Chapter 2: The Great Pirate Era

Loguetown, Central Square.

To publicly execute the Pirate King Luo Jie and thereby intimidate the pirates of the seas.

The World Government and the Marines built a special execution platform in the town's central square, ensuring every corner could see Luo Jie being executed.

The sky had just dawned, and the square was already packed with onlookers from the Four Seas and the Grand Line.

In the crowd, Saint Saint Saiwen stood expressionless beside Mihawk, feeling both the excitement of the system activating and a heavy heart at Captain Luo Jie's imminent departure.

Six years ago, Seven was running a stall selling Three-Color dumplings in his hometown of Housha Town when a group of hooligans smashed his stall.

After withstanding the punches and kicks of five hooligans, Saint Saint Saiwen thrust a knife at their leader, finally scaring them off.

While cleaning up the stall alone, a large hand reached out: "Kid, your fish balls are good."

"Come to my ship."

At that moment, Captain Luo Jie's towering figure blocked the scorching sun, a halo hanging behind his head, leaving Saint Saint Saiwen stunned in place for a long time before he could recover.

It wasn't that he was won over by Captain Luo Jie's charm, but rather that the transmigration benefits had finally arrived.

【Ding, the Ten Realms Trading Platform binding successful. Please complete the prerequisites to activate the system.】

From then on, Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen officially became a cook for the Luo Jie Pirates.

He experienced the Battle of Edd War with the crew, encountered the Whitebeard Pirates, and fought in dozens of battles large and small; afterward, he even reached Skypiea, Fish-Man Island, Wano Country, and Zou the Elephant Island...

The final island, Laugh Tale.

It was also during this process that Saint Saint Saiwen collected the several items required to activate the system.

Captain Luo Jie's straw hat—the one passed to Shanks and then given by Shanks to Luffy—was swapped by Saint Saint Saiwen with a fake and submitted to the system.

Whitebeard's beard, obtained by trading homemade fine wine.

Blackbeard Teach's teeth were kicked out by Buggy; Saint Saint Saiwen secretly picked up two of the three knocked out.

Over the six-year journey, although his personal strength was lacking, Saint Saint Saiwen got along very well within the Luo Jie Pirates.

Those who have lived at sea know that you can provoke anyone, but never a cook; once a cook is angered, even if the food isn't poisoned, it is highly likely to be made extremely unpalatable.

Unfortunately, just as no banquet lasts forever, the journey too must eventually end.

A commotion suddenly arose in the crowd; under the escort of two soldiers, Captain Luo Jie's figure appeared.

Fingertips digging into his palm, Saint Saint Saiwen's body instantly tensed up; only after watching Captain Luo Jie step by step ascend the execution platform did his breathing slowly return to calm.

He respected Captain Luo Jie's choice.

A game of chess with the World Government.

The World Government and the Marines aimed to intimidate the pirates of the seas and demonstrate the Marines' authority through the public execution of the Pirate King.

As for the result, it cannot be said to have been useless.

It can only be said that—

Captain Luo Jie's dying words about the One Piece, spread rapidly across the world through word of mouth by eyewitnesses on the scene, ultimately created the Great Pirate Era.

To seek the One Piece, pirates and refugees alike set sail, making the era more turbulent than ever before.

The Great Pirate Era saw the successive emergence of the Four Emperors of the Sea, successfully attracting the World Government's attention and allowing the Revolutionary Army ample time to develop.

This is the great trend following the Great Suppression Era.

Some also say this was Luo Jie's deliberate doing, because Imu's Black Turn Domination can only be performed on the dominated subject's homeland.

So Luo Jie spoke of the One Piece to lure everyone away from their homes to adventure at sea, cutting off the Black Turn Domination.

Whether setting sail for freedom, for seeking the One Piece, for collecting Poneglyphs, or for uncovering the truth of the buried Void Century.

All of this will ultimately lead to: the Ultimate Great Battle.

As for whether the dragon slayer will become the dragon, that depends on who is truly the winner in the end.

However, Saint Saint Saiwen believes that no matter which side is the true winner after the final battle, classes cannot be eliminated, because this is human nature.

There will always be those who take pride in becoming superiors.

Just as everyone hates the Celestial Dragons, everyone also wants to become a Celestial Dragon.

Because what people hate is not privilege itself, but those who enjoy privilege... not themselves.

Exhaling a cloud of turbid air, Saint Saint Saiwen stared expressionlessly at the execution platform until Captain Luo Jie's gaze swept over; then, with a smile filling his brows and eyes, Saint Saint Saiwen moved his lips but made no sound.

"Sayonara, Captain."

Pity, I never learned the Captain's Geppo, Ara Mitama, or Kagutsuchi...

Especially the latter two techniques; from now on, there will be no inheritance.

In the future, across the entire sea, only that guy Shanks will be able to casually slash out a Geppo.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Saint Saint Saiwen spotted Moria nearby, a burly figure brimming with a confident smile.

"From now on, this guy won't be able to smile."

One year later, a pirate uprising occurred in Wano Country; the Beasts Pirates and Moria's Pirates fought a great battle in Ringo, where Moria was defeated miserably, losing all his comrades.

When fleeing Wano Country, Moria dug up the grave of Shimotsuki Ryuma, taking away the corpse and the famous sword Enma.

From then on, he lost his spirit.

The power system of the pirate world relies heavily on spirit; once the spirit is gone, strength will decline accordingly.

Moria, defeated by Kaido, originally had a pointed head; Green Onion, whose head was hammered flat by Garp; both lost their spirit, leading to a massive drop in strength.

"Hey, Pirate King."

A man in the crowd resembling Garp cupped his hands around his mouth like a megaphone: "You got that legendary One Piece, didn't you?"

"That unique One Piece."

"ONE PIECE~ Ah!!!"

On the execution platform, Luo Jie sat cross-legged, showing no fear of impending death, just as he would chatting casually with his crew on the deck.

"Ho-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

"My treasure?"

"If you want it, go get it, go find it—I've placed all my treasure there."

"Shut up." The two soldiers hurried to carry out the execution.

The sky, moments ago bright with sunshine, was instantly cloaked in dark clouds, then heavy raindrops poured down like beans.

Crowds from around the world filled the Loguetown square, showing no sign of seeking shelter from the rain; instead, spurred by the news of the Great Treasure, cheers and laughter rang out endlessly.

Under the rain, Buggy wept until his body convulsed, terrified others wouldn't know he was connected to Luo Jie.

Nearby, Shanks wore the straw hat that Saint Saint Saiwen had bought for Luo Jie; his still-boyish face twisted, tears long since streaming freely.

Saint Saint Saiwen roughly wiped his face, feeling this rain carried a saltier, bitterer taste than usual.

Three fifteen-year-old boys bade farewell to their captain in their own ways.

"Ding, the Multiverse Trading Platform has opened."

"Ding, congratulations on receiving your beginner's gift pack."

Saint Saint Saiwen took a deep breath, tilted his head up to let the rain strike his face, washing away his sorrow.

From this moment on, he would leave behind his weak self; from this moment on, no one would ever be allowed to speak loudly to him again.

"Let's go. Someone's watching you."

"Oh, alright."