Loguetown

In a single day, Golden Lion taught Carlos everything about Observation Haki, Armament Haki, and Conqueror's Haki. Of the three, he focused especially on the methods of awakening, training, and applying Observation Haki and Armament Haki.

Golden Lion explained things carefully and in great detail. Carlos could feel his sincerity.

Once they were done discussing Haki, they moved on to the specifics of their cooperation.

Of course, Carlos's forces were still far too weak compared to Golden Lion's and could not be of much use to the Flying Pirates.

For any deeper cooperation, Carlos would have to develop his forces to a certain level first. For now, he only wanted to use the Flying Pirates' connections to purchase various goods, such as arms.

Because of the John Family's blockade, Carlos had been unable to buy much weaponry. But with the Flying Pirates' help, things would be different.

Although the Flying Pirates had declined somewhat, they remained a powerful force courted by countless people in the New World. Having occupied the New World for many years, they had extensive connections, including merchants involved in all kinds of gray-market businesses—the arms dealers Carlos needed, for example.

Every gray-market merchant capable of gaining a foothold in the New World ran an enormous business and possessed considerable strength. They were a hidden force in the world. With the Flying Pirates backing him, those arms dealers would naturally show the Flying Pirates respect. They would no longer care about the blockade of some mere Mafia family from the West Sea, and the blockade would be broken.

If the five major Mafia groups of the West Sea really tried to go head-to-head with the Flying Pirates, they would be beaten so badly their own mothers would not recognize them. They simply were not forces on the same level!

After finishing his discussion with Golden Lion Shiki, the two happily enjoyed a meal. Carlos then took Golden Lion to retrieve his swords, Sakazuki and Kiyomizu. Once they had them, the two silently arrived outside Impel Down.

"Brother Shiki, I'll send you off here. Hurry back to the New World and deal with things there. After all, you've been missing for so long," Carlos said with a smile. They had begun addressing each other as brothers, and their relationship had become quite good.

"Hahaha... Carlos, I'll be going, then. If you want to come to the New World, give me a call. I'll send someone to pick you up," Golden Lion said with a hearty laugh.

"Definitely, Brother Shiki. Safe travels!"

"I'm off."

Golden Lion nodded, then shot into the sky and flew toward the New World. He vanished in the blink of an eye, moving at an incredible speed.

After watching Golden Lion leave, Carlos departed as well, heading straight for the hometown of One Piece Roger—Loguetown.

Carlos was not worried about Golden Lion in the slightest. As long as he returned to the Flying Pirates, every problem would be easily resolved. Before the Edowall War, Golden Lion's forces had been even stronger than Whitebeard's.

Each of the four legendary pirates had their own defining traits. Golden Lion was the only true conqueror among them, possessed of enormous ambition.

The man involved and the one who had caused all the trouble had left, and Impel Down returned to peace. But that peace was only temporary.

Two days later, prison personnel brought food to the super-criminals of Infinite Hell—food that had naturally been doctored. Everything went normally at first, but when they reached Golden Lion's cell, a terrified, incredulous cry resounded throughout Infinite Hell...

East Blue. Ten large warships sailed majestically through the waves, heading straight for Loguetown.

Aboard these ten warships were Fleet Admiral Steel Bone Kong, Marine Admiral Sengoku, six Vice Admirals, and two thousand Marine Headquarters elites, escorting One Piece Roger to Loguetown.

For this execution, the Marines had gathered their strongest forces. After locking Golden Lion in Impel Down, Garp had rushed over. Zephyr, meanwhile, had already led his troops to Loguetown, where he was responsible for intimidating the pirates arriving from all directions and arranging everything for the execution in advance.

In addition to the many top-tier combatants, large numbers of Marine Headquarters elites mixed with Marines from East Blue's various branches sailed patrols across the sea aboard warships of all sizes. One Piece Roger's execution was drawing near, and people from every direction were converging on East Blue. If the Marines failed to keep them in check, East Blue would be thrown into complete chaos!

