One Piece: Crown of Darkness

The festive afterglow of the New Year's atmosphere had barely faded when an event instantly swept across the world—the great pirate Roger, leading the Roger Pirates, after years of traversing countless hardships and dangers, had finally reached Laugh Tale, proving that the One Piece truly existed!

And in accordance with the legend that circulated alongside the One Piece, "the one who obtains the One Piece shall be the 'Pirate King,'" Roger was publicly acknowledged, at least in title, as the 'Pirate King'!

Even the World Government had no choice but to recognize Roger's status, reporting on him through gritted teeth, because not reporting it was impossible. The news spread like wind, impossible to conceal.

However, in their reports, the World Government was vague, concealing details beyond the world's imagination, and changed Roger's real name, Gol D. Roger, to Gold Roger, in an attempt to mislead and prevent what they feared.

Subsequently, the Roger Pirates, having "conquered" the Grand Line, made contact with the Whitebeard Pirates.

This caused an overreaction from the World Government, which was already on edge and highly vigilant of the Roger Pirates. They frantically mobilized nearly seventy percent of the Marines in the Grand Line, stationing them at Marine Forts "G1" and "G5" in the New World, demonstrating an attitude of annihilating the Roger Pirates, even if it meant taking the Whitebeard Pirates down with them.

In reality, Roger, who had ascended the pirate throne, had no intention of using his triumph to recruit Whitebeard. People simply didn't know why Roger sought out Whitebeard. Even more astonishing was that, from then on, the Roger Pirates disbanded! The members of the Roger Pirates vanished without a trace, with no further intelligence on them!

The scorching world took a sharp turn, falling into an eerie calm, like the oppressive lull before a storm. This lull lasted for over another year.

June, in the year 1498, Sea Calendar.

Doflamingo, who had instructed his family members to set sail for the Grand Line upon his return, arrived at Baterilla Island, which he had long sought.

It was a poor, tiny island, too insignificant to be marked on sea charts, otherwise, he would have discovered it and laid his plans much sooner.

Whoosh~

The weather was cold and damp, with a persistent drizzle.

On the dilapidated coastal dock of the small island sat a fisherman, holding a fishing rod, clad in a straw rain cloak, with a bottle of sake beside him. His ears twitched, detecting the visitor from the sky.

Doflamingo, in a black suit, descended. After feeling that his physical training was sufficient, he had spent a long time developing his String-String Fruit powers according to a "template." With a clear reference, his progress was remarkably swift.

This technique, of binding soft yet adhesive strings to clouds to create an "air path" for flight, he had mastered two years prior.

Whoosh~

Splash~

The fisherman abruptly cast his rod, pulling out a large fish. However, he didn't seem excited, casually tossing the fish and rod aside.

"Hmm?"

Doflamingo, intending to enter the island, paused. He slicked back his golden hair, his eyes behind his sunglasses narrowed into slits. The speed with which the fisherman cast his rod was so fast Doflamingo almost couldn't perceive it, which was highly unusual.

The fisherman turned, looked up, revealing a pale, weary face. His features were rather ordinary, but he was notably tall and robust. His mustache was quite distinctive: two wavy tufts.

Doflamingo's pupils constricted violently. He slightly tipped his fedora and chuckled, "Fufufufu~ It's a pleasure to meet you, 'Pirate King' Gol D. Roger."

"You're celebrating too soon," Roger's voice was hoarse and rough, yet his words sounded like a jest.

Immediately.

Doflamingo's heart tightened. His fingers twitched rapidly. He clearly sensed that Roger wasn't joking; there was killing intent!

"I've been uneasy these past few days. It seems the source of my unease is you," Roger slowly stood up, shedding his straw cloak. His expression was slightly poor, his face sallow, yet his aura was overwhelmingly strong, pressing down on Doflamingo's shoulders as if solid. "You little bastard, not only are you plotting against me, but you dare to plot against my child!"

Doflamingo was shaken. Roger knew what he was thinking! But he quickly suppressed his shock and probed, "Fufufufu~ 'Voice of All Things'? No, it's not! I wasn't thinking that just now. Is it... the pinnacle of Observation Haki, 'Future Sight'? You can see quite far, can't you? Your illness isn't a result of overusing this ability, is it?"

Roger remained silent.

"If you can foresee me, why can't you foresee whether your child is a boy or a girl? A boy named Ace, and what was the girl's name again? Ann, fufufufu~ Or do you already know, but you don't want Portgas D. Rouge to lose the joy of motherhood?"

Since he had been seen through before he even began, Doflamingo decided to drop his pretense, his voice shadowed. "Hey, hey, then you should also know that your life is short. Once you die, how will the World Government treat them, mother and child? Why not entrust them to me..."

Creak~

Rumble!!!

With a stomp of his foot, Roger moved like a tiger, instantly appearing before Doflamingo. His right fist, hardened with Armament Haki, swung fiercely.

"Spider Web!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!!

Doflamingo's reaction was incredibly swift. He extended his left arm, and steel-hard threads shot out, weaving a spiderweb-like shield.

Thud!!!

Splash!!!

Doflamingo's two legs plowed deep furrows in the sand, pushing him back over ten meters before he finally managed to stabilize himself. His left arm was numb.

"You're truly determined to kill me, aren't you?" Doflamingo vaguely regretted his reckless attempt to profit from Roger, thinking he could manipulate him as easily as he had manipulated Big Mom and the 'Golden Lion,' forgetting that he knew nothing about Roger.

He pursed his lips and chuckled softly. "Fufufufu~ If you can't kill me today, then the future will be quite interesting, 'Pirate! King!'"

————————

~ Access 100+ advance chapters —— patreon(.)com/EmperorGarus [remove the parentheses ( )]