Chapter 859 - 859: The Silence of Death

The defection of Momonosuke caused a huge uproar within the Whitebeard Pirates.

After that, Juste, who had already fallen into depression and was on the verge of a breakdown because of his identity, seemed to find an outlet for his emotions. He volunteered to hunt down the runaway Momonosuke by himself.

Whitebeard couldn't bear to refuse. Hoping the mission would help Juste clear his mind, he agreed.

But just in case, Whitebeard still sent the current vice-captain of the crew, Marshall D. Teach, to secretly follow Juste.

Ironically enough, over the years, as the World Government's methods became more and more terrifying, the pirates' room to survive in the New World had been squeezed smaller and smaller.

Teach, who had once been full of ambition and lurked aboard Whitebeard's ship waiting for his chance, had instead become more and more loyal to the Whitebeard Pirates.

He had even willingly revealed his talent, earning tremendous military achievements and firmly securing the position of Whitebeard's second-in-command.

This very year, Teach finally got his wish. During a battle with another pirate crew, he obtained the Dark-Dark Fruit he had dreamed of.

But after obtaining this god-tier Devil Fruit, Teach no longer had the overwhelming arrogance he had in the original timeline.

Because compared to the old sea, where only strength and Devil Fruits mattered, gods truly existed in today's world.

Rosse's power and the order he had established had completely crushed the ambitions of a man like Teach.

He was smart. Smarter than anyone.

He knew perfectly well that a mere Dark-Dark Fruit wasn't even worth mentioning in front of Rosse. It couldn't change the fact that he was nothing more than an ant.

So now, all Teach wanted was to cling tightly to Whitebeard and survive in the cracks left by the World Government.

"Momonosuke is Kozuki Oden's only surviving bloodline. But Wano has already been completely transformed into the Navy's strongest base in the New World. His father, Kozuki Oden, was effectively killed by the World Government."

Ace smiled at Shanks as he spoke at an unhurried pace.

"Logically speaking, someone carrying the hatred of a destroyed country and the murder of his father and mother... In the eyes of pirates like you who are always talking about righteousness, even if he died, there shouldn't be any reason or excuse for betraying Whitebeard and joining the World Government, right?"

"Impossible! Momonosuke... How could he possibly join the World Government?"

Shanks looked up abruptly, disbelief written all over his face. He even thought Ace was trying to drive a wedge between them with such a cheap lie.

His father murdered. His mother taken.

Kozuki Oden was dead, and even the name of Wano had been erased.

Under those circumstances, no matter how useless Momonosuke was, how could he possibly wag his tail before his enemies?

"What in this world is impossible?", The smile on Ace's lips widened, "Hiyori holds quite a high position in the World Government's Military Affairs Department."

Amatsuki Hiyori.

That was the surname the little girl once known as Kozuki Hiyori had chosen for herself after being raised by Rosse.

"By status, Hiyori is not only the Deputy Minister of the Military Affairs Department, with tremendous authority, she's also Momonosuke's biological older sister."

"Once Momonosuke learned that his sister wasn't dead and had instead become one of the World Government's top officials, do you really think he'd keep staying aboard Whitebeard's doomed ship waiting to sink with it?"

With the calmest tone, Ace stated what had already become reality.

The truth was, Momonosuke really had betrayed Whitebeard.

But the real reason for his betrayal had nothing to do with seeing the light or family affection.

He was simply afraid of dying.

From beginning to end, Amatsuki Hiyori had never tried to recruit him. In fact, she despised the useless younger brother who shared her blood.

Instead, after accidentally learning who his sister really was, Momonosuke had clung to that information like a drowning man grabbing a lifeline.

He had gone to great lengths to approach World Government intelligence agents, humbly expressing his desire to betray the Whitebeard Pirates in exchange for wealth and status.

Someone like that was destined to be unwelcome by either side in this game of the times.

Even if the Great Age of Pirates had been nothing more than a play from beginning to end.

No audience wanted to watch a petty villain dancing happily across the stage.

