The public execution of the Pirate King ended the moment the live feed was cut.
The world didn't know what came after—only that the legendary Brewer, Dimon obliterated a Marine admiral on the scaffold and spirited Gol D. Roger away.
As for the rest? No one cared.
Like Rocks' heir Blackbeard once said: dreams don't end.
The tide was rolling in. From here on, nothing could stop it.
"...We were a step too late."
On the square at Loguetown's gallows, Saturn's face was thunder. He rounded on Saint Gringku.
"I told you to cut the broadcast immediately. Why did you dawdle?"
Had they severed the signal sooner, they could've jumped first. With the entire God Knights encircling, those two would never have left.
Gringku said nothing. The mistake was his. He slid his rapier back into its sheath, stepped into the summoning sigil, and vanished—off to beg Im's pardon.
Watching him go, Venus snorted. "Small mercy: that name didn't leak. But the press must be shut down."
He scanned the carpet of unconscious bodies and walked straight to Morgans, out cold with his camera. One heel came down—crunch—and the camera died.
"There were plenty of lenses here besides his…"
Venus turned to Sengoku and snapped, "A public execution, and Roger escapes. Sengoku—this stain is on you."
Sengoku lowered his head.
He couldn't help cutting a look at half a Zefa lying nearby. The man had "died" very cleanly; looked like Sengoku would eat the whole blame. And Garp—refusing to even take part. Who else was left to carry the can?
"Gag the story. Not a single word about today's execution on the front page anywhere. Understood, Sengoku?"
Plenty had watched the live relay, but not everyone owned a transponder-video set. They couldn't let it spread further. Government prestige could not be allowed to wobble.
Sengoku didn't have the right to say no.
"And…" Saturn drew a long breath, killing intent flashing in his eyes. "Everyone on this square is to be searched. No photos leak—especially of that white silhouette."
"If necessary—erase them all."
Sengoku recalled "Dio" turning white. That one?
Orders flowed, then the Five Elders stepped into the runes and vanished.
The God Knights who'd been force-summoned traded looks, then went to report in to Somaaz and depart.
—
Mary Geoise — Hall of Authority
The giants of the room stepped out of a glowing sigil one after another.
"Roger's last words will change the world. The lower-world rabble will sail out chasing dreams of the One Piece and that Immortality Wine."
"Pirates will swell beyond any past era."
"Damn it. Those two played off each other—one speech, and they dumped a bonfire in our laps."
They dropped into the sofas; only Saturn still leaned on his cane, standing.
"We must cap the pirate surge. The Marines alone are stretched thin."
"World conscription?" Mars suggested. "We've only two active Admirals; Zefa's half-dead. If we recruit globally—"
There are masters hidden among the masses. Even Admiral-class might be found.
"No," Jupiter said, unusually firm. "After today's humiliation, the government should lie low."
Silence pooled.
Send the God Knights to cull pirates? Don't joke. They guard the Celestial Dragons. Different mandate. No time to police the seas—especially when there are non-member nations to handle.
"Elbaf..." Venus offered. "Harald's been angling to join the World Government. We've stalled him. Give him his chance now—use the giants."
Saturn's brows tugged.
They'd always wanted the giant race in hand; someday that force would matter. But letting Elbaf in this easily wasn't his taste. With the card in hand, they could keep Harald on a leash forever. Play it now, and you lose leverage.
Mercury nodded. "Worth a trial. There was a Giant Warrior Pirates era—seventy-plus years ago."
"No… wait." Saturn lifted a palm. "Forget Harald for now. We can use pirates to check pirates. Grant certain powerful crews legal plunder rights…"
"Five—no, seven."
"We'll call them the Royal Shichibukai—the Seven Warlords of the Sea."
—
Sky Island — God's Kingdom
Endless white cloud. Tucked between banks of vapor lay the ruins of an ancient golden city: once every wall plated in gold; now only broken shells remained.
In a stepped shrine, inside an old offering chamber, a black sigil bled fog across the floor.
Dimon and Roger stepped out together.
"Where is this?"
Roger looked around. Not Wano architecture, that's for sure. "Also—since when do you use the Knights' teleport magic?"
"You wanna learn?"
Dimon tapped his forearm.
Roger felt something itch. He pulled up his sleeve—beneath his left shoulder blade, a small black sigil matched the one underfoot.
"What's this?"
"A transfer seal. My mark on you. In a pinch, you can jump back here."
Only one-way—return-to-base. You couldn't chain from here to elsewhere.
Handy for running. The Government would hunt him relentlessly, and he owed Dimon a year of fruit-finding to pay his debt. With this, he wouldn't be so easy to catch.
"It works like that, huh… neat trick. So, how many Devil Fruits have you eaten? Don't tell me you're from the Davy line."
The Davy clan—offshoot of Davy Jones.
Joy Boy's name lay buried by time; few remembered the first man who could be called "pirate." But Davy Jones? His Pirate Game kept his name alive even now.
Rumor said the Davy bloodline's bodies could stomach multiple Fruits.
Dimon shook his head and fired back, "You want to eat a Fruit?"
"I'll pass… don't want to turn into a landlocked duck. More importantly, where is this?"
"Sky Island. God's Kingdom."
When he'd harvested the city's gold back then, Dimon had left this sigil here.
"I've been here! When we hunted the road poneglyphs, I brought the crew. There's a golden bell at the top of a huge vine."
As he spoke, he saw Dimon already heading out and trotted after him.
"Why are you tailing me? Go find Fruits and pay off your tab. You've got one year."
Roger scratched his head. "Got it, I'll go. I wanted to tell you—I'm disbanding the Roger Pirates. The Government's malice is too heavy. If we keep flying a flag, the harassment won't stop."
"Disband, don't disband—nothing to do with me. One year. See you then."
Dimon flicked the words over his shoulder, then cancelled Age-Age. Wings of shadow unfurled; the devil took the sky and vanished into the white.
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