Vice Admiral Tsuru

Vice Admiral Tsuru did not speak immediately.

She merely sat quietly in her chair, using the natural light from the window to read the rather thin file in her hand in an even, unhurried tone:

"Name: Corvo Rayne. Age: fifteen. Background: war orphan, taken in by the Loguetown branch... One and a half years ago, officially assumed the position of branch executioner."

The file ended there.

After she finished reading, the office fell into a long silence. Those sharp eyes lifted from the file for the first time and settled on Rayne, as if she meant to see straight through him.

"Rayne," Vice Admiral Tsuru slowly said, asking a seemingly unrelated question, "are you afraid of your job?"

Rayne's heart suddenly skipped a beat, but his face retained the slightly restrained calm of a young man meeting an important figure.

"Reporting, ma'am." Rayne gave a slight bow. "It is my duty. I am not afraid."

The corner of Tsuru's mouth seemed to curve ever so slightly.

"You have carried out your duty well." She picked up another document from the desk. "Over the past year and a half, you have performed twenty-one executions, all completed smoothly. For a newcomer—and a boy of fifteen or sixteen—that is an excellent record."

Her tone shifted, becoming sharper.

"So answer me, Rayne. Why did you choose this job?"

Rayne inwardly began to rant at top speed. Why ask me why? You old fox, you have my file in your hands. How could you not know why I do this? Isn't it because I have no backing and got pushed aside, so this sort of dirty, exhausting work landed on my head? Playing dumb when you know perfectly well, asking nothing but pointless nonsense.

Though he was raging inwardly, not the slightest extra expression appeared on Rayne's face. Without any hesitation, he answered in the numb tone that best suited his persona:

"Reporting, ma'am, because... it was an order."

At that answer, the sharpness in Tsuru's eyes finally softened slightly. She stopped probing, leaned forward a little, and adopted an extremely serious tone.

"Very good. Then I have a more important order to give you."

Tsuru skipped all pleasantries and got straight to the point. "The Navy needs an executioner with absolutely exceptional nerve and ability to carry out Roger's execution. I have chosen you."

She gave Rayne no chance to speak.

Tsuru continued, her voice carrying unquestionable authority. "To demonstrate the Navy's majesty and justice, you may not wear a mask during this execution. You will stand before the world with your true face exposed."

Rayne's pupils contracted slightly.

Tsuru took in his reaction and assumed he was worried about retaliation, so she offered generous terms. "I know this will make you a thorn in the side of pirates across the world. But do not worry. Once this is done, I will apply for merit on your behalf and promote you exceptionally to captain, allowing you to leave the troublesome place that is Loguetown."

From private second class to captain! It was practically a leap to the heavens!

Yet alarms were blaring madly in Rayne's mind. Captain?! Are you kidding me? I just want to be an unnoticed executioner and quietly grind experience! How am I supposed to stay invisible after getting promoted? How will I execute criminals?

He reacted almost immediately.

Rayne snapped to attention and saluted. His face bore the peculiar excitement of a young man overwhelmed by "tremendous honor" as he loudly declared:

"Ma'am! Please forgive me, but I must decline your reward!"

A flicker of surprise passed through Tsuru's eyes.

"To personally execute the One Piece and rid the seas of this greatest evil is the highest honor I can receive as a Navy soldier!"

Rayne's performance continued, his voice trembling slightly with "excitement." "I do not need any additional reward or promotion! I only wish to... fulfill my duty as an executioner!"

Seeing the young man before her flushed with passion for his mission, Tsuru was deeply moved.

She had seen too many Navy officers chasing fame and profit, yet she had never seen such pure "justice," unmoved by either.

"Good... good!" A sincerely gratified smile appeared on Tsuru's face. "The Navy needs soldiers as pure as you! I approve your request."

Tsuru did not insist further, but she committed Rayne's name to memory. Such a promising young man must not be buried in Loguetown, she thought.

Meanwhile, Rayne was already overjoyed inside.

Whew... that was close. I finally managed to turn down the promotion. Now my beginner's gift pack is in the bag! Forget going without a mask—even if they wanted me to execute him naked, I would do it!

Tsuru had no idea what was running through his mind. She rose to her feet, walked over to Rayne, and her tone became utterly serious.

"Then go back and prepare properly. Roger's execution has been set for three days from now. Until then, do not leave the Navy base."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Rayne saluted again, then turned and left the office.

Outside the door, Captain Stork was indeed still standing guard like a wooden post. The moment he saw Rayne emerge, he grabbed him and pulled him into a corner of the hallway. Lowering his voice, he asked with a hint of menace:

"Kid, stop right there! What did that big shot... say to you? You did not say anything stupid in there, did you?"

Seeing the tense expression on Stork's face that practically screamed Don't drag me into this, Rayne found it somewhat amusing, though his face remained as calm and unreadable as ever.

"Nothing." His tone was as flat as if he were reporting the weather. "She merely asked about some routine work matters."

"Hmph, routine work?" Stork clearly did not believe a word of it.

With his brains, he could naturally guess that this was most likely related to that major event three days from now. Looking at Rayne's handsome but expressionless face, he felt an inexplicable wave of irritation.

He waved a hand as though shooing away a fly and said irritably, "Get lost! And remember, behave yourself these next few days. Do not cause trouble for me!"

Rayne nodded without saying another word, then turned and left, leaving Stork alone to anxiously speculate in place.

The night before the execution.

Rayne sat alone in his single dormitory room, moonlight from the window falling over his utterly calm face.

The execution rifle that was about to go down in history had been completely disassembled. Every component had been wiped spotless with a clean white cloth and gun oil, reflecting a cold gleam under the moonlight.

His movements were calm and focused, without a single unnecessary motion.

One icy component after another was perfectly reassembled, producing crisp, pleasing mechanical clicks.

When the final piece clicked into place, a perfect instrument of murder lay before him once more.

Rayne raised the rifle and aimed through the sights at the moon outside, half-obscured by dark clouds.

After a long while, he finally spoke in a low voice, as though asking the gun—or speaking to himself.

"Gol D. Roger..."

"Let me see just how much you, the 'One Piece,' are truly 'worth.'"