Chapter 70: Coming Up Empty On Both Ends
Navy Headquarters,
Fleet Admiral’s office.
“What did you say? Pluto Roger? Major Tina, are you sure… sure you didn’t see wrong.”
Fleet Admiral Sengoku slammed the table and stood up, veins bulging and throbbing at his temples.
What the hell?
That old guy who disappeared for nearly twenty years, couldn’t he just quietly die in some corner of the world?
The Den Den Mushi opened and closed its mouth, answering Fleet Admiral Sengoku’s question:
“Yes, although he looks a bit older than in the bounty poster photo, it mostly matches, and Prince Elus has also confirmed Pluto’s identity. He’s currently fighting Pluto, and also, Fire Fist has escaped. I’ve contacted Rear Admiral Gibbs; he’s leading his troops to pursue Fire Fist…”
“Fleet Admiral, what should we do next? Please give instructions!”
Tina, who was only a major, clearly wasn’t enough to control the suddenly extremely serious situation on Sabaody Archipelago.
So,
she requested guidance from Fleet Admiral Sengoku at Navy Headquarters.
“…”
The Den Den Mushi’s silence made Tina realize that she wasn’t the only one feeling troubled; even the Fleet Admiral seemed stumped.
After waiting about ten seconds or so,
the Den Den Mushi finally spoke.
“Major Tina, control Vice Admiral Dolo and send him back to Marineford on a warship.”
He didn’t say how to deal with the suddenly appeared Pluto, but instead first issued the order to deal with Vice Admiral Dolo.
If Vice Admiral Dolo were still sane, he would naturally be the best person to control the current situation.
But who let Vice Admiral Dolo be defeated by Fire Fist in a one-on-one fight? What a waste!
Especially after Fleet Admiral Sengoku roughly learned about Vice Admiral Dolo’s actions from Tina’s report, his mood worsened even more. He knew there were a large number of radicals in the Navy, most of whom were victims harmed by pirate invasions.
Some had their parents killed by pirates, some lost their hometowns due to pirate invasions, some had been personally bullied and harmed by pirates… Different reasons led to similar results: more and more radicals in the Navy, willing to do anything to capture pirates, using any means necessary.
Gradually, bastards like Vice Admiral Dolo emerged, treating civilian sacrifices as a matter of course!
Yes,
in Fleet Admiral Sengoku’s view, anyone who couldn’t protect the poor people, or even harmed them instead, was a bastard.
This was also why he didn’t like Sakazuki much. Flames that were too hot didn’t just bring warmth; they could also harm powerless civilians. Of course, Kuzan’s laziness and Borsalino’s unseriousness were also headaches.
Anyway,
Vice Admiral Dolo’s actions had angered Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
“As for the Pluto matter… you stay out of it. Let Prince Elus deal with him. Reinforcements have already departed from headquarters.”
Pluto,
an unexpected intruder.
An ultra-troublesome big problem.
Decades ago, when he and Garp were chasing the Roger Pirates on the Sea, he had clashed with Roger many times. That bastard Garp always charged ahead to trouble Roger, so Fleet Admiral Sengoku’s opponent naturally became Roger.
After nearly a hundred fierce battles, he deeply understood Roger’s strength.
However,
why exactly?
It had been nearly twenty years with no news, so why did he suddenly appear so abruptly? According to Tina, Roger blocked Prince Elus who was going after Fire Fist, so the reason was… Fire Fist?
He opened the drawer and accurately pulled out Ace’s bounty poster from the thick stack.
His scrutinizing gaze fell on the photo.
Black hair, black eyes, freckles on cheeks, bright smile… No obvious markers. He looked like a talented young man who had unfortunately gone astray but still retained some goodness (he had also learned from Tina about Ace rescuing kids from the slums).
“Roger… what made you suddenly appear?”
He interrogated his brain,
racking his mind to find a reasonable answer.
As for capturing Roger… he hadn’t held much hope from the start. As a strong person standing at the peak of the world, he knew very well that at this level, if Roger wanted to leave, it would be impossible to stop him without two or more strong persons of the same level joining hands.
Look at the Navy’s past records,
Roger turned himself in to be captured, the Golden Lion went mad and fought to the death until exhausted and captured.
Of course, slim hope was one thing, but the necessary responses still had to be made. He had already dispatched the only General guarding Marineford, not sure if they could make it in time for the sudden big show on Sabaody Archipelago!
“Damn it, exactly… what’s going on?”
Fleet Admiral Sengoku annoyedly rubbed his throbbing temples.
Blood pressure,
damn it, had risen.
“Ding ling ling—”
He pressed the service bell on the desk.
The secretary quickly pushed the door open and came in.
“Go, call that old bastard Garp over for me. Tell him this matter concerns his grandson.”
