Chapter 53: The Curtain Rises

As spring turned to summer, Ohara Island was at its most lush and verdant, with the entire island covered in a blanket of green.

At the top of the Tree of Knowledge, the tender green leaves, still slightly covered in mist, sparkled in the sunlight. The air was fresh and humid, gently caressed by the breeze.

Adrian, dressed in a white robe and black coat, sat cross-legged on the treetop, his eyes closed, his mind empty, and his spirit immersed in sword meditation.

In addition to the training of basic physical fitness, the Swordmaster profession also places great emphasis on the cultivation of spiritual will. The "Advanced Swordsmanship Training" also contains a lot of training knowledge about meditation.

"Ou-ou!"

A noisy and unique cry from a seagull woke Adrian from his meditation.

"Hmm? Why did the news birds come so early today?"

Adrian came to his senses and looked in some surprise at the large group of news birds flying towards the treetop, their necks carrying newspapers and mailbags.

As one of the most famous islands in the West Blue, Ohara was not a small island, so news birds naturally would not miss the opportunity to do business here.

But Adrian had never seen a flock of birds of this size before.

Before Adrian could take out the berries from his pocket, several news birds impatiently grabbed newspapers from the mailbag and scattered them down.

Even more news birds scattered the newspapers from the mailbag all over the island of Ohara below.

"A familiar sight…"

Adrian stood there, casually picking up a fallen newspaper and unfolding it.

The headline on the front page was a line of thick, black letters: "Marine captures Pirate King Gol D. Roger!"

There were no other words of explanation.

The news cover only featured a color photo of Roger, still smiling, with his hands shackled and sitting in a dark prison.

In the year 1498 of the Sea Calendar, the World Economic Newspaper rushed to publish an extra edition and dispatched all of its news birds to once again spread the news of that man for free to every corner of the sea.

Pirate King Gol D. Roger has been arrested and imprisoned!

The news was earth-shattering!

No one believed that the Pirate King, who had overcome countless hardships and defeated legendary enemies one after another, would actually be captured by the Marines.

No one believed that the Pirate King, who had only completed his adventure last year and reached the final island of the Grand Line, would actually be captured by the Marines.

No one believed that Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King who had escaped numerous joint pursuits by Marine heroes and admirals, would actually be successfully captured by the Marines one day!

However, the news spread so widely through the World News that it couldn't be false, especially with that indisputable prison photo.

For a moment, the "Great Pirate Era" that had just started to show signs of rising due to the Pirate King's successful ascent seemed to come to an abrupt halt, as if a bucket of ice-cold water had been poured over its momentum.

The next day, the News Coo once again brought a notification from Marineford, the headquarters of the Marine, and conveyed the handling of the Pirate King to the vast ocean.

A month later, the Marine and the World Government will publicly execute him in East Blue Loguetown, the birthplace of Pirate King Gol D. Roger, on the charge of "unforgivable crime"!

"The curtain of the era is finally about to be lifted..."

…

A week after the arrest of the Pirate King, another [Big News] that could shake the world occurred from Marineford, the headquarters of the Marine, and it spread instantly to all corners of the world.

"Another legendary great pirate has been defeated by the Marines!"

Unable to believe that Gol D Roger, his sworn enemy, had been captured by the Marines, the legendary pirate, Shiki the Golden Lion, abandoned his flying pirate crew and single-handedly stormed into Marine Headquarters, Marineford.

After destroying nearly half of Marineford, Golden Lion Shiki was defeated by Marine hero Monkey D Garp and Admiral Sengoku, and was imprisoned in the world's largest prison, Impel Down, Level 6.

The morale of the Marines soared, and civilians rejoiced, but the once arrogant pirates now felt uneasy.

...

Grand Line, Marine Headquarters, Marineford.

"I called you all here for this meeting. I believe you all know the purpose of this meeting."

In a spacious and bright meeting room, Fleet Admiral Kong, with his Mohawk hairstyle, sat at the head of the table with his arms crossed, looking solemnly at the elite Marine officers in the room.

"Who will go to the execution in Loguetown, and who will stay?"

This seemingly ordinary matter could not be taken lightly by the Marine at this critical juncture.

The news of the public execution of Roger in Loguetown was expected to suppress the momentum of the pirates and stabilize the overall sea situation. However, what was not anticipated was that while the goal was indeed achieved, it was not entirely successful.

If someone had been meticulous in their observations, they would have noticed that in the recent period, the frequency of pirates setting sail has been the lowest in decades.

Ordinary pirates were intimidated by the soaring prestige of the Marine, but the major pirates, on the contrary, acted against the norm.

The week before, Golden Lion Shiki's daring assault on Marineford was a very costly lesson!

The sworn enemy of the Roger Pirates, Shiki, the Golden Lion should have been overjoyed at the news of his old rival's execution by the Marine, but who could have thought that he would suddenly go crazy and actually want to destroy Marineford?

Was it really 'Roger! I will create a world with you in it!'?

As the legendary Pirate King of his generation, Roger naturally possessed an exceptionally strong charisma.

Even Shiki, his sworn enemy, had brazenly attacked Marine Headquarters due to this news. It's challenging to predict whether another legendary pirate would make a similar choice.

The threat of the Float-Float Fruit is naturally self-evident. However, due to the events of the Battle of Edd War in the past year, Shiki the Golden Lion's, while his strength may not have diminished, his endurance has taken a significant hit. Even during intense battles, he must always be on guard against a relapse of his old injuries.

But Whitebeard + Tremor-Tremor Fruit is completely different!

At this moment, Whitebeard, free from lingering old wounds, can be described as being in his 'prime'!

In the nearly one year since the Roger Pirates disappeared and the Pirate King Gol D. Roger went missing, Whitebeard led his sons to fame in the New World. They have already faintly gained the title of the 'World's Strongest'!

If, during Roger's execution, Whitebeard led his pirate crew to attack Marineford, how should the Marine Headquarters respond?

Even in the worst case scenario, what if Whitebeard took the Golden Lion Pirates, who had lost their leader, under his wing and led them to attack together?

Regardless, the Marine Headquarters must leave enough forces to deal with this!

"Sengoku! Zephyr! You two stay with me at headquarters!" Fleet Admiral Kong ordered the two admirals first.

"Yes, Fleet Admiral!"

Sengoku and Zephyr both stood up and nodded in salute.

The Fleet Admiral nodded in satisfaction, then looked at another 'Admiral - Vice Admiral'.

"Garp, take the kids—Garp!!"

"Huh?" Monkey D. Garp's nose bubble suddenly burst. He raised his head and rubbed his sleepy eyes. "I seem to hear someone calling me? Is the meeting over? Is anyone going to eat Senbei?"

"Damn Garp!" The Fleet Admiral said with a grim face. "You and Tsuru will go to Loguetown together to carry out the mission! There must be no mistakes! If there is even a small problem, you will never be able to receive a penny of salary from the headquarters for the rest of your life!"

"Oh."

Garp boredly dug his nose, and a small black lump popped out and fell into Sengoku's water cup.

"Garp, get out!!!"