"Hah... More of the World Government's tricks to manipulate people's hearts."

Shanks clenched his teeth, glaring at Ace as though he wanted to devour him alive.

This wasn't internal business for the Red Hair Pirates, but the departure of a Fourth Division Commander further weakened the remaining strength of the old era.

Shanks had long heard about Momonosuke's rotten character.

It was said that under Whitebeard's protection, the man had bullied men and preyed on women all over countless islands. No one even knew how many young women had suffered because of him.

Whitebeard had simply turned a blind eye out of old sentiment.

But pirates didn't need good character.

Setting that aside, in terms of strength, Momonosuke had grown up under Whitebeard's guidance, enjoyed the best resources, and carried the Kozuki bloodline.

Even a pig wouldn't have turned out too weak.

At over twenty years old, Momonosuke was only A-rank. That could no longer be described as merely not working hard. He was simply beyond saving.

Even so, an A-rank combatant was an extremely scarce resource for the pirates now.

"Why do you assume this is our doing?", Ace sneered, "Wouldn't it make more sense to say that anyone with a functioning brain can see which side they should be standing on now?"

He finally lifted the leather shoe that had been pressing on Luffy's face.

Looking down at the Straw Hat boy, who couldn't even crawl and could only clutch at the muddy ground while gasping for breath, his eyes were full of undisguised mockery.

"Shanks, don't tell me you remnants of the old era are really counting on trash like this to defeat us and overthrow the World Government?"

"Give up. He can't even get past us younger generation, let alone face my old man and the others."

Bang!

Ace casually lifted his foot and kicked Luffy away with the tip of his shoe as though kicking aside a sack of garbage.

Luffy rolled across the ground several times before crashing into a large rock with another cry of pain.

Ace slipped both hands into his coat pockets, turned around, and, with his back to Shanks, delivered his final judgment with a loud laugh.

"Kid, remember my name. I'm Ace. That bastard Roger you worship and went to sea for is the biological father who gave me life. I'm now a Marine Admiral of the World Government, and in the future, I'll become Fleet Admiral."

"And I'll also be the one who ends your life on that Final Island... the one who personally brings the Great Age of Pirates to an end."

With that, Ace's Justice cloak swept through the wind in a sharp arc as he walked away from the center of the square.

As for Rouge, who had been standing in the rear all this time, she had hardly spared Shanks and Luffy a glance.

Instead, she had been exchanging looks with Rosse in the distance, something no outsider could understand. The tenderness in her eyes was completely different from the coldness she had shown moments ago.

When their roles were finished, Rosse casually moved a finger.

Ripples like waves spread through the space around the two of them.

The next moment, they disappeared directly from the center of Loguetown's square, as though the mother and son had never appeared there at all.

At last, cold raindrops fell from the heavy storm clouds, striking Shanks's empty left sleeve.

"Damn it..."

Shanks dropped to his knees in the pouring rain, pounding the hard stone pavement with his only remaining hand as blood mixed with rainwater and flowed away.

He was an extremely intelligent man.

How could he fail to understand the most vicious meaning hidden within Ace's final words?

The World Government was delivering its final script to him... and to the entire old era.

When Luffy, the Nika who carried the hopes of countless pirates, finally fought his way through endless hardships to Laugh Tale, what awaited him wouldn't be the One Piece.

Nor freedom.

Instead, Ace would be standing where Roger had left behind the One Piece, wearing the cloak of the Fleet Admiral that represented Absolute Justice, personally executing him.

The Age of Pirates had begun with Gol D. Roger's final words on the execution platform in Loguetown.

And the last hope and final celebration of that era would be brought to an end by Roger's own son, standing on the opposite side with the executioner's blade of the Marines.

If the ending Rosse had planned truly came to pass...

Then for Roger's magnificent life, and for all the pirates who had died one after another for the Will of D, it would be the greatest irony imaginable.

In the end, the waves Roger stirred had changed nothing.

Every sacrifice and every drop of blood would become a complete joke.

