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While the powerhouses in God Valley were still stunned and bewildered by the light screen restarting and the barrier reappearing, the images on the screen had already become crystal clear.
The scene shifted to a rainy plaza.
The crowd was packed tightly, the atmosphere deadly serious!
A narrow path parted through the masses. A figure slowly walked along this path toward the tall execution platform in the center of the plaza.
When they saw who it was, Roger's pupils contracted sharply in God Valley—it was himself!
Yet in the image, although his steps remained steady and his face still bore that signature bold smile, an unmistakable deep exhaustion and sickly pallor lingered between his brows.
The once vigorous Pirate King was now afflicted with an incurable disease; his vitality and spirit had suffered immense depletion…
Only his eyes still burned bright as flames.
He ascended the execution platform step by step and calmly knelt before the execution rack.
At that moment, the camera panned across the crowd below. The people in God Valley saw many familiar faces—or faces that would become familiar in the future: the young and flamboyant Donquixote Doflamingo wearing sunglasses,
Crocodile pushing his way to the front of the crowd!
Behind him were the tear-streaked, barely composed young Red-Haired Shanks and Buggy the Clown! Even a delinquent-looking teenage Smoker could be seen…
All these future supernova pirates or Marine officers held their breath, staring fixedly at the man on the execution platform.
Compared to the curious, indifferent, or ambitious gazes around them, the grief of Shanks and Buggy stood out painfully.
Buggy was already crying uncontrollably, snot and tears smeared across his face, while Shanks—though trying to hold it back…
still had tears falling like broken strings down his cheeks. His clenched fists were white from the force.
"Hey! Pirate King!"
In the deathly silence right before the execution began, a bold voice suddenly rang out from the crowd below, asking the ultimate question buried deep in countless hearts…
"Where did you hide all the treasure you plundered?! You must have gotten it, right?! That legendary great treasure (ONE PIECE)!!"
This question was like a massive stone dropped into a still lake, instantly creating thousand-foot waves.
It represented the ultimate curiosity and desire of everyone present—and indeed the entire era—toward the Pirate King's wealth and legend.
Hearing this, Roger—kneeling on the execution platform—did not pretend not to hear. Instead, he threw his head back and laughed heartily: "Hahahaha… Hahahahaha!"
The laughter was loud and unrestrained, filled with the relief of someone who had seen through everything, along with an indescribable determination to guide the coming era!
While the executioners on either side were momentarily startled by this sudden outburst and hadn't yet reacted…
Roger restrained his laughter. With the last of his life's strength, he proclaimed to the entire world:
"Do you want my treasure?! If you do, you can have it all! Go find it! I left everything I owned in that place—at the end of the Grand Line!!"
"Damn it!" ×2
"Pfft!"
The sharp execution spears stabbed through his body almost immediately after his words, in a panicked rush.
But clearly—they were too late!
Pirate King Gol D. Roger had successfully turned his final words into the bugle call that opened a new era!
Roger's body died, yet it remained upright.
After a brief, deathly silence, the entire plaza erupted! Deafening cheers and shouts rose one after another. Countless eyes blazed with the flames of "dreams" and "wealth"!
People began frantically pouring out of the plaza—selling everything they owned, forming pirate crews, desperately eager to set sail and charge toward that sea brimming with infinite possibilities!
In the scene, those young future Supernovas had eyes flashing with ambition.
Meanwhile, Shanks and Buggy made different choices amid their grief.
Shanks invited Buggy to board the ship, but Buggy refused him out of some stubbornness.
The brothers who had once fought side by side parted ways in the drizzle after Roger's death, each embarking on completely different paths in life.
"I… I end up… dying like this in the future?"
In God Valley, the young Roger stared at the image of his own execution on the light screen, completely stunned.
He instinctively touched his chest, his face filled with disbelief and deep confusion.
He couldn't understand why his future self would choose to turn himself in—let alone why, in his final moments…
he would speak those words, leaving behind such an insanely provocative final message that ignited the chaotic and bloody Great Pirate Era.
While everyone was still reeling from this shocking scene and Roger's dying words, the images on the light screen changed again, rapidly flashing through a montage of Roger's life like a revolving lantern.
From his youth and that fateful meeting with Silvers Rayleigh, to gathering Scopper Gaban… and other like-minded comrades.
From the Edd War against Golden Lion Shiki, to the many fierce clashes with Edward Newgate, Whitebeard…
His magnificent seafaring journey unfolded like a grand scroll.
Then the scene reached a crucial turning point!
In the future, Roger took aboard a man dressed in a kimono, wearing dual swords at his waist, with an extraordinary bearing—Kozuki Oden—from Whitebeard's ship.
Flashback scene: Roger solemnly requested Whitebeard: "Just one year! Lend Oden to me!
With him, I'm certain I can reach the final island! My time… is running out! This is probably the last time we'll meet!"
Afterward, the images showed the Roger Pirates using Oden's ability to read the Poneglyphs, adventuring everywhere in search of the final island: sneaking into Fish-Man Island to hear the voice of the Sea Kings, climbing onto the giant elephant Zou to find the red Road Poneglyph, visiting Water 7…
"This is the City of Gold, Shandora…"
In the scene, Roger stood before the golden bell on Skypiea, gazing up at the ancient text inscribed on it, letting out a heartfelt sigh.
Roger's life was already like a candle in the wind—he fought the fatal illness every moment, yet he relentlessly pursued the truth of history!
Finally, they gathered all the clues and successfully reached the end of the Grand Line—the legendary final island, Laugh Tale!
However, the night before heading to Laugh Tale, an incident occurred: Buggy fell ill. Shanks chose to stay behind to care for his crewmate and did not accompany Roger on that final leg of the journey.
This also explained why the later Shanks and Buggy never knew the true meaning of ONE PIECE.
After arriving at Laugh Tale, Roger and his crew finally learned the truth of the 100-year Void Century that the World Government had desperately tried to conceal. They understood the fate and legacy of the "D clan,"
and learned the secrets of the "Ancient Weapons" capable of destroying the world…
Looking at the newspaper proclaiming Roger's fame across the seas, Whitebeard's face showed a complicated yet knowing smile.
He seemed to understand Roger's final choice.
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