One Piece: The Living Devil

[Loguetown, Beneath a Clock Tower at the Edge of the Plaza.]

A wide black umbrella perfectly shut out the wind and rain pouring from the sky.

Olvia quietly held the umbrella as she stood beside Rosse, calmly watching the farce in the rain that had already come to an end.

"So, in the end... he still didn't show up."

With one hand in his pocket, Rosse looked past Shanks and Luffy standing in the rain and fixed his gaze on the entrance to an alley outside the plaza, now completely empty.

He gently shook his head. A faint curve appeared at the corner of his lips, somewhere between mockery and sorrow, as he let out an almost inaudible sigh of regret.

Just ten minutes earlier, a man in a dark green cloak had been standing there.

But from beginning to end, Dragon never stepped forward.

He stayed there.

He watched his own son being trampled under Ace's foot like an insect and humiliated.

He watched his ally Shanks lose every shred of dignity after the truth was exposed.

He watched the last glory of the Roger Pirates be mercilessly crushed.

Yet he never took a single step.

He didn't use his powers, not even to help up his bloodied son.

Nor did he help Shanks, the man who had drawn countless attacks away from him.

With Dragon's intelligence and information network, he knew perfectly well that, according to Rosse's script, the time wasn't ripe yet.

The World Government would never really move against him now, much less kill him here.

As long as he had stepped forward, he could at least have given the despairing Shanks and Luffy a little psychological comfort.

But this man who constantly claimed to fight for all the people of the world never had the courage to risk everything.

Just like when he abandoned Moa, abandoned Ginny, Kuma, and the others.

Every time a crisis arrived, every time he had to choose between the bigger picture and the people he cared about... he was always the first to turn and run.

'Tsk! If you never fight for it, what makes you think the bigger picture will work out the way you want?'

"Let's go, Olvia."

Rosse withdrew his gaze and stopped looking at those remnants of the old era crying in the rain.

He turned and walked into the downpour, his leather shoes splashing through puddles with steady, cold footsteps.

"This is the last stop in the East Blue. I'm looking forward to their performance on the Grand Line."

The great bell atop the clock tower rang dully through the storm.

Rain poured down without end.

Protected beneath a bulletproof glass enclosure, the wooden execution platform in Loguetown's central plaza still stood silently.

Like a cold gravestone, it had witnessed the mad rise of an era twenty years ago, and now, twenty years later, it watched with the same indifference as that era met its most tragic ending amid endless despair and mud.

———

After leaving Loguetown, the Straw Hat Pirates set sail once more.

Leaving behind the harbor that carried the glory and tragedy of the old era, the Going Merry cruised steadily across the blue sea.

The sea breeze was still salty.

The sun still shone brightly.

It was as if the confrontation that had taken place in the central plaza just days earlier had been nothing more than an absurd dream.

For most people aboard, life seemed no different than before.

On deck, Zoro was shirtless, lifting a massive barbell nearly half his height. Sweat ran down his well-defined muscles as he breathed heavily.

Wearing his goggles, Usopp squatted beside the orange trees, fiddling with several small metal tubes and some gunpowder while muttering to himself as he worked on a new invention.

Nami lounged comfortably in a beach chair. Beside her, a small round table held the nautical charts she had carefully drawn, and every now and then she looked up to check the wind.

They were still the same lively little group, full of laughter and energy.

Everything they had seen and heard in Loguetown felt more like a grand movie that had nothing to do with them.

Roger, the World Government, those powerful figures who could shake the world, they were all still too far away.

Compared to those things, Nami cared more about drawing a complete map of the world, Zoro cared more about cutting through even stronger steel, and Usopp cared more about when his child would be born.

As for Sanji...

"Come on, everyone, give this a try! It's a chilled drink I made with Loguetown's famous limes! Help yourselves!"

Carrying a tray, Sanji swept over like a whirlwind and handed drinks to everyone except Luffy.

"Thanks, Sanji."

