Now Barn and the other five were aboard a small Sailing Ship. Rayleigh knew where Roger was: Loguetown, the little town near the entrance to the Grand Line where Roger had been born, and where the two of them had first met.
For that very reason, Barn and the others had no need for a navigator. With Rayleigh guiding them and World lending his powers, the little ship sped across the sea.
Before long, they reached a bustling harbor. There were few civilians here, but plenty of Marines stationed around it. That made sense, really. This was where the Pirate King would be executed, so naturally they had deployed a large Marine force.
Golden Lion brought the little ship alongside the harbor, and all six of them disembarked. Incidentally, since Barn and the others did not want to cause a commotion before seeing Roger, each of them wore a False Nose. (Like the false nose Luffy wore when he appeared two years later.)
"Is this Loguetown?"
Leonard stepped off the ship and looked around curiously.
"Yes, this is Loguetown. It's been so long since I was last here."
Rayleigh gazed at the harbor with nostalgia. He still remembered how Roger had invited him aboard right here.
"Want to turn this world upside down with me?"
When Roger had asked him that question, he had thought it ridiculous, but he had boarded the ship anyway and become Roger's first companion.
"You did it, Roger."
Looking at the harbor, Rayleigh could not help remembering the past. Even his eyes grew moist.
Barn stepped off the ship then, too, and murmured as he faced the little town before him.
"So this is Loguetown? The town of beginnings and endings."
Rayleigh froze briefly at Barn's words, then smiled. Behind that smile, however, lay regret and reluctance to accept what was coming.
The town of beginnings and endings. Yes, a legend began here, and now its curtain would finally fall here, too?
That was what Rayleigh thought.
World, Golden Lion, and Oniwood also disembarked. Just then, a small squad of Marines approached them.
"Who are you? Why have you come to Loguetown?"
A Marine with stubble on his chin stepped forward and questioned them.
"We're here to visit a friend."
Rayleigh was the quick-witted one. He immediately stepped forward to explain, but the Marine looked suspicious.
"You all look familiar. Haven't I seen you somewhere before?"
"How could that be? This is the first time any of us have met you."
Rayleigh answered with a forced smile, while inwardly thinking otherwise.
Damn it. Have we been discovered?
Behind him, Oniwood had already placed his hand on Long Light. World grabbed a handful of pebbles, and even Barn activated his Mind's Eye, locking onto the squad of Marines.
The Marine took a stack of wanted posters from one of the men behind him and flipped through them. Rayleigh could already see wanted posters for everyone on their side among them.
"Asura" Barn, fugitive from Impel Down. Bounty: 990 million Beli.
"Golden Lion" Shiki, fugitive from Impel Down. Bounty: one billion Beli.
"World Destroyer" World, fugitive from Impel Down. Bounty: 500 million Beli.
"Ouma Toki" Oniwood, fugitive from Impel Down. Bounty: 300 million Beli.
"Ascalon" Leonard, fugitive from Impel Down. Bounty: 300 million Beli.
Barn could not see, but he sensed the atmosphere suddenly grow tense.
Oniwood had even drawn his sword, and Rayleigh felt a bead of cold sweat form on his forehead.
After carefully comparing the wanted posters with Barn and the others, the Marine spoke.
"All right, you can go. Things are chaotic around here right now, so be careful!"
Rayleigh felt another bead of cold sweat slide down his forehead...
He still didn't recognize us?
Oniwood had sheathed his sword. Barn could not see what he looked like now, but he found himself admiring Crocus's "Disguise Technique."
"Thank you, officer. We'll be careful."
The Marine nodded and turned to leave, only to suddenly turn back.
Oniwood's hand returned to his sword, and Barn tensed again.
"Your noses look so alike!"
"Huh? Oh! We're brothers! Brothers by blood! Ha ha, ha ha..."
Caught off guard, Rayleigh quickly recovered and answered.
The Marine nodded again and finally left...
Once he was gone, Rayleigh wiped the invisible sweat from his forehead...
In the East Blue, pirates and Marines alike were weak. Golden Lion and the others easily slipped into the place where the Marines held their prisoners. Roger was there.
"Is this the place?"
Golden Lion turned to Rayleigh and asked.
"Yes, it should be. This is the only place in Loguetown where prisoners are held."
Rayleigh answered quietly.
"Then let's go in. Oniwood!"
"Right!"
Oniwood nodded lightly and walked inside. Silver light flashed several times, and the Marines guarding the prison all fell to the floor.
"Oniwood!"
Sensing what had happened, Barn shouted angrily.
"I used the back of the blade."
Oniwood answered coldly, then returned to his place behind Golden Lion.
Hearing that, Barn instead "looked" at Oniwood in surprise. Oniwood's actions seemed to have caught him off guard.
With the guards dealt with, Barn and the others entered the prison. It was a prison just like Impel Down, but the conditions here were far better. At least there was no nauseating stench.
Roger was the only prisoner here. He sat cross-legged on the floor in the innermost cell, his hands secured in wooden stocks and his head lowered, seemingly lost in thought.