————
Sabaody Archipelago.
Grove 44.
“Damn old guy, he actually dared to toy with me!”
Sword Qi split the sea waves.
Countless unlucky fish were deprived of life by this sword, floating belly-up on the surface, faint crimson spreading, but soon vanishing with the rolling waves, restoring the clear blue original state.
Prince Elus stood on the sea cliff.
Waves crashed against the rocks at his feet, splashing white foam.
Right here, after fighting him for half a day from Grove 26 to Grove 44, Pluto suddenly dove into the sea, swimming like a nimble white shark, easily dodging the Sword Qi Prince Elus swung down, and quickly disappeared into the depths of the Sea.
Prince Elus’s fighting spirit was high!
In the end,
Roger suddenly slipped away.
“Damn it!!!”
Prince Elus cursed hatefully.
The Moonlight Sword in his hand dissipated, and the wings on his back also retracted and vanished.
Although he knew that on Grove 13, the bar called Nail Bar had deep ties with Roger, and blocking there had a high chance of catching Pluto, but… he had no interest now! His fighting spirit and enthusiasm were fading!
To be honest, fighting Roger wasn’t that fun.
Great Swordsman-level swordsmanship, peak Haki cultivation of the current world—Pluto Roger’s strength was so plain and unadorned, no fancy tricks, just this purest, flawless power. Fighting Roger was far less fun than the battle with BIG·MOM!
Compared to BIG·MOM’s endless moves and techniques, fighting Roger was as dull as blank paper.
“Prince Elus!”
A shout came from behind.
Tina, with disordered breathing, appeared on the distant grass torn apart by Sword Qi, followed by a group of panting Marines.
“Major Tina.”
Prince Elus turned around and nodded in response.
“Um, Prince Elus, Pluto…” Tina stood before Prince Elus, caught her breath, and immediately asked about the main matter.
“He got away.”
Prince Elus answered quickly.
“…Eh? Got, got away?”
“Yeah! Jumped into the sea, bullying ability users like us who can’t swim!”
Prince Elus said.
Tina widened her eyes, blankly looking at the calm sea waves.
Pluto got away?
Fine!
Actually, it wasn’t that surprising. She still didn’t have enough real sense of Pluto’s appearance; it all felt like a dream.
“Right, what about Fire Fist?”
“…”
Tina kept a straight face and didn’t speak.
“Got away? Tsk!”
Prince Elus was mentally prepared for this result. Even when he personally acted, Roger interfered; no need to mention others. His first mission as a Seven Warlords had failed like this, though there was the uncontrollable factor of Pluto.
But,
he was still a bit unhappy!
However, wait… Prince Elus’s gaze shifted and saw Second Lieutenant Isca mixed among the Marines, still looking lost and dazed.
“Major Tina, how is Vice Admiral Dolo? Is he okay?”
“The Vice Admiral has been sent back to Marineford on a warship to recuperate.”
“Then… what about Second Lieutenant Isca?”
Tina fell silent.
She and Second Lieutenant Isca had only met for the first time, but that didn’t stop her from sympathizing with this girl a few years younger than her. That cruel truth… honestly, she didn’t know how to deal with Isca now, and Fleet Admiral Sengoku hadn’t given instructions regarding Second Lieutenant Isca.
While her thoughts were swirling, Prince Elus had already come before Isca.
“Second Lieutenant Isca.”
The voice carrying soul-shaking power drew Isca’s attention. She looked up at Prince Elus before her, showing a pale smile. “Prince Elus, is there something you need?” Her hoarse voice carried cold detachment.
“What do you plan to do next?”
Prince Elus ignored the hidden coldness and pressed on.
Isca didn’t answer. She didn’t know what to do next? Not long ago, the reason she joined the Navy had collapsed and vanished, even making her feel a bit resistant toward the Navy. The Navy… was no longer her place.
Only,
if she lost even the Navy as her last refuge, she really would have nowhere to go.
“I think you’re probably going to retire, right?”
Even without an answer, Prince Elus continued on his own.
“After retiring? Have you thought about what to do? But given the education you received in the Navy, normal jobs would probably be hard to adapt to, so… you’d probably become a bounty hunter? Continue capturing pirates, but this time not as Navy…”
Isca was silent.
But listening to Prince Elus’s words, her brain involuntarily followed the train of thought.
Then,
the twist came.
“Instead of becoming a bounty hunter, how about… working under me?”
The cat was out of the bag,
Prince Elus revealed his purpose.
“Prince Elus, are you joking? Tina is shocked!”
Beside them,
Tina let slip her long-held verbal tic.
“Eckmond Kingdom also has a navy, but it’s not the World Government’s Navy. You can continue roaming the Sea, striking pirates, and… in the New World. If I’m not wrong, Fire Fist is now on his way to Fish-Man Island, and once past Fish-Man Island, it’s the New World Sea.”
