Chapter 376: The Eve of Execution!
The announcement that the Marines would soon carry out the public execution of the "Dark King," Silvers Rayleigh, swept across the globe with the speed of a tsunami.
Headlines in every corner of the world screamed: [THE IRON FIST OF JUSTICE! THE REMNANTS OF THE OLD ERA—THE END IS NIGH!]
In public squares, citizens held newspapers high, cheering and dancing. Commoners wept with joy, feeling as though they were hearing the final tolling of the bell for the Great Pirate Era. The prestige of the Marines had reached an unprecedented, historic peak in this single moment.
The New World · Totto Land
Black clouds hung low over the horizon. Kaido and Big Mom had made a high-profile announcement of their alliance. They had moved with lightning speed to absorb the remaining pirate forces, swelling their combined fleet to a scale never before seen in history.
However, to the surprise of many, this titan of an alliance—capable of trampling dozens of kingdoms into the dirt—remained uncharacteristically restrained. There were no massacres, no grand raids.
Countless people wondered: Why?
But Kaido and Linlin knew the truth all too well. The current Marines were no longer an opponent they could casually provoke. To cross the line now would be to give the Marines the perfect excuse for a "Total Deployment."
The Old Era and the New stood like two beasts surrounded by barrels of gunpowder, staring each other down with cold, calculating eyes. The world teetered on the razor-edge of a total collapse.
Sacred Land Mariejois
Inside a luxurious yet suffocatingly quiet recovery room, the air felt stagnant. Outside the window, flocks of white doves fluttered by, but they couldn't lift the oppressive silence within.
Shanks lay quietly on a medical bed. His severed right arm was wrapped in thick bandages, the blood that had seeped through long since dried into a dark, morbid rust color. The rebellious, piercing glint that once defined his gaze had been replaced by a hollow, trembling void.
The doctors had saved his life, but they couldn't mend his shattered spirit.
"My strength... crushed by Roy as if I were nothing..."
"My crew... annihilated..."
"Even the Red Force... reduced to ash..."
Every whisper in his mind was the echo of a heart-wrenching nightmare. But what brought him closest to a total breakdown were those soul-piercing words that still rang in his ears: "The son snatched back after an attack on his own wife..."
Shanks suddenly clutched his head, his pupils shrinking as his breathing grew ragged.
(My lineage... what is the truth of my existence?!)
Creak—
The heavy door slowly pushed open. Saint Figarland Garling walked in, his face as grim as iron.
"I intercepted those three tracking bullets," he said, his voice low and lethal. "If Roy had been controlling them personally, even I wouldn't have been able to protect you."
Shanks snapped his head up, his bloodshot eyes locking onto Garling. His voice was hoarse and desperate. "Tell me the truth!!"
"What actually happened at God Valley?! My mother—who was she?!!"
The room fell into a heavy silence, punctuated only by the sound of frantic breathing. Garling remained silent for a long time before finally uttering a single sentence: "Some truths... are better off buried forever."
He turned toward the door, his silhouette as rigid as a stone monument. Before leaving, he dropped a final, low warning: "The day Rayleigh is executed will be the final curtain for the Old Era of pirates."
"If you wish to live, you will remain in the Sacred Land forever."
Thud. The heavy door closed.
Silence returned. Shanks clenched his fist and slammed it into the wall!
"BANG!!!"
The stone vibrated. Blood trickled between his fingers, but he didn't even flinch. "Roy... the Marines... the World Government..." he hissed, his eyes a chaotic swirl of despair and fury.
Suddenly, a blurred thought flashed through the depths of his mind. The man he had personally set in motion—Teach.
Shanks' expression darkened instantly, a dangerous, predatory light igniting in his eyes.
The Eve of Execution · Marineford Prison
The freezing cells seemed to swallow time itself. Rayleigh and Shakky sat side-by-side, their limbs bound by heavy Seastone chains. Beyond the iron bars, the flickering light of torches illuminated three tall, imposing figures.
