"Pirate King Gol D. Roger has been captured!"
"Pirate King Gol D. Roger has been captured and will be executed in Loguetown!"
"The place where it all began will be the place where it all ends. The Pirate King Roger will be executed in Loguetown!"
News birds soared across the sky, scattering newspapers everywhere. The usual price of 50 Berries per paper was now nonexistent—papers were being freely distributed in the streets.
Rosinante casually reached out and grabbed a newspaper drifting down.
"Gol D. Roger, huh?
So the Great Pirate Era is finally about to begin?" Rosinante murmured as he read.
His full name was Donquixote Rosinante—the younger brother of Warlord Donquixote Doflamingo, the adopted son of Marine Admiral Sengoku, and the user of the Silent-Silent Fruit.
However, the Rosinante standing here was not the same as in the original story—he was a transmigrator.
In his previous life, Rosinante had been an ordinary university student who had just completed his military training. When he woke up, he found himself in this new body.
Rosinante had fainted from grief after witnessing his father being murdered by his own elder brother. It was at this moment that the transmigration occurred. When their souls fused, the dominant consciousness became that of the transmigrator, since he was an adult while Rosinante, having passed out from sorrow, had a weakened will. The fusion process went smoothly.
As memories flooded in, Rosinante couldn't help but let out a bitter smile.
"One Piece" was one of the Big Three manga series—of course, a modern university student like him would be familiar with it. Thanks to Doflamingo and Trafalgar Law's prominence, even Rosinante himself was well-known among fans.
However, if there were a ranking of the ten most useless Devil Fruits in One Piece, the Silent-Silent Fruit would undoubtedly be among them.
It merely silenced sound, and its only claim to fame was improving sleep quality. Back when Rosinante saw this ability in Law's flashback, he had thought it was a joke.
Now, recalling Rosinante's habit of scribbling graffiti, he was even more convinced—the fruit had to be some kind of gag.
But the bitter truth was that he had already eaten it.
After the Donquixote family was exiled from Mary Geoise and their Celestial Dragon status was exposed, they were relentlessly hunted down. Their home was burned, and Rosinante's mother fell ill. With no food, Doflamingo had taken him to scavenge for scraps in the trash.
It was during that time that Rosinante had unknowingly eaten a strange-looking fruit. He only remembered it being unbearably disgusting, but since it came from a trash heap, he assumed it was just rotten fruit.
At that time, he had no idea what it truly was. But now, as someone who knew the One Piece world inside and out, he understood—it was a Devil Fruit.
Thanks to the fusion of souls, Rosinante's spiritual strength had grown significantly, even gaining the ability to develop further as his body matured. His strengthened soul allowed him to sense the fruit's ability with clarity—it was indeed the Silent-Silent Fruit.
Transmigration? No problem. Not becoming the protagonist? Also fine. Not even reincarnating as a major, powerful character? Still okay.
Being Rosinante wasn't ideal, but it wasn't the worst. Even if he lacked talent, he could cling to Doflamingo or Sengoku and eventually get his hands on a Devil Fruit that could boost his strength.
Even without their help, his knowledge of this world gave him confidence—he could definitely acquire one or two powerful Devil Fruits. That would ensure his place in the One Piece world.
But eating the Silent-Silent Fruit had changed everything.
Not only had he gained the severe weaknesses of all Devil Fruit users—vulnerability to seawater and Seastone—but he had also lost the possibility of growing stronger through his fruit's abilities.
Later, Rosinante left the Donquixote family.
Though following Doflamingo could have been a viable path, he couldn't ignore the lingering emotions of this body's original owner. Rosinante had an unshakable resolve—he refused to stay by Doflamingo's side.
That didn't mean he wanted to kill his elder brother. After all, Doflamingo was still his blood relative. But when Rosinante had seen his brother mercilessly murder their father, he realized something—Doflamingo was a natural-born devil. He could no longer stay with him.
So, Rosinante left the Donquixote family.
The Silent-Silent Fruit might not enhance combat strength, but it was incredibly useful for erasing noise and concealing movements. Thanks to it, he managed to leave unnoticed.
Perhaps the family simply didn't care about him. They only cared about Doflamingo.
After leaving, Rosinante wandered aimlessly through the North Blue.
He worked as a laborer, only to be swindled by exploitative employers. He stole to survive, getting chased down like a rat. He fought wild beasts for food. He even hunted pirates for bounties.
But eventually, he was targeted by the World Government—or more accurately, the Celestial Dragons.
Doflamingo had once taken their father's severed head to Mary Geoise, hoping to reclaim his Celestial Dragon status. But the Celestial Dragons rejected him. He barely escaped with his life.
However, in the process, he accidentally discovered one of their national treasures.
To silence him, the Celestial Dragons ordered the extermination of the entire Donquixote family.
As one of the last true members of the family, Rosinante naturally became a target of CP agents. But thanks to his Silent-Silent Fruit, he survived countless assassination attempts.
"Loguetown, huh? Might as well go take a look."
"Since I've been reborn in this world, how could I miss such a historic event?"
Rosinante smiled as he gazed at the newspaper.
Given his identity, becoming a Marine was out of the question.
Even being a bounty hunter was impossible.
His only option was to become a pirate.
The news of the Pirate King's capture hadn't come out of nowhere.
For years, the World Government's CP organizations had been relentlessly hunting Rosinante. Maybe they were frustrated after failing to kill him for so long—now, they had even sent CP0 after him.
That was a close call. He had barely survived.
So when he saw the headline announcing Roger's capture and upcoming execution, Rosinante let out a sigh of relief.
With the Great Pirate Era about to begin, the seas would be in chaos. Countless people would rush into the Grand Line, creating immense pressure on the World Government and the Marines.
And that meant less pressure on him.