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Dark clouds blanketed the sky, punctuated by lightning and thunder.
Suddenly, the wind intensified, whipping the man's robes into a frenzy and causing the hood covering his face to tremble violently.
"Hōng Lóng Lóng!"
In the next instant, a bolt of lightning tore through the sky, snaking downward to strike directly above the towering execution platform ahead.
The man shrouded in a green hood turned solemn. An indescribable authority filled his eyes as he lifted his head and looked forward.
Just moments before, the execution platform had been empty. Now, a figure stood there, wreathed in blue arcs of lightning. His white Marine uniform and billowing Marine cloak were buffeted by the wind, silhouetted against the rapidly fading lightning bolt that had split the sky.
"Kojin!" The man called out, recognizing the Marine standing on the platform.
The wind suddenly grew fiercer.
Kojin stood on the platform, looking down at the man shrouded in the green hood below.
"Dragon?" He quickly identified the other man.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
As he called out the name, a series of tornado-like winds suddenly swept across the ground of Central Park, swirling up dust and debris.
Boom! Rumble!
Lightning ripped across the sky once again.
The two locked eyes. Neither spoke further as they silently observed one another.
One was surrounded by a swirling hurricane, while the other's back crackled with lightning.
After a long silence, Dragon suddenly laughed.
"What's the point of being a Marine?"
"Join me and overthrow this world!"
Kojin laughed as well.
"Hahaha! But I see something in you that the old man lacks."
Kojin's expression turned curious. "Oh?"
Dragon's demeanor suddenly turned serious, the surrounding winds intensifying.
"What's your dream, Kojin?"
"Or rather, what's the path you've chosen to walk? What principles do you stand for in this life?"
Kojin was slightly startled by the sudden questions.
Dream? Principles? Path?
He had never thought about these questions, only harboring some vague notions in his heart. Since meeting Garp, his life had been relatively smooth.
His strength, reputation, and status had steadily increased. He was hailed as the most promising officer of the New Age of the Marines, with some advocating for him to inherit the position of Marine Fleet Admiral in the future.
Yet he himself had never seriously considered these matters.
"So...what do I actually want?"
Dragon's question made Kojin think of many things at that moment. Scene after scene and stream of thought flowed through his mind.
After a long silence, lightning flashed behind the execution platform, and Kojin suddenly grinned.
"A dream, you say?"
"Then we are certainly different, Dragon!"
Dragon was smiling as well. "Then tell me about it!"
"Let's just consider this a casual conversation during a chance encounter."
"You, the old man's most outstanding disciple, and I, his most rebellious and disappointing son."
"We actually get along quite well!"
Kojin shook his head, still smiling. "I can't see any common ground between us."
The next second, the smile faded from his face. He looked downward, or rather, toward somewhere far beyond.
From this vantage point, he could see all of Loguetown, the endless Ocean stretching to the horizon, and the vast world beyond.
"I just feel…"
Dragon focused, listening carefully.
"This world is simply too big."
Kojin murmured with a soft laugh, with a hint of melancholy and awe in his eyes.
"So big that it has twenty Kings!"
As soon as he finished speaking, his words drifted away on the wind. Suddenly, Dragon's pupils contracted.
"Kings."
"There are too many!" Kojin said calmly, a faint smile on his lips as he looked down at Dragon.
"One would be enough, wouldn't it?"
Dragon remained silent, offering no response for a long moment.
Boom! Rumble!
Lightning flashed, and thunder shook the heavens like the roar of a thunder god. At some unknown moment, Kojin's figure atop the execution platform had vanished.
As a gust of wind swept through, Dragon departed as well, as if he had never been there.
Some time later, in a secluded alleyway, a figure cloaked in green strode briskly through the shadows.
"So you harbor ambitions like this?"
"To destroy Mary Geoise... and to replace the Twenty Kings?"
"Then do you intend to create a brand-new era of peace, or…"
Dragon's eyes suddenly sharpened.
"...to build a world even more brutal, dark, and corrupt than theirs!"
As he strode forward, Dragon's mind raced.
"So that's why you remain within the Marines."
"Is it because the Marines command the greatest power in the world—power strong enough...?"
Suddenly, Dragon looked ahead. The entire sky had been split in two by a golden bolt of lightning stretching all the way to the distant sea.
"Lightning represents supreme authority! In myths and legends, it is the power of the king of the gods!"
As the lightning flickered, Dragon's expression shifted unpredictably. He suddenly realized that the opponent's ambition, and its potential impact on the future world, likely far exceeded his imagination.
...
Night soon fell.
That night, Kojin's squad detected no further attempts to break into the prison.
Unlike the previous night, it was peaceful.
...
In the blink of an eye, the second day arrived.
"Hurry! Everyone to the execution platform! Kojin, you'll escort Roger with us."
At five in the morning, Zephyr appeared before them. The tension in the air was palpable, as everyone knew exactly what day it was today.
"Yes, sir!" Kojin nodded.
He followed Zephyr into the area where Roger was being held and soon saw him.
From appearances alone, there was not the slightest trace of fear or mental distress. In fact, upon seeing Kojin, Roger smiled and gave him a casual greeting.
During the escort, Zephyr walked on the left, Kojin on the right, and Roger led the way, flanked by two solemn-faced Jailer squads.
"Any last words, Roger?" Kojin suddenly asked in a steady voice.
Zephyr stood beside him, seemingly oblivious to the question.
"Last words?" Roger chuckled softly, his mustache twitching.
"What's the point of a final word when a man's about to die?"
He paused.
"But..."
"If there's anything I want to say, then..."
"Take good care of that sword at your waist!"
Kojin was momentarily stunned, then let out a soft sigh.
"Ace, huh?"
Roger grinned and looked toward the horizon, where the morning sun had just begun to rise above the sea.
"Ace. In the future, he'll see the world I never could!"
Kojin's right hand grasped the hilt of the long blade at his waist, then slowly relaxed.
"I'll make sure he sees it."
Hearing that, Roger broke into a wide grin. A short while later, Garp and Sengoku arrived and joined the procession.
Everyone's steps remained steady. Roger, shackled at both hands and feet, walked slowly toward the execution platform, the chains clinking with each step.
More and more people gathered on the streets of Loguetown, crowding in, some curious, some excited, some thrilled as they watched the scene unfold.
"Roger!"
"That's Pirate King Roger, isn't it?!"
(End of Chapter)