Loguetown, central plaza.
To publicly execute the Pirate King, Gol D.
Roger, and strike fear into the pirates of the seas, the World Government and the Marines had built a special execution platform in the town’s central plaza, ensuring that Roger’s death could be seen from every corner.
The sky had only just begun to brighten, yet the plaza was already packed with spectators from all four seas and the Grand Line.
Among the crowd, Seven stood expressionless beside Mihawk.
Excitement stirred in his chest at the thought of finally activating his system, but the knowledge that Captain Roger was about to depart forever left his heart heavy.
Six years ago, Seven had been selling three-colored fish balls from a stall in his hometown of Suna Town when a group of thugs smashed his stand to pieces.
After enduring punches and kicks from five of them, Seven had lunged at the ringleader with a knife, finally scaring the gang away.
As he cleaned up the wreckage of his stall alone, a large hand had suddenly reached out.
“Kid, your fish balls aren’t bad.”
“Come aboard my ship.”
At that moment, Roger’s towering figure blocked out the blazing sun, a halo of light hanging behind his head.
Seven stood frozen for a long while, unable to recover.
It was not because he had been overwhelmed by Captain Roger’s charisma.
It was because his transmigrator benefits had finally arrived.
[Ding.
Multiversal Trading Platform successfully bound.
Please complete the prerequisites to activate the system.]
From that day on, Beelzebub Seven officially became a cook aboard the Roger Pirates.
He fought alongside the crew through dozens of battles, large and small, including the Battle of Edd War and their clash with the Whitebeard Pirates.
After that, they reached Skypiea, Fish-Man Island, Wano Country, Zou…
And finally, the last island, Laugh Tale.
It was during that journey that Seven gathered the items required to activate his system.
Captain Roger’s straw hat—the very same one that would later be passed to Shanks, then given by Shanks to Luffy—had been swapped out by Seven with a convincing fake and submitted to the system.
Whitebeard’s mustache had been exchanged for homemade fine liquor.
As for Blackbeard Teach’s teeth, Buggy had kicked three of them out, and Seven had secretly picked up two.
Over six years of travel, although his personal strength had remained lacking, Seven had done quite well for himself among the Roger Pirates.
Anyone who had spent time at sea knew that no one should offend the cook.
Once a cook was angered, even if they did not poison the food, they could very easily make every meal taste absolutely awful.
Unfortunately, just as all banquets must eventually end, every journey had its final destination.
A stir suddenly passed through the crowd.
Escorted by two soldiers, Captain Roger appeared.
Seven’s fingertips dug into his palms, and his entire body went rigid.
Only as he watched Captain Roger climb the execution platform step by step did his breathing slowly return to normal.
He respected Captain Roger’s choice.
This was a game against the World Government.
The World Government and the Marines intended to use the public execution of the Pirate King to intimidate the pirates of the world while displaying the Marines’ authority.
As for the result, one could not say it was completely useless.
One could only say—
Captain Roger’s final words about the great treasure were rapidly spread across the entire world by the eyewitnesses present, ultimately giving birth to the Great Pirate Era.
In pursuit of the great treasure, pirates and refugees alike set out to sea, and the age became even more turbulent than before.
During the Great Pirate Era, the Four Emperors of the sea would rise one after another, successfully drawing the World Government’s attention and giving the Revolutionary Army enough time to develop.
This was the great trend that followed an age of crushing oppression.
Some also said Roger had done it deliberately because Imu’s black-turn domination could only be carried out in the target’s homeland.
That was why Roger spoke of the great treasure, luring people away from their hometowns and out to sea on adventures, severing the possibility of that domination.
Whether they went to sea for freedom, to find the great treasure, to gather Poneglyphs, or to uncover the truth of the Void Century that had been buried away, all of it would ultimately lead to one thing:
The final decisive war.
As for whether the dragon slayer would become the dragon, that would depend on who the true victor was in the end.
Still, Seven believed that no matter which side won the final battle, class could never be eliminated.
Because that was human nature.
There would always be people who took pride in standing above others.
Just as everyone hated the Celestial Dragons, everyone also wanted to become a Celestial Dragon.
Because what people despised was not privilege itself, but the fact that the person enjoying that privilege… was not them.
Seven let out a turbid breath and stared expressionlessly at the execution platform.
Then Captain Roger’s gaze swept over him, and Seven’s eyes curved with a smile.
His lips moved, but no sound came out.
“Sayonara, Captain.”
What a shame.
He had never managed to learn Captain Roger’s Divine Departure, Ara Mitama, or Hinokagutsuchi…
Especially the latter two techniques.
From this day onward, their inheritance would be lost.
In the future, across the entire sea, only that guy Shanks would be able to casually swing his blade and unleash Divine Departure.
Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, Seven noticed Moria nearby, his body strong and robust, his face overflowing with confidence.
“After this, that guy won’t be able to smile anymore.”
One year later, a pirate uprising would erupt in Wano Country.
The Beasts Pirates and the Moria Pirates would clash in Ringo, and Moria would suffer a crushing defeat, losing all of his companions.
When fleeing Wano, Moria would rob the grave of Shimotsuki Ryuma and take both his corpse and the famous sword Shusui.
From then on, his spirit would be gone.
The power system of the One Piece world relied heavily on one’s spirit.
Once that spirit was lost, one’s strength would decline with it.
Moria, after being defeated by Kaido, and Chinjao, whose once pointed head had been flattened by Garp, were both examples of people whose strength had dropped sharply after losing their fighting spirit.
“Hey, Pirate King!”
From the crowd, a man who looked oddly like Garp cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, “You got your hands on that legendary great treasure, didn’t you?”
“That one-of-a-kind treasure!”
“The One Piece!”
On the execution platform, Roger sat cross-legged, showing not the slightest fear of death.
He looked exactly as he had when casually chatting with his crew on the deck.
“Wahahahaha!”
“My treasure?”
“If you want it, go and take it!
Go look for it!
I left all my treasure there!”
“Shut up!”
The two soldiers hurriedly carried out the execution.
The sky, which had been blazing bright only moments ago, was instantly covered in dark clouds.
Then raindrops the size of beans poured down in sheets.
The crowd from all over the world filled Loguetown’s plaza, yet not a single person showed any sign of taking shelter from the rain.
Instead, after hearing the news of the great treasure, cheers and laughter rang out endlessly.
Beneath the curtain of rain, Buggy cried so hard his body shook, as if terrified that people might not know he had a connection to Roger.
Not far away, Shanks wore the straw hat Seven had bought for Roger.
On his still-youthful face, his features twisted with grief, tears already breaking through like a flood.
Seven reached up and wiped his face at random.
For some reason, the rain today tasted saltier and more bitter than usual.
Three fifteen-year-old boys used their own ways to send off their captain.
[Ding.
Multiversal Trading Platform activated.]
[Ding.
Congratulations.
You have received a beginner’s gift package.]
Seven drew in a deep breath and lifted his head, letting the rain strike his face and wash away the sorrow there.
From this moment on, he would bid farewell to his frail, powerless self.
From this moment on, he would never again allow anyone to raise their voice at him.
“Let’s go.
Someone has their eye on you.”
“Oh.
All right.”