A Drink Beneath the Cherry Blossoms: The Roger Pirates Disbanded!

In the following days, the Marine Headquarters was extremely busy, with various meetings held one after another. All officers at headquarters, from Rear Admiral upwards, had to attend meetings continuously.

As the Marines's meetings continued, daily updates on the Roger Pirates were released to the public.

Roger's bounty jumped to an unbelievable amount: 5.5 billion 4.8 million Beli!

How terrifying is this amount?

Comparing the current situation, it becomes clear that twenty years later, during the Summit War, the person with the highest bounty was Whitebeard Edward Newgate, whose bounty was 5.54 billion Beli.

Now, it will be another twenty years or so before he reaches that level of bounty, and his current bounty is only a little over two billion.

Roger's bounty was more than double that of Whitebeard!

He was truly Great Pirate in a class of his own. Even Shiki, the former Pirate Overlord, only had a bounty of 2 billion Beli at his peak.

Currently, no pirate can match Roger in terms of bounty.

Even the entire pirate crew combined isn't as tall as Roger alone. That's the value of the Pirate King!

This outrageous bounty made all sorts of Great Pirate very indignant. Why did Roger get it?

Just because you found Laugh Tale?

To truly win over the Great Pirate, you can't just rely on adventures. The world of pirates is simple and brutal: you have to rely on strength to defeat and crush them before you can be considered the man sitting on the throne!

Not only did the pirate world have a lot of opinions about Roger, but as his bounty skyrocketed, various intelligence organizations, pirate hunters, and skilled individuals all began to pay attention to Roger.

Finding him would be like becoming rich overnight. The World Government has offered a very high reward for the clues. If we could take down Roger, that would be even more incredible!

Meanwhile, on a remote island in the New World...

The Roger Pirates are having Whitebeard Pirates.

Roger and Newgate sat on the ground under a cherry blossom tree.

"You took Oden away, and now you're not going to return him..." Newgate said to Roger with some dissatisfaction.

Roger smiled and poured Newgate a bowl of wine, then said, "He said he has some things to take care of in Wano Country first, and he will come to meet you after he's done."

"Of course I know." Newgate glared at Roger, then added, "But now that Kaido is entrenched in Wano Country ... that's a little worrying for me."

"Oden is very strong, what are you worried about?" Roger waved his hand dismissively.

Without dwelling on the topic, Roger chuckled and asked, "Have you seen the recent newspapers? I'm the Pirate King now..."

"Looks like you've hit a nerve with those people in the World Government..." Newgate said calmly, showing no jealousy.

"Laugh Tale is quite an interesting place. Do you want to know what I found up there? If you do, I can tell you..." Roger laughed.

"Absolutely no interest." Newgate waved his hand and added, "Perhaps your treasure is hidden there, but I reached the end long before you did..."

As he said this, Newgate looked with a smile at his crew, his companions whom he considered family, who were having a good time in the distance.

Whatever Roger was looking for, the Whitebeard had found the answer he sought on this vast ocean; he had reached his destination.

Roger followed Newgate's gaze and, after a moment, nodded with a smile, saying, "That's true, you're always one step ahead of the rest of us."

"Kuralalalala..." Newgate laughed loudly, his expression full of smugness.

After laughing, Newgate asked with some doubt, "Speaking of which, your name always seems a bit odd in the newspapers..."

"Gol D. Roger is not some 'Gol'. The World Government wants to hide the existence of 'D'. This is the answer I got from Laugh Tale..." Roger smiled and then said, "Sooner or later, the D Clan will turn this World upside down, Newgate!"

Roger's eyes flashed with regret as he said, "It's a pity I won't be able to see that day, Laugh Tale... We left a little too early."

"D?" Newgate murmured softly, the image of Teach flashing through his mind. Was that kid a member of the D clan?

However, Newgate quickly shook his head and said, "This statement is baseless. Do you think only so-called 'D's' can change this world? Although I don't have such thoughts, I absolutely do not agree with your absurd claims."

Roger paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "That's true."

Is it only D that can change the world? That's far too arrogant!

"What are you going to do next?" Newgate asked again.

"I'm not doing anything more." Roger shook his head and said, "You know, my body is like this, and my days are numbered. I've fulfilled my dream of being a pirate. Now, let me spend my last days in peace. After we finish this drink, our Roger Pirates will disband. I plan to go to the South Blue."

"South Blue?" Newgate asked with some doubt. "If I remember correctly, you're from the East Blue, right? Aren't you planning to spend your last days in your homeland?"

"The sea is my home, don't be so narrow-minded, Newgate!" Roger laughed heartily, then a gentle look appeared in his eyes as he said, "I want to conquer the South Blue, because there are still people waiting for me there."

Seeing the tenderness on Roger's face, Newgate said with a look of disdain, "Love? How incredibly boring..."

"A guy like you wouldn't understand!" Roger glared at Newgate, grabbed his wine bowl, took a big gulp, and then asked curiously, "Speaking of which, I've heard that you have some secret lover? It's supposed to be a story from back on the Rocks ... Is it true?"

"Bullshit!" Newgate said angrily. "I'm standing tall and straight, I don't have any of this nonsense to say. I don't know which bastard spread these rumors about me!"

"A rumor?" Roger stroked his chin, looking at Newgate's serious expression, and believed him.

It's just that Newgate hadn't read any of Rocks's books; otherwise, he would have been able to discover that the source of this rumor was that bastard Rocks.

A gentle sea breeze blew by, scattering the cherry blossom petals from the tree like rain, which fell on Roger and Newgate.

A cherry blossom fell into Roger's wine bowl. He looked at the bowl in his hand, smiled, and said, "I don't have time to waste with you any longer, Newgate..."

"Are you going to leave?" A hint of reluctance flickered in Newgate's eyes, but it quickly faded away.

He knew that this might be the last time he saw Roger, the last time he would drink with him, and this parting would be their final farewell.

The two had never been allies, and had even been enemies for a time. After fighting on the high seas for so long, Newgate could still feel his reluctance at the moment of parting.

Perhaps it was a mutual appreciation, or perhaps the two had already become friends?

"Yes, it's almost time. There's a beautiful and gentle woman standing at the harbor, gazing into the distance, waiting for my return. And I've been far too late, so I need to hurry," Roger laughed.

He was reluctant to leave, and he knew that this farewell would be forever, but he still wanted to stay.

At this point, he had no regrets about being a pirate. Now, he would spend his remaining days as an ordinary person.

After saying that, Roger picked up the wine bowl, along with the cherry blossom of parting, and drank the wine in one gulp.

Newgate remained silent, picked up his wine bowl, and also took a big gulp.

Roger stood up, patted his captain's coat, and waved to Newgate with a smile, saying, "Farewell, Whitebeard."

"Oh," Newgate responded, without getting up, remaining seated on the ground, and said softly, "Farewell."

And so, Roger died, and so, the Roger Pirates disbanded.