Speaking Without Knowing the Full Picture Is Difficult

"That was what Captain Roger was like in the beginning. I didn't know much about it either, because I hadn't been born yet. The captain and Mr. Rayleigh were both very young then."

"Who was Rayleigh?"

"The captain's first mate, the legendary pirate known as Pluton."

"Oh."

"Anyway, according to Mr. Rayleigh, before Captain Roger had even set sail, he said this:

'Do you want to turn this world upside down with me?'

Mr. Rayleigh said he thought Captain Roger was ridiculous at the time, but he had nowhere else to go, so he eventually agreed."

At that, Shanks smiled. After learning about it, a whole bunch of people on the ship had made up plenty of rumors about the two of them.

Mr. Rayleigh had been homeless because his house had burned down, while Captain Roger had no ship, perhaps because his had been stolen.

Roger burned houses, Rayleigh burned ships. Maybe that was precisely why they ended up together.

Thinking of that, Shanks became even more cheerful, and his tone grew lighter as he continued the story.

Garp stood with his arms folded and his eyes shut, listening in silence as well. Come to think of it, he had chased Roger for so many years, yet he truly knew little about their travels.

Zephyr was also looking at Ace. Now, only a former Roger Pirates crew member like Shanks—and a child at that—could untie the knot in his heart.

After this, it would be time to truly help these promising seedlings grow strong.

Shanks was a very good storyteller. Perhaps it was exactly because of that gift of gab that he had been able to gather a whole shipful of companions.

Shanks did not know much about Roger's earlier voyages, so he spoke of what he had witnessed himself.

They crossed Reverse Mountain, teased ancient dinosaurs on Little Garden, drank cactus juice in a desert kingdom, climbed ten-thousand-meter Skypiea and witnessed the Golden Bell, built a new ship in Water 7, dived ten thousand meters beneath the sea to admire mermaids, snatched treasures in Big Mom's Totto Land, met the furry Mink Tribe atop the giant elephant, and crossed swords in a nation steeped in samurai culture...

The beauty of this sea lay in witnessing all kinds of islands and countries with different cultures, and trying every different custom.

Little by little, a trace of longing appeared in Ace's eyes. Since birth, he had remained in this little village and had no idea what the outside world was like.

If he had not met Sabo, Ace would never have known how to write the word justice.

At that moment, a desire for the sea that even Ace himself had yet to notice began to sprout within him.

"But that voyage was Captain Roger's final journey around the world, because by then he was terminally ill and close to death."

Suddenly, Shanks's tone turned calm, and a wistful look appeared in his eyes.

That had been the happiest period of his youth, together with Buggy.

"Close to death!? Why? Wasn't he the One Piece!? Wasn't he the strongest pirate!?"

Ace shot to his feet, staring straight at Shanks as if demanding an explanation. Without realizing it, he had already begun building an image of his father in his mind.

Even Garp looked toward Shanks with slight hesitation. He only knew that when he had last met Roger, that bastard had been near death from illness. He had not expected it to have happened so early.

"Because illness is something completely beyond human control. Even though Captain Roger was a top-tier pirate and found the best ship's doctor, he only managed to hold on for three more years."

"After reaching Laugh Tale and finding the One Piece, Captain Roger was given the title of One Piece by the world. Then, he disbanded the Roger Pirates."

"At that time, Roger only had one year left to live. Then you must have been born, my little brother."

As he spoke, Shanks reached out with a smile and gently rubbed Ace's head several times.

Ace wore a sour expression, but this time, he did not slap Shanks's hand away.

"I don't know what Captain Roger was thinking then. Maybe he wanted to enjoy retirement properly, or perhaps experience love?

But in the end, he was someone who could never stay idle, just like what he had said to Mr. Rayleigh.

So Captain Roger turned himself in and spoke those words during his execution before the entire world.

'Do you want my treasure? If you want it, you can have it all. Go find it! I left all my treasure there.'

And so, the Great Pirate Era began.

Captain Roger truly did turn the world upside down."

Shanks's smile gradually faded as he recalled that heavy rain in Loguetown.

If possible, he still wished the Roger Pirates had not died, that they could have continued leading them across this sea for the rest of their lives.

"The captain was a very willful man. He often did whatever came to mind. You couldn't call him a good person, and he probably counted as a bad one, because the arrival of the Great Pirate Era truly set this sea boiling."

Ace remained silent. When he had learned earlier that Roger had disbanded his crew and turned himself in because of illness, he had actually felt a little relieved. But after learning that the Great Pirate Era had begun because of Roger, he felt ashamed of that relief.

"Shanks." Uta suddenly tugged on Red-Haired's clothes, her eyes shining. "I like your captain. He's really amazing!"

"Amazing?"

Shanks murmured, rubbing Uta's head as he avoided looking at the girl.

The first time Shanks had met Uta, he had found her among the spoils seized after wiping out an enemy pirate crew.

Uta had been left drifting across the sea because of pirates. Her parents had likely been killed by pirates as well.

Red-Haired hated his own birth and despised the Celestial Dragons, but in a sense, what difference was there between those pirates and the Celestial Dragons?

"Amazing, my ass. That bastard Roger was a pirate through and through!"

Garp stepped forward, his voice hoarse. No matter what interesting adventures Roger had experienced, after unleashing the Great Pirate Era, every soul that had died because of pirates at sea had a share of blame that belonged to him.

And Garp did too.

Because of Ace, the pregnant women and infants of the South Blue—he bore a share of that blood debt.

"Stinky old man..."

Ace's voice was low. He was fascinated by his father's deeds while also hating his father's actions. He truly did not know what to do.

"Hahaha." Shanks burst out laughing. "If the captain heard that, he'd probably be very pleased, because he was proud to be a pirate."

"Aren't you going to say anything more? For example, why that bastard Roger started the Great Pirate Era, or what exactly he saw on Laugh Tale."

Zephyr spoke, his voice equally hoarse. Honestly, he should have hated Roger, but after learning the full picture, that bastard Roger had indeed been making a dangerous gamble.

"What?"

Luffy was the first to speak. He blinked at Zephyr. He liked Roger's adventures and wanted to be like him, but Rooster really hated pirates.

"Mr. Zephyr, isn't that too much?"

Shanks pursed his lips. Some things should not be borne by these children.

"If they want to understand everything, then they must know these things. Besides..."

Zephyr's gaze swept across the three children before him.

The son of the One Piece, the grandson of a Marine hero, and the adopted daughter of the Celestial Dragons—given their lawless personalities, they would not sail into the sea peacefully.

"Don't you want to know, Ace?"

"I..."

Ace opened his mouth. What came next might make him conflicted again, but he still wanted to hear it.

"I want to know."