The Summit War had ended,
This battle—hailed as the most luxurious lineup, the most complete process, and the greatest concentration of top-tier combat power in recorded history—would be widely circulated across the world for a very long time.
Among everything that drew the most attention, was unmistakably that man who, over the past several decades, had vanished from the world's sight, yet still left behind countless legends,
For the first time ever, due to certain stance-related reasons, that wanted poster—whose bounty amount had remained unchanged for decades and had rarely circulated—was once again posted by the Navy,
Photo: Summit War live broadcast screenshot, a towering figure shrouded in black mist, eyes erupting with crimson light.
Wanted Poster,
[Black Gun]Dotor·Orin,
[Paramecia][Warp-Warp Fruit] ability user (suspected awakening), top-tier user of all three types of Haki, the world's strongest sniper!!!
Bounty: 6,068,000,000 Belly!!!
Dead or alive, crimes of the utmost severity!!!
Reports about him shook the entire sea in a very short time,
"The World's Strongest Monster!!! Single-handedly Crushing a Yonko!!!"
"Origin of the Name Shichibukai?…!"
"The Highest Bounty in History!!! Undefeated for Life, a King Who Suppressed Era After Era!!!"
Across the entire world—whether the Four Seas, Paradise, or the New World…
Countless people learned on this day that the war had ended, and obtained that one wanted poster, both extravagant and terrifying.
Some civilians were utterly horrified,
"This has got to be a joke, right??? Pirates worth tens of millions of Belly are rare even in the East Blue—what kind of concept is six billion?!"
Some kings and nobles, upon seeing that familiar name and that frightening bounty, had their pupils tremble,
"So that's how it is… it turns out to be the [Black Emperor] we once pledged allegiance to twenty years ago, If it's that being—the one who could even force the World Government to back down—then this bounty isn't strange at all."
...
The Calm Belt,
At this moment, a small boat was leisurely sailing along,
An old man sat by the side of the boat, fishing while reading the newspaper in his hand,
"What's wrong, Roger?"
Another old man, holding a bottle of liquor, came over to join the fun and plopped down beside him,
"Rayleigh, it's a report about Orin."
"Really promising, huh. That bounty is the highest I've ever seen—even more impressive than Rocks back in the day~"
Hearing this, Rayleigh simply smiled,
"I'm already used to it by now. After all, that guy stirs the sea into chaos every now and then over these years!"
"Is that so!!! Hahahahahahaha!!!"
...
Crossing the Calm Belt, the two old men chatted like this,
From time to time, Conqueror's Haki swept around the area, and no Sea Kings dared to attack.
As for the question of how such a small pirate ship was powered to cross the Calm Belt…
"Boom boom boom…"
At the stern, a gigantic humanoid flame thruster continuously exerted force, If it wasn't Ace, who else could it be?
"Hey!!! Why do I have to push the boat?!"
Ace complained sharply, his lower body turning into flames, constantly blasting fire to provide propulsion.
"Hahahahaha!!!"
Facing Ace's resentment, both old men burst out laughing,
"An old man's body is weak, so you should bear with it a bit. And moving forward with Devil Fruit powers is really convenient, isn't it~"
Rayleigh said with a smile.
"Yeah, you know, back in the day, whenever the Oro Jackson accidentally ran aground or something, it was Orin who pushed the ship out."
Roger used Orin as an example, which finally made Ace stop complaining.
So many days had already passed, and Ace had gradually come out of his grief,
And Father definitely wouldn't want him to stay immersed in sorrow forever.
"Hey, how are Luffy and Sabo doing?"
Even though he knew they weren't in danger anymore, Ace still couldn't help worrying,
After all, they were his brothers.
"The kid wearing my straw hat, and that blond young man, huh~"
Roger didn't mind Ace not calling him Dad, thought for a moment, then continued,
"The blond kid was taken away by people who call themselves the Revolutionary Army, and the one wearing the straw hat went with a fish-man named Jinbe, taken away by a submarine."
"I see…"
Ace roughly knew what kind of people those were.
"Oh right, Orin said something before he left!"
Rayleigh suddenly seemed to remember something and spoke while holding his liquor bottle,
"Ace, you probably won't be able to be a pirate anymore."
"What?!"
"He said it's punishment for your recklessness. Rouge is very worried about you."
Ace completely panicked,
"What does that mean—does it mean I'm not allowed to go out to sea anymore?!"
"More or less. At least for the next two years, it's not allowed. Even after that, it's absolutely impossible for you to appear on the sea under the name of the Whitebeard Pirates,
Although it might be hard for you to accept, the truth is…"
"The era of Whitebeard has already passed. The current era is called Orin."
"Tch…"
"Then what if I secretly go out to sea?"
"You can try."
Hearing this, Ace's face completely darkened, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.
Roger looked at his son meaningfully, then just smiled,
"At least during this time, take my place and stay by your mother's side. After all…"
"I'm also nothing more than a useless old man now."
...
After that,
The two "useless" old men smoothly passed through the Calm Belt and arrived in the territory of the East Blue.
Such a pirate ship sailed along so openly,
With no navigator, relying purely on the pointer to charge straight ahead.
It quickly drew the attention of the Navy,
"Reporting, sir! The lookout has discovered a pirate ship ahead!!!"
At this time, a group of Navy fleets that had just participated in the Summit War and were returning to the East Blue,
A messenger reported to a Navy officer.
"Pirates from the East Blue? What scale?"
"Uh… visually estimated at only two or three people."
"Such small-time pirates, and you still need to report to me? Sink them directly!!!" The officer gave the order immediately.
"Yes!!!"
Several warships' cannons instantly locked onto the fast-moving small boat,
"Looks like we've been blocked by the Navy, Roger."
Rayleigh casually weighed a few bullets in his hand and laughed easily,
"Hahahahaha!!!"
"We're really being underestimated!!!"
Facing several incoming shells, old Rayleigh crossed his legs, flicked his wrist, and a few bullets instantly shattered the cannonballs,
This move immediately left the Navy soldiers on several warships dumbfounded.
"Those aren't small-time pirates. All of you, stand down!!!"
At this moment, a white-haired, burly old man stepped forward, and the Navy personnel retreated repeatedly,
"Vice Admiral Garp!!!"
He laughed heartily as he walked up, one hand bracing his shoulder,
"Hahahahaha!!!"
"I've caught you again, Roger!!!"