The Impending Execution

The era's rampage is about to begin.

This world is about to enter the Great Pirate Era, with countless people hoping to find the Pirate King Roger's treasure—One Piece.

But as for what Roger intended to do, Dawn had neither the power to change it nor the desire to. Because this involved too many things—the blank century, the answers hidden in the Poneglyphs, and even the major events and historical course set in motion after the Great Pirate Era began. With so many considerations, he couldn't guess why Roger would use his own life to ignite the Great Pirate Era. It was a mystery, but Dawn never denied the necessity of it. The rampage of the era was a painful transition, but perhaps it was something this world had to endure. What Roger sought to accomplish by laying down his life was beyond Dawn's ability to fathom.

From Dawn's perspective, only if history developed along the lines he was familiar with could he scheme within it. And this advantage came from his extraordinary memory after transmigrating. This scheme began with Roger's death and would continue until the point in the story he no longer knew. The planning and maneuvering during this period would span as long as twenty years! Dawn intended to use the memories in his mind to continuously accumulate power, gather allies, and seize every advantage available to complete his own plan.

Moreover, even if Dawn had shut Roger's mouth and prevented him from shouting those words on the execution platform to start the Great Pirate Era, the other party might have had a backup plan to spread the news. And as the one who proposed it, Dawn would certainly offend the Roger Pirates. Not to mention others, just Red-Hair alone would be enough to trouble him. Even setting that aside, even without Roger, the Great Pirate Era would have gradually arrived anyway; Roger merely detonated the fuse of the era ahead of time.

And at the root of it all were the Celestial Dragons. These creatures, worse than pigs and dogs, prided themselves on being "descendants of the creators" and looked down on everyone else as lowly inferior beings. Arrogant, conceited, they even felt so great that no one else could breathe the same air as them, for which they wore bubble helmets, treating others as disposable slaves and taking pleasure in tormenting them. No, to them, anyone who wasn't a Celestial Dragon wasn't even considered human. Not only that, the Celestial Dragons enjoyed every privilege imaginable. If they were offended, Marine Headquarters or CP0 had to deploy all their military strength to protect them and uphold their dignity. They were a bunch of pig-dog scum who thought they were gods, yet they wielded immense power to commit every kind of vile act without restraint.

With such wanton oppression from the top down, it would be strange if the Great Pirate Era didn't come. Think about it—why did Roger's actions cause the era to rampage, with countless people responding? Wasn't it because they couldn't survive anymore? Roger's death was just a trigger. If people could make a living, the vast majority would never choose to become pirates, risking death at every turn. Subtract the adventurers like Luffy, and what remained were the villains under Big Mom and Kaido. Even Big Mom as a child was just a good-natured, food-loving brat. And it couldn't be denied that while the base of these pirates seemed large, if there weren't a massive population initially forced into piracy with no other choice, those two Emperors might not have been able to recruit so many subordinates.

Perhaps many of the pirates now under the Four Emperors were once ordinary farmers from the four seas, who, after surviving against all odds, became ruthless criminals. It was like raising poison insects—circumstances constantly pushed a vast population to the brink, forcing them to become pirates, endlessly killing and clawing their way up to ravage the seas, while some joined the Emperors. And how many could keep their original hearts on this brutal, merciless sea? The vast majority would likely do anything to survive, eventually becoming pirates who stopped at nothing. So it was the sheer number of pirates that caused the flood of piracy in the Great Pirate Era. Relying solely on the Four Emperors, they would only be strong individuals, not Emperors. Because they needed not only comparable strength but also the power and manpower to control large territories in the New World, like emperors of the sea.

Where did all these people come from? Why did people endlessly choose to become pirates with no guarantee of tomorrow? Wasn't it because they couldn't make a living anymore? The first wave of people who couldn't survive became pirates, ravaging the seas and making life impossible for even more, creating a vicious cycle. And the Celestial Dragons bore most of the blame for this. After all, as the saying goes, no demand, no slaughter. Where did the Celestial Dragons get their vast numbers of slaves? They had to capture them, naturally giving rise to the slave trade, tearing families apart. The Celestial Dragons demanded massive amounts of Celestial Gold and treasures. So every kingdom had to pay exorbitant tributes, and then kings and nobles squeezed the people for money, some skimming extra for themselves. Thus the people couldn't survive again, turned to piracy, and another vicious cycle began. A single rampaging pirate could destroy enough villages to leave countless families ruined and hopeless.

In the end, it was all the Celestial Dragons' fault! Why else would Luffy's father, Dragon, have formed the Revolutionary Army? And Roger's death was precisely what detonated all of this. At this moment in Loguetown, "heavily guarded" could no longer describe the town. Not only Loguetown, but even the surrounding seas were patrolled by Marine strongmen, with defensive capabilities at an all-time high.

But so what? The tide of the era never stops—it surges forward endlessly, crushing all who stand in its path!

After arriving in Loguetown, Dawn and the others didn't sightsee. Following a day of rest, they immediately entered a state of alert.

The group was eating lunch at a restaurant.

Though the chef's skill was considerable—grilled meat, fried rice, seafood, and other dishes were quite delicious—everyone ate in silence, not uttering a word.

Because in the afternoon, Roger's execution would take place!

As seeds of the training camp, Dawn and the others were assigned to the innermost positions, stationed beside the execution platform to help maintain order!

That was a spot equivalent to being able to directly witness Roger's execution!

This put immense pressure on the children—Hina, Sola, and the others—after all, that was the Pirate King!

Even knowing that this last line of defense was merely the higher-ups allowing them to observe Roger's execution and perform routine stability work—they wouldn't even face ordinary people, let alone clash with sea-faring powerhouses.

But it was still nominally the final line of defense. To say Dawn and the others weren't nervous would be impossible.

As for the rest of the guard arrangements, Dawn and the others didn't know. Aokiji and the others were the true overseers; their movements and assignments were absolutely confidential.

But there was no need to guess—by then, the execution platform and even Loguetown itself would be surrounded by a massive number of Marines and World Government personnel.

If anyone tried to cause trouble, they'd surely be crushed before they could even make a move!

The Pirate King's execution could not afford any mistakes!