After a round of twists and turns, the "dragging squad" successfully expanded to five people, with Hawkins also following at Ozz's side.
"Hey, Hawkins, help me calculate something. What should I eat today?"
"Like… seafood ramen?"
"…Compatibility rate: 13%."
"Yeah, I don't really feel like seafood today. Then… potato and beef rice?"
"Compatibility rate: 88%."
Ozz pinched his chin and nodded.
For some reason, he really did feel like he'd enjoy potato and beef today.
"What a convenient ability."
Aside from the times Hawkins tried to predict people with absurd levels of destiny, where his readings would occasionally glitch and low probability events would still happen, most of his divinations were frighteningly accurate.
Next would be "Mad Monk" Urouge, and then "Red Flag" X Drake. They didn't seem to be far from here.
With the dragging squad in tow, Ozz's group headed toward a plaza.
In the plaza, the "Mad Monk" was trading blows with a Pacifista. The Marines clearly hadn't put all their hopes on Ozz. Even without an admiral present, they'd still deployed Pacifista units.
"He really does look a lot like little Kuma."
Ozz studied it for a couple seconds. Visually, there was almost no difference at all.
The captured Supernovas, though, stared at that tall figure with tense expressions.
"Li… little Kuma? You mean that 'Tyrant'?!"
"Just what the hell is this 'Black Gun'?!"
To these brats of the new era, Ozz was like an abyss. You never knew how deep it went.
After knocking Urouge back, the Pacifista turned its head. Its mechanical eyes scanned the suddenly-arrived group and immediately locked onto several bounties.
"Pirates: Eustass Kid, Killer, Basil Hawkins…"
Just as it prepared to fire a laser, one man entered its scanning field.
Even though he looked much younger, the system still recognized him.
"Target: Saint Ozz… unable to lock."
The authority embedded in its code, on par with the Five Elders, made it incapable of attacking. It even stepped aside on its own, clearing the way.
"This is…"
Urouge pressed a hand to his wound. Cold sweat formed on his face.
He didn't know exactly who this young Ozz was, but seeing multiple Supernovas in cuffs, and a "Warlord" robot respectfully making way… it was obvious this wasn't some nobody.
While Urouge sized Ozz up, Ozz didn't even look at him. Instead, he grabbed Bonney at his side.
"Daddy! It's me, Bonney!"
"Behave. That's not your dad. It's just a robot that looks exactly like him."
Bonney tried to struggle free, but after hearing Ozz's words, she realized the truth and slumped, even more dejected.
"I remember now. You're that legendary pirate. The owner of Sabaody. Black Gun!"
Urouge's face glistened with sweat as he looked at the cuffed Supernovas and clenched his fists.
"I'm Urouge. I ate the Karma Karma Fruit. The more you attack me, the stronger I become!"
"Is that so…"
Ozz rubbed his chin, lifted his long leg, and casually kicked.
"Instant Transmission Kick."
…
While the other Supernovas were being swept aside, Luffy's group and Law's group had just barely escaped the fallout from punching a Celestial Dragon. Thanks to Dark King Rayleigh showing up, Camie managed to get her explosive collar removed.
"Really went and did it, huh…"
A shabby old man in a white cloak had originally only planned to check the auction house, see if he could snag a few good bottles, and put it all on Ozz's tab.
He didn't expect to run into something like this.
The moment he saw Luffy, he knew. This was the man Shanks had mentioned before, the one entrusted with a will.
So he followed them out of the auction house.
Law also broke through in the chaos. After suffering a setback against the Pacifista, he didn't choose to fight head-on. Instead, he used his Devil Fruit ability to slip away temporarily and avoid pursuit.
As for Luffy's group, they followed Rayleigh back to Shakky's bar. The whole crew reunited there.
Rayleigh began talking with Luffy, the man Shanks had identified as the inheritor of Roger's will.
And when Luffy learned Rayleigh had once been the Pirate King's first mate, his mouth dropped open.
The rest of the crew was just as stunned.
They hadn't expected to run into someone like this.
"Huh? Didn't Hatchan tell you?" Rayleigh asked.
"He forgot," Luffy answered.
Sitting in the bar, everyone couldn't help exclaiming.
"That name is famous everywhere!"
"It's in history books!"
Only Brook remained calm, nibbling on beans.
"Was there a rookie named Roger before? Or maybe there wasn't?"
Sanji, cigarette in hand, raised a question.
"But Roger was executed twenty two years ago. Shouldn't your whole crew have been captured?"
Rayleigh only smiled.
"No. Roger turned himself in."
Then Rayleigh told them the story, including Roger's illness and how Crocus came aboard.
"Titles mean nothing to a man who's about to die. But he was the kind of guy who wanted everything to be loud and spectacular!"
Rayleigh sat alone at the bar, a flicker of memory in his eyes.
Then came the disbanding of the Roger Pirates, Roger's surrender, and the public execution.
Hearing it, the Straw Hats felt their scalps go numb.
"What a tragic story… Roger is the man who started the Great Pirate Era!"
"That's not so simple," Rayleigh said. "Roger's dead. The ones who truly build an era are the people who live in it."
"And the people who inherited Roger's will that day in the plaza, they're part of this era too."
"Someone you all know, Ozz, was one of them."
"Ozz… so he really was a crewmate of the Pirate King!"
"He was," Rayleigh said, taking a swig of liquor with a laugh.
"Among the rookies on our ship, Ozz was the most unforgettable. He was also the strongest of all those brats back then."
"Even Shanks lost to him more than once."
If it weren't for Shanks' dignity, Rayleigh would've loved to describe exactly how those beatings happened. Thinking about it now was still hilarious.
"And there was Buggy from the East Blue too. You've probably heard of him. The three of them were apprentices on our ship."
"Speaking of which, you'd better be careful."
Rayleigh swirled his glass and smiled as he delivered a line that made the entire Straw Hat crew break out in cold sweat.
"Ozz is on Sabaody right now."
"Compared to Shanks, who's already become an Emperor… Ozz is a far more terrifying monster."
"And the Ozz of today…"
Rayleigh's smile turned faint, almost amused.
"He might already be stronger than Roger was back then."
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