When Roger's bold declaration echoed through every corner of the world via the visual Den Den Mushi, the entire plaza of Loguetown fell into a strange, deathly silence.
"Damn it!"
Below the scaffold, Sengoku's usually serene, Buddha-like face went dark in an instant. He never imagined that a moment's hesitation from a lowly executioner would give the most heinous criminal in the world the chance to overturn it.
Bang—!
The gunshot finally rang out.
The bullet hit its mark, perfectly.
An era ended in that instant.
And another—far more chaotic, far more insane—officially began with that single gunshot.
…
Rain didn't care about any of that.
At the moment he pulled the trigger, his mind was filled with only one thing: the system's sweet, heaven-sent chime.
[Prisoner: "Pirate King" Gol D. Roger]
[Overall Rank: LR3]
[Status: Executed]
[Sin Index: 457,990]
[Execution Involvement: 100%]
[Selectable Rewards]: (16 options available)
[Wish List]: (activatable)
The next second, an endlessly long golden list exploded open in Rain's mind!
His consciousness was almost swallowed by that blazing sea of gold.
[Selectable Rewards]:
[Physique Inheritance (Minor)]
Description: Inherit the Pirate King Roger's Peak physique.
[Skill Inheritance · Roger-Style Swordsmanship]
Description: Inherit the essence of the Pirate King's swordsmanship, strong enough to rival the world's greatest swordsmen. Rank: Peak.
[Special Skill Inheritance · Divine Departure]
Description: Inherit the ultimate slash in which Roger wreathed his sword in Conqueror's Haki.
[Skill Inheritance · Navigation]
Description: Inherit Roger's top-tier navigation experience that allowed him to conquer the entire Grand Line. Rank: Peak.
[Haki Inheritance · Observation Haki]
Description: Inherit the Pirate King's Observation Haki, perfected to the point of hearing the "Voice of All Things." Rank: Peak.
[Haki Inheritance · Armament Haki (Minor)]
Description: Inherit the Pirate King's Armament Haki, perfected to the point of easily using Ryuo (advanced emission). Rank: Peak.
[Haki Inheritance · Conqueror's Haki (Minor)]
Description: Inherit the Pirate King's Conqueror's Haki, perfected to the point of overwhelming hundreds of thousands. Rank: Peak.
...
[Memory Fragment · Laugh Tale (???)]
Description: Inherit Gol D. Roger's full memories of the "Final Island · Laugh Tale," including its precise location, the truth of ONE PIECE, and the history of the Void Century…
[Warning: This inheritance contains enough information to overturn the world.]
"I've… hit the jackpot. This time I've really hit the jackpot…"
Rain was still reeling at this god-tier treasure vault of a list when a system prompt like a death sentence suddenly detonated in his head.
[Due to excessive selectable rewards, host must choose within 30 seconds, otherwise a random option will be selected!]
[30… 29… 28…]
"The hell?! Are you kidding me?!" Rain screamed internally. "Who can make this kind of decision in 30 seconds?!"
He forced himself into absolute calm. His gaze, like a precision scanner, swept down the list at inhuman speed.
His brain was running faster than it ever had.
"Physique (minor)… Armament (minor)… Conqueror's (minor)…"
"Right! Roger was terminally ill. Before his capture he was already burning out. His body, his Armament, his Conqueror's—anything that relies on raw stamina and spirit—was no longer at its peak! What I can inherit now is just scraps. Picking those would be a huge loss!"
His eyes moved on, skipping past [Roger-Style Swordsmanship], [Divine Departure], [Navigation]… All incredibly powerful, but not what he needed most right now.
As for [Memory Fragment · Laugh Tale], with that glaring red [Warning] tag—he didn't even bother giving it a second look.
"Please. If I get strong enough in the future, I can chase that down anytime. That's not something I need to touch now."
His gaze finally locked onto the one perfect option in the middle of the list that had no negative notes attached.
[Haki Inheritance · Observation Haki]
Description: Inherit the Pirate King Roger's Observation Haki perfected to the point of hearing the Voice of All Things. Rank: Peak.
"That's it. This is the one!" Rain's heart pounded. "Observation Haki—especially something like hearing the Voice of All Things, which comes from the soul—it's not limited by physical condition or mental fatigue. This is the one, flawless inheritance on Roger's entire body!"
[…3… 2…]
The countdown was about to hit zero.
"[Haki Inheritance · Observation Haki]!"
The next instant—
Rain's "world" exploded.
A flood of information beyond what any language could describe detonated in his brain.
The mountain-crashing roar of the crowd was instantly shredded into countless meaningless fragments.
Then his "hearing" broke free like a beast snapping its chains, expanding outward from him as the center, engulfing the entirety of Loguetown.
He heard the wooden planks of the scaffold creak beneath his feet.
He heard the thunderous heartbeats of tens of thousands of people in the square.
He heard a baby hundreds of meters away let out a soft cry after being woken by the noise.
He heard the flapping of a single seagull's wings thousands of meters away.
He heard the breathing of the sea. He heard the whisper of the wind. He heard the hunger of blades and guns for blood.
Countless sounds, countless images, countless emotions, countless fragments of will—all in a single instant, poured into his mind brutally, without filter or restraint!
The entire world turned into a hell made of noise.
"Urgh…"
Rain couldn't even resist. His brain crashed under the impact. His vision went black, and he toppled straight backward, completely losing consciousness.
…
On the scaffold.
Sengoku stared at the crowd below, which had fully descended into frenzy and chaos, trembling with rage. He slammed his fist into the railing and roared:
"It's that damn execution brat's fault! His hesitation gave Roger the chance to say those words—everything's ruined!"
"No."
He turned toward the voice and saw Tsuru, eyes locked on the boy on the scaffold whose body was swaying, slowly falling backward.
"Look at him."
Following her gaze, Sengoku saw Rain's face—deathly pale, blood seeping from his seven orifices.
"Roger's final burst of Conqueror's Haki—his target was the executioner standing closest to him."
Tsuru's voice was cool and clear. "That child… he didn't just raise his gun. For the sake of carrying out his orders, he met the Pirate King's Haki head-on with his will."
She continued slowly, "Feel it. His life force is as weak as a candle in the wind. This isn't fainting from fear. This is what it looks like when someone uses sheer will to withstand Conqueror's Haki and has their spirit completely drained, teetering on the edge of death."
Sengoku froze, then immediately spread out his Observation Haki. Sure enough, Rain's state was exactly as Tsuru had described.
A rush of mixed guilt, regret, and admiration surged in Sengoku's chest.
The fury in his eyes slowly faded.
This boy—who, with the body of a ordinary Marine, had taken the Pirate King's final blast of Haki head-on, even willing to burn his own life to carry out his mission…
was an exceptional talent.
"Quick!" Sengoku made his decision instantly and shouted to the medical team behind him, "Get him down from there and save him!"