Looking at the picture in the newspaper, everyone in Roger's pirate crew fell into a deep silence.
Especially Buggy and Shanks—the two kids were speechless, unable to say a word.
The legendary Great Pirate, a top fighter as famous as their captain, had died in the unknown North Blue.
He had died at the hands of the Marines.
The visually striking photo in the newspaper and the tall figure standing next to Shiki's body made them feel their hair stand on end and a chill run down their spines.
It was as if they were reliving the fear of their first encounter with that Marine... when they were almost killed.
And now, the most terrifying thing was that the Marine had become even stronger.
"Something doesn't feel right. We saw that Marine brat's strength in the Edd War Sea. Although he has become much stronger, he is definitely not strong enough to kill Shiki."
Gaban furrowed his brows and rubbed his stubble on his chin.
Rayleigh nodded in agreement.
Even if Roger gave it his all, he would not have been able to defeat Shiki.
No matter how he thought about it, it was impossible for Daren to kill Shiki.
"Roger, what do you think?"
No one answered his question.
Rayleigh paused, turned his gaze, and saw Roger sitting there quietly, clutching the newspaper in his hands, saying nothing.
"Are you okay, Roger?"
Rayleigh's gaze shifted slightly, and he patted Roger on the shoulder.
Roger was silent for a long time before shaking his head.
He exhaled a long breath.
"Shiki... he's dead..."
Seeing the complex expression on their captain's face, everyone fell silent.
Shiki was their enemy, and he had even forced them into a desperate situation during the Battle of Edd War.
If it weren't for that sudden storm, they would probably have been buried at sea.
But even so, they understood very well the mutual respect and admiration between their captain and Shiki, two powerful men.
"I'm fine."
After a long pause, Roger shook his head and smiled slightly.
"Shiki's journey has come to an end, but our voyage continues."
"Everyone has their own adventure."
"And Rayleigh..."
He pointed to the photo in the newspaper.
"No matter what happened here, no matter what tricks that Marine brat Daren used, I can say with certainty that Shiki had no regrets."
"See? He died with a smile on his face."
Roger paused for a moment and looked up at the endless blue sea in the distance.
A bold and carefree smile gradually appeared on his face.
"He must have had a thrilling battle."
When he said this, everyone was shocked.
A thrilling battle…
Could it be that the strength of that Marine had reached legendary levels?
"We should leave here too."
Before everyone could react, Roger wiped the oil stains from his mouth and stood up from the ground.
His broken front teeth had grown back, and he put on his bright red captain's coat and strode toward the Oro Jackson.
"Let's set sail."
"Our final adventure awaits us."
The sun was shining and the sea breeze was blowing.
His steps were firm, and the smile on his face was radiant.
The crew was stunned for a moment.
Boom!
A cannonball suddenly exploded on the coast, causing a wave to rise.
Roger was so scared that he rolled and crawled, rushing onto the pirate ship as if fleeing.
"Hurry up and get out of here! That bastard Garp is coming!"
He shouted.
Everyone: …
…
Somewhere in the New World.
A massive pirate ship, resembling a white whale, crawled slowly across the sea.
The air was sharp with cold, and the skull-flag bearing a curved white mustache flapped fiercely in the wind.
Marco and the other members of the Whitebeard Pirates stared solemnly at the newspapers in their hands, wordless for a long time.
Kozuki Oden, missing one arm, slumped against the railing in despair. Empty bottles lay scattered around him, his face flushed red—completely drunk.
At the bow of the ship, Whitebeard held a jug of strong liquor and gazed out into the distant sea, his expression unreadable.
The sea breeze rustled his flowing white captain's coat.
At some point,
Whitebeard suddenly raised the bottle and downed it in one gulp.
"It's been a long voyage, Shiki..."
He murmured softly.
A complex blend of grief and remembrance flickered through his deep-set eyes.
...
Totto Land, Whole Cake Island.
At the Whole Cake Island headquarters—
"Mamamamamama!! You really are the man I had my eyes on!! You actually took down that bastard Shiki!!!"
A sultry yet piercing laugh echoed through the cream-scented castle. The shrill soundwave made the guards of the Big Mom Pirates around the castle go pale, collapse in exhaustion, and fall to their knees with a thud.