Even the meaning of their existence would be utterly denied by such an ending.

Rain continued to pour down.

The storm that had been gathering over the East Blue for so long finally tore open the lead-gray sky and came crashing down.

The freezing rain formed dense curtains, soaking the entire central square of Loguetown.

The blue-white glow from the holographic screens refracted through the rain, casting patches of cold, distorted light.

Blood on the ground was quickly washed away, flowing through cracks in the paving stones and disappearing into the dark sewers.

As though the grudges of the old era were about to be washed away as well.

Luffy lay face down in a muddy puddle, covered from head to toe in filth.

His treasured straw hat had been soaked through by the rain, hanging heavily against the back of his head.

Unexpectedly, the rubber boy who was always noisy and who usually shouted about punching his enemies after every setback had become frighteningly quiet.

He didn't cry.

He didn't shout.

He simply gritted his teeth, propped himself up with trembling arms against the muddy ground, and slowly climbed to his feet.

Dragging his heavy steps through the puddles, he walked over to the kneeling Shanks.

Without saying a word, Luffy quietly reached out his bruised hand and gently patted Shanks on the shoulder.

He didn't understand why Shanks was so sad.

But he could feel how heavy Shanks's heart was.

Then he simply stood there beside him.

One tall figure and one small figure remained under the relentless rain like two lonely gravestones abandoned by the times, looking utterly desolate.

Not far away, the remnants of the Red Hair Pirates, along with Nami, Zoro, and the rest of the younger generation, silently watched the scene unfold in the rain like a black-and-white silent film.

Yet amid the deathly quiet broken only by the rain, everyone's expressions and state of mind were completely different.

The Red Hair Pirates, old pirates who had spent half their lives drifting across the sea, were filled with endless sorrow and the grief of those mourning others only to realize the same fate awaited themselves.

They mourned for their captain.

And they were holding a funeral for the golden age they could never return to.

On the other side, however, Nami, Zoro, Usopp, and the others wore especially complicated expressions.

There was no shared grief on their faces.

Instead, there was a trace of self-mockery and clarity lingering at the corners of their eyes.

This was Loguetown.

The birthplace of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger.

And also the place where his life had ended.

This was where all the madness had begun.

It was only fitting that all the illusions should be shattered here as well.

Standing in the square that carried the ultimate dream of countless pirates, the young members of the Straw Hat crew seemed to have been awakened by the cold rain and finally found where they truly belonged.

As for Roger himself, they had never been fanatically devoted to the Pirate King.

Nor had they ever deeply hated him.

Once the layer of romantic freedom painted over him by pirate fanatics was stripped away, Roger was, at his core, simply an extraordinary man whose death had ushered in an age of chaos.

But at the same time, he was also a bastard who selfishly abandoned his wife and child for the sake of righteousness and freedom.

To people like Nami, following Luffy out to sea and chasing their dreams was certainly important.

It was the brightest chapter of their youth.

But those dreams would never outweigh family and the bonds they shared.

Nami thought of Nojiko, Bell-mere, and everyone back in Cocoyasi Village.

Usopp thought of his mother, his wife, and the child that was about to be born.

In their values, if someone couldn't even protect the people closest to them, and was willing to sacrifice their family's happiness for some vague idea of freedom, then that kind of pirate romance, filled with selfishness and twisted ideals, deserved no praise.

And before them stood the two people most loyal to Roger's will.

One was Luffy.

The other was Shanks.

Seeing the two of them now, crushed by the truth and struggling hopelessly in the mud, Nami and the others couldn't help feeling, deep down, that they had brought it upon themselves.

If someone insisted on chasing a dream built upon the suffering of others, then when that dream turned out to be nothing more than a self-deceiving illusion, falling into the mud and being shattered beyond repair was a fate they could never escape.

This torrential rain extinguished the last embers of the old era.

And it also taught these young sailors the cruelest lesson of all.

They could already vaguely sense that the hell awaiting stubborn people like Luffy and Shanks in the future would be far deeper than anything they had experienced today.

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