Nami smiled as she accepted the iced drink. After taking a sip, she let out a satisfied sigh.

The others did the same. Even Zoro set down his barbell and politely drank a few mouthfuls.

Training required staying hydrated.

Besides, if he drank it, Sanji might even give him a few pointers.

As the prince of the World Government, Zoro didn't even need to think to know Sanji had to be incredibly strong.

Everyone was busy with their own things.

Everyone except Luffy.

The simple-minded captain who usually jumped around shouting for meat was unusually quiet today.

He sat cross-legged on the Going Merry's iconic sheep figurehead, gripping his worn straw hat tightly with both hands as he stared silently at the distant horizon.

Ace's cold profile in an admiral's uniform.

Shanks kneeling in the rain, roaring in despair.

And what had happened to Juste...

Each of those memories weighed on the seventeen-year-old's chest like a massive stone.

He was still Luffy, the boy who would become the Pirate King.

But he vaguely felt that the storms waiting ahead on this voyage were no longer something he could simply cut through with passion alone.

"Hey! Everyone, look ahead!"

Usopp suddenly put down the gadget in his hands and pointed forward.

Everyone followed the direction of his finger.

At the point where sea and sky met, an endless wall of dark red land towered into the clouds, like the spine of some giant beast stretching across heaven and earth, abruptly cutting off the entire ocean.

"That's the Red Line."

Zoro set down the heavy barbell, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and walked to the bow.

His eyes shone with blade-like sharpness as an excited smile spread across his face.

"Once we cross that, we'll reach the Grand Line. That's where our real journey begins."

"Ahem! Allow yours truly to educate you."

Usopp somehow produced a pointer, cleared his throat, and struck the pose of a learned scholar.

"See that mountain hidden in the clouds? That's the legendary Reverse Mountain. Because of the Red Line blocking the seas and the area's unique magnetic fields, the currents from the Four Seas gather here and form four rivers that flow upward. Water flowing uphill. Can you believe it? It's nature's craziest masterpiece!"

"That's what the books say."

Nami stood up from her beach chair and walked to the railing, her eyes full of amazement.

Reading about it was one thing.

Actually standing before this crimson wall that looked capable of piercing the sky was another entirely.

No words could describe the pressure it brought to both the eyes and the soul.

She had actually never left the East Blue before.

Back then, she had already decided that she would travel the world herself and measure it with her own footsteps.

Only after that would she fulfill her mission.

People only lived once.

You had to live at least once for your dream.

Of course, that was only after making sure your family had nothing to worry about.

"Nature's masterpiece? That's old news."

Sanji walked over, lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and blew out a pale stream of smoke.

"Reverse Mountain isn't the deadly route where pirates have to risk being smashed to pieces anymore. These days, it's called the hub of the Four Seas."

"A hub?"

Zoro turned, puzzled.

"Yeah,"nSanji pointed toward the sea ahead, where countless sails were beginning to fill the horizon, "Under my old man's leadership, the World Government invested unimaginable manpower and technology to completely rebuild Reverse Mountain."

"Now it's the largest and busiest transit city open to the outside world. Every day, goods from the Four Seas and products from the Grand Line all pass through there. Merchant ships never stop coming."

As if to prove Sanji's words, the scene before them left everyone except Luffy gasping.

It was magnificent.

The broad waters at the entrance to Reverse Mountain, as wide as a strait, were packed with every kind of ship imaginable.

There were giant ocean freighters dozens of meters tall, luxurious cruise liners, and even specialized merchant vessels.

Under the direction of World Government Maritime Bureau patrol boats, countless ships were lined up in long, orderly queues.

They sailed smoothly and rapidly up the reverse current, which had been artificially widened and enclosed by enormous protective glass walls, disappearing into the clouds above.

"T-This is unbelievable! It's like climbing a staircase!"

Nami gripped the railing with both hands, stars shining in her eyes.

