Luffy, how can you become the Pirate King if you don't work hard!

"Because he saw the end of our journey, and he also saw the end of his own life."

That's a past I don't really want to recall.

Chapter 308 Igniting the World's Karmic Flames

Reilly said, "About four years before that day of public execution, Roger contracted an incurable disease. It was a disease that no one could cure, and even his incredibly strong body was weakening and suffering terribly from the pain."

At that time, only Crocus, the doctor recognized as the best physician at sea and who was also in charge of guarding the Twin Capes Lighthouse, was able to alleviate Roger's pain.

So Rayleigh and the others begged him to join them as the ship's doctor and accompany the Roger Pirates on their final journey.

In the end, Crocus agreed.

Three years before his public execution, guided by Roger's ability to hear the voice of all things, the Roger Pirates reached the end of the Grand Line, Laugh Tale.

Roger, nearing the end of his life, accomplished what the world considered an impossible feat.

They dominated the entire Grand Line!

"Mr. Crocus?"

Luffy paused for a moment, and the image of the kind old man guarding the giant whale Laboon beneath the Reverse Mountain lighthouse flashed through his mind.

"Didn't that uncle say he'd been on the cape for 50 years? Turns out he was a member of the Pirate King's crew too."

Nami recalled, "Come to think of it, he did mention that he was a pirate for a few years. I never imagined that he was on the Pirate King's ship for those three years!"

"You've seen him, which proves he's doing quite well now."

Rayleigh smiled, his tone becoming more relaxed: "That Crocus guy, it seems, agreed to join Roger's ship because he wanted to find a missing pirate crew, thinking that he might be able to find clues with Roger's abilities."

"It was Brook's original Rumbar Pirates."

Luffy said, "Mr. Crocus set sail to find Brook and Laboon, right?"

In that sense, all the causes and conditions seemed to come together at that moment.

Rayleigh raised an eyebrow in surprise: "Oh? You even know this? It seems your adventures are quite exciting."

Although Crocus only served as a crew member for three years, there's no doubt he was an important partner to us. Now that I'm older, I long to see these old friends again.

"So, what happens after you dominate the seas?" Luffy pressed.

He was very curious about the story of One Piece.

Rayleigh said, "It was after that that Roger was given the title of Pirate King by the world."

Merry's eyes widened as if she were listening to a story.

This is something that no one in One Piece knows.

"But he can't be the Pirate King forever. Titles are meaningless to a man who is about to die. However, Roger enjoyed it until the very end."

A nostalgic smile appeared on Rayleigh's face. "He was a man who liked to make a big fuss about everything he did."

Whether it's hosting a banquet, engaging in battle, or even planning for his own not-too-distant future, everything is already in place.

He still seems to be enjoying life.

Not long after, the Roger Pirates quietly disbanded under the captain's orders.

Everyone went their separate ways, disappearing one after another, living in anonymity.

Rayleigh had almost no idea where his former comrades, with whom he had fought so hard, were now, or what they were doing.

Perhaps it's true, as Rayleigh said, that he's already a retired veteran. As people get older, their bodies and all aspects of their health can't keep up—their willpower, energy, physique... Even Garp no longer travels all over the world to catch pirates like he used to. When he has nothing to do, he just goes back to the East Blue to loot.

Since Zephyr is still active on the front lines, frankly speaking, he can only be surpassed by new generation pirates like Luffy.

"Then, a year after the disbandment, Roger surrendered and was arrested. In his birth city, Loguetown in the East Sea, a public execution was announced."

Rayleigh felt as if he had returned to the square of the town known as the town of beginnings and endings.

"I heard that many young pirates who are now famous at sea gathered in the square that day. The execution of the Pirate King attracted worldwide attention."

Rayleigh didn't go, remembering what Roger had told him.

"I won't die, brother."

And indeed, it seems that Roger never really left.

"The World Government and the Navy should be quite surprised."

Rayleigh said, "Because their public execution, which was intended to warn other pirates, suddenly turned into a ceremony that ushered in the Great Pirate Era because of Roger's last words."

In everyone's ears, it seemed as if they could hear the legendary man's final declaration to the world from the execution platform:

"My treasure? You can have it if you want it! Go find it! I've left everything in this world there!!"

Rayleigh's gaze was leisurely.

Looking back on his life, was it truly magnificent?

It's definitely not as exciting as our own captain's performance.