On the deck of the flagship, beneath the bright sky, the current Marine Fleet Admiral Kong was discussing various arrangements with Sengoku to prevent any accidents during the execution.

Suddenly, a Marine Rear Admiral hurried over. After standing at attention and saluting, he said with a grave expression, "Reporting, Fleet Admiral! Admiral Sengoku! A major incident has occurred at Impel Down. The great pirate Golden Lion, who was captured just recently, has vanished without a trace. The Impel Down forces have searched the entire prison, but there is no sign of him whatsoever."

"Golden Lion has broken out of prison!"

"What?"

"Are you kidding me?"

Fleet Admiral Kong and Admiral Sengoku were both utterly dumbfounded, unable to believe it.

Could someone really escape a place like Impel Down without a sound?

Leaving aside Sengoku and Kong's confusion and shock, the chaos in Impel Down, and the World Government's anger and dissatisfaction, Carlos had already arrived at One Piece's hometown—the beginning and end of everything for Roger, Loguetown!

Outside Loguetown, warships stood densely packed. On the island, Marine patrols never rested. Those who had come from all directions to watch the execution were intimidated and did not dare cause trouble recklessly, though Loguetown's public order was still somewhat worse than before.

With a cigarette hanging from his lips, Carlos strolled down the streets with faint curiosity. He did not currently bear the identity of a pirate, nor did he have any stains on his record, so he walked without a care.

Loguetown had always been rather prosperous. Now, with so many people coming to join the excitement, it was even livelier.

Carlos wandered around for a while before spotting a large tavern and turning inside. The place was nearly full. Most of the patrons carried swords or blades, each one exuding a fierce air as they laughed freely, drank deeply, and wolfed down meat.

The moment Carlos entered, he drew quite a few eyes. His outfit was simply too eye-catching: a suit and tie, paired with a black-and-red cape. It stood out sharply from the attire of most pirates.

Though many people sized Carlos up, no one took the initiative to cause trouble. Given the current number and quality of Marines in Loguetown, most pirates did not dare act rashly.

Carlos did not care about the attention. He went straight to the bar, ordered a glass of Riesling white wine, crossed his legs, and slowly savored it while his eyes surveyed the people in the tavern, looking for any familiar faces...

He was still rather interested in some of the characters who had appeared in the original story. They did not necessarily need to become acquainted; simply seeing them was interesting enough.

Tap, tap, tap...

Crisp footsteps carrying a subtle rhythm sounded out. A man with short black hair, yellow eyes, a short beard, a floral shirt, white trousers, and a sword on his back entered the tavern. His expression was blank, while his entire body radiated the sharpness unique to a swordsman. At a glance, he seemed difficult to approach...

Carlos turned to look, raising an eyebrow. He had finally encountered an "acquaintance." This was the younger version of Juraquille Mihawk—the future greatest swordsman in the world, Hawk Eyes Mihawk!

Hawk Eyes Mihawk walked straight to the bar, while Carlos openly sized up the future greatest swordsman in the world. Black pupils met yellow ones. Both felt a pressure from the other, their instincts telling them that the other was strong!

"Bring me a bottle of Max red wine."

"Y-yes."

Hawk Eyes Mihawk kept staring at Carlos, and neither was willing to yield. Only after Hawk Eyes Mihawk received his wine, paid, and left did their standoff end.

Carlos watched Hawk Eyes Mihawk leave. He did not make a move, nor did he intend to introduce himself. Carlos had his own pride. He would not eagerly run up to every character from the original story he encountered...

Hawk Eyes Mihawk was not yet the greatest swordsman in the world, merely a fledgling. Carlos was confident that he would not amount to less than Hawk Eyes Mihawk in the future!

Ahem, ahem... Actually, all that was nonsense. The main reason was that, in Carlos's eyes, Hawk Eyes Mihawk did not seem like an easy person to approach. Better not to force it. Carlos preferred to let this sort of thing happen naturally.

It would be best if something gave the two of them a reason to get acquainted. If not, then so be it.