Sengoku, Garp, and Zephyr.
They stood in silence, their silhouettes like three towering mountains, casting an invisible, crushing pressure over the cell.
Rayleigh slowly lifted his head, his silver hair falling over his eyes. A complex, weary smile touched his lips. "Are you three... here to see me off on my final journey?"
His tone held a trace of his old boisterousness, as if trying to bridge the gap with their shared history.
Sengoku's expression remained chillingly stern. His voice fell like a hammer. "Rayleigh! Our history from the Old Era ends here!"
"Right now, the Marines are in their most critical phase—this is the perfect opportunity to end the Great Pirate Era once and for all!"
The cell went quiet. Rayleigh frowned slightly, his gaze shifting to Garp. "Do you believe that too, Garp? Back when you were chasing us across the world, you weren't quite this fond of 'Absolute Justice'."
Garp remained silent for a beat, his fist slowly clenching until his knuckles cracked.
"I chased you because, compared to other crews, the Roger Pirates didn't indulge in much slaughter and pillaging." He lifted his eyes, his gaze burning like a torch as if trying to pierce through Rayleigh's soul. "But more importantly, you lot attracted the full attention of the World Government."
"Otherwise, do you really think Roger, with all his recklessness, could have kept his entire crew roaming free for that long?"
"—!"
Rayleigh's pupils constricted. Countless memories flashed through his mind: Garp always charging in alone, only to be narrowly held back by Roger at the critical moment; the Marine encirclements that always seemed to be one step too slow; the World Government pursuers who were always "unexpectedly" diverted.
Those years of "free roaming" across the seas... were they just a game of chess that was being permitted?
Rayleigh let out a bitter, low sigh. "I see... it seems we were deceived by this 'Freedom' of ours for far too long..."
Shakky looked up suddenly, her gaze sharp. "So, you finally have the confidence to rebel now?"
Zephyr's face was half-hidden in the shadows cast by the torchlight. He spoke slowly. "Yeah... we do."
"We finally found the one... who can overturn the entire board."
Rayleigh and Shakky exchanged a look. The same name—the name that made the world tremble—flashed in both their minds simultaneously. They whispered it like a requiem for the Old Era:
"Roy..."
Wano Country · Amigasa Village Entrance
The sun had not yet set, but the entrance to the village was filled with a frantic, chaotic noise. Cries of terror, curses, and the clashing of iron rang through the air.
Ace, Zoro, and Kuina had landed in disguise. Ace, worried for Tama's safety, had separated from the other two. As soon as he reached the outskirts of Amigasa, he was frozen by the scene before him.
A massive, monstrous silhouette was running rampant—Jack the Drought, leading a swarm of Beast Pirates subordinates into the village!
"Listen up! Hand over all your grain, cloth, and women!! Every last bit!!"
Jack's voice boomed like thunder. With every step of his iron-shod feet, the ground fractured. He reached the well that Enel had personally dug for the villagers years ago—their only source of clean water—and crushed it with an impatient stomp!
"A mere well? Hmph! Insects like you don't deserve to drink!"
"AHHH—!!" The villagers shrieked in terror, scattering to hide.
Tama gritted her teeth, tears stinging her eyes, but she bravely lunged forward, spreading her small arms to block the pirates. "Stop it!! That's everyone's water! You can't—!"
SLAP!
A low-level Beast Pirate subordinate sneered and backhanded her away. "Out of the way, brat!"
Tama's small frame tumbled into the dirt beside some jagged rocks, her knees scraped and bleeding. She trembled as she tried to crawl back up, only to be completely swallowed by a gargantuan shadow.
Jack's massive, towering form loomed over her like a fortress. He looked down at Tama, his tusks glinting in the dying light, his voice deep and cruel.
"Hmph... you dare stand in my way? A mere brat like you... are you looking for death?"
Tama's entire body shook, but she kept her small fists clenched, her teary eyes filled with a desperate, stubborn defiance.
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