"D? Roger was a D? Hahaha, now that's an interesting piece of news."
After leaving those words behind, Bullet departed. Buena Festa also understood who Bullet was referring to.
"The World Government really does fear that letter. To think even Roger's name was a lie."
The name Gol D. Roger circulated only among a select few. Even though Buena Festa had been a pirate of the same era as Roger, his understanding of Roger had always been limited to "Gold Roger." It wasn't until today, hearing it from Bullet's mouth, that he learned the truth.
"But your reaction doesn't quite match what you said…"
By then, Bullet had already left and didn't hear Buena Festa's muttering. Though Bullet never admitted it, one thing was true. Roger was someone very special to him.
He was one of the very few people who had ever defeated Bullet. The reason Bullet joined Roger's crew in the first place was because Roger had beaten him; he boarded the ship as a challenger.
He wanted to defeat Roger and become the strongest in the world.
But that same year, Roger was diagnosed with a terminal illness. It dealt a heavy blow to Bullet.
Although Roger's sickness didn't diminish his strength, it greatly affected his stamina. He could no longer fight endlessly like those endurance monsters.
During that period, Roger and Whitebeard's battles became "friendly matches," fighting for half a day and resting for the other half.
It was also during this time that Bullet gradually developed the awareness that he "had to protect his companions." Because he had to take his companions into consideration, his fighting grew less decisive.
In the end, he concluded that he had grown weaker. He also began to doubt Roger's strength. After one final battle with Roger, he left the Roger Pirates and began his own voyage.
Roger was an extremely important figure in Bullet's life. Even today, the person Bullet wishes to surpass is still Roger.
Buena Festa shared a similar desire. The difference was that Bullet wanted to surpass Roger in strength, while Buena Festa wanted to accomplish something on the scale of Roger's era. He too wanted to usher in a new era.
In Buena Festa's view, rather than leisurely watching the Great Pirate Era develop, it would be better to start a war immediately. But he couldn't accomplish that on his own, so he chose to cooperate with Bullet, who also sought to surpass Roger.
In terms of igniting war, Buena Festa and Kaido would have had common ground. However, the two of them have no connection.
After all, Buena Festa had been a pirate of Roger's era. Back then, Kaido had merely been an apprentice. Although Kaido was now one of the Emperors of the Sea, he rose to prominence much later than Big Mom and Whitebeard.
In terms of generations, Kaido, like Red Hair, was a late-rising rookie.
Bullet had made his name even earlier than Kaido.
In Buena Festa's eyes, Kaido is just a newly emerged brat, and for a veteran like himself to take the initiative to ally with such a junior would be humiliating.
As for Kaido, his horizons had grown far beyond that. Arceus's power had brought both qualitative and quantitative leaps to the Beasts Pirates' strength. Mere pirate skirmishes no longer counted as war in Kaido's eyes.
What he wanted was a war capable of overthrowing the entire World Government. Buena Festa's small-scale commotion could no longer satisfy Kaido's greatly expanded appetite.
Moreover, in a certain sense, Buena Festa's Pirates Festival was being organized illegally.
A gathering of pirates was, in the eyes of the World Government, an unlawful assembly to begin with. But recently, the Beasts Pirates and Big Mom had taken steps to unify the Underworld.
On the surface, the Pirates Festival was just a gathering. In reality, it concealed countless underground transactions, and such dealings were now considered illegal on both the lawful and criminal sides alike.
However, Buena Festa had merely organized the festival, providing the venue rather than directly participating in the transactions. If something like this were ever brought to court, the legal wrangling alone could drag on for three to five years. Because of that, the Beasts Pirates didn't pay it much attention.
The Underworld was, to begin with, a group driven purely by profit. What the Beasts Pirates could truly control was limited to matters within their own territory. Outside their sphere of influence, as long as someone wasn't overly provocative or openly defiant, they would usually turn a blind eye.
For example, this time Buena Festa had even spent a hefty sum to invite some special performers.
At this moment, the Shadow Fox had already approached the island where the Pirates Festival was being held. The scene on deck, however, looked rather peculiar. Along the edge of the deck, a row of calves could be seen sticking out.
Humans, Minks, a lizard, a half-Mermaid—the exposed traits revealed the races and identities of those present.
This was, of course, not the aftermath of some accident, but rather a strange form of entertainment.
At first, Meowna and Wolff had been bored, so they hung upside down off the edge of the deck, watching the inverted sea and sky outside the ship. Influenced by herd mentality, Carrot the rabbit soon joined them.
After that came Bepo and Maylo. They were both still young. But when Olga also joined the lineup, the whole scene became even stranger.
"Boss Olga, you really haven't lost your childlike heart."
Mandrell didn't stop his daughter. Hanging off the side of the ship for fun wasn't particularly dangerous. Even if there were some waves, the worst that could happen was falling into the sea.
But from ancient times until now, no one had ever heard of a Mermaid or half-Mermaid drowning. Being able to breathe underwater, they had no need to worry about such a thing.
And even if something did happen, Mandrell would be able to react in time.
"I'm just killing time. If I didn't have this little talent, I probably would've succumbed to depression over a hundred years ago."
After being trapped for a long time inside a Sea King's stomach, she had developed this "passive skill." Sometimes she could play with a single leaf for an entire day. For that reason, Olga was the most popular officer among groups of children.
No matter the age group, she could blend in perfectly, without anyone sensing anything unusual.
"Come to think of it, the last Pirates Festival was twenty years ago, right?"
An island had already appeared in Olga's line of sight. Judging by the Log Pose's reaction, this was their final destination. Seeing that they were about to arrive, Olga flipped herself upright and stood back on the deck, tidying her messy hair.
"Yeah, there hasn't been any news about it these past few years. Even Buena Festa disappeared for a while. I thought he'd died long ago."
Long ago, the Pirates Festival had been held every few years. But after the organizer vanished, the grand gathering of pirates disappeared as well. It wasn't until Buena Festa reappeared on the seas that the event was revived.
"So, Boss, you really came here without knowing what's actually going on?"
"Yep. Didn't I tell you? I'm just here to join the fun. I heard there's some great treasure hunt game.
"And even if he's plotting something, so what? Twenty years have passed. The times have already changed."
Splash.
Just then, the sound of something falling into the water suddenly reached their ears. When Mandrell and Olga looked back to where the others had been, Bepo had accidentally slipped into the sea.
"Bepo, what happened to you?"
"Sorry… I accidentally fell asleep just now…"
Bepo, in the water, was just about to climb back up on his own when an exceptionally sturdy water bubble appeared beneath his feet, lifting his body straight up.
It was clear that Maylo had already mastered Primarina's ability. Manipulating bubbles of all kinds had become second nature to her.
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