Sabaody Archipelago,
"We're finally back."
As Sammy's ship slowly docked, Austin disembarked with Rouge. This was a port that led directly to Area 17.
The surrounding businesses all belonged to Sammy, so there were no idle bystanders around.
The moment he returned, Austin spotted several familiar faces.
"Hey!! Austin!!!"
Before Austin could say anything, a figure pounced on him. The most noticeable feature was that red nose.
"Long time no see, Buggy!!!"
Austin was delighted to see him too.
It wasn't just Buggy. Rayleigh and Shanks were right behind him as well. Austin had told them where he was staying long ago.
"That's so cool, Austin! We all saw the reports about you!" Shanks came over to greet Austin, speaking with a grin.
"Well... that was just a coincidence."
Austin felt a little embarrassed. The newspapers had praised him far too extravagantly. It was one thing for strangers to read it, but it was genuinely embarrassing when acquaintances saw it.
Rayleigh patted his shoulder with great satisfaction, smiling at Austin.
The brat who had once been unable to last even one exchange beneath his feet, who had constantly come to him for guidance, had now become a Great Pirate capable of standing on his own...
Thinking about it now,
It felt as though it had only been yesterday that a long-haired, bare-chested child had shouted that he wanted to join the Roger Pirates.
It was impossible not to feel a little wistful.
"Right, I almost forgot to introduce her. This is Rouge."
After all, she was Captain Roger's wife and was carrying his son. Austin felt it was necessary to introduce her to them.
But before he could continue,
All three of them looked at him in shock.
Especially after noticing Rouge's slightly protruding belly.
Austin: ???
"Hey! Austin..." Buggy sounded as though he hated to see Austin disappoint him. Throwing an arm around Austin's neck, he whispered, "I know you're interested in the Red-Light District, but isn't this way too fast?! You've only been off the ship for a few months, you bastard..."
Shanks did not say anything, but his expression was much the same as he looked at Austin in surprise.
Even Rayleigh was the same.
"If you indulge yourself like this while you're still so young, your road ahead will be easily cut short, Austin."
Hearing them all say that, Austin's expression turned awkward.
"You guys... what the hell are you talking about?!
She's Captain Roger's wife! And the child in her belly is Captain Roger's too!"
The moment those words came out, all three froze, and the air fell into brief silence.
After a long while,
"Whaaaat?!"
They did not linger for long.
After entrusting Rouge to Sammy, Rayleigh, and the others, the three immediately set off for Loguetown.
On the passenger ship,
"I really didn't expect Captain Roger to have a wife~ And why did he entrust you with taking care of her, Austin?"
In the restaurant, the three ate as they chatted after their long reunion.
Shanks was still somewhat shocked by the sudden appearance of Captain Roger's wife and child, and he could not help asking.
Buggy was curious as well, looking at Austin too.
"Thish..." Austin swallowed the noodles in his mouth. "I discussed it with Captain Roger when I went to Impel Down to visit him."
Buggy nodded upon hearing that.
"I see... So that's what it was. When you went to Impel Down..."
Halfway through his sentence, his voice grew quieter. Buggy's eyes widened as he suddenly realized something was wrong.
"Pfft..."
"W-WHAT!!!"
"You mean that Impel Down, the Undersea Prison[Impel Down]?!"
Even Shanks beside him gaped in astonishment, let alone Buggy, whose eyes and tongue bulged out together.
"What else? Is there a second Impel Down? Do you have to be this surprised?"
Austin replied with a smile.
"Are you an idiot?! Being surprised is normal! That's the Undersea Prison, the legendary hell that holds countless monsters of the seas and is said to be absolutely impossible to escape from!"
Buggy shouted, his face turning red. "Do you think everyone is a monster like you?! No, you're a monster among monsters!"
Austin did not think much of it after hearing that.
He might have been the first, but there would soon be a second.
It was none other than the temporary ally he had fought alongside not long ago.
Golden Lion, Shiki.
The three had been apart for a long time, so naturally they had much to talk about.
But as they chatted, they eventually came around to the purpose of this trip.
Captain Roger's execution.
As the topic arose, the mood gradually became somewhat heavy.
Only Austin
Kept stuffing food into his mouth, as though it had nothing to do with him.
Shanks looked gloomy. Seeing Austin completely unaffected, he could not help asking,
"Austin, aren't you sad?"
"Captain Roger is about to be executed... Just a year ago, we were all sailing freely at sea..."
Austin shook his head.
"Of course I'm reluctant to let him go."
"But I'm happier for him. Captain Roger is dying for his dream. Is there anything more romantic than that on the sea?
On the other hand, if Captain Roger had been tortured by illness and died painfully in a hospital bed, that would be when I'd truly feel sad."
Shanks and Buggy were both stunned by those words.
From the bottom of their hearts, they felt that Austin was right.
But their mental ages were still those of children. Even though they agreed with him, they could not help feeling sad.
And it would be a lie to say Austin was not sad at all.
After all, Captain Roger had looked after him for many years. There were surely real feelings involved.
But Austin had seen the opening scene of Captain Roger's execution more than a thousand times in his past life.
So naturally, he felt far less strongly about something he had long expected.
Because they had been chatting, time on the ship did not pass too slowly.
On the morning of the second day,
The three finally stepped onto the soil of Loguetown.
The execution was in the morning. They had made it in time after all.
"Say, Austin, Shanks, have you noticed? There seem to be a lot of Marines around!"
Buggy looked at the warships docked at the harbor and the Marines occasionally walking through Loguetown, instinctively losing his nerve.
"It's fine, Buggy. You don't even have a bounty anyway."
Austin smiled faintly as he looked at the bustling crowd around them.
Pirates, civilians, nobles... In this tiny Loguetown of the East Blue, there were people of nearly every kind.
The Marines could not possibly start arresting people here so openly.
If a riot broke out, then this execution, which the Marines and the World Government attached such immense importance to, would become a worldwide laughingstock through the Den Den Mushi.
That was absolutely unacceptable!
Before you continue