Chapter 33

This world was far too cruel to older women.

At fifty-four, Garp still looked like a vigorous, powerfully built man in his prime. Yet Tsuru, two years younger, already showed her age. Her beautiful blue hair was gradually turning gray, and deep wrinkles had begun to form around her eyes and across her forehead.

"Appearance? Crunch, crunch... You can't eat that! Crunch, crunch... Are there really no other tasty snacks?" Garp looked utterly unconcerned.

Vice Admiral Tsuru shook her head helplessly. She had long since grown used to Garp acting this way.

"Gion, has anyone unusual been roaming Loguetown alone lately?"

"Yes, Tsuru!"

Marine Headquarters Captain Gion answered respectfully, but somehow, Vice Admiral Tsuru heard a trace of gritted teeth in her voice.

"There's a Devil Fruit user who's developed his power to an unbelievable degree!"

"What fruit?" Vice Admiral Tsuru asked.

"The Hollow-Hollow Fruit!" Gion answered at once. "He's White Ghost from the West Blue. Somehow, he's eliminated the Hollow-Hollow Fruit's weakness involving his physical body. He's immune to all physical attacks, just like a Logia user!"

"White Ghost, without that weakness? What's he like?"

"Awful. Fake. Obnoxious!... But... he probably isn't a bad person at heart."

"You've met him, Gion?"

"...A few times."

"Then White Ghost is your responsibility during tomorrow's execution! Keep a close eye on him. Don't let him cause trouble."

"..."

"Is there a problem?"

"No, Vice Admiral Tsuru! I'll get it done!"

The Legend's End

Execution day, early morning.

After leaving the area around his inn, Adrian looked up at the boundless blue sky. The fresh, clean morning air and the first light brightening in the east painted a gradient from blue to white.

"What a beautiful day..."

He set off for his destination with a solemn expression.

The closer he got to Loguetown's central square, the more people crowded around him.

Every one of them was heading the same way.

As Adrian was about to enter the square, he spotted someone standing in a patch of open ground that people had deliberately left clear. She wore a pristine white Justice Coat marking her as a Marine officer, and her bearing seemed to warn everyone away.

It was Gion, her expression decidedly cold.

"Morning," Adrian said as he approached her.

She gave no reply.

That was only to be expected. His behavior yesterday had hardly won him any points.

Even if the person responsible for making him react that way was standing right in front of him.

But argue facts and reason with a woman who was still angry?

Hah.

Adrian shrugged and stepped back into the crowd.

Watching Adrian from the corner of her eye, Gion saw that he had stayed nearby and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Truthfully, she had been very reluctant to accept the assignment to keep an eye on White Ghost!

Adrian had certainly angered her yesterday, but there was another, deeper reason she couldn't quite explain...

Fortunately, that man with his endless wisecracks had enough sense not to leave outright. Otherwise, Gion would have been at a loss.

Time passed slowly. The weather grew muggy, and the air shimmered beneath the blazing sun.

Suddenly, a stir ran through the crowd near the edge of the square. Moments later, word raced across the entire plaza—

The Pirate King had arrived!

Clink, clink, clink...

The sound of metal shackles striking one another rang out. The square fell silent in an instant, and everyone turned toward the noise.

At the far end of a passage cleared by two rows of Marine soldiers, a tall man appeared. Long black hair hung loose over a scarlet pirate captain's coat.

Despite his heavy shackles, he strode forward like a victorious general returning home. The scattered, restless murmurs around him did nothing to slow his steps.

Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King, walked calmly and at ease toward the place where he would die, escorted by a group of rank-and-file Marines wielding Naginata.

Step. Step. Step.

Under the gaze of tens of thousands of onlookers in Loguetown, Roger climbed the stairs to the Execution Platform one step at a time and sat cross-legged at its center.

The proud, untouchable Pirate King lowered his head. Shadows cast by his hair hid his bright, defiant eyes, and no one could see his expression.

Just before the execution began, a hoarse voice screamed from the crowd.

"Hey, Pirate King! Where did you hide all your treasure?

"That legendary treasure! The one-of-a-kind treasure!

"ONE PIECE!!!"

Roger paused. A smile slowly spread across his lips.

His laughter began low, then grew wild and unrestrained.

In the end, his hearty, commanding laughter seemed almost powerful enough to scatter the clouds.

"Hahahaha... Want my treasure? You can have it all if you want it. Go find it! I left everything I own there..."

Boom!

The square went still for a moment, then erupted. The entire crowd surged with excitement.

"Execute him!"

Thrust!

Two unremarkable Naginata in the hands of two nameless soldiers ended the life of the legendary Pirate King just like that.

Yet the execution did nothing to quell the crowd. It only stoked the greed and ferocity lurking in their hearts, and they cheered and howled like mad.

Inside the City Hall building overlooking the square, Garp stood by a window, staring at his old friend's lifeless body on the Execution Platform. His face was solemn, serious for once.

"Even dead, you won't let anyone have a moment's peace, Roger..."

Garp could almost sense how many people Roger's final words would drive out to sea in pursuit of the legendary One Piece. After all, they were the words of the Pirate King who had conquered the Grand Line.

Vice Admiral Tsuru said evenly, "Garp, it's too soon to relax. Roger's execution went smoothly, without any interference, but you noticed it too, didn't you?"

Garp's expression shifted at once. He scratched his head and slipped back into his usual careless manner. "Ahahaha, Tsuru, what are you talking about? Huh? You're right. I'll go take a look! Rayleigh actually had the nerve to come to Loguetown..."

