The massive execution square in the center of Loguetown was teeming with people. Standing solitary and imposing in the very middle of the plaza was the wooden execution platform. The vast majority of the crowd milling around were tourists, curious sightseers who had traveled here specifically to view the final resting place of the legendary Pirate King.
Looking at the structure, Bardock was highly skeptical. He seriously doubted this was the original platform that had been used to execute Roger a decade ago. It was a simple wooden scaffold exposed entirely to the elements; considering the constant ocean winds and rain, it would have rotted away years ago if it were the original. It was likely a replica built for tourism.
Kid stared at the platform from various angles before letting out a disappointed sigh. "It looks completely ordinary."
In his mind, the final stage where the absolute greatest pirate in history met his end should have been significantly grander or possessed some kind of uniquely terrifying aura. He was deeply let down.
"I know, right? I can't believe the Pirate King's life ended on a bunch of cheap wooden planks," Perona pouted, twirling her parasol. She had also held incredibly high expectations. If it had been constructed out of ominous black stone or something, she would have felt slightly better about it.
"You guys don't understand," Bardock chuckled, shaking his head. "The physical platform isn't the point. The point is the words the Pirate King spoke while standing up there. 'One Piece.''The great treasure that connects everything.' Because of those few words, countless millions of people set sail into the unknown. This unremarkable wooden stage is the literal birthplace of the Great Pirate Era."
"I read that Roger actually died smiling. Is that true?" Robin asked softly.
"Yeah. Thousands of people personally witnessed it," Bardock nodded, looking up at the platform. "Although he likely had a few lingering regrets, his life was undeniably spectacular. And right before he died, he successfully accomplished the exact goal he set out with when he first became a pirate: he turned the entire world completely upside down."
Bardock paused for a moment, a knowing smile crossing his face. "Do you guys know what kind of massive figures were standing in this exact crowd watching his execution ten years ago?"
"Massive figures?!"
The crew's curiosity instantly spiked. They eagerly began guessing names of famous people they knew, and surprisingly, they actually managed to guess a few correctly.
"You got a few of them," Bardock nodded. "The young rookies who stood in this very square ten years ago have grown to become the heavyweights who currently dictate the era.
"Several of the current Seven Warlords were here: Gecko Moria, Crocodile, and 'Hawk-Eyes' Dracule Mihawk. Supreme Commander Monkey D. Dragon of the Revolutionary Army was also standing right here in the crowd.
"Furthermore, 'Red-Haired' Shanks, who is currently making massive waves in the New World, was here. The 'Heavenly Yaksha', Donquixote Doflamingo of the North Blue, was also present. And finally, there was a man who appears completely unimpressive on the surface, but somehow constantly manages to achieve the impossible: Buggy the Clown."
The crew nodded in awe at the staggering list of names—though they drew a complete blank at 'Buggy the Clown'. They had absolutely never heard of him.
Someday, when they finally witnessed Buggy's terrifyingly omnipotent 'Conqueror's Luck', they would truly understand why Bardock held him in such high regard.
BZZT!
A flash of lightning abruptly illuminated the square. Enel vanished from their side and instantly reappeared at the very top of the execution platform, looking down at the massive crowd below with absolute arrogance.
"Hey! I'm the Captain! Why do you get to go up first?!"
Bardock immediately executed several rapid bursts of Geppo (Moonwalk), propelling himself through the air and landing smoothly on the platform next to Enel.
He walked to the very edge, looking out over the sea of people. 'So this is the view Roger saw in his final moments.'
Down below, Robin sighed and gently massaged her temples. "Honestly... I know we aren't actively trying to hide our movements anymore, but this is far too high-profile."
She already knew their voyage through the East Blue was not going to be peaceful.
Sure enough, it didn't take long for the massive crowd of tourists to notice the two men casually standing on top of the sacred execution platform. A frantic buzz rapidly swept through the square.
"Whoa! How did they get up there?! I wanted to take a picture up there!" "Those two don't look like normal tourists. We should get out of here. It feels like something bad is going to happen." "Someone go get the town patrol!" "What's going on?! Are they pirates?!" "..."
A few minutes later, several local patrol officers rushed through the crowd. One of them raised a megaphone and yelled aggressively, "Hey! You two up there! How did you get up there?! Come down immediately!"
Enel naturally completely ignored the shouting mortal. Bardock was too busy trying to empathize with Roger's final state of mind to pay them any attention.
Seeing that they were being completely ignored, the patrolman yelled even louder, "If you do not come down right now, we will be forced to take action!"
The 'action' they were threatening was simply calling the local Marine Branch for backup. The patrolmen were glorified mall cops who maintained basic crowd control; they didn't even carry firearms.
"Hmph!"
Annoyed by the buzzing noise, Enel raised his hand, his fingers curling slightly. Anyone who knew him instantly recognized the preparatory stance for his devastating El Thor.
Bardock quickly reached out and firmly grabbed Enel's wrist. "Forget it. There's absolutely no need to kill a bunch of mall cops. Let's go."
With a light leap, Bardock casually jumped off the towering platform, utilizing Geppo to land softly directly next to Robin.
Losing interest, Enel simply dissolved into a flash of lightning and instantly reappeared beside them.
"Hey! You can't just—!"
The patrolman with the megaphone rushed forward, fully intending to angrily interrogate them, but his fellow officers violently tackled him from behind, desperately dragging him back.
"Shut up, you idiot!" "Are you blind?! Did you see how they moved?! They're absolute monsters! We can't mess with them!" "Do you want to get us all killed?!"
Ignoring the bickering officers, Bardock and his crew casually strolled out of the square and continued exploring the town.