Besides marveling at the spectacle, her mind was already racing to calculate just how much wealth this amount of daily trade generated.

Under Nami's command, the Going Merry obediently entered one of the less crowded waiting lanes.

"Luffy! Stop spacing out and get down here!"

Nami called toward the sheep figurehead before reluctantly pulling out a bulging money pouch and tossing it to Luffy, who had just jumped onto the deck.

"Go pay the toll! One million Berries per ship! Hurry up! We're almost at the checkpoint!"

"Huh? One million?"

Luffy caught the pouch. The moment he heard the amount, all his gloomy thoughts vanished. His eyes went wide.

"Why do we have to pay just to cross a mountain? Isn't the sea supposed to be free?"

"Because we're pirates."

Nami shrugged helplessly and pointed at a merchant ship quickly passing through a nearby lane.

"See? Ordinary merchant ships and travelers only pay a tiny symbolic management fee. If a ship is registered with the World Government on the Red Line, it doesn't have to pay anything at all. They even get a VIP express lane."

"But we're flying a pirate flag. In this system, we're unregistered outlaws with no rights, so we're treated like fat sheep and charged expensive tolls. Those are the rules."

"What kind of stupid rules are those? I don't accept them!"

Luffy angrily waved his fists in protest.

"Then jump in and push the ship yourself!"

Nami smacked him on the head without hesitation and gritted her teeth.

"See those defensive cannons built into the mountain? If we try to force our way through, they'll blast the Going Merry into pieces in one second. Every pirate has to pay, so quit complaining and go!"

Knowing he couldn't win, Luffy could only rub his head miserably, take the money pouch, and walk down the gangplank extending from the Going Merry toward the massive toll station beside the waterway.

Inside the booth sat a middle-aged man wearing an ordinary World Government uniform.

He yawned lazily while holding a cup of hot coffee.

BANG!

Luffy slammed the money pouch onto the counter.

"Here! One million!"

Startled, the man looked up at Luffy, then at the Going Merry beside him and the Straw Hat skull flag fluttering above it.

He casually pulled over the money bag, dumped the contents into an automatic counting machine, and typed something on his keyboard while joking, "Oh, a pirate. Kid, you're still so young. Why'd you decide to become a pirate? These days, being a pirate doesn't have much of a future. With your build, you'd make more money delivering packages for the World Government Logistics Department than being a pirate."

There was no fear in his voice.

No disgust.

Not even hostility.

Only the amused teasing of an older man talking to a misguided teenager.

Luffy suddenly raised his head.

With a stubborn look in his eyes, he held down the straw hat on his head and loudly declared, "Cut it out! I'm the man who's going to become the Pirate King!"

"Pfft... Hahahahaha!"

The middle-aged man froze for a moment before bursting into uncontrollable laughter.

He laughed so hard tears nearly came out, and he almost spilled his coffee.

Still laughing, he waved his hand as if shooing away a fly.

"Pirate King? Hahahaha! Fine, fine, Lord Pirate King of the future. Hope you don't end up as a Sea King's snack on the Grand Line."

"Here's your pass. Just follow the current uphill and don't drift into the protective wall. All right, move along, move along. Next."

A stiff paper pass stamped with the World Government's official seal flew out of the window and landed in Luffy's hand.

Luffy stood there, gripping the pass tightly.

No one took him seriously.

No one even treated the word "pirate" as something important.

Back in the East Blue, villagers were still afraid whenever they heard the word pirate.

In Loguetown, Shanks had still been fighting over the direction of the era.

But here, at this ordinary hub under World Government rule...

Pirates. Pirate King. Words that had once shaken the world were, to ordinary people, nothing more than the foolish dream of an ignorant, edgy teenager.

An outdated joke that only made people laugh.

Being completely ignored and denied by the entire world felt even worse to Luffy than facing a powerful enemy.

But in the end, he did nothing.

Silently, he took the pass and returned to the Going Merry.

He would prove what it meant to be the Pirate King.

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