Hearing these words, countless people felt a wave of relief wash over their entire bodies.
But of course, there were also those who felt dissatisfied.
"Tch..."
"It actually just ended like this. I haven't even slaughtered to my heart's content yet!!!"
Gripping the wolf-toothed club in his hand, Kaido suddenly exerted force. After taking a fierce gulp from the wine gourd, it instantly shattered.
His reaction immediately drew the attention of everyone present.
Countless gazes turned toward him.
Orin, the Shichibukai, Roger, Rayleigh, Shanks, Sengoku, Garp...
Cold sweat instantly poured down.
Alright, it actually seems like there was plenty of slaughter already...
After thinking for a moment, he finally calmed down, reverted from his dragon-man form back to normal, and walked to a spot not far from Orin.
His eyes burned as he stared straight at him.
"Hey!!! Orin!!!"
"What you said before wasn't a lie, right!!!"
Orin's gaze slammed straight back at him, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
"Yeah, that's right. You're looking forward to it, aren't you? This world will welcome a war even more terrifying than this Summit War. That day won't be too far away!!!"
"Worororororo!!!!"
Kaido threw his head back and laughed loudly, wearing a satisfied grin.
"Interesting. I'll be waiting for the day you're talking about!!!"
After saying that, his entire body began to transform into a massive azure dragon, flying up toward the clouds in the sky.
"..."
"Orin, I'm getting ready to leave as well."
Just as Orin watched the giant dragon disappear into the clouds, a figure arrived at his side.
"Captain Roger?"
The one who came was the elderly Roger. At this moment, together with Rayleigh, the two white-haired old men stood before Orin.
"You really grew into a proper man!!! Orin!!!"
Roger looked at Orin's height of over three meters and his mature, handsome face, feeling deeply gratified.
"After all, it's been over twenty years since we last met... But Captain Roger, you should understand, right? This method can't let you remain in the world for long."
The awakened form of the Bake-danuki Fruit did indeed have the ability to perfectly recreate the strength of the person drawn, one to one, and temporarily pull their soul back.
But this wasn't permanent. Even with Orin's power as the user, he couldn't fundamentally overturn this kind of rule-based power.
At most, it could probably last another ten days or half a month.
"That's enough. Let me use these remaining days to take one last look at this sea... and those two, mother and son."
Already an old man, Roger's eyes were filled with reminiscence.
Right now, he looked less like the Pirate King and more like an old man—an old man whose eyes held nothing but memories.
"What? Not clamoring to go see Shakky anymore?"
Rayleigh teased at this moment.
Back then, Roger had nearly fallen out with him over Shakky. Rayleigh still remembered that even in his old age.
"Shakky?"
Hearing that name, Roger instantly recalled his youth, the world's most beautiful woman he had once been madly infatuated with.
Thinking about it now, it was nothing more than the reckless passion of youth.
She was his white moonlight, but ultimately not his destination.
"No... The current me doesn't have the mind to fight you for her anymore, Rayleigh."
Roger grinned broadly.
"The current me already has my own family!!!"
Rayleigh had only been joking anyway. Hearing this, he laughed heartily a few times.
"In that case, I'll spend these last few days together with you. I want to see what kind of lady could ultimately become the Pirate King's wife."
This actually surprised Orin a little.
"I thought Rayleigh-san, you would go look for Luffy."
"Well... there's no rush for that."
Rayleigh smiled and offered a brief explanation, but Roger grew curious.
"Who's Luffy?"
"He's the little guy wearing the straw hat you gave to Shanks—the man who inherited your will."
"Is that so..."
Hearing this, Roger merely smiled.
After all, things like will and dreams no longer had much to do with him, a man who was already "dead."
At this moment, Shanks also walked over.
He had actually noticed Captain Roger's presence long ago, but never dared to come over.
Now that he saw Captain Roger was about to leave, he finally couldn't hold back.
"Shanks!!!"
Looking at the mature, scruffy man in front of him, Roger laughed loudly for a while.
"Even though you look a lot more mature, you're still just a brat at heart. Still love challenging Orin like before. Remember back then..."
Just as Shanks was about to get emotional, tears already welling up as he prepared to reminisce, he suddenly heard this and hurriedly coughed a few times.
"Cough, cough... Captain Roger, safe travels."
"Safe travels my ass!!! What about me, Shanks, you bastard!!!"
Buggy also squeezed over at this moment.
The members of the Roger Pirates gathered together. After more than twenty years, seeing each other again was deeply moving.
But there would always come a time for farewell.
"Then... we'll be leaving first, Orin, Shanks, and Buggy!!!"
"Oh, right—if you run into Bullet in the future, help me pass along a message to him!!!"
Orin was stunned, then immediately heard Roger's booming laughter.
"Tell him that the goal of becoming the world's strongest is no longer me. Tell him to come find you instead, Orin!!!"
"What?!!!"
The corner of Orin's mouth twitched slightly.
He watched as the two old men hoisted a young man who had already lost consciousness onto their shoulders, boarded a surviving small pirate boat, and sailed away.
At this moment, the three brothers, due to the intense battles, Akainu's relentless pursuit, and Orin's final move that sent Conqueror's Haki across the seas, had all already been lulled into sleep.
The elderly Roger and Rayleigh now set sail together, carrying the unconscious young man Ace, heading toward the East Blue.
"Ga—"
"Click."
Under the setting sun, this scene was frozen into a photograph.
In the photograph, Rayleigh was talking with Roger about what had happened over the years, while Ace slept soundly beside them.
They drifted on like this, all the way toward the horizon.
Just like when they first set out to sea,
Back then, two young men in a single small boat embarked on a journey at the drop of a hat.
And today, the two of them once again sat together in a small boat, sailing toward the end of the story.
The only difference was that the two young men had become two old men, with an extra son added.
Watching the small boat that was about to disappear from view, the three former apprentices felt an inexplicable sense of emotion.
Buggy was in tears, Shanks lowered his head and wept silently.
Only Orin, though his eyes were filled with tears, still waved with all his strength and shouted loudly,
"Hey!!! Captain Roger, when I first boarded the ship, I promised to turn the world upside down—I did it!!!"
Hearing this, the two old men burst into heartfelt laughter.
They waved back at Orin,
And headed toward the end that belonged to their legend.