"Roger transformed the last few seconds of his life into a raging inferno that ignited the entire world."

I have never laughed like that night, never cried like that night, and even the nights when we drank heartily together have become a thing of the past.

Our captain has led an incredibly exciting life.

Rayleigh shook his head and smiled.

Nami murmured, "It sounds like we've heard a really incredible story, but from the person involved, it sounds incredibly tragic."

"If that's the case, then this Great Pirate Era seems to have been orchestrated by Roger himself!"

Luffy clenched his fist. "Is everything going according to his plan?"

Rayleigh chuckled and adjusted his glasses. "That's a difficult question to answer. Roger is dead. Only those who live in this era can create it."

Those who inherited a certain will from Roger on that day in the plaza truly existed in this era. Shanks, whom you know, was one of them.

"Uncle, do you know Shanks?" Luffy was taken aback.

"Have you ever heard of a pirate named Buggy in the East Blue?" Rayleigh asked in return.

In an instant, Nami and Zoro's expressions both became somewhat strange.

They were all too familiar with that red nose.

"Those two lads were both apprentice crew members on Roger's ship back in the day," Rayleigh said casually.

"Shanks was once on the Pirate King's ship?!"

Luffy was genuinely shocked this time, and he couldn't help but look at Uta beside him, "Do you know?"

"I know."

Why didn't you tell me?!

Uta pouted and glared at Luffy with some dissatisfaction: "You didn't even ask me."

"What? Shanks didn't tell you?"

Rayleigh watched Luffy and Uta's interaction with some surprise: "About ten years ago, I ran into him on this island by chance. At that time, I noticed that his signature straw hat and left hand were missing. When I asked him why, he talked about you with great joy."

Rayleigh recalled the scene from back then.

Shanks happily recounted his experience to him, "Mr. Rayleigh, I was really shocked at the time. There was a kid in the East Blue who said the same thing as Captain Roger, the captain's oath!"

"So you delivered the straw hat Roger entrusted to you?" Rayleigh looked at Shanks's severed arm. "But what happened to your arm?"

"I've staked it all on the new era!" Shanks' expression turned serious. "Lately, I've been having recurring dreams, dreams of seeing a face that looks exactly like that brat in that place you mentioned, Mr. Rayleigh..."

Shanks felt that it seemed to be some kind of karmic cycle.

Things that Shanks has been hoping for so far seem to be going in the best possible direction.

"Your name is Uta, right?"

Rayleigh turned his gaze to Uta, smiled, and said, "She's Shanks' adopted daughter. He also mentioned you to me, saying you have extraordinary abilities and are a musical genius."

Uta forced a smile, then lowered his head, his fingers unconsciously twisting together.

She didn't really want to talk about Shanks.

Rayleigh noticed it too, but didn't investigate further.

"Anyway, ever since then, I've wanted to meet you, Monkey D. Luffy, someday. But since Shanks didn't tell you these things himself, I can't presume to do it for you."

Rayleigh looked at Luffy and said, "Anyway, I'm glad you guys made it here after all that hardship. That guy must be getting impatient waiting for you in the New World."

"Yes, I'm really looking forward to it too,"

Luffy adjusted his straw hat, turned around, reached out and grasped Uta's slightly cold hand, and said with a smile, "Then, shall we go see him together?"

Uta suddenly raised her head, a hint of panic and complexity flashing in her heterochromatic eyes.

Luffy said seriously, "Wouldn't it be better to ask him yourself if there's anything wrong?"

He wasn't oblivious; he could sense that Uta's attitude towards Shanks was somewhat subtle, unlike before when she would always mention Shanks' name.

Perhaps there was something hidden about Uta's disembarkation last time.

Uta's lips moved, and she finally gave a soft "hmm," without pulling away from his hand.

At this moment, Robin stepped forward.

“Mr. Raleigh, I have a very important question.”

Robin's expression was serious as he recalled his journey over the years, and everything he had seen and heard pointed to the same question.

"What exactly is this so-called Will of D?"

She paused, then continued, "On the Poneglyphs I saw on Skypiea, Roger's name was inscribed in ancient script. How was he able to use that script?"

She remembered the message she and Luffy had seen beneath the Golden Bell Tower.

"I have come here to lead this text to its final destination. Pirate, Gol D. Roger."

The truth that Robin had been searching for all along, she thought there was no hope left in Alabasta.