On the plaza.
After a few seconds of strange silence, it was finally broken by an angry question.
"What are you saying, Captain Shano?!"
A pirate captain gritted his teeth and shouted, "Are you still treating us as enemies? Don't forget, you just killed a Vice Admiral of the Navy! The World Government will definitely list you as a wanted pirate. What are you pretending to be noble for?!"
"That's right! Right now, we should be on the same side. But you won't even let us loot, and you keep bringing up your past reputation—don't you think you're overdoing the act?!"
Another pirate captain followed up, questioning loudly.
"An act? Pretending to be noble? Since when did pirates get so good at throwing labels?"
Shano raised an eyebrow, and his index finger lifted slightly. "Listen up, you scum. The Navy I killed—was because they deserved to die. And you all? Just another pack of damned hyenas!"
Buzz!
As soon as he finished speaking, a powerful shockwave burst from his fingertip.
Finger Pistol!
The two pirate captains who had questioned him didn't even have time to react before their heads exploded—falling to the ground as two corpses.
Pa!
Shano then leapt down from the execution platform and landed on the ground, startling the surrounding pirates.
Looking at the corpses on the ground, the pirates swallowed nervously, shrinking back in fear. For a moment, they didn't dare to flee or advance.
"Hey, Kuina." Shano ignored the disorganized mob and turned his gaze to a certain spot.
"I'm here, Captain!" the young swordswoman immediately raised her hand to reply.
"Back at the café, you kept asking what my dream was, right?"
He looked around—the broken ruins, the remains of cannon shells, all entered his view.
"Now… seems like the perfect time to answer you."
"Eh?" Kuina blinked in surprise. "Right now? Right here?"
Rumble!
Just then, lightning cracked across the sky, splitting the clouds.
The pale lightning lit up Shano's sharp, angular face. His black hair whipped in the wind, and he bared a wild grin:
"Of course—right in front of this execution platform, famous throughout the world!"
He bent down, suddenly thrusting his fingers into the base of the execution platform. The gray stone bricks groaned under the pressure of his grip.
The platform, which hadn't been shaken in 18 years of wind and rain, now rumbled and rose from the ground under everyone's stunned gazes!
"Eighteen years ago, the Great Pirate Era started right here. And all of you came here from far and wide, trying to worship it…"
"What a joke, Roger!!!"
With a roar, the execution platform fully left the ground—and he lifted it with just one hand, resting it on his shoulder.
"Tempting fools across the world to go out to sea and kill each other with the promise of treasure… Dangling the so-called 'One Piece' just to make everyone rip each other apart like wild dogs… Common folks scrape together enough money to pay the heavenly tribute, only to be ravaged again by the likes of you scum—what the hell is there to look forward to in this damn era?!"
His roar exploded through the rain, shaking the very air.
"If you really want change, then go make it yourself! This so-called Great Pirate Era—waiting decades for some destined child—what kind of crap is that?!"
"Feel oppressed? Then go after the one oppressing you! Become a Marine or be a dog who bows and scrapes. Become a pirate and go around burning and looting, bullying the weak—that's supposed to make sense?!"
The plaza fell into complete silence.
All the pirates looked like ducks with their throats grabbed—staring in a daze at the execution platform and the figure lifting it.
"This world never needed a Pirate King. And it doesn't need so many pompous fools!!!"
"Roger was the starter of the Great Pirate Era, and he made this world worse. But everyone's been fed up with this mess for a long time!"
"So my dream—is to become the one who ends this damn age! And while I'm at it, I'll take this crap-filled Great Pirate Era—"
"—And shove it right back into Roger's coffin!!!"
With that, Shano hurled the massive execution platform from his shoulder.
The platform, weighing several tons, flew like a cannonball—whistling through the air and soaring toward the distant sea!
Buzz—
Watching the platform vanish into the distance, Shano spread his arms wide, flashing his sharp white teeth in a wild laugh. An invisible shockwave exploded out from him!
Conqueror's Haki!
Thick black lightning flashed across the sky. The entire Loguetown flickered under its shroud. A storm howled. Bricks shattered. Clouds twisted in reverse!
The pirates on the plaza suddenly felt dizzy. Like wheat being harvested, they collapsed one after another.
The few who managed to stay conscious were weak-kneed and fell to the ground, their teeth chattering. They watched in horror as their companions foamed at the mouth and fell unconscious. Then, they all looked toward the figure below the platform—
That black-haired boy—just standing there—felt like he was about to pull down the entire sky!
…
In the distance.
Nokigo, Nami, Kuina, and the others looked up at the strange and terrifying phenomenon, their faces full of shock.
"T-That was my brother who caused this?!" Nami swallowed hard, stammering as she spoke, "All that from just saying his dream? I mean, I felt really fired up listening to it too, but… how did he do that?!"
"It's Conqueror's Haki."
Zeff's voice came from the side. The old man stared deeply at the figure in the storm and spoke in a low voice:
"Maybe we should've expected it… Our captain is a man born with the rare Conqueror's spirit found in only one in millions."
Be the one to end it all?
To bring the Great Pirate Era to a close?
To pull down those high and mighty figures from the heavens—one by one?
Come on… saying stuff like that out loud—that dream is way more outrageous than finding the All Blue...
Conqueror's Haki?
That's also a kind of Haki? Nami had question marks all over her head.
But either way, it looked insanely powerful. Looking at all the pirates collapsed across the plaza, she couldn't help but look on with envy:
"Wow, no wonder he's my big bro! Damn it, I really want to learn this kind of power too—just wave your hand and knock down a whole crowd! No Devil Fruit can even compare!"
"Conqueror's Haki is something you're born with. Not everyone can learn it."
Zeff shook his head, recalling certain scenes he had witnessed long ago. Comparing them to what he saw now, he became even more amazed.
"You might not know this, but even among those with Conqueror's Haki, the power it shows at first awakening is vastly different."
"What about my brother, then?" Nokigo asked curiously. "What level is this awakening at? Is it strong?"
"I've never seen anything more ridiculous than this."
Zeff smacked his lips. "And the scariest part is—even though it's his first awakening, he's somehow controlling it. Normally, you can't control it at first. But look—the only ones who passed out are the pirates. Not us, not even the residents hiding on either side. Not a single one affected."
It really was like that…
Kuina followed the old man's gaze, and couldn't help but be amazed.
As expected of Lord Shano…
The crew was deep in conversation, all their attention focused forward.
None of them noticed, just a short distance behind the rubble near them—
A tall, white-haired figure in Sea-Prism Stone handcuffs, also staring blankly in the direction of the execution platform, frozen like a statue, unmoving for a long time…