Don't Speak Without Knowing the Full Picture

"At first, I didn't really know what Captain Roger was like, because I hadn't been born yet. The captain and Mr. Rayleigh were both very young then."

"Who's Rayleigh?"

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

"Oh."

"Anyway, from Mr. Rayleigh, we heard what Captain Roger said before he ever set sail.

'Want to turn this world upside down with me?'

Mr. Rayleigh said that 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 bunch of people on the ship had made up all sorts of rumors about the two captains.

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

Roger burned houses, Rayleigh burned ships. Maybe that was exactly why they had come together.

Thinking of this made Shanks even happier, and his tone grew lighter as he told the story.

Garp folded his arms and kept his eyes shut as he listened in silence. Come to think of it, he had chased Roger for so many years, yet he really knew very little about their journey.

Zephyr was also watching Ace. Now, only Shanks, a former Roger Pirates crewman, 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 quite a good storyteller. Perhaps it was precisely because of that gift for gab that he had managed to gather an entire ship of companions.

Shanks did not know much about Roger's early voyages, so he spoke about what he had personally witnessed.

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 at Water 7, dived ten thousand meters beneath the sea to admire mermaids, stole treasures from Big Mom's Totto Land, met the furry Mink Tribe atop the giant elephant, and crossed swords in a country steeped in samurai culture...

The beauty of this sea lay in witnessing islands unlike any other, nations with different cultures, and trying every kind of custom.

Slowly, a trace of longing appeared in Ace's eyes. He had stayed in this little village ever since he was born and had no idea what the outside world was like.

If he had not met Sabo, Ace would not even have known how to write the word justice.

At that moment, a yearning for the sea began to sprout in Ace's heart, one he had not even noticed himself.

"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 became calm, and a wistful look appeared in his eyes.

That had been the happiest time 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 though demanding an explanation. Without realizing it, he had already built up an image of his father in his mind.

Even Garp looked at Shanks, somewhat hesitant. He only knew that Roger had been close to dying from illness the last time they met, but he had not expected it to have begun so early.

"Because illness is something no one can control. Even though Captain Roger was a top-tier pirate and found a top-tier ship's doctor, he only held 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 had only one year left to live. Then you must have come along, my little brother."

As he spoke, Shanks reached out with a smile and gently ruffled Ace's hair a few times.

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

"I don't know what Captain Roger was thinking at the time. Maybe he wanted to enjoy retirement, or experience love for once?

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

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

'Want my treasure? You can have it all if you want it. Go find it! I left all my treasure there.'

"And so, the Great Pirate Era began.

"Captain Roger really did turn the world upside down."

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

If possible, he still hoped the Roger Pirates had never died, that they could have continued leading them across these seas for the rest of their lives.

"The captain was a very willful man. He often did whatever came to mind. You couldn't exactly call him a good person, but he was probably a bad one. The arrival of the Great Pirate Era truly set these seas ablaze."

Ace remained silent. When he had learned that Roger disbanded his crew and turned himself in because of illness, he had actually felt a little relieved. But once he learned 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 was really amazing!"

"Amazing?"

Shanks murmured, patting Uta's head without looking at her.

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

Uta had drifted across the sea because of pirates. Her parents had probably been killed by pirates too.

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

"What amazing? Roger, that bastard, was a pirate through and through!"

Garp stepped forward, his voice hoarse. No matter what interesting adventures Roger had experienced, after he set off the Great Pirate Era, every soul that died because of pirates at sea bore a share of his guilt.

So did he.

Because of Ace, the blood debt owed to the pregnant women and infants of South Blue bore a share of his guilt as well.

"You damn old man..."

Ace's voice was low. He was fascinated by his father's deeds, yet also hated what his father had done. 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 else? Like why that bastard Roger started the Great Pirate Era, or what exactly he saw at Laugh Tale?"

Zephyr spoke, his voice equally hoarse. Truthfully, he should have hated Roger, but after learning the full picture, that bastard Roger really had made a dangerous gamble.

"What?"

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

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

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

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

Zephyr's gaze swept over 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 peacefully into the sea.

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

"I..."

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

"I want to know."