The Day of Execution!

Loguetown is located near East Blue entrance to the Grand Line from the Reverse Mountain in the East Blue, and is home to a branch base of the Marines in the East Blue.

When Ortolan and his group arrived in Loguetown, the Loguetown Marines was also actively carrying out preparations, such as building an execution platform in the square, installing live broadcast facilities, and dividing up the security zone.

Now that these tasks are basically completed, after surveying the site and finding no problems, the Marines has stationed all its personnel at the Loguetown Marine Base.

After two days of continuous work at the Marine Base, all the work in Loguetown was completed.

During this period, Ortolan and others also frequently received intelligence information from the island.

"Sand Crocodile Crocodile arrived in Loguetown early this morning."

"Donquixote Doflamingo, the leader of the Donquixote Family of the North Blue, also arrived in Loguetown today."

"A hero from the West Blue, deemed dangerous and potentially falling into the ranks of pirates, Moria, has also appeared near the port."

"In the past two years, Hawk Eyes Jora Mihawk, who has been challenging sword masters all over the world, has also appeared."

Garp sat in the base commander's office, completely treating it as his own territory. He ate a senbei (rice cracker) while listening to the reports, then waved his hand and said, "The execution of Roger is the top priority. As for these guys, as long as they don't cause trouble on the island, leave them alone for now to avoid unnecessary problems."

Chief Staff Officer Tsuru was also sitting here, at her desk, constantly flipping through the latest intelligence reports. She said, "Currently, the New World is surprisingly calm. Neither the Whitebeard Pirates nor Big Mom and the others have made any moves or caused any disturbances. In comparison, is it only Shiki who has taken action?"

Ortolan stood by the window, a cigarette dangling from his lips, looking out over the entire Loguetown from the high-rise of this branch base. Hearing Chief Staff Officer Tsuru's words, he chuckled and said, "Those big shots are probably still observing the situation. Once Roger's execution is over, Shiki's territory will likely be completely divided up by them in no time..."

Just as they were discussing these topics, the former commander of the Loguetown Marine Base gently knocked on his office door.

After receiving Garp's approval, he nervously pushed open the door. Looking at the group of Marines leaders inside, he swallowed hard and said, "Vice Admiral Garp, the execution preparations are complete. There's about an hour until the noon execution. Shall we..."

"Are you ready?" Garp slammed the senbei he was holding onto the table, then wiped his hands with a tissue. "Then let's get started. I'll wait for all the Marines to be in position first..."

"Yes, sir!" the base commander immediately saluted and replied.

Soon, Marines leaders such as Ortolan, Garp, Kuzan, Sakazuki, and Chief Staff Officer Tsuru filed out of the base. Subsequently, the Marines inside the base also sprang into action, surrounding the plaza in layers. At the same time, the guards divided the area into viewing zones and designated safe paths leading to the Execution Platform.

After the Marines took action, the guys from various sea areas who came to watch the excitement in Loguetown also appeared in the square one by one.

In no time, the central square of the entire Loguetown was packed with people, all of them extremely crowded.

Among these people, those dangerous individuals who had previously attracted attention stood out, such as Gecko Moria, Crocodile, Doflamingo.

There were also those who were inconspicuous and were observed by the Marines at this time, such as Shanks and Buggy, who were hidden in the crowd.

There was also a young man with premature gray hair, around fourteen or fifteen years old. He seemed quite clever, using his physical advantages to weave through the crowd and actually managed to squeeze into the front row. If Ortolan had seen him, he would definitely have recognized him.

This young man with prematurely gray hair was none other than Smoker, the White Hunter, who later became known as the Marines's troublemaker.

Ortolan did not go to the Execution Platform. As one of the security forces for this execution, he went to the top of the tallest clock tower in the entire Loguetown. From here, he could overlook the entire central square and the Execution Platform. The view was excellent, and if anything unexpected happened, he could lock onto the target immediately.

This is also part of the Marines's arrangements and layout.

As for Garp and the others, they surrounded and protected the Execution Platform. Although the senior Marines did not believe that anyone would be so foolish as to try to storm the execution ground in Loguetown, Shiki's criminal record was there for all to see. Who knew if someone might actually do such a thing?

It's worth noting that none of the remnants of Roger Pirates who disappeared without a trace were captured.

In Ortolan's memory, it suddenly rained heavily on the day of Roger's execution, but now, looking at the weather in Loguetown today, it was cloudless, sunny, and quite hot, so there was no possibility of heavy rain.

After all, the East Blue isn't New World; its climate is relatively stable and it won't be so unreasonable, basking in the sun one second and then hailing out the next.

Ortolan sat on the edge of the clock tower wall, a cigarette dangling from his lips, gazing at East Blue boundless blue East China Sea from this height, feeling a mix of emotions.

The legend and story of Roger will come to an end here, but will the next generation of destiny's children set sail from this East Blue?

"Fate...tsk, I don't believe in that stuff." Ortolan suddenly chuckled to himself.

It's just that they arrived a bit too early; those promising little devils hadn't been born yet. Otherwise, Ortolan might have actually planned to take Nami, Zoro, and the others away directly.

Especially Nami, she is the true backbone of the Straw Hat Pirates. With Luffy's personality, if you kidnapped his navigator, he might not be able to leave the East Blue for three years, let alone become Four Emperors in the New World. That's out of the question.

Let's just enjoy our barrel rafting adventure in the East Blue.

Just as Ortolan was pondering these questions, a gentle sea breeze blew past him, ruffling his cloak and causing the words "Justice" to flutter behind him.

"Sneaking around like that, suddenly appearing behind me, trying to scare me?" Ortolan exhaled a puff of smoke.

As soon as he finished speaking, a small whirlwind rose behind him, and then, the mysterious figure of Dragon emerged from the wind.

"Logia-type?" Ortolan raised an eyebrow and asked.

Dragon glanced at Ortolan and said, "Do you think I would give such important intelligence to a treacherous, despicable man like you who betrayed me?"

Ortolan looked at Dragon in surprise and said, "When did I ever promise you that I wouldn't report your intelligence information? No, right? If there was no such promise, then where does this despicable and treacherous act come from?"

"You!" Dragon was taken aback by these words and was unable to refute them.

After a moment, he sneered and said, "Even putting that aside, how do you explain Roger plotting something with me in the South Blue? When did I ever meet Roger? Or engage in a fierce battle with you?"

"I don't know that. You'll have to ask Mr. Garp. He's on that Execution Platform. You can still question him now," Ortolan said dismissively.

Upon hearing this, Dragon seemed to recall something and instinctively raised his hand to touch his face, but then quickly realized what he was doing and lowered his hand, saying, "I have nothing to say to my old man. He's a stubborn old man, and I'm a rebellious and unfilial son..."

However, it was clear that Dragon didn't want to continue this topic, so he changed the subject and said, "But since you've pinned the blame on me for Roger's death, it means there's definitely something fishy going on... As the scapegoat, would you mind telling me some inside information?"

Ortolan flicked the ash from his cigarette, smiled, and said, "Roger is terminally ill and doesn't have long to live. When we found him, there was no conflict, so... in a sense, he turned himself in."

After a slight pause, Ortolan looked towards the Execution Platform. Although the platform was still empty, he seemed to have seen something. He raised his hand and gently patted Dragon's shoulder, saying, "If you want to change this terrible world, you must first make it chaotic. What do you think?"

Dragon glanced at Ortolan with some surprise, but did not speak.

Ortolan continued, seemingly oblivious to his own words. "And today is the day the door to New Era opens. The waves and torrents of this New Era will turn the entire world upside down. This is both a crisis and an opportunity!"