Ten minutes later, a squad of heavily armed Marine soldiers finally sprinted into the square. They aggressively scoured the crowd but found absolutely nothing out of the ordinary.
The squad leader, a Marine Master Chief Petty Officer, walked over to the patrolmen who were still arguing near the platform. "Where are the troublemakers?"
The patrolmen stopped arguing and nervously recounted everything they had witnessed.
"So, they've already escaped," the Master Chief sighed heavily, annoyed that he had wasted the trip.
"Y-Yes, sir! They moved impossibly fast! We couldn't even see how they did it!" one of the patrolmen stammered. "Especially the guy with the drums on his back! He literally vanished in a flash of light!"
"Wait. A guy with drums on his back?" The Master Chief froze, a chilling sense of déjà vu washing over him. "Describe exactly what those two men looked like! Every detail!"
"Uh, well, there were two of them up there. One guy had a weird, ring-shaped thing with four small drums attached to his back. He looked incredibly arrogant, like he was looking down on everyone," the patrolman described frantically. "The other guy looked a lot friendlier, but he definitely seemed to be the leader of the group..."
As the patrolmen continued to accurately describe Bardock and Enel's physical appearances and clothing based on their brief impressions, they completely failed to notice that the Marine Master Chief's legs had turned to jelly. A cold sweat was profusely pouring down his forehead.
The Master Chief only had one single thought frantically echoing in his mind: 'Thank God I was late!'
Ever since Bardock's crew had mysteriously vanished after cleaning up the corrupt South Blue branch, Marine Headquarters had strongly suspected they were still hiding somewhere in the Four Blues. Consequently, Headquarters had officially distributed their highly classified intelligence dossier to every single Marine Branch in the four seas.
There was one specific, highlighted directive in that dossier that had permanently burned itself into the Master Chief's memory: DO NOT ENGAGE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. OBSERVE AND IMMEDIATELY NOTIFY HEADQUARTERS.
What did that specific wording mean? It meant that in the eyes of the absolute highest authorities at Marine Headquarters, standard local Marine Branches were considered entirely incapable of surviving an encounter with this crew.
Although the Master Chief didn't fully comprehend the terrifying, geopolitical weight of a crew consisting almost entirely of Devil Fruit users, he absolutely trusted Headquarters' judgment.
"This is bad! I have to notify the Base Commander immediately so he can contact Headquarters!"
Without another word, the Master Chief turned around and sprinted back toward the Marine Base as if his life depended on it.
Marine Headquarters, Fleet Admiral's Office.
Ever since Sengoku had officially been promoted to Fleet Admiral, his workload had multiplied exponentially. However, because this had been his lifelong dream, he bore the crushing administrative burden willingly.
Honestly, his job would be infinitely more manageable if the incredibly annoying idiot currently sitting on his couch would just go away.
CRUNCH. CRUNCH.
Vice Admiral Garp was loudly and obnoxiously chewing Sengoku's personal stash of rice crackers, acting completely oblivious to his surroundings.
Garp had barged into the office specifically to request vacation time. It had been a while since he had returned to the East Blue to visit his grandson, and he was getting worried about Luffy.
However, that bastard Sengoku had flat-out denied his vacation request! In retaliation, Garp had silently resolved to eat every single rice cracker in Sengoku's office so the Fleet Admiral would have nothing left to snack on during his long shifts.
CRUNCH. CRUNCH. CRUNCH.
Garp chewed even louder, deliberately making as much noise as humanly possible.
The veins on Sengoku's forehead were visibly throbbing. He was one second away from physically throwing the 'Hero of the Marines' out the window.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The polite knocking instantly derailed Sengoku's rising fury. Garp also paused his chewing, looking toward the door.
Vice Admiral Tsuru walked in, carrying a fresh stack of files.
"Oh, hey Tsuru! What brings you here?" Garp mumbled, his mouth completely stuffed. He then proceeded to pour the entire remaining contents of the cracker bag directly into his mouth.
"SHUT UP, GARP! THIS IS MY OFFICE!" Sengoku finally snapped, glaring furiously at his oldest friend. He actually didn't leave a single bag!
"What's the big deal? You're so petty, Sengoku," Garp complained, struggling to swallow the massive dry mouthful. "Tsuru obviously came here for official business, so listen up!"
"Enough, both of you," Tsuru sighed wearily, instantly shutting down their childish bickering. She turned to Sengoku, her expression serious. "The Bardock Pirates, who completely vanished from our radar after the South Blue incident, have resurfaced. They were just sighted in Loguetown in the East Blue. The local Marine Branch reported it immediately."
"Oho! The East Blue, eh?!" Garp's eyes lit up fiercely. He stood up, grinning widely at Sengoku. "They dare to cause trouble in my home sea?! I'll go catch them!"
He finally had a completely valid, official military excuse to return to the East Blue!
Sengoku stroked his braided beard, his brow furrowing deeply in thought. "We certainly cannot allow a crew of that terrifying caliber to continue roaming the Four Blues unchecked. If they continue to grow, they will undoubtedly become a massive destabilizing force in the New World."
Sengoku fixed Garp with a stern, threatening glare. "Mobilizing an Admiral-level combatant is a major logistical commitment. Garp! Do not just use this as an excuse to visit your grandson! If you fail to apprehend that crew, I will permanently revoke your vacation privileges!"
"Bwahahaha! Don't worry, I'll definitely catch them! Time is of the essence; I'm departing right now!"
Garp practically sprinted out of the office to gather his elite Vice-Admiral squad before Sengoku could change his mind.
Once the door clicked shut, Tsuru sat down across from Sengoku, and they continued to discuss other pressing military matters.