Barn, Golden Lion, and the others went inside and stood before Roger's cell. Barn tapped the iron bars, and Roger raised his head...
"Barn! And Rayleigh! Oh, Shiki, you came too! Are those your companions behind you?"
Excited to see them, Roger broke free of the stocks around his hands on the spot. He walked up to the front of the cell, gripped the bars, and spoke eagerly.
At the word "companions," World merely snorted. Oniwood stood behind Golden Lion without speaking. Only Leonard answered.
"Pirate King Roger, my name is Leonard. I'm a member of Mr. Barn's Guild."
"Oh, yes, I know! The Guild your young apprentice founded, Barn. It seems pretty good!"
Barn smiled and nodded. He was quite pleased with his apprentice. Then he spoke.
"Are you planning to talk to us like this? Aren't you going to let us in?"
"Oh! I forgot! Come on in. The door's unlocked!"
Roger slapped his forehead as he spoke.
"Unlocked?"
Golden Lion pushed the door in disbelief, and it really opened!
And the bars seemed to be ordinary iron, not seastone!
Golden Lion and the others entered Roger's cell and sat on the floor.
Rayleigh simply gazed at Roger with reddened eyes, saying nothing. Golden Lion sat to one side with a dark expression, with Oniwood beside him. World leaned against a corner by himself, while Leonard stayed behind Barn.
Barn sat opposite Roger, took a jug of liquor from his System Inventory, and handed it to him.
"Ha ha! It's been ages since I had a drink. Thanks, Barn."
Barn smiled without answering, but Golden Lion, whose expression had remained dark, spoke up.
He glanced at the iron door, then fiddled with the wooden stocks in his hands.
"Roger, did you really turn yourself in?"
Roger paused, but still smiled at Golden Lion as he answered.
"Heh heh, yes!"
World opened his eyes and gave Roger a puzzled look.
Golden Lion, however, did not.
"Why, Roger?!"
Roger's smile enraged Golden Lion. He roared like a lion gone mad.
"Roger! You defeated me! You're a man I respect! Why turn yourself in?! Why bow your head to the Marines?! You're the Pirate King, Roger!"
Golden Lion bellowed, his roar powerful enough to stir Roger's hair. Yet in that face twisted with emotion, a faint glimmer of tears welled up in his eyes.
He did not understand. He did not understand why Roger would do this, why the only man he respected would surrender to the Marines.
Those tears were bitter, filled with his refusal to accept it and his sorrow for Roger.
Roger's smile never faded. Still smiling, he told Golden Lion.
"I only have a month left to live, Shiki."
Golden Lion froze. He even sank to the floor, his face filled with disbelief.
Everyone present except Barn and Rayleigh looked equally disbelieving. World, Leonard, and Oniwood all studied the man known as the "Pirate King" with curiosity.
Roger continued, still smiling.
"I once told Rayleigh I was going to turn this world upside down!"
Roger looked at Rayleigh. Rayleigh smiled, his eyes growing even redder.
Of course he remembered what Roger had said to him back then.
Roger went on with a smile.
"Even though I became the Pirate King, this world is still the same. Nothing has changed. I don't have much time left, and I want to do something for the next 'New Era.'"
Roger finished those words with a smile, and Golden Lion fell into thought.
After a long while, Golden Lion raised his head and spoke to Roger.
"Why choose this place? The East Blue is the weakest sea. Ending your life here is an insult to you!"
Roger smiled and answered.
"Shiki, I'm from the East Blue."
Shiki faltered.
Yes. This man who defeated me came from the weakest sea, the East Blue.
That was what Shiki thought.
"It's the weakest sea, true. But it's also a sea full of miracles, Shiki!"
Golden Lion said nothing. He stood, walked to the cell door, and looked back.
"I'll be there to watch on the day of your execution."
With that, he left the cell. After Golden Lion left, Oniwood, World, and Leonard followed him out.
Roger had already given them more than enough shocks...
Only Roger, Rayleigh, and Barn remained in the large prison.
Barn drank a bowl of liquor and asked.
"Roger, if you do this, what about your family?"
Roger's movements stilled, and his eyes dimmed considerably. He let out a long sigh and spoke.
"I've let them down..."
Hearing Roger say that, Barn sighed inwardly as well. He set his cup on the floor, took two more jugs of liquor from his inventory, and said one thing.
"I'll take care of them for you."
Then he stood to leave, but just as he was about to step outside, Roger called him back.
"Barn, thank you."
Barn did not answer. He simply walked out.
This time, only Rayleigh and Roger remained in the prison, drinking the liquor Barn had left behind and saying what they wanted to say...
A week later, Roger was executed. In the final tens of seconds before his death, he ushered in a new era!
The Great Pirate Era!
The moment the executioners drove their blades into Roger's chest, five figures wearing large hoods beneath the Execution Platform adjusted their hoods and withdrew from the crowd.
"Let's go, Shiki."
Barn spoke without looking back, but silently said one thing in his heart.
Farewell, Roger.