The Hero of the Marines burst through the window and raced toward another part of Loguetown.

"I knew it..." Vice Admiral Tsuru shook her head slightly, then turned to the three "monster brats" waiting beside her. Expectation and pride flickered in her eyes.

First, she faced the other soldiers and said sternly, "Everyone, surround all of Loguetown as planned! Right now, every 'visitor' still in town must submit to a Marine identity check. If you find any pirates, arrest them all, no matter how high or low their bounties are!"

"Yes, Vice Admiral Tsuru!" The Marines from the Loguetown base snapped to attention and saluted.

Vice Admiral Tsuru waited in silence until the lower-ranking Marines had left the building. Then she said, "Sakazuki... Dragon is yours!"

"No problem!" Sakazuki's expression was resolute, but the faint red glow of his fists betrayed how far he was from calm.

Even now, Sakazuki still did not understand why Dragon had left the Marines without a word. That would not stop him from bringing Dragon back to Marine Headquarters this time!

"Borsalino, Kuzan, the two of you will work together against Scopper Gaban. He was the Roger Pirates' third-in-command. Even with your Logia powers, you must be careful."

"Yes, Vice Admiral Tsuru!" Kuzan, still a hot-blooded young man, answered loudly. He looked ready to charge out and fight Scopper Gaban for three hundred rounds on the spot.

"Heh heh~ Now that's~ a dangerous monster~" Borsalino drawled. Even then, he was beginning to show signs of becoming a jaded Marine veteran.

The Marines' unexpected, forced inspections plunged the town into chaos.

Amid the turmoil, Adrian gazed from afar at the Execution Platform that had carried the hopes of countless people, momentarily lost in thought.

"So this was the end of a legend—and the beginning of a new era. No one could stop it..."

The panel chimed beside his ear.

Ten, nine... three, two, one!

[Open beta begins]

[Retrieving data... Data retrieval complete!]

[Player Forum unlocked]

[Open beta duration: 822 days]

[Welcome to "One Piece" Version 1.0—The Opening of the Great Age of Navigation!]

Battle of Loguetown

Rumble!

As the legend came to an end, thunder suddenly roared overhead. Ink-black clouds swept in and blotted out the sun, and rain began to pour.

Brilliant lightning snaked across the sky, illuminating the chaos that had engulfed the Town of the Beginning and the End—and the many lives unfolding within it.

Doflamingo strutted down the main street, his face twisted in arrogant delight. "Fuffuffu... This is the beginning. The new era has finally begun! Hahaha..."

Not far away, Red Nose Buggy squeezed his eyes shut and sobbed, tears and snot streaming down his face.

Beside him, Shanks stood with his head bowed beneath his straw hat. One hand held its brim while the other clutched the clothes over his chest. He bit his lip so hard he nearly drew blood.

Sharp-eyed Mihawk frowned slightly and watched the Execution Platform in silence.

In the shadows away from the crowd, Dragon stood in his Dark Green Windbreaker, resolve on his clean-shaven face. "The sea is about to—"

"Dragon! Dragon... Stay right there! I'm your father! I'm your father..."

Garp's loud, grating shouts carried through the air, though he himself was running farther away.

Dragon's mouth twitched violently. He was so embarrassed he could have dug a three-bedroom apartment into the ground with his toes.

"Sakazuki will be there any second! You'd better not run..."

Even Sakazuki, charging forward in a fury, faltered at the senior Marine's words.

Oblivious, Garp kept shouting as he ran farther away. "Rayleigh! I can see you! Once I'm done fighting you, I'm going to teach my son a lesson! Hurry up!"

"Dragon..." Sakazuki steeled himself. "I'm taking you back to Marine Headquarters!"

"Then come and try, Sakazuki!" Dragon replied stiffly, taking a fighting stance.

The battle erupted the next instant.

Garp versus Rayleigh. Sakazuki versus Dragon. Borsalino and Kuzan versus Gaban, the Roger Pirates' third-in-command. Vice Admiral Tsuru directing the bulk of the Marine forces...

Before long, Loguetown had fractured into one small battlefield after another.

With the official start of the game's open beta, Adrian also received a new mission.

[Battle of Loguetown: You took part in the Pirate King's final act. The Marines will intercept every pirate in Loguetown with a bounty on their head, while the pirates will do everything they can to break through the blockade. See what you can do.]

It was only a C-rank mission, but the system still offered three routes.

The first was to help the Marines intercept as many pirates as possible and sabotage their escape plans. Rewards would depend on his final mission rating.

The second was to help the pirates, doing the exact opposite. This route also added a new B-rank mission, Escape from Loguetown.

The third was to remain neutral and observe. It offered the smallest reward of the three: a negligible amount of experience.

"I'll watch for now and see how the fighting develops." Adrian opened his umbrella, looking remarkably relaxed amid the surrounding chaos.

"Garp in his prime against Rayleigh before old age caught up with him... What a terrifying fight. And they must both be holding back as much as they can. If they went all out, Loguetown would probably be reduced to rubble in an instant...

"Future Kizaru and Aokiji, fighting together against... who's the guy in the little sunglasses? Uh, looks like Scopper Gaban? The legendary 'left arm of the Pirate King'? His Haki is insane. He's a pure hand-to-hand fighter, and he's pushing back two Logia users...

"Akainu and Dragon are getting serious too. The Magma-Magma Fruit against the Hurricane Fruit—or so I'm guessing. Two disaster-level Logias. There's no controlling a fight like that..."

As Adrian secretly watched the battles, he suddenly sensed someone looking his way.