Nero stood where he was, watching Gogoya and the others disappear into the distance.
His expression remained completely calm.
“I’ve been followed all this way.
Shouldn’t you come out and meet me?”
He continued looking in the direction Gogoya’s group had left as he spoke.
Even he didn’t know exactly who he was addressing.
A moment later, a figure stepped out from the shadows behind a nearby building.
The man wore a cloak and had a distinctive tattoo on his face that resembled the sole of a shoe.
His gaze was firm and steady, carrying a natural authority without any need for anger or intimidation.
Even Nero could sense the powerful presence emanating from him.
“Quite an impressive young man,” the man said.
“Would you like to find somewhere and have a chat?”
Nero simply smiled.
He neither answered nor refused.
The two began walking side by side.
Neither spoke.
Nero knew exactly who the man beside him was, as well as the status he held.
Before long, they arrived at the shoreline.
As waves crashed against the rocks, both men stopped near the water’s edge.
“King of the Tru Kingdom,” the man asked calmly, “what brings you to the East Blue?”
Nero smiled.
“The leader of the Revolutionary Army is here too, isn’t he?”
He looked at the man beside him.
“Whether our reasons are the same is another matter.
I simply came to see the sights.
As for you, I wonder what your purpose is.”
The man’s expression froze briefly before returning to normal.
At the same time, his vigilance increased considerably.
“You know who I am?”
“Of course.”
Nero nodded.
“I know far more than you imagine.”
“Still, I didn’t expect to meet you here at a time like this.
That was quite unexpected.”
Facing the sea, Nero remained completely composed.
The man standing beside him was none other than Monkey D.
Dragon, the leader of the Revolutionary Army.
The moment Nero saw the distinctive tattoo on Dragon’s face, he had already recognized him.
After all, there was only one person in the world with that mark.
Although surprised, Nero wasn’t particularly shocked.
He knew that the current Dragon was not yet the figure he would become in the future.
Even so, his strength was undoubtedly terrifying.
Dragon looked out across the sea.
The boy standing beside him had completely confused him.
Very few people in the world even knew the Revolutionary Army existed.
Yet this young king had identified him immediately.
“King Nero,” Dragon asked, “what do you think of the Revolutionary Army?”
“Nothing special.”
Nero answered directly.
“It’s an organization that talks endlessly about ideals but struggles to accomplish anything significant.”
“In the end, those ideals are often built upon the suffering of others.”
He was judging the Revolutionary Army based on what he knew from the future.
To him, that assessment wasn’t far from the truth.
Dragon remained calm.
“Are you sure it’s wise to say that in front of me?”
He looked directly at Nero.
“The Revolutionary Army has its mission.”
“The world is ruled by pirates while the Marines fail to stop the chaos.”
“I want to create a world where people no longer have to live in turmoil.”
His tone carried genuine conviction.
“Mr.
Dragon.”
Nero smiled.
“You’ve never even visited my country.”
“The Tru Kingdom isn’t what you imagine.”
“I don’t dislike the Revolutionary Army.”
“At the same time, I have no interest in joining it.”
He paused briefly.
“Besides, you’ve followed me ever since Reverse Mountain.”
“Surely you didn’t do all that just to have a casual conversation?”
“If possible,” Dragon said, “I hope your kingdom can become a friend of the Revolutionary Army.”
Nero almost laughed.
Dragon’s ideals struck him as overly naive.
Still, he didn’t feel strongly about it.
“Mr.
Dragon, I suggest you focus your efforts on the East Blue and North Blue.”
“As for the South Blue, there’s no need to waste your time there.”
He rejected the proposal without hesitation.
Dragon wasn’t offended.
Instead, he studied the young king with growing curiosity.
A fifteen- or sixteen-year-old who already possessed such strength and composure was truly remarkable.
If someone like that could eventually be brought into the Revolutionary Army, he would become a tremendous asset.
Nero had no desire to continue the conversation.
He gave Dragon one last glance before turning away.
Soon his figure disappeared around a street corner.
Dragon remained standing by the sea.
Several figures appeared beside him.
“Why did you let that kid leave?”
The speaker was a man whose enormous face seemed completely disproportionate to his body.
If Nero had still been there, he would have recognized him immediately.
Emporio Ivankov.
The future ruler of the Kamabakka Kingdom and a powerful Devil Fruit user.
