Time flew by, and before anyone knew it, a year had passed since Roger became the Pirate King.
Over that year, he rarely showed himself. Only a handful of great pirates and well-informed people knew that he had already left the Grand Line.
The Roger whom countless pirates eagerly awaited never stepped forward to make a rallying call. He treated the Navy's massive purge as though it were nothing.
Naturally, the Navy heavily publicized this point, claiming that even the Pirate King feared the Navy's might, that being a pirate had no future, and that everyone should join the Navy in upholding justice upon the seas.
Yet this did not diminish Roger's prestige. On the contrary, because he had been crowned Pirate King, Roger held an incomparable position in the hearts of countless pirates. Even without appearing, quite a few people believed he was planning some major event.
In truth, they were not wrong. It was just somewhat different from the major event most people had imagined.
Year 1499 of the Sea Circle Calendar.
On an unnamed island somewhere in the Grand Line, cherry blossoms drifted through the sky.
By all rights, it was around October, not the season for cherry blossoms to bloom. But upon these seas, judging things by the seasons alone held no meaning.
This unnamed island was like spring all year round. Cherry blossoms were its symbol, blooming for ten months of every year.
A towering ship, like a city upon the sea, was moored by the shore. The bearded pirate flag flying above it revealed its owner's identity: Whitebeard Edward, one of the most terrifying pirates on these seas, a legendary great pirate.
This was his ship, the Moby Dick. Yet this was not the New World, but somewhere in the first half of the