The moment the word "Die" left Lloyd's lips, he calmly withdrew his gaze, his expression as indifferent as ever.
On a distant rooftop, Apo's eyes suddenly widened, veins bulging as blood filled them.
Thump!
Apo's body collapsed like a lifeless rag, sliding off the rooftop before hitting the ground below.
His internal organs had been completely destroyed by the overwhelming sound waves. Blood poured from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, his death gruesome and absolute.
By this point, six of the Rookie Pirates had already fallen at Lloyd's hands.
The news spread across the Sabaody Archipelago like wildfire. When people learned that more than half of the monstrous Supernovas had been eliminated in such a short time, panic set in.
Pirates who had come for coating, or were still waiting for the process, abandoned everything. Some did not even bother reclaiming their deposits. All they wanted was to leave, to escape that man who felt less human and more like a ghost, or perhaps a god.
On that day, the people of Sabaody remembered the legend once more.
Admiral Black Dragon.
---
At Area 41, the Straw Hat crew's ship, the Thousand Sunny, rested quietly by the shore.
Monkey D. Luffy and his crew had already returned.
On the way back, Roronoa Zoro learned the identity of the white-haired old man from Kozuki Toki.
He was none other than the former vice-captain of the Roger Pirates, Silvers Rayleigh.
Luffy and the others had already discovered this during the auction incident. Zoro, however, had been fighting elsewhere at the time and missed it.
Ironically, it was because of Zoro's actions that the Celestial Dragons never even made it to the auction. Because of that, rescuing Camie had gone far more smoothly.
When Rayleigh appeared, Toki recognized him immediately. Together, they left the auction house openly and went to find Zoro.
As for the Saint Rosward family, they could not escape punishment at the hands of the Straw Hats. This time, the outcome was even harsher than before.
Saint Charloss died.
---
Rayleigh, using his hand, worked steadily with a hammer, repairing parts of the Sunny.
Luffy crouched beside him, grinning widely.
"It would've been great if Ace were here too. He'd definitely want to meet you, Uncle Rayleigh."
Rayleigh paused, his hand resting on the wood.
"Ace… is he Roger's child?"
"Yeah! We grew up together. He's my brother! I've got another brother too, Sabo, but he doesn't want to be a pirate."
Rayleigh fell silent for a moment, then spoke softly.
"The Roger Pirates owe your father a debt."
"Huh? What do you mean, Uncle Rayleigh?"
Rayleigh simply smiled, setting the hammer aside and lightly striking his back with his fist.
"It's nothing. That Straw Hat of yours… it's quite something. Where did you get it?"
At the mention of the hat, Luffy's smile widened even more. He pressed it down proudly.
"You recognize it, right? The one who gave it to me was your old crewmate, Shanks! My dad told me. He also said it used to belong to the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger!"
"Oh? Then tell me, how did Shanks give it to you?"
Luffy thought for a moment before recounting the story.
When he was still a child, Shanks had visited his father, Monkey D. Dragon. His goal was simple, to see Ace and his mother, whom Roger had entrusted to Dragon. He also brought with him a Devil Fruit he had stolen from the World Government.
The Gomu Gomu no Mi.
At first, Shanks clearly intended for Ace to eat it. However, Ace did not consume it immediately. Instead, he brought it to show Luffy and Sabo.
As children, the three of them began roughhousing, and in the chaos, Luffy ended up eating the fruit by accident.
When Shanks found out, he did not get angry or show any strong reaction. He simply muttered Luffy's name and accepted what had happened.
He stayed with Dragon for a while longer. When he finally left, he placed the Straw Hat on Luffy's head.
---
After hearing the story, Rayleigh looked at Luffy with a deeper, more thoughtful gaze.
"Luffy, I heard from Toki that your dream is to become the Pirate King."
Luffy grinned, then suddenly shouted with full confidence,
"That's right! I'm the man who's going to become the Pirate King!"
Before his words could settle, a teasing voice sounded from nearby.
"Hey, Luffy! The man who's going to be Pirate King is me. You can settle for being the Pirate King's younger brother."
Luffy froze for a moment, then turned, his face lighting up with excitement.
"Ace!?"
Portgas D. Ace stood on a patch of grass with his crew, grinning.
"Yo, Luffy."
Nami glanced at him curiously.
"So that's the brother you're always talking about?"
Zoro crossed his arms and nodded.
"Yeah. He's strong. Looks just like his wanted poster, don't you think, love-cook?"
Sanji's eyebrow twitched, and in an instant, he was face to face with Zoro.
"Don't bring up wanted posters again, marimo."
Before Zoro could respond, Usopp and Tony Tony Chopper were already rolling on the ground laughing.
A vein bulged on Sanji's forehead.
Two loud knocks later, both Usopp and Chopper were kneeling, teary-eyed as they apologized.
---
Ace walked over, glancing at the crew with a smile.
"Luffy, your crew is pretty interesting."
His gaze shifted to Zoro.
"And you, killing a Celestial Dragon… that's no small matter."
Zoro remained indifferent.
"Are Celestial Dragons supposed to be strong? That one was weak. I didn't even plan to kill him."
Ace laughed lightly.
"You're right. There's nothing to fear from them anyway."
Luffy clenched his fist.
"They're just annoying. I punched one too!"
---
Since Ace arrived, Rayleigh had been quietly observing him.
In truth, Ace did not resemble Roger much in appearance. Perhaps he had taken after his mother more.
Strangely, though, when Rayleigh looked at Luffy, especially with that Straw Hat, he felt a stronger resemblance to Roger.
At that moment, Ace turned his attention to Rayleigh and suddenly bowed deeply.
Rayleigh blinked in surprise.
"You are…?"
Ace straightened and spoke respectfully.
"Uncle Rayleigh, it's an honor to meet you. My mother told me that my father spoke of you often. He said you were his closest companion."
Rayleigh fell silent.
Roger's face surfaced in his mind, vivid and unchanging.
For a brief moment, he was lost in memory.