Their voyage had been blocked by a Marine warship, but the blockade had not been strong enough.
Led by Moria, the pirate ship smashed through the encirclement and sailed away, leaving behind his "Heh-shih-shih-shih" laughter and the brazen laughter of the other pirates.
Several other pirate ships had also broken through the blockade alongside them.
Meanwhile, Loguetown rang endlessly with shouts of battle and cannon fire.
This chaos seemed to herald the coming Great Pirate Era.
Marine Headquarters.
"Still nothing?"
Sengoku frowned in thought as he looked at the photos transmitted by the fax Den Den Mushi in his hand.
Garp leaned over for a look, then stroked his chin.
"Alright, it's not him!"
Garp shook his head. The reek of alcohol poured from his mouth, making Sengoku frown deeply.
"What? You don't believe me? Tsuru, take a look!"
Seeing Sengoku's expression, Garp immediately glared.
The dejected look he had worn after Roger's execution had already vanished.
At his words, Vice Admiral Tsuru took the pictures Sengoku handed over and examined them one by one.
They showed corpses photographed from every angle, as well as sword marks left on the walls.
Vice Admiral Tsuru frowned slightly.
Her reaction made Sengoku curious.
"Well?"
"It truly doesn't seem right. The Pirate King Roger was incredibly powerful—we both know that. Every move he made carried immense force, because his Haki had been trained to its peak."
After placing the pictures on the desk, Vice Admiral Tsuru lightly tapped them with her fingers.
"See? Even Tsuru could tell, but you, the so-called brilliant strategist, couldn't. I'd say you're just an idiot!"
As Garp spoke, he even picked his nose with his little finger.
Veins bulged across Sengoku's forehead.
That fellow's earlier expression, as though his whole family had died, had been speechless enough. His usual personality was even more infuriating.
Vice Admiral Tsuru glanced at Garp without speaking, then looked back at Sengoku.
"Roger's slash was a Flying Slash enhanced with Conqueror's Haki Infusion. Anyone capable of unleashing that strike would naturally have an extraordinary mastery of Conqueror's Haki."
"You mean someone with that level of strength wouldn't use such a slash against some minor pirate?"
Sengoku nodded faintly.
"That is one reason. But more importantly, its power was far too weak."
At Sengoku's words, Garp grinned widely.
After the battle at God Valley, he had begun pursuing Roger, and the two had clashed countless times.
If anyone in this world knew Roger's strength best, it had to be him.
That sword strike looked very similar, and according to the reports from his subordinates, even its aura had been somewhat similar. But he did not believe it was Roger.
"If he could truly infuse Conqueror's Haki into his blade and unleash that slash, then Loguetown would probably have been split apart by now."
Noticing Sengoku's unfriendly gaze, Garp added another sentence.
Sengoku's expression stiffened.
"If someone could truly strike with that sword, then they could also control its power."
Tsuru shook her head, then changed the subject.
"But that is not what we need to focus on now. You can both guess what will happen next because of what Roger said before his execution."
At Tsuru's words, Sengoku and Garp's expressions both turned grave.
Of course they knew. Their earlier discussion had merely been a way to ease their minds over the issue at hand.
"Even dead, he still had to cause such a huge mess."
Only after a long while did Sengoku speak in a low voice, rising to his feet afterward.
"Come on, Garp. You cannot miss this meeting."
Garp's face stiffened, but he did not refuse. The three of them left together.
What the Marines would face next would be even more severe.
A year was enough time for many things to happen.
The impact of Pirate King Roger's execution had not faded. Instead, it had only intensified.
The number of pirates heading out to sea had increased explosively.
The entire ocean seemed filled with pirate ships everywhere.
Beneath low, heavy thunderclouds and amid the raging waves, a massive vessel resembling a small island cleaved through the towering waves crashing toward it.
"Heh-shih-shih-shih."
Gecko Moria's familiar, strange laughter rang out from the bow.
Still not bloated, his body was lean and muscular. Wielding the blade in his hand, he launched Flying Slashes one after another, cutting apart the incoming waves.
Lin Ye stood straight upon the ship, unaffected in the slightest by its violent rocking.
He looked toward Gecko Moria at the bow and raised a hand to wipe the rainwater from his face.
A pirate was still a pirate.
The current Gecko Moria was far stronger than he would be when he encountered Straw Hat in the future.
Moria was currently at the height of his power. Even in the New World, it would be difficult for him to find an opponent.
Many accounts claimed that before encountering Kaido, Moria had been a bold and powerful sea hero.
But throughout this journey, a pirate was still a pirate.
He had done every single thing pirates were supposed to do.
Over the course of a year, they had fought dozens of battles large and small. Some involved raiding islands, while others were clashes with other pirate crews.
Lin Ye had also established a persona for himself: someone who never attacked the weak and possessed a somewhat rigid temperament.
Over the course of that year, Lin Ye had grown a great deal taller.
He could not compare with Moria, but at only eleven years old, he was already nearly 1.8 meters tall.
[Lin Ye] [Eleven years and one month old] [Abilities: Trait Pickup, Shatter Traits] [Conqueror's Haki: Level 6] [Armament Haki: Level 6] [Observation Haki: Level 6] [Divine Departure: Level 7] [Voice of All Things: Level 3] [Strong Physique: Level 3] [Calmness: Level 3] ... ... [Blank Traits: 3]
There had been enough battles, and enough deaths, so Lin Ye's gains had naturally been immense.
Whenever they encountered another pirate crew in battle, Lin Ye never showed mercy.
His swordsmanship had also been greatly tempered.
However, his focus had always been on the Three-Color Haki and Divine Departure.
Aside from some truly worthless traits, he had kept everything else. Some useful traits had even been raised by one or two levels.
They had also significantly improved his own strength.
More importantly, however, these were backup energy sources for Lin Ye. Even traits that had been upgraded could be shattered, and after being shattered, the Blank Traits spent on them would be directly refunded.
That was why Lin Ye could afford to spend Blank Traits on these traits.
Of course, those were not his only gains.
What concerned Lin Ye more was abilities.
Ever since boarding the ship, Lin Ye had been considering whether he should eat a Devil Fruit in the future.
However, after picking up the ability—or rather, a technique developed from the ability—of a Devil Fruit User killed by Moria, Lin Ye changed his mind.
That man had probably eaten a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit related to strength.
The manifested ability Lin Ye picked up was [Mighty Arms].
It could increase the strength of his arms severalfold.
And that was only its Level 1 effect.
After raising it to Level 3, activating the ability could increase his strength more than tenfold.
But it also placed a greater burden on the body.
That was why he had raised Strong Physique to Level 3.
Naturally, the significance of this for Lin Ye was not merely an increase in strength. It meant abilities could be manifested on their own and then picked up.
If killing a Logia user could make their ability drop, then after upgrading that ability, could he obtain the Devil Fruit's full power?
Before you continue