Shirakawa had barely opened the door when he saw Moll standing there, panting heavily. With his hands braced on his knees, he was completely out of breath. Overall, it was clear Moll was extremely anxious, as if something major had happened.
"What's wrong, Moll?" Shirakawa asked with concern. Could those meteorologists have done something to him? No, that shouldn't be it. They were far too timid to dare do such a thing.
"C-Captain, s-something terrible happened." Even uttering these words was a struggle for Moll; he was completely out of breath.
"Don't rush, take your time," Shirakawa said immediately. He was genuinely afraid that Moll would fail to catch his breath and pass out right then and there.
"Phew~ Phew~" Moll hurriedly took a few deep breaths to calm his racing heart before he finally spoke again.
"The Pirate King, Roger, has been captured by the Marine Hero, Garp."
The moment those words left Moll's mouth, the atmosphere both inside and outside the house plunged into absolute silence. A chilling, solemn aura filled the air.
Immediately after, an overwhelming burst of energy erupted outward with Shirakawa at its center. Moll, standing right in front of him, took the brunt of it and was instantly blasted backward.
If not for Moll's recent training and improved physique, that single blow would have left him aching for a long time.
Then, every single meteorologist on the island fainted on the spot. Even Shirakawa's house developed cracks under the sheer pressure of his aura.
Shirakawa clenched his fists tightly. "Has this day finally come after all?"
He glanced at the newspaper that had dropped to the ground when Moll was sent flying. He picked it up and skimmed through it. The reports were entirely about how the Marines captured Roger, along with the recent glorious exploits of the Roger Pirates.
The gist of it was that the Marine Hero Garp had captured the Pirate King Roger, and a week from now, a public execution would be held in Roger's hometown of Loguetown in the East Blue.
Shirakawa took a few heavy breaths to calm his emotions. Relying on his abilities, he actually had a way to help prolong Roger's life right now.
However, Roger probably wouldn't want to do that. He had his own goals. Even if Roger didn't have a terminal illness, Shirakawa believed he would still choose this path.
Though the timing would probably be a bit later than this, likely after Ace was born.
Of course, Shirakawa wasn't the only one who received the news. It was safe to say that everyone in the entire world had heard by now. This was currently the most closely watched news across the globe.
The Marines had already deployed a massive amount of troops to Impel Down, all to prevent members of the Roger Pirates from coming to cause trouble.
"Is it finally time, Roger?" On a certain island, inside a certain bar, Rayleigh looked at the news report, a deeply sorrowful aura radiating from his entire being.
At this moment, he was wearing an oversized dark green cape, looking exceedingly furtive, as if he were evading someone's pursuit.
"Check over there! Search carefully! We absolutely cannot let any of the Pirate King's crew members slip by!"
Several voices suddenly rang out from outside the bar. Hearing their words, it was clear that these were the people Rayleigh was hiding from.
That's right—the ones hunting Rayleigh were the Marines. It seemed that after Roger's capture, the Marines' morale had skyrocketed; they looked as if they dared to provoke anyone and everyone now.
Although the grunts outside were no match for Rayleigh, he didn't want to invite unnecessary trouble right now. If a member of the Roger Pirates were to suddenly appear, it would definitely strike a nerve with the already tense Marines.
And the Marines would undoubtedly launch an all-out, no-holds-barred manhunt for that crew member.
Aboard the Moby Dick in the New World, Whitebeard Newgate had naturally received the news as well. At this moment, the atmosphere on the ship was exceptionally silent.
The usual lively and rowdy atmosphere had completely vanished. Everyone could tell that Whitebeard was in a foul mood—not just bad, but terribly so, the kind that could explode at the slightest spark.
"Pops, maybe this is fake news?" Seeing Whitebeard relentlessly downing alcohol, Marco spoke up with a hint of heartache. Even though Pops had an incredibly strong constitution, he couldn't keep drinking like this.
"Marco, you don't need to comfort me. I still know what the Marines are like. They wouldn't dare falsify news of this magnitude."
With that, he tossed the empty bottle in his hand straight into the sea.
"Roger, is this the grand plan you wanted to tell me about?"
Sorrow showed in Whitebeard's eyes. A while ago, Roger had come to see him, and the two had talked for a long time. But he never expected that the next time he heard news of Roger, it would be under these circumstances.
"Bullshit!" Meanwhile, inside the Golden Lion's floating fortress, Shiki slammed the newspaper onto the ground, stomping on it viciously with all his might.
"How the hell could Roger be caught by that Marine trash?!"
Golden Lion Shiki was currently in a state of absolute fury, displeased with everyone he laid eyes on. He tossed the question he couldn't figure out to his subordinates, and if they couldn't answer, he'd kill them on the spot.
"Maybe Roger turned himself in?" one of Shiki's subordinates ventured carefully.
"Bullshit! If it were you, would you turn yourself in? Would I? Think about it, it's impossible."
What Shiki didn't know was that this time, his subordinate had actually guessed right.
"And to hold the execution in the weakest sea, the East Blue... this is simply a disgrace to Roger!"
With that, Shiki marched toward the main gate.
"Captain, where are you going?!"
One of his subordinates panicked at Shiki's behavior, getting the distinct feeling that their captain was about to do something highly irrational.
"I'm going to Marine Headquarters to get an explanation from Sengoku!"
"Don't, Captain! It's too dangerous!" one of his crew members immediately threw his arms around Shiki's waist.
But with Shiki's personality, how could he be stopped by a mere subordinate?
He instantly flung the clinging crew member off, sending him crashing straight into the wall of the building, embedding him right into it.
"Let's see who else dares to stop me!"
Shiki glared fiercely at the subordinates preparing to swarm him. His gaze alone terrified them so much that they didn't dare take a single step forward.
"Hmph." With a cold snort, Shiki's face turned utterly frosty as he flew down from the island.
"Looks like the skies are going to change again."
Shiki's underlings all sighed in lament. For a pirate to dare break into Marine Headquarters... it would be a miracle if the Marines let him leave alive.
First the Pirate King Roger, and now the Golden Lion Shiki. Two of the three great overlords captured in such a short span of time. The Marines' haul this time could truly be called bountiful. With this, the Marines would once again spread their prestige across the world.
/-\
Enjoying the story? Want to read ahead?
Support the novel and unlock early access to unreleased chapters!
~ +20 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon! (+1 Chapter daily)
https://p-atreon.com/Its_Zack
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access Patreon normally)