Is He Roger?

In Rayleigh's eyes, the Giant's attack was incredibly slow. His gaze shifted slightly as he spoke softly.

"How could I let you attack our Admiral from the very start?"

He swiftly drew the longsword at his waist, and a blue slash flashed past. Blood instantly sprayed from the Giant Vice Admiral's chest, a sword wound deep enough to expose bone robbing the Giant of his ability to fight.

The massive body crushed the already overburdened ice, while Rayleigh's strike drew the attention of many to this old man who was both unfamiliar and familiar.

The sudden appearance of the two left Sengoku stunned. Their exceedingly familiar faces made him forget, for a moment, that the Den Den Mushi was still transmitting, and he blurted out an incredulous question.

"That's Rayleigh and Roger? How is that possible... Roger has been dead for a long time."

With the loudspeaker Den Den Mushi amplifying his voice, the entire battlefield and even those watching the broadcast heard it.

Sengoku quickly realized he had done something foolish. Even if that truly was Roger, it should not have come from him, the Fleet Admiral. His words were practically an official confirmation and would damage the Marines' morale.

Pirate King Roger was still alive—what an utterly absurd claim. If he really had survived, then the Marines would become a complete joke.

Whether Sengoku regretted it or not, the question amplified by the Den Den Mushi brought the entire battlefield to a momentary standstill. Countless gazes turned toward Sal and Rayleigh, and even the giant screen focused on them.

"Pirate King Roger and his first mate?"

"No way, isn't he too young? Roger should be seventy by now."

Countless questions arose in people's minds. Who was the man beside the legendary pirate Dark King Rayleigh? Was he truly Pirate King Roger?

Ace knelt on the execution platform, staring blankly at the distant figure. His mind was in complete chaos. Why had someone who looked like Roger suddenly appeared? Was that man here to save him?

At that moment, Sal had no time to care about anyone else's reactions, because the moment he had been waiting for was about to arrive.

Among organizations capable of broadcasting live across the globe, only the World Government and its largest military organization, the Marines, could do it. Riding the wave of a global broadcast, the system could finally show its true power. His identity would shake the world.

Though everyone was discussing it heatedly, they still had not confirmed his identity. But with the Fleet Admiral raising the question, the results were dozens of times better than if Sal had demonstrated it himself.

Just moments after his entrance, the expected system notifications arrived.

[SS-rank character Whitebeard has developed ordinary emotions toward the host: moderate surprise. Experience increased by 20000]

[SS-rank characters have developed ordinary emotions toward the host: minor surprise. Experience increased by 10000X6]

[S-rank characters have developed ordinary emotions toward the host: minor surprise. Experience increased by 1000X31]

[A-rank characters have developed ordinary emotions toward the host: minor surprise. Experience increased by 100X487]

[B, C, and D-rank characters have developed ordinary emotions toward the host: minor surprise. Experience increased by 20X7823, 5X136833, 1X1036157]

[Total experience: 1.7 million]

[Level increased: Level 71 (36702/450000)]

Over a million people had generated emotions. What an enormous crowd. And that number was less than one percent of the pirate world's population.

At the same time, the system template underwent another major change.

[Host: Augustus D. Sal]

[Age: 26]

[Level: 71 (36702/450000)]

[Strength: top-tier (Shichibukai)]

[Constitution: top-tier (Shichibukai)]

[Agility: top-tier (Shichibukai)]

[Devil Fruit: none]

[Techniques: top-tier]

[Armament Haki: advanced]

[Observation Haki: top-tier (Voice of All Things)]

[Conqueror's Haki: Peak]

[Weapon: Ace]

[Points: 83879]

The massive increase in constitution made Sal feel as though his body were on fire, burning hot. His three core attributes had finally reached the minimum standard of a Shichibukai, while his Armament Haki had reached the peak of advanced level and could return to top-tier at any time.

The sudden windfall made Sal look at Sengoku with nothing but goodwill.

"Black Cage."

Two black iron bars snapped together, capturing more than ten pirates. Hina, who had been fighting in a remote part of the battlefield, had remained cautious against every enemy. But Sengoku's words made her spot the man she would never forget, and hatred immediately surged in her heart.

The pink-haired figure no longer cared about her agreement with Smoker to join forces. Having lost her reason, she charged toward Sal. She did not care whether he was Roger or not. She had only one thought: kill the man who had taken her first time.

Hina was not the only one on the battlefield obsessed with Sal. A Shichibukai standing atop a cannon platform, who had yet to join the fight, felt the same way.

Hancock covered her face and gazed at Sal happily. She did not care whether Sal was Roger. As long as he was Sal, that was enough. Their reunion brought her nothing but sweetness.

Whitebeard's expression had been grim because Oars' fate was unknown, but the appearance of these two unexpected figures left him deeply surprised.

The newly appeared young man truly looked like Roger. What was going on? Always straightforward, he directly asked the question on many people's minds.

"Rayleigh, who is he?"

Rayleigh could not answer. He himself still did not have a definite answer.

"Sorry, Newgate. I don't dare say for certain either. You should ask him yourself."

Sal calmly took over and answered.

"Whitebeard, this is our first meeting. I am Augustus D. Sal."

The surprise displayed by Roger's acquaintances was because, held back by the pace of the war these past few days, people like Sengoku and Whitebeard had had no time to look at the wanted posters. Naturally, they did not know what Sal, who had been stirring up trouble for days, looked like.

Even if a few acquaintances recognized Sal's face, they would only think of a more convincing possibility.

Marine strategist Tsuru's voice came through the Den Den Mushi.

"Sengoku, don't be fooled. Augustus D. Sal is not Roger at all. He is Roger's clone. Roger cannot possibly still be alive. We saw him die with our own eyes back then."

Tsuru's words jolted Sengoku, Whitebeard, and even people all over the world awake as if from a dream. That was right. Roger's execution had been broadcast live across the globe. The entire world had watched him say those words and watched two long blades pierce his body.

Besides, if Roger, the man who had begun the Great Pirate Era, was still alive, how terrifying would that be for the World Government and ordinary civilians alike?

"...So that's how it is."

Whitebeard seemed relieved, yet also somewhat disappointed.

Sengoku and Whitebeard accepted the claim that he was Roger's clone, because there truly were two clones in the world: Whitebeard II and the CU0 agent Stussy.

Whitebeard II appeared to be Whitebeard's clone, possessing the physique and potential Whitebeard had in his youth. Meanwhile, Stussy, the Queen of the Pleasure District, was Bakkin's clone.

It had to be said that Bakkin, who called herself Whitebeard's lover, had been a breathtaking beauty in her youth, yet had become an ugly, shriveled old woman everyone despised in her old age.

The saying that time was a butcher's knife for women was even more apparent in this world.

And as the Pirate King, it was not impossible that Roger had been deliberately cloned.

Among those familiar with Roger, only Rayleigh knew that Sal was not a clone, because a clone could not possess the original's memories. Even the nature of his Conqueror's Haki was exactly the same.