Loguetown had now acquired a brand-new name.
As the place where Roger had set sail and the place where his journey ended, Loguetown had been given entirely new significance because of Roger alone.
Town of the Beginning and the End, the Town of Origin and Conclusion—these had become a new nickname for Loguetown.
Yet the current Loguetown was a rather unique sight.
In the seas around Loguetown, several flags gradually appeared over the horizon. They bore skull emblems of various designs. Without question, these were pirate ships.
Because of Roger’s declaration about the One Piece, the pirates of East Blue were among the first to become restless.
If Roger could set out from East Blue and eventually become the Pirate King, then so could they.
What awaited them, however, was not a new voyage, but a sky filled with cannonballs.
“Meteor Fist Shower!”
Rows of cannonballs were neatly stacked on racks and delivered to the docks by Marine soldiers. Then Garp acted as a human cannon, hurling every single one of them out.
Though he stood alone, he unleashed firepower fiercer than a full coastal artillery barrage.
“I can’t let b*stards like you… just sail out to sea…”
Looking at the wreckage of pirate ships beneath the barrage, Garp let out a sigh. Clearly, it wasn’t physical exhaustion, but mental fatigue.
The rampaging era, the countless pirates, and the burden Roger had left him all made Garp feel drained both mentally and physically.
At this point, Loguetown seemed to have become a holy land in the eyes of pirates, especially those from East Blue who had been inspired by Roger and wished to enter the Grand Line.
And Loguetown was the final place in East Blue where ships could resupply before entering the Grand Line. Under the influence of all these factors, pirates from across East Blue were now converging on Loguetown.
But the spread of information was delayed. These pirates had only heard Roger’s declaration and overlooked the fact that, because of Roger’s execution, Loguetown had already gathered a massive Marine presence, including many of the Marines’ top combatants.
Even the great pirates of the New World would never encounter a lineup of this caliber unless the World Government had issued orders for a decisive battle.
In a sense, before East Blue’s first wave of pirates could even enter the Grand Line, most of them had already been wiped out near Loguetown.
The truly smart ones had set sail the moment Roger was executed, while the Marines were still focused on Roger. They certainly wouldn’t walk into a trap at a time like this.
There were also some people who, due to personal circumstances, found it difficult to leave Loguetown and continued to live there, waiting for the Marines to depart before making their move.
At present, the Marines’ main attention was directed toward those preparing to leave port or those who had recently entered port. For people with no intention of setting sail, the impact was minimal.
At this moment, Buggy sat inside a bar bearing Roger’s name on its signboard, listening to others boast about their captain’s legend and fantasize about a future that seemed utterly unrealistic in Buggy’s eyes.
Buggy himself was equally lost. The Roger Pirates had long since disbanded, and Roger’s death had brought everything to a definitive end.
Previously, Buggy had his own ideas. He had always believed that Roger regarded Shanks as his successor.
He had been right there watching the whole time when Shanks received Roger’s straw hat and was entrusted by Roger.
Losing his treasure map and ending up eating the Chop-Chop Fruit, turning himself into a landlubber…
That was partly his own fault. If he hadn’t been greedy for the fruit’s value—
He wouldn’t have swallowed it outright after being startled by Shanks.
But regardless, in Buggy’s eyes, Shanks’s future was far brighter than his own.
Since Roger’s wish was for Shanks to inherit his legacy, Buggy was willing to give up some things and support his friend.
Just as Rayleigh had supported Roger, Shanks had already become the captain in Buggy’s heart.
But…
[I’ve changed my mind. For now… no, I don’t plan on going for the time being, but I will continue being a pirate.]
When Buggy had asked Shanks when he planned to set sail and take his own ship to Laugh Tale, Shanks had hesitated.
To Buggy, that hesitation was cowardice. It was also a “betrayal” of Roger.
“I was wrong about you, Shanks, you b*stard… So the king of the next era… isn’t you…”
This was the era Roger had begun. As Roger’s chosen successor, Shanks should have been the first to set sail. That was Buggy’s simple way of thinking.
After that, the two went their separate ways. Buggy didn’t know what Shanks had gone off to do. Likewise, Buggy didn’t know what he himself should do. So he remained in the bar, lingering in a somewhat despondent state.
As for Nereus and the others, although they were preparing to conclude their journey and return to Fish-Man Island, they were still staying in Loguetown for the time being.
After all, returning to Fish-Man Island from East Blue would take some time no matter what. There was no need to rush.
Bringing back some souvenirs before returning home was a common enough thing.
Loguetown had never originally been a tourist town, nor did it possess any famous local specialties. Recently, however, the most popular shops had become weapon stores of every kind.
Whether it was a pirate ship, a merchant ship, or even a small fishing boat, it was best to carry weapons for self-defense when sailing. In a sea like East Blue, where there were many “ordinary people,” firearms and blades still possessed sufficient deterrent power.
Those ordinary people who had only recently decided to become pirates had an especially enormous demand for weapons.
As a result, the owners of weapon shops were making a fortune, and some were even hoping Garp and the others would leave as soon as possible so business could become even better.
“These kinds of swords are everywhere. There’s no need to bring this sort of merchandise back from East Blue.”
Amphitrite used a sword herself. She couldn’t recite the names of every Famous Sword in existence, but she could still judge whether a blade was good or bad.
Whether it was a weapon hanging on the wall or one casually piled into barrels and onto shelves, they all seemed utterly ordinary in her eyes. Their quality was inferior even to the standard-issue weapons distributed by the Marines.
If the user lacked sufficient skill, a few clashes would probably be enough to break them.
“For a sword that costs only a few tens of thousands of Berries, you shouldn’t expect too much. Besides, there are actually a few decent blades hidden among them.”
As he spoke, Chloe was curiously peering into a nearby barrel.
Neither Amphitrite nor Nereus interfered with her. Sharp objects posed no danger to her. No matter how sharp a blade was, only someone with sufficient strength could unleash truly powerful sword slashes with it.
These weren’t legendary divine weapons, after all. If they were simply lying there, even if Chloe grabbed the blade with all her strength, at most it would leave a faint white mark on her palm.
The barrels holding the swords were actually taller than she was. Yet among them, one sword gave Chloe a strange feeling.
Compared to the ordinary blades around it, this sword seemed as though it could “speak”…
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