The others standing nearby were also among the Revolutionary Army’s earliest members.
All of them would become famous figures in the future.
Everyone turned their attention to Dragon.
They had only discovered Nero by chance.
After investigating, they learned he was the king of the South Blue’s Tru Kingdom.
The fact that a king possessed such strength had surprised them all.
Dragon remained silent for a while, staring at the restless sea.
Finally, he spoke.
“We couldn’t keep him.”
The answer stunned everyone present.
Dragon’s own strength was already among the greatest in the world.
Yet he had just admitted that he couldn’t confidently stop a teenager.
Nero, however, was already gone.
As he walked through the streets of Loguetown, he continued thinking about the tattoo on Dragon’s face.
Although they had only exchanged a few words, he could clearly sense the pressure Dragon carried.
The streets were unusually quiet.
Most of the town’s residents had rushed toward the harbor after hearing about the conflict between the National Guard and the pirates.
Before long, Nero arrived at the execution platform.
The structure was made entirely of iron.
It stood roughly five or six meters tall, with enough space for only a few people at the top.
A spiral staircase wound its way upward.
In front of it stretched Loguetown’s central square.
Nero stood alone in the middle of the plaza and gazed at the platform.
It felt as though he could see Roger’s final moments.
The sky was bright and clear.
Loguetown was known as the Town of the Beginning and the End.
Roger had begun his journey here.
And he had died here as well.
As the Pirate King, he left behind a legend that changed the entire world.
While Nero stood silently in the square, two Marine officers observed him from the rooftop of a nearby three-story building.
Both wore Marine uniforms and watched him carefully.
At that moment, Nero appeared somewhat slender, but his expression remained completely relaxed.
“Colonel Kakuku,” one of them said, “King Nero has caused quite a disturbance.
Are we really going to ignore it?”
The man leaning against the railing yawned.
“Yulu, how many times do I have to tell you?”
“We handle what we should handle.”
“And we ignore what we shouldn’t.”
He glanced toward the harbor.
“Pirates have overrun Loguetown these past few years.”
“This may be the East Blue Marine Base, but we’re severely understaffed.”
“If someone else is willing to clean up the pirates for us, why would I complain?”
Despite his casual attitude, Kakuku remained curious about Nero.
A king from a South Blue nation traveling all the way to Loguetown simply to see Roger’s execution platform was unusual.
He had never seen anything like it.
“Colonel Kakuku, do you think King Nero has another objective?” Yulu asked.
“Should we investigate him?”
“If you want to, go ahead.”
Kakuku waved dismissively.
“I don’t have that kind of free time.”
“Besides, after someone cleans up the pirates for us, I’d rather enjoy a peaceful rest.”
With that, he turned and left.
He clearly had no intention of involving himself further.
Back at the harbor, pirates covered the ground.
The guards held stacks of bounty posters and carefully matched each pirate with his wanted notice.
Anyone with a bounty was tied up immediately.
Some had their bounty posters pasted directly onto their bodies.
The guards eventually split into several groups.
Even some crew members who had remained aboard the National joined in.
Others boarded the captured pirate ships and began looting them thoroughly.
Their behavior resembled that of actual pirates.
Anything valuable was taken.
The dozen pirate ships yielded a considerable amount of treasure.
Combined with the captured pirates’ bounties, the total value reached tens of millions of Baileys.
For the guards, this voyage had been incredibly rewarding.
Not only had they grown stronger, but they had also gained valuable combat experience.
As for Loguetown itself, there wasn’t much to see.
Most of the town catered directly to sailors and pirates.
The prosperity surrounding the square was proof enough that piracy had become deeply intertwined with the town’s economy.
After standing in the square for nearly half an hour, Nero finally began walking again.
In his mind, he had already fulfilled one small wish.
After all, he could technically claim to have “spoken” with the Pirate King.
Roger was dead, of course.
But a conversation through history and memory still counted for something.
Normally, the square would have been the busiest place in town.
Today, however, it stood nearly empty.
Almost everyone had gathered at the harbor.
Some watched with excitement.
Others watched with despair.
Meanwhile, more than fifty captured pirates were tied together and marched through town under the escort of several guards.
A large crowd followed behind them.
Everyone wanted to see the spectacle.
Ever since Roger’s execution, pirates had flooded Loguetown.
But never before had there been a confrontation on this scale.
For many residents, it was the most exciting event the town had seen in years.