“Why mention Fire Fist? Tina doesn’t understand!”
Her pink long hair fluttered slightly in the wind as the valiant female officer glared at Prince Elus.
“New World…”
Isca finally spoke.
She murmured this name yearned for by pirates, slowly lifting her head. “…I need some time to think.”
“No problem. What I have most now is time.”
Prince Elus smiled.
Although he didn’t catch Fire Fist, pulling over a Navy second lieutenant closely tied to Fire Fist—and a female one… he was a bit looking forward to the lively scenes in the New World later.
…
While Prince Elus was on the sea cliff pulling in hearts and minds,
in a large shipyard on Grove 52.
In the port,
an old craftsman sitting on the breakwater fishing saw the sea suddenly ripple unusually, immediately straightening his back and widening his sleepy eyes, thinking some big catch had come. But the next instant, Roger emerged from the water, gasping for air.
After seeing it was Roger, the old craftsman slumped back, narrowed his eyes, and muttered complaints.
“What is it! It’s old Roger! I thought it was some big catch! Got my hopes up for nothing.”
When Roger swam toward the shore, he shouted loudly,
“Old Roger, lost another bet?”
“Yeah! Bad luck!”
Roger climbed ashore, took off his coat, shirt, and pants, wringing out the excess water.
“Heh heh, you guy, why learn nothing good and go to the casino? How many times have you been thrown into the sea now?”
“Who knows. I don’t bother counting such things.”
After roughly drying his clothes, he put back on the wrinkled shirt and coat. Roger bid farewell to the old craftsman and, following a path only locals knew, smoothly arrived at Grove 13. He pushed open the back door of the Nail Bar and skillfully pulled out a plate of boiled beans and a bottle of alcohol from the kitchen cabinet.
The Nail Bar’s kitchen didn’t have a professional chef. The bar basically only sold alcohol; the kitchen was for personal cooking, and food was provided to special guests occasionally, but that was rare.
“Tired?”
The boss lady, hearing commotion from the back kitchen, lifted the kitchen door curtain.
“The young people nowadays are scary strong! If I hadn’t run fast, I might not have come back today.” Roger ate beans and smiled.
“That… Fire Fist?”
Shakky asked, a lady’s cigarette between her fingers.
No matter how exaggerated Roger’s words, his safe return proved the situation wasn’t dangerously worrying.
“A very good kid!”
Roger took a sip of alcohol, slightly furrowing his brows. “Just… hmm, how to put it—that kid has deep guilt in his eyes! Is that the phrase? I think he probably understood his identity very early… Pirate King’s son. That’s no light burden.”
Far from light,
Pirate King Gol D. Roger wasn’t an ordinary criminal, but a legendary villain known to all. He single-handedly opened this so-called Great Pirate Era. Even nineteen years after his execution, his reputation still shone brightly.
Though mostly in negative light.
The poor people suffering pirate ravages had always hated Roger. Even without him, the world never lacked pirates, but undeniably, his words before execution ignited countless ambitions.
The Pirate Era is real.
Due to Roger’s shocking influence, pirates on the Sea grew more year by year. Even with the Navy’s desperate suppression, it was just a drop in the bucket, hence the birth of the Seven Warlords system.
In short, on this vast Sea, for every pirate yearning for Pirate King, there were hundreds, thousands, or more poor people harmed by pirates hating the dead Pirate King.
“If he were a bad kid, no problem. But… that old bastard Garp raised the kid too kind!”
Roger held his wine glass, staring blankly at the pale green liquid.
A pirate too kind,
wasn’t a good thing!
Especially when this kind pirate had a father reviled by thousands and cursed by tens of thousands—that kindness would only bring him unending torment and pain, making him suffer mental anguish day and night, doubting if he should have existed in this world from the start…
“Sounds troublesome!”
Shakky said.
“Different from expectations, and the current problem feels even trickier.”
Roger’s smile was a bit bitter.
“So you’re planning to look after that kid?”
“…I don’t know.”
“Still hung up on your captain not entrusting the kid to you?”
“No…” Roger shook his head. “I’m just thinking, if I get involved in that kid’s affairs… is it good or bad! And seventeen isn’t a kid anymore…”
The lady’s cigarette burned out.
Shakky tossed the butt into the trash.
She turned and left the kitchen, her voice echoing, “If you’re really going on a long trip, leave a Life Card.”
Roger slowly put beans in his mouth with chopsticks, chewing the carefully cooked beans’ flavor, then sipping alcohol, repeating the cycle until the plate was empty and the bottle drained.
He set down the chopsticks and wine glass.
He sighed deeply.
“…Portgas D. Ace, little guy, sorry! Go find the meaning of your life with your own hands!”
