"I should say, old man Shiki, your news is truly slow,"
Roa said casually. "Roger surrendered."
"Surrendered?"
Shiki remained stunned.
But a part of his heart inexplicably felt relieved.
Right!
It had to be a surrender!
How could those Navy weaklings possibly capture Roger?
"Then I must go and get an explanation from Roger! What is he planning to do!"
Shiki gnashed his teeth, ready to fly away.
Roa looked annoyed. "So, old man Shiki, are you planning to seek death at the New Navy Headquarters? According to my intel, after the lesson they learned at Marineford, the New Marineford already has the God's Knight's teleportation array carved into it."
If you go, I'll have to break you out of Impel Down later.
Oh, perhaps not Impel Down, since the destruction of Marineford means that great prison is far from the impenetrable fortress it once was.
Shiki's soaring figure suddenly paused.
If he went now, it would be a solo fight against Navy Headquarters plus the God's Knights. The question wouldn't be whether he could win, but how many minutes he could last.
"So don't get worked up. Roger definitely has his reasons. You wouldn't want the goal your old friend is trying to achieve, even at the cost of his life, to fail, would you?"
Roa smiled, pulling the newspaper from Shiki's hand. He glanced at it. The first thing he saw was Roger in handcuffs, bruised and battered, apparently having been tortured, and making a strange hand gesture.
"Hmm, a public execution in a month at Loguetown in the East Blue, the place where Roger was born? The Navy is quite dramatic."
"Since that's the case, let's go watch this execution. Whatever Roger's goal is, that's the latest it will be revealed!"
Shiki paused slightly.
The World Shakes
At the same moment, the News Birds had delivered the newspaper all over the world.
The world was completely stunned.
"The Pirate King has been captured! Is this true?"
"True to his title of Hero Garp! After Rocks, he's captured Roger! He's saved the world yet again!"
"Hahaha! Even the King of the Pirates is captured! Now maybe the pirates on the high seas will finally calm down!"
"Does this mean the Great Treasure has fallen into the hands of the World Government?"
"Damn it! That treasure was supposed to be mine!"
"It can't all have been taken by the Government! With that much treasure, Roger must have hidden it!"
"Right! He must have hidden it! A public execution? I'm going! I'm going to ask him myself where he hid his treasure!"
The entire world was in an uproar.
He was the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, the man who had claimed the Great Treasure!
Countless people cheered, believing the world was heading toward peace.
Countless people beat their chests in despair, thinking they would never have a chance at the Great Treasure.
But many others immediately set sail for the East Blue.
This news, of course, didn't just shock ordinary people on the sea; the monsters were equally dumbfounded.
Hachinosu Island.
"What kind of joke is this! Roger is captured? I've been looking for you for so long!!"
Wano Country.
"How is that possible! How could those Navy weaklings capture Roger!"
Silver Axe's territory.
"Damn the World Government, you beat us to it! All that treasure!"
Whole Cake Island.
"Damn it! The news is true! Roger, what the hell are you planning? I just got pregnant, and you send me such bad news!"
Dressrosa.
"In that case, the newly emerging wave of piracy is probably going to suffer a huge setback."
And it wasn't just the monsters of the New World.
North Blue.
Aboard the Moby Dick.
Whitebeard slowly put down the newspaper, slightly frowning. "Roger, what happened? How could you let the Navy catch you?"
If he was going to be caught, he would have been caught ages ago.
Also in the North Blue, on an uninhabited desert island.
Dragon stood on the cliffside, facing the wind. "Loguetown, you say?"
Somewhere on the sea.
Redfield sat on the deck of a small boat. He gently picked up the glass of red wine on the nearby table, took a sip, and spoke softly, "Roger, is your story going to end just like this?"
However, the most shocked were naturally the former members of the Roger Pirates, who were also just receiving the news.
Sabaody Archipelago.
"Rayleigh-san! What in the world is going on! The Captain's been captured! We have to notify everyone to go save him!"
"This is Roger's own intention. Don't you see the gesture he's making in the photo? It's telling us not to make any rash moves."
"What?!"
Amazon Lily.
"Miss Olvia—what, what is going on? Roger's been captured, just shortly after you all were delivered here—"
"...Roger surrendered... This was his goal all along..."
"What? Surrendered?"
Fish-Man Island.
"Roger, may your journey be smooth."
Various locations across the world.
"The Captain's been captured!"
"No way! That's the Captain!"
"Wait! This hand gesture, is he telling us to leave him be?"
"What in the world is going on!!"
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