Chapter 72
Victor, who was devouring meat in big bites, sensed Dragon's arrival. "An old acquaintance is here."
With that, he instantly appeared behind Dragon.
"Monkey D. Dragon, long time no see." Victor said softly while eating.
"Victor. I wonder what business you have with me?" Upon hearing Victor's voice, Dragon immediately recalled his battle record, and cold sweat instantly poured down his forehead.
There was no helping it—Victor's strength had been deeply imprinted on him since God Valley.
Over these ten-plus years, in Dragon's mind, Victor was synonymous with overwhelming power.
Even Roger didn't leave as deep an impression as Victor.
What was rare was that Victor had saved an entire ship of people at God Valley—Dragon knew about that too.
That was one of the reasons he didn't immediately flee.
"I heard you have ideas about changing the world?"
"In that case, I'll give you my most precious treasure as an early gift for changing the world."
"Dragon, study it well."
With that, Victor pulled out a red-covered book and solemnly handed it to Dragon with both hands.
Seeing Victor's gesture, Dragon immediately knew he wasn't joking.
In an instant, he solemnly accepted the gift with both hands.
"Thank you." Dragon took it and sincerely expressed his gratitude.
Victor nodded, said nothing more, and directly vanished.
This action left Dragon feeling very strange—a sense of awkwardness he couldn't quite express.
He could still catch the attention of such a big figure?
And a book like this was worth Victor personally delivering it to him?
At this moment, his curiosity reached its peak.
So he opened the book in his hands.
After reading the first chapter, he was instantly stunned in place.
"No wonder, no wonder Mr. Victor said this was his most precious treasure, no wonder he was so solemn."
"Such ideas—being solemn about them is never too much. It's completely justified."
Dragon's hands holding the book began to tremble as he murmured excitedly, unable to control himself.
Immediately after, he carefully wrapped the book and placed it close to his chest, hugging it tightly.
Dragon was terrified of losing it.
The execution ground in Loguetown.
Roger was being escorted onto the execution platform.
Accompanying him were the Navy's top forces: Sengoku, Garp, Zephyr, Tsuru, as well as Akainu, Aokiji, Kizaru, and others.
When the World Government discovered members of the Roger Pirates appearing in Loguetown, they made this decision.
Although a fight was highly unlikely, to ensure the execution proceeded smoothly, they had to prepare defenses.
Even the World Government sent CP0 to assist.
In any case, the execution could not fail.
At this moment, the sky over Loguetown was gray and overcast, with light rain falling.
The pitter-patter sounds echoed on the execution platform.
All members of the Roger Pirates stood unusually quiet at the edge of the execution square.
They exchanged no words, simply watching Roger on the platform silently.
Shanks and Buggy stood in front, tears streaming uncontrollably.
Roger of course saw them and showed a long-missed smile.
The surrounding crowd, upon seeing Roger, began buzzing with discussion.
"The Pirate King of a generation is about to die—it's really a shame. I don't understand it."
"Who cares what you think?"
"Roger definitely found the treasure. If I could get even a tenth of it, I'd be satisfied."
"You? Keep dreaming. I'd rather just ask Roger directly where he hid the treasure."
His words instantly lit up the eyes of those around him—since Roger was about to die anyway, there'd be no chance to ask later.
"Hey! Pirate King, where did you hide the treasure you found?"
"That legendary One Piece."
And from somewhere in the crowd, a certain big shot loudly asked about the location of Roger's treasure.
Hearing this, Roger immediately laughed.
"Want my treasure? If you want it, I'll give it all to you. Go find it! I left everything there!"
At the moment of execution, Roger suddenly shouted at the top of his voice.
The executioners were startled, sensing something wrong with Roger's loud declaration.
So the executioners gritted their teeth, quickly raised their blades, and thrust them deeply into Roger's body.
But the audience who heard Roger's last words instantly erupted in cheers.
"Roar roar roar."
"There really is a treasure—One Piece."
"Roger's treasure really exists. Roar roar roar."
In an instant, the execution square became lively.
Only the members of the Roger Pirates lowered their heads at this moment, remaining silent in collective mourning.
Immediately after, the sky suddenly changed.
Dark clouds rapidly gathered, thunder and lightning sparks roaring abruptly.
When Victor slowly raised his head, his eyes had turned blood-red.
He expressionlessly looked at Roger, who was now dead on the platform—he could sense Roger's life force had completely vanished.
At this moment, sparks began crackling from his body.
Seeing this instant, Garp and the others immediately sensed trouble.
"Not good—something's about to happen."
Sengoku said with furrowed brows.
Zephyr and the others immediately prepared for battle, only Garp remained calm.
"Don't act rashly. I'll handle it."
At this moment, Garp had none of his usual playful demeanor—his face showed rare gravity.
Garp had fought Victor countless times and knew his strength all too well—treating him with utmost seriousness was never excessive.
He slowly walked toward Victor.
The other members of the Roger Pirates also saw Victor's actions.
They quietly stood behind Victor, silently waiting for his next move.
They were all comrades—Roger, their captain, had been executed right in front of them by the Navy.
There was no way this wouldn't stir their emotions.
Not just Victor—even the other crew members, including Barrels, were now wearing grim expressions.
But until Victor made his next move, Rayleigh and Heracles and the others wouldn't act.
If it came to war, they would unhesitatingly stand with Victor and join the fight.
As the sky grew darker, everyone in Loguetown felt an overwhelming oppressive atmosphere.
Those who knew the situation and recognized Victor began trembling in fear.
"It's Victor—the top powerhouse from the Roger Pirates who could fight Roger to a draw. He's about to snap~"
"It's over, it's over. Loguetown is done. If a figure like him makes a move, the entire town will be sunk."
"The Rumble-Rumble Fruit ability—it's too terrifying. Are we going to die?"
The onlookers at the execution ground, terrified, began shouting uncontrollably.
At this moment, Victor seemed unable to control his aura—terrifying Conqueror's Haki suddenly erupted from him, red-black lightning instantly enveloping the entire Loguetown.
Ordinary people around had no resistance—they directly fainted under Victor's Conqueror's Haki.
Even those with beginner or intermediate Haki couldn't withstand Victor's Conqueror's Haki.
In an instant, few people in the square remained standing.
"Hey hey hey—Victor kid, calm down. Don't be rash."
Garp hurriedly walked over and grabbed Victor's hand to soothe him.
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