Noland the Liar

"Monkey D., huh..."

Sakazuki's thoughtful voice rang out.

Then he dismissed the matter.

He nodded, letting him deal with the remaining pirates himself.

Meeting the man who would one day lead a rebellion stirred no particular feelings in him.

Right now, Dragon was simply a talented young man. His father was Garp, after all.

His talent and strength were well above those of his peers.

Beyond that, he was a competent Marine soldier, with nothing special about him apart from his impressive background.

With Dragon joining the fight, the Marines crushed their opposition. Dragon directed everyone as they cleared the battlefield and gathered the wounded.

Sakazuki's warship finally arrived, too, and he headed toward it.

Dragon was just about to approach when he saw Sakazuki's retreating back and the hand he raised in a wave.

Then Sakazuki boarded the warship.

Half a year later...

In the waters around Jaya, a warship heading toward the island spotted something.

"What's that? A pirate ship?"

"There's so much debris."

"It's all rotted. It must have been in the sea for years."

"Should we salvage some of it and take a look?"

"There's a little boat over there. Looks like someone's on it."

The soldiers aboard the ship discussed the pile of pirate ship wreckage in the waters ahead.

The wreckage was extremely old. It looked as though it had been there for many years.

"Vice Admiral Sakazuki, we've spotted shipwreck debris ahead. Should we salvage it?"

"Go take a look."

"Yes, sir!"

As the warship approached, a small figure underwater spotted the enormous shadow drawing closer.

Carefully covering his mouth, he swam upward, making his way beneath the little boat.

He poked his head out just far enough to take a breath, then quietly peered toward the approaching giant ship.

Seeing that it was a Marine warship, he let out a long breath of relief.

Then he hid behind the little boat, waiting for the warship to leave.

Sakazuki had sensed the little boy when he swam toward the surface.

He glanced over and paid him no further attention. The soldiers aboard the warship took ropes into the water one after another, tying them around pieces of wreckage and crates.

The adjutant examined and compared some of the salvaged wreckage, then picked up a flag and said:

"These ships must be from at least a hundred and seventy years ago. This flag belonged to the Derick Kingdom, which fell a hundred and seventy years ago."

"After the Derick Kingdom fell, it split into two countries. Both retained much of Derick's heritage, and even their flags closely resemble the Derick Kingdom's."

"They're the Land of Endless War and the Gartzberg Kingdom."

"The two countries have been fighting ever since, with no contact with the outside world."

"Since they're constantly at war, very few people visit those war-torn countries."

"This ship was probably launched into the sky by the Knock Up Stream here at Jaya."

"It drifted around the White Sea for who knows how many years before falling back down for some reason."

Just then, a soldier surfaced, holding up a gold artifact and shouting excitedly:

"We found gold!"

"Whoa!!!!!!"

"It really is!!!"

"That's a huge piece!!!"

"Get me a rope!!!!"

"Hahahaha!!!!"

The boy hiding behind the little boat stared at the gold artifact, frozen in shock, and murmured:

"There's no mistake..."

"There's no mistake..."

"My ancestor didn't lie! It was real!!!!"

"!!!!!!!"

Several times, he nearly rushed out, but reason held him back. He stared at the gold artifact, unwilling to let it go.

Sakazuki noticed the little boy's unusual reaction.

And the cause of it was the gold artifact the soldier had just handed him.

Sakazuki looked in his direction and said:

"Come out, kid."

"Stop looking around. There's no one else there."

"I mean you, behind the little boat."

Only then did the little boy emerge from behind the boat, looking somewhat frightened.

Everyone aboard turned to look at him, and for a moment, the boy froze.

Sakazuki waved the gold artifact in his hand and spoke to the boy:

"You seem to recognize this."

"Care to tell us about it?"

"S-sure!"

The boy seemed to suddenly snap out of his daze and stammered a reply.

Sakazuki felt a little helpless. Was he really that frightening?

Then he nodded to one of the soldiers.

Using Geppo, the soldier reached the little boat in a few steps, scooped up the boy, and returned to the warship.

The boy was still somewhat frightened.

Sakazuki handed him the gold artifact. Once the boy took it, his anxious heart settled considerably.

He took a deep breath and began telling everyone about the artifact's origins.

"I've seen this in my family's records. Based on the patterns on it and my ancestor's description in those records..."

"This is a plate the Shandia of Jaya used in their rituals four hundred years ago."

"What!!!"

"Four hundred years ago?"

"That's incredible!"

"Gasp!"

The surrounding soldiers kept exclaiming in surprise. The adjutant's interest was piqued, and he asked:

"Could you tell us your ancestor's name?"

"My ancestor's name was..."

"Mont Blanc Noland..."

Some of the soldiers from the North Blue found the name familiar, but they couldn't immediately remember where they had heard it.

"Why does that sound so familiar?"

"Where have I heard it before?"

"You feel that way too?"

"Who was he?"

"Ah, let me think!"

The thoughtful adjutant seemed to remember something and said:

"Your ancestor was Noland the Liar from the North Blue legend, wasn't he?"

"Gasp!"

"Right! It was Noland!!!"

"No wonder it sounded so familiar."

"Yeah, I heard stories about him all the time as a kid."

"You too? Hahahaha."

Listening to the chatter around him, the little boy glared angrily at the soldiers and shouted:

"No, he wasn't!"

"My ancestor wasn't a liar!"

"He would never deceive anyone!"

"This proves it!"

"My ancestor was falsely accused!!!!!!!"

Tears glimmered faintly in his reddened eyes.

His flushed little face was filled with anger.

The object in his hands was only the beginning.

He would prove it.

His ancestor.

Had! Not! Lied!!!

Even if it took his whole life, he would prove it!!!!

The soldiers' voices abruptly stopped.

Embarrassment spread across their faces.

They didn't know what to do.

Nor did they understand why the little boy was so angry.

A large hand settled on the boy's head, and he was just about to push it away.

A deep voice rang out, affirming his words:

"I believe you."

The boy froze beneath that large hand.

Tears welled up in his eyes unbidden, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't hold them back.

"Waaah!!"

"Waaah, aaaaah!!!!!!"