Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
Heartbeats rang in everyone's ears.
They heard their own heartbeats, and those of others.
Amid the crowd.
The Dragon Emperor Pirates stood out brilliantly.
The sight of Shane standing atop a Celestial Dragon's corpse seemed destined to be etched into their memories like a memory of creation itself.
Stussy, a woman of big-sister stature, stared at the scene.
Her beautiful eyes seemed about to split, filled with bloodshot veins, and her lovely dress was stained with quite a bit of blood.
"This guy is even crazier than Rocks!"
Rocks had never been this wild at Shane's age.
During the final battle at God Valley, she had decisively fled, slipping away aboard a Marine Battleship.
But from several people she met afterward, she had learned of Rocks's ramblings before his death.
If Roger's death in later years ushered in the Great Pirate Era, and Whitebeard fanned its flames.
Then.
Rocks's death had opened an era of soaring ambition for Roger and Whitebeard!
Whatever they yearned for, from the day Rocks died at God Valley.
The great waves of the era had been pushing them toward the summit!
Whitebeard had originally wanted nothing more than a family, yet what he ultimately protected were islands across the New World.
Roger loved only adventure and freedom, yet he was seen as the pinnacle of pirates, the man who possessed everything!
There were things you did not want to do, but had no choice but to do.
Or things you had never done, but everyone else believed you already had!
"I almost thought my eyes were playing tricks on me."
Stussy's heartbeat quickened. For a moment, she had wondered whether Shane was Rocks returned from the dead.
But she quickly reminded herself that Rocks preferred combining strength with strategy.
"Maybe Shane's future