The rain continued to fall, showing no sign of stopping.
Instead, it seemed even more desolate after that earth-shattering slash earlier.
Kane no longer paid attention to the stubborn swordsman who had been tricked into joining the Navy, nor did he look at the future powerhouses below the platform, each harboring their own schemes.
He sat back down on the damp high-backed chair at the very top of the execution platform.
His coat draped casually over his shoulders, his gaze pierced through the curtain of rain, fixed intently on the long street leading to the square.
They were here.
Clank… clank…
The sound of iron chains dragging across wet, slippery stone slabs echoed loudly.
Two Navy soldiers in crisp white uniforms escorted the man who struck fear across the entire sea, splashing through the puddles as they approached.
Gol D. Roger walked.
He walked in the middle, his hands and feet shackled with heavy Sea Stone chains.
His red captain's coat was worn and tattered, yet still glaringly bright.
He walked slowly.
Each step seemed labored.
It was the illness from his terminal disease and the countless fierce battles that were mercilessly consuming the vitality of this legend.
Yet in his eyes, there was not a trace of fear toward death.
He even looked around with interest, grinning at some familiar faces in the crowd.
His demeanor was not that of a man walking to his death, but rather to his final wild party.
The square had long descended into chaos.
Some were weeping, others cursing, and some whistling.
Rotten tomatoes, rotten eggs, and empty bottles rained down like a storm, only to be blocked by the shields of the Navy soldiers maintaining order on either side.
"Go die already! Damn pirate!"
"You scum, go to hell and repent!"
Roger paid no heed to the torrent of curses around him.
Dragging his feet, he looked up at the towering execution platform above.
His gaze landed precisely on the young Admiral at the very top, draped in a "Justice" coat, legs crossed, smoking a cigar.
Their eyes met through the rain, crossing the distance.
Roger grinned, revealing a row of white teeth, his laughter rumbling from deep within his chest, hoarse and bold.
"Quite the send-off, this is!"
He ascended the rough wooden stairs, the planks groaning under the strain.
Reaching the top, Roger sat cross-legged without a care for his appearance, hands resting on his knees.
Two executioners wearing masks and holding long spears stood on either side. The long shafts crossed, their cold blades pressing against the arteries in his neck.
Below, tens of thousands of onlookers gathered.
In a dark corner on the outskirts of the crowd, a red-haired boy wearing a straw hat bit his lower lip hard, hot tears mixing with the cold rain as they fell.
Beside him, a red-nosed boy had long since cried himself into hiccups, snot bubbles forming one after another.
In the shadows of an alley, Doflamingo's flashy sunglasses reflected a cold gleam.
Crocodile narrowed his eyes and lit another cigar.
Moria grinned widely, his gaze darting back and forth between the executioner's axe on the platform and the Admiral.
Tens of thousands of people on-site, along with dozens of Video Transponder Snails distributed across the globe, were all waiting for that final command.
"Execution time has arrived."
Kane's icy voice fell.
The two executioners raised their spears—the blades symbolizing the World Government's authority were about to pierce the heart of the legend.
The plaza fell into dead silence.
The breaths of tens of thousands were held.
At that moment.
In an inconspicuous corner of the crowd, Stussy, already dressed in civilian clothes, lowered the brim of her hat.
She subtly shifted a step and elbowed the burly man beside her, who looked like a thug.
The man was clutching an Amplifying Den Den Mushi. The moment he received the signal, he seemed electrified.
The money was just too good!
Even facing the pressure of a Navy Admiral, he dared to risk his life to shout this one line!
The man suddenly roared at the top of his lungs into the Den Den Mushi in his arms, tearing through the curtain of rain:
"Hey—!! Pirate King!!"
The shout startled everyone, and the Navy soldiers on guard nearly misfired in their panic.
Before anyone could react, the man continued roaring according to the "script":
"Where did you hide all the treasures you stole?!"