...
Top floor of the Cake Castle.
Katakuri listened to his mother's unrestrained laughter, his brows deeply furrowed, his eyes boiling with fury and murderous intent.
He clenched his teeth, stepped forward, and suddenly hurled his trident, Mogura.
Whoosh!!
The trident screamed through the air, embedding itself deep into the wall of the castle. The shaft quivered from the impact.
It pinned a newspaper fluttering in the wind.
More precisely—it pinned a photo on the front page.
"Sooner or later, I'll kill you, Rogers Daren!!"
Katakuri growled, his eyes bloodshot.
...
Wano Country.
Kuri Region.
Research Facility.
"AAAAAHHHHH!!"
A wretched scream suddenly erupted from inside the lab—Only to be cut off moments later.
A few seconds passed.
"Damn it!! Another failure!! How is this even possible!?"
Wearing suspenders, Queen stormed out of the research facility, livid with rage.
"I controlled the virus dosage perfectly! Why would it still fail!?"
Nearby members of the Beasts Pirates, seeing Queen's red, bloodshot eyes, scrambled backward in terror, shaking.
If Queen noticed them, they were as good as dead.
Behind the lab, the pile of corpses was already a small mountain.
Queen ignored them, climbed onto his motorcycle, and his massive body made it groan in protest. With a roar of the engine, he sped off.
Today was the Beasts Pirates officers' meeting.
He couldn't afford to be late again—or he'd be beaten to a pulp.
Soon, Queen arrived at the ceremonial hall of the Beasts Pirates in the Kuri District.
As he stepped into the Japanese-style palace, he immediately sensed something was off.
All the officers stood trembling, legs shaking like leaves.
"Uh... what happened?"
Queen quickly combed through his recent memory to confirm he hadn't done anything wrong. Only then did he cautiously step further in.
King, his face hidden beneath dark armor, glanced at him.
"See for yourself."
He tossed a newspaper into Queen's hands.
Queen blinked, puzzled, and opened it.
But the moment he saw the contents—
"What!?"
The fat man in suspenders nearly had his eyes pop out of his skull, his jaw hanging wide open.
"Shiki... was killed by that Daren guy!?"
Panic-stricken, he raised both hands in the air, drenched in cold sweat.
"Kaidou-sama! This has nothing to do with me!!"
"I know that!!"
Kaidou snapped, clearly angry. Sparks flashed in his eyes.
Hearing that, Queen finally let out a long sigh of relief and chuckled,
"Heh... well, I guess that's a good thing. That bastard Shiki was always a pain anyway. Better off dead."
"Still... how did that brat Daren manage to kill Shiki?"
"Something's not right here..."
Queen rubbed his chin, creating waves of fat.
"Wait a minute..."
Suddenly, a lightbulb seemed to go off in his head. He clapped his fist into his palm, eyes lit up.
"I got it!"
"Kaidou-sama, could it be that you purposely didn't tell Shiki about how strong that kid really is, and that's why he got blindsided!?"
At those words, King's eye twitched slightly.
But Queen, still oblivious, continued rambling.
"Could this be why that brat Daren got even stronger again?"
"If he comes back to Wano... we're in for it. Eh?"
Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine.
A massive, demonic shadow had fallen across his vision.
"W-Wait! Kaidou-sama—!"
Queen's expression changed drastically as he stumbled backward in fear.
Zzzzzzt...
Electric arcs crackled across the kanabō.
...
The eruption of the Battle of Edd War, and the death of Shiki, had thrown the world into even greater chaos.
Especially the death of Shiki—it created a massive power vacuum in the New World.
Countless pirates and factions, both big and small, surged across the seas like sharks scenting blood, hoping to carve out a piece of the pie.
But no matter how turbulent the world became...
There remained one sea that stayed absolutely peaceful.
The "Forbidden Sea"—North Blue.
Whether it was a nation of overwhelming military strength, a treacherous mafia,or a fearsome Great Pirate—
Once they set foot in North Blue, they had to obey that man's rules.
Otherwise, only destruction awaited them.
Of course... that might just be a myth.