One million.
A full million Violation Points!
Looking at the dizzying string of zeros on his retina, Tatsuki's heart missed a beat.
He'd struck it rich.
This huge sum was enough to push his Observation Haki and Physique to the peak.
It was even enough for him to splurge on [Lottery] several times.
He forced down the uncontrollable upward curve of his lips, his expression management instantly in place, returning to a calm, indifferent state.
Tatsuki's gaze swept over the blood-soaked reef beneath his feet, then glanced at the two legends on the ground whose every breath sounded like a leaking wind.
Rayleigh propped himself up with his sword and struggled to stand. He looked deeply at Roger, then at Tatsuki, his eyes filled with extreme complexity.
"Captain..."
"Go, Rayleigh." Roger grinned, his smile carrying a sense of relief and composure.
"Go to Sabaody Archipelago, open a shop, drink some wine, and see what the future of this world looks like."
"For me."
"...Okay."
Rayleigh's Adam's apple bobbed as he squeezed the word from between his teeth, turning to leave.
"Wait."
Tatsuki's voice wasn't loud, but it instantly pinned Rayleigh's footsteps in place.
Rayleigh looked back warily, his voice hoarse. "What? Marine brat, are you going back on your word?"
Tatsuki replied unhurriedly, "No, the spirit of the contract is my professional ethics as a righteous Marine. It's just that if you leave first, the composition won't look good."
Rayleigh: "?"
Roger: "?"
Tatsuki ignored the identical confusion on their faces and began to point fingers on his own.
"Rayleigh, go over there, next to that broken coconut tree."
"Back to me, hunch your body a bit, stumble your steps a little."
"You need to act out that sense of sorrow and desolation—'the Captain is captured, yet I am powerless to change anything'."
Rayleigh: "..."
"Hurry up. I'm about to start filming." Tatsuki urged, pulling out the image den den mushi he had prepared specifically for this moment.
This was the latest model exclusively supplied by Morgans, capable of directly connecting to the global broadcast signal of the World Economic News Agency.
"Whew..."
Rayleigh gritted his teeth and finally moved stiffly to the background position Tatsuki had designated.
Tatsuki nodded with satisfaction and turned his gaze back to Roger. "Roger-san, it's your turn."
"Kneel on both knees, lower your head. The emotion needs to be right. Show me that 'fall of a king' and 'repentance for justice'."
"Also, don't smile. Be serious. I'm executing justice here."
Roger curled his lips helplessly, his knees softening as he slowly knelt on the reef that had witnessed his defeat.
"Very good, perfect." Tatsuki nodded in satisfaction.
The next second, a ruthless glint appeared in his eyes. He mobilized his Armament Haki and delivered a merciless heavy punch to his own solid chest.
"Pfft!"
A mouthful of blood sprayed out, splattering perfectly across his chest, creating a sense of tragic battle damage.
Next, wind blades flickered past. Several gruesome wounds immediately appeared on his body, deep enough to see the bone, yet perfectly avoiding all vital points.
The image of a tragic Marine Hero who had survived a near-death experience and burned through his life to barely achieve a pyrrhic victory was instantly born.
As Tatsuki pressed the switch on the image den den mushi, the encrypted channel of the World Economic News Agency, which had already been connected, was instantly activated.
...
Age of the Sea Circle, Year 1498.
This day was originally an ordinary day.
Until that signal forcibly cut into the receiving terminals of all news agencies worldwide.
The screen was initially a mess of violent shaking and chaos.
Waves, howling winds, a shattered sky.
When the camera finally stabilized, the whole world instantly fell silent.
It was a battlefield in ruins, the earth cracked, and smoke filling the air.
Right in the center of the screen.
The man who had been a headache for the World Government for twenty years—Gol D. Roger—was kneeling powerlessly upon the ruins.
His hands were tightly locked by shackles, and the head that had once looked down upon the sea was now deeply bowed.
And not far from him, a desolate figure was fleeing into the distance in a disheveled state. Countless people recognized him as the Pirate King's first mate, Silvers Rayleigh.
Finally, the camera slowly panned up. It froze on a young face that was covered in blood and exhaustion.
Tatsuki leaned on his pitch-black long sword, his body swaying as if he would collapse the next second but he still stood straight.
Those dark eyes stared back at the entire world through the lens.
With a hoarse, weak voice that contained endless power, he announced to the world. "Justice might be late but it will never be absent."
"I am Marine Rear Admiral Tatsuki. The cancer of the sea, the Pirate King Gol D. Roger, has been captured by me."
"The chaos of this sea should end now!"
Zzt—
The image froze on Tatsuki's bloodied smiling face, and the signal came to an abrupt halt.
The entire world stood still for three seconds.
Then—
BOOM!
In countless corners of the world, exclamations erupted simultaneously.
"That... that's..."
"Gol D. Roger! It's the Pirate King!"
"My god! The one kneeling on the ground is the Pirate King!"
"Caught?! Roger was caught?!"
"Heavens! It's Tatsuki! That young Marine Rear Admiral!"
"What Pirate King! In the face of true justice, he's pathetic!"
Countless civilians embraced in the streets, weeping with joy.
In this chaotic era where pirates ran rampant, Roger's capture was undoubtedly a shot of adrenaline injected into everyone's veins.
It told the world: the Marines is still here, justice is not dead.
In the dark corners of the world.
In Sabaody Archipelago, pirates in countless bars smashed their glasses, their faces written with terror and confusion.
"Impossible... that's Roger! How could he possibly lose!"
In the New World, on the Moby Dick.
The man hailed as the world's strongest man, Whitebeard Edward Newgate, suddenly crushed the huge wine bowl in his hand.
"Gurarara... Roger, you bastard, what on earth are you up to?"
There wasn't a hint of joy in his eyes, only un-dissolvable solemnity and confusion.
At the same time.
"Big news! Big news!!!"
At the news agency headquarters, Morgans was so excited that every feather on his body stood on end. He lunged at the den den mushi and roared with all his might.
"Quick! Print it! At the fastest speed! Front page! No! Issue a special edition! I want the whole world to know the name Tatsuki!"
"I've already thought of the headline!"
Morgans spread his wings, looking like a madman.
"The Fall of a King, the Birth of a God! Marine Hero Tatsuki Ends the Pirate King's Era Single-handedly!"