"That legendary Great Treasure… you really got it, didn't you?!"
"That! The Great Treasure that connects everything!"
"One Piece!!!"
A single phrase stirred a thousand waves.
A tidal wave of uproar erupted around them. These words struck the most sensitive nerve of every Pirate, every bounty hunter, and every impoverished commoner present.
Greed for wealth. Craving for fame. Pursuit of power.
The scent of desire fermented rapidly in the damp air.
The officer in charge of security, furious, drew his command sword and pointed it downward, roaring: "Quick! Arrest that troublemaker! Executioners, act now!"
The two executioners on the platform paled. Without hesitation, they thrust their spears down with a whistling sound!
"Wahahahaha—!"
Roger threw his head back and laughed wildly.
The laughter, filled with a disdainful boldness that looked down upon the world, shook the wooden platform.
The two executioners, seasoned in carrying out death sentences, were struck by this invisible aura, their arms going weak for a moment, their movements slowing by half a beat.
Roger suddenly lifted his head, his eyes burning with a final light—a spark capable of igniting an entire era!
"Do you want my treasures?"
His voice pierced through the rain, through the Video Transponder Snails, reaching every corner of the world.
"If you want them…"
Before the two executioners could react.
Swish—!
No one even saw what happened.
All they felt was a blur before their eyes, as a tall figure cloaked in a Justice Coat appeared behind Roger as if teleporting.
The two executioners felt a sharp pain in their wrists, their spears snapping in two.
Kane stood behind Roger.
The Black Blade named "Zangetsu" had already pierced through Roger's body without hindrance.
Thud.
The sound of the blade entering flesh was faithfully amplified countless times by the Amplifying Den Den Mushi.
Blood gushed out along the blade, instantly staining the execution platform red.
The entire world fell silent at that moment.
Not the executioners, but an Admiral carrying out the execution personally?!
Kane's expression remained impassive, not even a flicker of emotion in his eyes.
Only he himself knew that this seemingly fatal slash had precisely avoided all vital organs—it was merely terrifying to look at.
But this was enough.
Kane lowered his gaze, looking down at the Pirate King beneath his feet, his heart cold as ice.
He held a cigar between his teeth, its ember flickering between light and shadow.
Without pirates, what use are hunters?
If the seas were filled with law-abiding citizens, what reason would the fully armed Navy have to demand massive military funds? If the world were peaceful and untroubled, how could Marineford expand its power?
Water too clear, fish die. Water too murky, nets are cast.
Only when pirates are as numerous as stars, only when the Celestial Dragons are kept awake at night in fear, will the World Government cling to the Navy like a lifeline, begging them to suppress the chaos.
Only then will the power in the hands of the Admirals rise above the ordinary, swelling beyond all bounds.
Shout it, Roger!!
Shout that line of yours!
Stir this stagnant water into utter chaos!
Let thousands upon thousands of "Violation Value" ATMs emerge across these seas!
Roger sensed the precision of the slash on his back.
A torrent of blood gushed from his mouth—the final special effect of this grand performance.
With the last ounce of strength in his life, he proclaimed to the stunned spectators below and to everyone watching on screens across the world, heralding the dawn of a new era:
"...You can have it all!"
"Go and find it!!"
"I've left everything in this world..."
"...right there!!!"
Boom—!!!
A thunderclap tore across the sky at the perfect moment, its stark white lightning illuminating Roger's face, forever frozen in a maniacal grin, and Kane's face, cold and stern as a deity or demon.
With that thunderclap, Roger's head slumped heavily.
The Pirate King had fallen.
But something far more terrifying had been born.
After a brief second of deathly silence, the entire Loguetown square erupted.
"One Piece truly exists!"
"Find it, and you can have everything!"
"Set sail! To the Grand Line!"
The civilians who had come merely to watch the spectacle now had a red glint in their eyes. The pirates who had been hesitating drew their swords.
The crowd had gone utterly mad.