Chapter 24: Two Years Later…

East Blue, Loguetown.

The Roger Bar hides deep in an alley, two corners away from the town’s bustling commercial street.

It bears the name “Roger” because over twenty years ago, before setting sail on the Grand Line, Pirate King Roger drank an entire night’s worth of rum here.

At the wooden bar, a man with messy, nest-like hair lay face-down on the table, mumbling indistinctly: “Boss, another round.”

The bar owner, Raoul, wiped a glass and snapped back: “Lu Bianyi, pay up your tab from last month first!”

“Wait till I catch Barzab Seven…”

His words hung in the air, then his head dropped heavily—he was already snoring on the bar, drool soaking the tabletop.

Raoul sighed helplessly; though quiet, the sound reached a nearby patron: “Another poor soul driven mad by pirates.”

“Boss, what’s wrong with this guy?”

Another customer leaned in at the bar: “Two years ago when I came here, he still looked respectable.”

“That’s right,” Raoul set down the glass and lowered his voice. “He used to work for the World Government—had money then.”

“Then how did he end up so broken?”

Facing a chorus of questions, Raoul muttered his explanation:

“His squad originally had eleven men. On a mission, they ran into Roger’s crew. All ten who went died—he was the only one who stayed behind and lived.”

“Hahaha!” Laughter erupted instantly.

Someone slapped the table and teased: “Boss, you’re full of it again—how many of Roger’s crew are left? Probably just some petty thieves waving the Pirate King’s flag!”

Raoul snorted coldly.

“Two years ago, the newspapers printed it in black and white—Lei Shen Barzab Seven attacked CP9 agents and rescued a World Government prisoner!”

The moment those words left his mouth, Lu Bianyi, who had been asleep, jerked upright as if stabbed by a needle, screaming wildly.

“Where’s Barzab Seven?!”

……

"Seven, where are you?"

Jiayadao, Mokutown.

Two years ago, Baki followed leads from East Blue all the way to Jiayadao—but found nothing.

Since then, for two years, he wandered like a homeless ghost through taverns and alleys, seven hundred nights and days.

His captain was gone. Shanks broke his promise.

Baki’s only remaining anchors were the treasure map, the treasure, and his good brother Seven—but Seven vanished as if erased from the world, utterly silent.

Every day, Baki clutched crumpled Berries and bought a newspaper without fail, hoping to see that familiar face in the news.

For two full years, he lit seven hundred hopes—each one cruelly extinguished.

“Seven, remember Barret, who fought evenly with Vice-Captain Rayleigh? He’s been captured by the Marines.”

The wind howled, swirling scraps of paper across the ground.

Baki pulled his cloak tighter, gazing toward East Blue, voice heavy with sorrow.

“Seven, I’m heading back to East Blue.”

“The Grand Line’s too dangerous. East Blue suits me better for digging up treasure.”

……

Unknowingly, the execution of Pirate King Roger in Loguetown had become old news—two years past.

Roger’s final words about the Great Treasure ignited the Great Pirate Era; the entire sea erupted. More and more people set sail to find the Great Treasure.

In those two years, many things happened across the sea.

Portgas D. Ace, the posthumous son of Pirate King Roger, was born in Kapi’s old house in Windmill Village.

Kozuki Oden still danced naked.

After pirates ran rampant on Fish-Man Island, Whitebeard Edward Newgate raised his flag there, claiming Fish-Man Island as Whitebeard Pirates territory.

Tom, the shipwright of the Seven Water Cities, was sentenced to death by the World Government for building Roger’s ship, the Oro Jackson.

However, Tom proposed the idea of a Sea Train to the judge and received a ten-year reprieve.

He then devoted himself, along with his apprentices Iceburg and Katty Fland, to designing and building the Sea Train.

A pirate uprising erupted in Wano. The Beasts Pirates and Moria Pirates clashed in Suzuran Village.

Moria lost all his crew; fleeing Wano, he became a tomb raider, looting the grave of Moonlight Kuma, taking Kuma’s corpse and the legendary sword Shusui.

The people of Wano erected a tomb for the hero who fought Kaido: Kozuki Moria.

To capture Barret, Marine Admiral Sengoku and Marine Hero Garp signed a Holy War Order.

Douglas Barret, the devilish descendant of the former Roger Pirates, was defeated by Vice Admiral Sakazuki and imprisoned in Level Six of Impel Down, the Infinite Hell.

Mihawk Dracule, seeking to perfect his swordsmanship, traveled the world—quietly trending toward becoming the world’s greatest swordsman.

The World Government searched everywhere for the Surgical Fruit.

……

Skypiea, the Golden City of Shandora.

A tall figure, standing 2.6 meters high, stood motionless among it—silver hair brighter than snow, a black combat suit clinging to his frame, outlining sleek lines of power.

The tachi at his waist glowed with a cold violet sheen, contrasting with the black cloak billowing behind him in the wind.

This was Seven, who had trained on Skypiea for two years.

“Huh—”

Seven took a deep breath, focusing all his attention on the coin on his left thumb, his fingertip whitening from extreme concentration.

“2688th test.”

The moment his low mutter ended, Seven’s left thumb snapped upward with force—the coin shot skyward like a bullet fired from a gun!

Simultaneously, Seven’s electromagnetic field surged violently; blue current patterns crawled up his arms, accompanied by a deafening roar.

“Ultra Electromagnetic Cannon!!!”

In an instant, invisible electromagnetic force erupted from nothingness at his left hand, exploding to its peak.

A blue-white electromagnetic torrent coalesced into a thick, three-meter-wide cylinder—crackling with electricity, unleashing a force capable of destroying heaven and earth toward the coin—

The air ionized into searing plasma; golden buildings trembled violently in the intense magnetic field; shattered stones and gold dust were ripped into the air, forming a howling storm.

Where it passed, space shuddered.

It tore through clouds, pierced the heavens.

“Perfect!”

Having successfully replicated the Ultra Electromagnetic Cannon through his own effort, Seven’s mood exploded with joy.

Seven hundred days and nights.

Seven’s greatest gain was not awakening Armament Haki, nor Observation Haki, nor extending his electromagnetic awareness to cover the entire Skypiea under the power of his waves.

Nor was it the development of his Lightning-Lightning Fruit.

Not even the integration of some lessons from the Unthinking Slash, allowing him to cut mountains and split seas with a single casual strike.

It was—

The three passive traits: Gluttonous Body, Innate Strength, and Steel Balloon—threefold enhancements that acted like catalysts, reshaping his body.

His height surged to 2.6 meters; his strength grew terrifyingly immense—even the sword aura generated by his raw strength alone could cleave through clouds.

His endurance was equally terrifying.

As long as he could eat, he wouldn’t fall!

In the pirate world, a powerful, enduring physique is the upper limit of all combat power.

Whether it’s awakening a Devil Fruit, mastering all three Haki to their peak, or a great swordsman’s flying slash—every power release depends on one condition: remaining stamina.

Many have been captured simply from exhaustion.

Garp of the Hive Island, Gold Lion who rampaged through Marineford, Barret under the Marine Holy War Order, the Lone Red who fought Admiral Kong for ten days and ten nights before collapsing—only to be picked off by Garp.

No matter how strong you are, without stamina, you’re useless.

A powerful, enduring physique was Seven’s greatest gain over seven hundred days and nights.

It was the solid foundation for his ascent to the strongest in the world.