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The famed blade... Ace.
One of the Twelve Supreme Grade Blades, the Saijō Ō Wazamono.
Yes, this was yet another transaction.
However, Kojin knew that this deal was about more than just a single sword.
On the battleship, Bullet, Crocodile, T. Penn, Rosinante, and Evans all fell into stunned silence, staring ahead with shock and disbelief written all over their faces.
For nearly a year, everyone in Kojin's squad had known exactly what their superior had been doing.
They were all surprised and envious, because an opportunity to be taught in person by a powerhouse like the Pirate King was something no ordinary person could ever hope to obtain.
At the same time, this was a top-secret matter that could never be revealed.
Everyone had helped Kojin keep it hidden. Not a single piece of information about Roger had ever been disclosed.
Over the course of that year, they had even come to believe that their senior officer and the Pirate King Roger had developed a genuine bond, and that Kojin, even as a Marine, might never arrest him.
But the scene before them now completely overturned all their assumptions.
"Roger!" Bullet was the first to react, gritting his teeth as he spoke.
"Yo, Bullet! Long time no see!" Roger greeted him with a grin, showing no trace of being a prisoner. "You're as energetic as ever."
"What the hell are you planning?" Bullet roared.
Crocodile stood silently to the side, puffing on his Cigar, his eyes narrowed with curiosity. His gaze flickered between Roger and Kojin, unable to discern what scheme they were plotting.
"Can't you tell?" Roger grinned, raising his shackled hands. "I surrendered! I got caught!"
Bullet froze for a moment, then his expression darkened.
He was someone who understood Roger fairly well. Because Roger sounded like he was joking, Bullet was even more certain that everything he said was true.
It was at this moment that Kojin spoke up.
"Slo, Mina! Set course for Marine Headquarters!"
He paused, then added in a solemn tone, "We have indeed captured the Pirate King, who was fleeing through the South Blue."
"We have captured Gol D. Roger."
The moment these words were spoken, the nature of the operation was defined, and everyone's heart shook violently.
The capture of the Pirate King, Roger!
Without a doubt, such a monumental event, if revealed, would shake Marineford to its core. In fact, it would ignite the entire world, not just Marine Headquarters.
Yet Roger himself merely smiled, then sat down cross-legged with a soft thump.
He was a little tired.
The battleship set sail at once, but at Kojin's request, this earth-shattering news was not reported back to Headquarters immediately.
He had promised Roger that he would allow him to bid farewell to old friends.
Departing from the port of Baterilla Island, it would take about five days to reach the Calm Belt even at full speed.
Thus, when the group passed through the Calm Belt and arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago port for resupplying, five days had passed and it was around two in the afternoon.
"I can only give you one hour, Roger." Kojin unlocked the shackles and spoke softly.
"Hahaha, that's more than enough!" Roger roared with laughter. "A farewell between men doesn't need much time!"
Then he jumped down from the battleship. In the blink of an eye, he merged into the bustling crowd of the Sabaody Archipelago and vanished from sight.
Kojin remained standing at the bow of the ship, quietly gazing ahead.
Behind him, Rosinante and the others were utterly stunned by their superior's bold actions.
"That's Pirate King Roger! Are we really going to let him go without any precautions?"
"What if he actually escapes?"
Before Rosinante could finish, Bullet cut him off with a cold look on his face
"Shut up, Rosinante! Roger isn't that kind of man!"
At that moment, Kojin spoke, but instead of responding directly to the two of them, he reached his hand out towards Crocodile.
"A cigar. Give me one."
Crocodile paused for a moment, then understanding dawned on him as he handed one over.
'The one with the most complicated feelings at that moment was probably this very superior of theirs. Nearly a year had passed; no matter how much both sides insisted it was merely a transaction, what about the feelings beneath the surface?
Just as Roger had acknowledged Kojin and offered to teach him swordsmanship, their senior officer had likewise acknowledged Roger.
Crocodile had more than once sat silently behind the two of them, listening to their animated conversations, listening to this senior officer describe his views on the world and dreams and his unique ideas.
He listened to Kojin describe a dreamlike world: a world where people were equal, filled with strange ideas, devoid of nobles, and brimming with miraculous technology.
He also heard Roger excitedly recount the perilous and thrilling adventures he had encountered on his life's journey: the battle at God Valley against Rocks, his first meeting with Garp, the child he found in a wooden crate, the sky island ten thousand meters above the clouds, the colossal elephant Zunesha, the peerless swordsmen of Wano Country, and more.
Sizzle!
The flame gradually ignited the cigar at Kojin's lips.
Huff!
He took a deep drag, then erupted into a violent coughing fit.
"Your cigars aren't good. They're harsh."
Crocodile chuckled softly while speaking. "After all, the Marines' salaries aren't exactly generous."
Then he watched the young senior officer smoke silently, exhaling white smoke towards the front and obscuring his expression, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking.
Time passed second by second.
Bullet leaned over the ship's rail; he was in a bad mood as he watched people come and go at the port.
Evans and the others waited quietly.
"Senior officer, should this matter be reported to Headquarters?" T. Penn asked hesitantly.
He had always believed that capturing Roger was of enormous importance, one that would certainly cause an uproar. A Rear Admiral's squad like theirs seemed ill-equipped to handle the fallout.
Moreover, if the senior officer continued to conceal it, there could easily be negative consequences, followed by repercussions from certain people at Headquarters.
Kojin remained silent.
He slowly exhaled a mouthful of smoke, then suddenly turned around and opened the cigar case in Crocodile's arms.
Then his eyes locked onto a figure at the port ahead.
"Report it to Headquarters."
After a brief pause, he took a deep drag from the cigar.
"Say this: 'We have captured the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger.'
T. Penn's body jolted violently. After a moment of stunned silence, he came back to his senses and shouted, "Yes, sir!"
Then Kojin slowly stood up and watched as a figure burst out from the crowd ahead, leapt, and landed on their battleship.
It was Roger.
After putting the shackles back on Roger's hands himself, Kojin heard him suddenly laugh.
"Kojin, actually, my name isn't Gold Roger. Even though the whole world calls me that."
Kojin smiled and nodded. "I know. Your name is Gol D. Roger."
Hearing this, Roger froze, then burst into laughter.
"As expected! You might know even more than I do!"
After a brief pause, he grinned again and lowered his voice.
"Then… do you want to know the location of the final island? Do you want to know what ONE PIECE really is?"
Though his voice was low, everyone on the ship still heard it.
Bullet, Crocodile, Evans, and the others all changed expressions.
The truth behind the legendary great treasure?!
(End of Chapter)