Three days later, at the Rog Town Navy branch.

"The execution platform in the center of the square has been completely sealed off, under the command of the base commander of the Rog Town Navy branch. In the past few days, even the local gangs in Rog Town have been behaving themselves, and the rats who came from the Grand Line to witness the execution are also very quiet."

Admiral Sengoku, cloaked in righteousness, was ready, his gaze fixed on the street outside the office window.

From today onward, this Rog Town in the East Sea would become the end of the pirates. Executing the Pirate King, who had just reached the final island after completing a voyage around the world, would greatly boost the Navy’s morale, and the opposite would also hold true.

Moreover, whether Navy or pirate, they both originated from ordinary people who had not yet set sail, just like Roger in his early days before he ventured out from Rog Town. After this execution, the pirates’ rats would fade into the long river of history, and in twenty years, the Navy would possess overwhelming combat power. The legend of the Pirate King would remain just that—a legend!

"Is the executioner confirmed?" Sengoku's voice rang out.

The communications officer behind him immediately replied, "Yes. Private Kevin from the 80th Navy branch in the West Sea, recommended by Vice Admiral Kuzan, is ready."

Sengoku turned to Kuzan, who was also present, and said, "I remember the base commander of the 80th branch is that guy Bartolomeo, right? Did he want you to take this elite class to the Navy headquarters?"

Kuzan pressed a hand to his forehead; if someone else had asked him this, he wouldn’t have wanted to respond. But an incident that happened at headquarters had left an impression on a base commander from the West Sea, one that even an admiral like Sengoku would remember.

As for this executioner, Kevin...

Uh, it seems he only came to Rog Town for three things: drinking, watching performances, and sleeping. Even though he had been reminded about the might of the Roger Pirates and the significance of the Pirate King’s identity among pirates, this guy seemed completely unconcerned.

Regardless of whether he was truly fearless or not, his personality was somewhat unpleasant.

“It’s almost time,” Sengoku glanced at the wall clock and then turned to all the Navy personnel present.

“Everyone, in one hour, we will begin to end the era of piracy.”

“From today onward, the world will know that even Gol D. Roger, who is called king by pirates, will be arrested by the Navy and will face execution in his birthplace, Rog Town in the East Sea.”

“Erasing pirates from this sea, ending this chaotic era!”

As his words fell, everyone, including Kuzan, nodded seriously. They all understood the significance of executing the Pirate King Gol D. Roger; this would mark the beginning of a tremendous boost in the Navy's prestige and the start of pirates fleeing in fear.

...

An hour quickly passed.

In the central square of Rog Town in the East Sea, people from all over gathered, including pirates, merchants, and many ordinary citizens.

The film snail capable of live broadcasting had already been pointed at the execution platform from various angles. The Navy had planned from the outset to let the whole world witness this execution, and reporters from the World Economic News Agency had found the best filming spots long before, just waiting for the execution to begin.

At that moment, two soldiers, dressed in uniforms, escorted Gol D. Roger through a pathway that separated the crowd in the square. In an instant, the originally noisy crowd fell silent.

All eyes were on Roger, including Kevin, who stood behind him holding a spear.

The evil value was too low.

After activating the prison's special perspective, Kevin saw that Gol D. Roger had an evil value of only one thousand six hundred thirty-five. Although he had known from the beginning that it wouldn’t be too high, this was still too low.

As a pirate whose combat power reached the pinnacle of the world, he ordered his crew not to harm ordinary people. Yet even when starting the Great Pirate Era, it shouldn’t have only been this low.

Moreover... he actually forgot that there were supposed to be two executioners for Roger's execution in Rog Town!

It seemed he needed to be a bit smarter later; Roger’s value was not merely his evil value. If this fellow beside him acted before he did, then this trip to Rog Town would truly be a loss beyond just meeting Dragon.

Wait!

The Great Pirate Era is... not yet started!

Kevin paused in his thoughts, while the already-nervous fellow beside him failed to notice, causing a situation where one was ahead and the other was behind.

“Clang!”

The sound of chains clashing made Kevin immediately catch up.

Roger slightly turned his head, “This young Navy officer just zoned out, huh? Are you nervous? Relax, the execution will go smoothly.”

Smoothly?

Kevin’s gaze was somewhat complicated.

The matter of life and death was being said so lightly by this man.

A fleeting image from his memory flashed by; that was Roger’s smile before the execution. At that time, it didn’t seem very impressive, but now it appeared... this man truly never took death to heart.

What he regretted was not being born in the same era as Joy Boy, not being able to be born twenty years later to participate as an experiencer in the opening of the next era.

If the power known as Haki in this world comes from the heart, then the man before him is the most powerful man.

Soon, Gol D. Roger had already stepped onto the execution platform.

As a longtime rival, Sengoku did not humiliate him by forcing him to kneel for execution but instead calmly watched as he sat down quietly with his head bowed.

“Gol D. Roger, in the year of the Sea Circle...”

A series of charges were read against Roger by Sengoku, including the destruction of nations and countless warships.

[Note: In manga chapter 588, Garp recalls how Roger once destroyed a nation's military for the sake of his crew.]

[Note: In manga chapter 966, Oden recalls that Roger forbade his crew from harming ordinary people, and even stealing was not permitted, or the captain would kill them.]

But Kevin knew very well that these charges were merely fabricated. After all, even eight-year-old Nico Robin would be accused of destroying five warships two years later; what couldn't they fabricate?

One by one, the charges were announced to the public, and after a long while, Sengoku finally stopped.

In an instant, Kevin’s nerves tensed up.

Is it coming?

Not yet?

That nameless pawn who would, in another sense, truly start the Great Pirate Era.

However, from a later perspective, it seemed like it was all arranged by Roger himself...

“Hey, Pirate King!”

“Where did you hide the treasures you found? Is it really in the Grand Line? You must have gotten it, right? That legendary great treasure, the unique great treasure! One Piece!”

The shouts fell.

The next moment, Roger on the execution platform suddenly raised his head and laughed loudly.

Then he looked down at the crowd, at all the image snails pointing here, as if the ones he was making eye contact with were all the people in this world.