"Shiki… what exactly are you saying?"
"What do I mean?" Shiki laughed wildly. "Exactly what I said! Otherwise, why do you think they killed everyone in your family—except you?"
Golden Lion Shiki's laughter echoed across the battlefield.
Roldy 's expression darkened like gathering storm clouds.
Garp's heart sank.
This is bad.
Dragon had already moved closer. Unlike the others, he knew the truth. And he knew what was about to happen.
"Why are you still talking?!" the Celestial Dragon shrieked. "Kill that filthy pirate already!"
Roldy said nothing.
He had been protected well.
But protection did not mean blindness.
Why did some civilians look at Marines with disgust?
Why was he excluded from certain missions?
Why had slave traders so easily bypassed a Marine base only dozens of nautical miles from his hometown?
He repaid kindness with loyalty.
So he swallowed his doubts.
He ran from them.
Like a coward.
Because he feared the day he might have to stand against his teachers—
Against his "family."
"Roldy , don't do anything reckless!" Dragon urged. "Think about Zephyr! Think about everyone at Headquarters! We'll explain everything once we return!"
Roldy looked at him.
Calmly.
"So… you knew too?"
"You knew… and you hid it from me?"
Dragon felt something tear.
Distance.
A widening gap between himself and his closest friend.
What was he supposed to say?
Admit it?
Confess that their "kind lie" had, at its core, been betrayal?
Dragon fell silent.
And in that silence—
The world went quiet.
Inside Roldy 's mind—
Two figures stood opposed.
One wore a Marine coat, eyes bright with justice.
The other stood in shadow, skull insignia across his chest, eyes burning red.
They argued.
Then they fought.
"You promised Zephyr! You said you'd protect his future child!"
"They lied to you! They turned you into a watchdog for the World Government!"
"They raised you for seven years! Was that fake?"
"They abandoned you first! Gratitude must be remembered—but does that mean hatred should be forgotten?!"
"They had no choice! You were a child! You would have died facing the World Government!"
"And when have I ever feared death?! They must pay! Or will you betray your hometown too?!"
Darkness surged.
His pupils burned crimson.
Justice answered.
Faces of comrades.
Shared battles.
Laughter in Marine barracks.
The tide swung back and forth.
Neither side yielding.
"You miserable pirate!" the Celestial Dragon screamed at Shiki. "If not for you, this boy would've become my slave years ago!"
Shiki smiled.
Encouraging her.
She took it as provocation.
"The lives of commoners are worthless! They exist to serve and entertain us!"
"To become a slave is an honor!"
"And those not even fit to be slaves? They're garbage!"
Garbage…
Garbage…
Garbage…
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Roldy 's heartbeat thundered in his ears.
"Shut your mouth!" Garp roared at the Celestial Dragon.
She froze.
A Marine dared to shout at her?
"Roldy … Roldy !!!"
Dragon turned—
But Roldy was already gone.
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